Late self exclusion

[jetset]

I've been in contact with the casino on this. Here is what happened:

"Upon investigation of the account, it was identified that in fact an error had been made. Procedure was followed but unfortunately the guest account and not the real account was locked which allowed for the player to deposit again.

We took full responsibility in this matter ( once again not knowing anything about the CasinoMeister thread). We contacted the player and asked him to sign off a payment release form and informed him that once this was done, we would refund the full amount of his deposit from the date of his request.

We received the signed document from Nikos on 7 October 2009 and refunded him on 8 October 2009 for the full amount of €2020.00"

I think the casino should be commended for handling this so well.

@nikos - please confirm when you have received your funds. Thanks!

Kudos to the casino for what imo is a commendable acceptance of fault and an appropriate resolution....and to Bryan for bringing this issue to their attention.

[paul02085]

Big Kudos to Ruby Fortune and Casinomeister!!! Now that is cool.

[felicie]

Good luck Nikos but if all else fails, move to the United States.

[SlotMonster]

Great job, Bryan!
You da man!

[nikos]

They did it. I got the money back. Unbelievable...

Respect.

Many thanks!

[jetset]

Glad to hear you were refunded.

Now - stay the hell away from gambling venues!

[doomed4ever]

I've been in contact with the casino on this. Here is what happened:

"Upon investigation of the account, it was identified that in fact an error had been made. Procedure was followed but unfortunately the guest account and not the real account was locked which allowed for the player to deposit again.

We took full responsibility in this matter ( once again not knowing anything about the CasinoMeister thread). We contacted the player and asked him to sign off a payment release form and informed him that once this was done, we would refund the full amount of his deposit from the date of his request.

We received the signed document from Nikos on 7 October 2009 and refunded him on 8 October 2009 for the full amount of €2020.00"

I think the casino should be commended for handling this so well.

@nikos - please confirm when you have received your funds. Thanks!

A Big kudos to the casino for taking this approach! Shows a commitment to responsable gambling. !!!

[bonusgeek]

Well I commend Ruby Fortune for refunding this players money. What I question is why so many casinos conveniently make these mistakes and the players account remains open. I think this is a perfect testament just how cavalier even trusted casinos are when it comes to problem gamblers. So cavalier infact that they cannot even take 10 seconds to double check their work to ascertain this player does not have access to their account anymore.

IMHO the industry is a complete joke when it comes to gambling addicts. First of all it's hard to even conceive how we can be 10+ years since the advent of online gambling, yet only one of the casino softwares offer self exclusion right from the software, (RIVAL). Why do you think that is? And even rival only excludes you from the one brand instead of across all rivals like they should. RTG is a big joke, I don't think they have the word problem gambling in their vocabulary. Microgaming is probably the most ethical when it comes to problem gambling, but even they could make a lot of improvements.

The industry wants problem gamblers, how else can you justify not offering self exclusion right from within the software? Then we have situations like this where for one reason or another, the account was never locked. The funny thing is that I've been in the same boat as this player, and conveniently most of my requests either go ignored as well or a mistake is conveniently made and my account remains open. Infact it often takes threatening emails from me to hit the affiliate forums before I can make something happen. Maybe it has something to do with the kind of money a certain player loses and the casino not wanting to lose that action. But all I can tell you is after what I have experienced the past several years in this industry as a player, it makes me sick to my stomach to think how underhanded some of these casinos are that will stop at nothing to earn a buck.

It will always be up to the player to get help with his/her gambling addiction, but that doesn't mean this industry should be given a free pass to act cavalier or irresponsible towards problem gamblers. There are some rudimentary actions this industry can take to be more responsible, and until that happens I have to believe this industry wants problem gamblers. There is no other way to justify the current protocols.

Perhaps when this industry gets regulated the casinos will start acting more responsibly when it comes to problem gamblers. Maybe regulation will also stop these casinos from holding players money hostage with their nickel and dime $4K max weekly cashout limits in hopes that the player will give it all back. Either way this industry needs a lot of work, especially when it comes to problem gamblers and I am hopeful that one day progress will be made and there will be consequences for underhanded casinos who do not act responsibly towards players with a gambling problem.

[jetset]

I think the implication here that online casino companies are disinterested in curbing problem gambling is a little unfair.

Many companies - I'm thinking Bwin and many Microgaming licensees, for example - go to considerable lengths to guard against problem gambling, which btw presents more problems than profits for an operator.

And certainly EGBA leans heavily on its members to maintain active responsible gambling programs.

Bwin has spent millions in funding problem gambling research with respected outfits like Harvard, instituting site precautions and supporting the efforts of problem gambling counsellors. It is also an active particpant in the ongoing series of problem gambling training courses for casino management and staff that eCOGRA holds every year.

These training courses are also regularly attended by most of the Microgaming licensees, who often at some expense fly their staff in from various points on the planet for the purpose. They also go further than merely putting a Gamcare logo on their websites, incorporating problem gambling dedicated pages where players can self diagnose their gambling patterns and if required self-exclude themselves or interact with independent problem gambling organisations.

[Casinomeister]

...Many companies - I'm thinking Bwin and many Microgaming licensees, for example - go to considerable lengths to guard against problem gambling, which btw presents more problems than profits for an operator.

And certainly EGBA leans heavily on its members to maintain active responsible gambling programs.

Bwin has spent millions in funding problem gambling research with respected outfits like Harvard, instituting site precautions and supporting the efforts of problem gambling counsellors. It is also an active particpant in the ongoing series of problem gambling training courses for casino management and staff that eCOGRA holds every year.

These training courses are also regularly attended by most of the Microgaming licensees, who often at some expense fly their staff in from various points on the planet for the purpose. They also go further than merely putting a Gamcare logo on their websites, incorporating problem gambling dedicated pages where players can self diagnose their gambling patterns and if required self-exclude themselves or interact with independent problem gambling organisations.

Execllent post Jetset.

I can feel the frustration and vexation that members like bonusgeek have voiced. And it boils down to who and who isn't participating in responsible gaming. Kudos to Ruby Fortune, and I hope this serves as an example for others to follow - accredited and non-accredited casinos alike.

Every casino listed in the Accredited Section should be maintaining the same standards and I would expect them to be proactive on this. It's tough spotting problem gamblers and sometimes it takes some hoof work. But requests for exclusions should always be honored.

Yeah, sure - shady clip shot joints will "conveniently" lose requests to block accounts. That's par for the course in the dark side of online gaming. But for the most part, I feel that online gamblers are safer online than in a brick and mortar casino when it comes to curbing problem gambling. As long as these players stick with legitimate casinos, they should be in good hands.

Unfortunately, greedy roguish entities will always be there to take their bets.