sportsbook took away my bonus? Can someone help me?

[stevenwhite79]

Hi,

I deposited about 5k at sportsbook so i could wager on basketball games. I wagered a few hundred in the sportsbook and while watching that evenings hoop action I decided to play blackjack. I actually went on a heater and won about 1k playing blackjack. Actually lost a hundred or so on the basketball games.

But anyway, I decided the next day to not press my luck and cashout cause i figured i would lose a bunch back. So i cashout but the next day i get this email:

Date: Tue, 21 Feb 2006 16:25:33 +0000
From: "EFS Manager" <manager@efscaribbeaninc.com> Add to Address Book Add Mobile Alert
To: stevenwhite79@yahoo.com
Subject: Player ID: 527138629

Dear Steven,

We are contacting you in relation to the following account:

527138629 (Sportsbook.com)

Our Casino Department have been reviewing your activity within the
casino
software. It has been found that you have been using bonus funds to
play in
the casino and then cashing out.

As a result, your pending withdrawal has been sent to be processed,
however,
the bonus funds will be removed from this withdrawal.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact
us.

Regards,
Hailey

--
EFS Manager
www.efscaribbeaninc.com



So basically because i wasn't a loser at their casino they said I was abusing their bonus and took away the %10(500 plust dollar) bonus they gave me for signing up? What is the purpose of the bonus then? why give it out if they will just take it away if you don't lose?

Do i have any recourse here? I went to pitch a bitch but the Casinomeister is away?

Thanks,

Steve

[winbig]

Are you sure it wasn't a 'sticky' bonus? Quite a few places offer this, and if that's the case, there's not really any recourse. A sticky bonus is definately in the casinos favor. Sure it boosts ones' bankroll, but yet they're not losing a dime if/when you try to cashout.

[edit]
Just looked on sportsbook.com, found this:

Bonus is only valid if customers have fulfilled the following: Sportsbook or Casino betting activity totaling at least twice the amount of the deposit plus the bonus. [For example, if one deposits $500, they must simply make wagers totaling $1100 before they can withdraw the $50 bonus]. If a customer requests a payment of any amount before they have had fulfilled the wagering requirement the bonus will not be valid and will be deducted.

If they're taking away the bonus simply because you played in the casino, they're 100% in the wrong. On the other hand, if you didn't wager $11,000, they're 100% in the right for deducting the bonus. I'd contact support and find out if you completed the WR

edit 2: You may want to remove your email address as well as account number from the post...or is there any mod around that can fix this?

[stevenwhite79]

i confirmed with the customer service via email that i did indeed wager enough in the casino. i did not violate their terms yet they still took away my bonus just because i won.

????

[caruso]

Do i have any recourse here? I went to pitch a bitch but the Casinomeister is away?

This is sportsbook territory, not casinos. The Sportingbet PLC group is notorious for this behaviour, and if the book you played at was Sportsbook.com, this is one of the worst of the many skins.

You need to file a complaint with either TheOnlineWire.com or Bill Dozer at SportsbookReview.com - they both have contacts with Sportingbet. Probably give Bill a go first, keep TOW as a backup.

Sportingbet are also listed on the UK AIM, and have been known to respond positively to threats of legal action, so there is a lot of backup here.

Post if you have any more questions.

EDIT: Contact links in this post:

http://www.casinomeister.com/forums/86509-post4.html

[vinylweatherman]

Looks like they took you for a clever player. If you met the full WR, the bonus is valid. The extract made no mention of having to wager the WR in the sportsbook first before using the casino, nor of there being any games that cannot be played, or bet types made. I would argue that bonus money was NOT "used in the casino" if you did not dip below the amount of the deposit.
I suspect that depositing $5K, playing for a while and cashing in with full bonus when you felt that luck was on the turn. There is a technical name for this type of behaviour, "responsible gaming", loved by Gamcare and such support organisations, but the enemy of casinos and sportsbooks, who make most profit from players who play till it's all gone or they hit a really massive win and simply have to cash-in.

I have an account at the sportingodds skin, I play only a little, take all the bonuses, play only Blackjack and VP with them, and just enough for the next one - yet they send me BRUT Champagne and free subscription to Inside Edge - oddly enough, I have NEVER cashed in a cent, although I have lost little compared to other sites. I bet their tune would change if I gradually built my funds up to a couple of £K over the year and cashed in from BJ and VP. If I had the patience to play £1 a hand, and just enough for each of the 3 monthly bonuses, I could probably do this.

I bet if they found out I was "vinyl" on here they would take back the champagne and free mag on the assumption I was somehow losing "abusively" because I know too much about casino gaming. (I know s*d all about sports betting though!)

[scrollock]

shouldn't this be in the sportsbook section? its for this exact scenario why i said bryan needed a sportsbook section for cross casino-sportsbook scenario issues

[winbig]

Technically, I think it's in the right spot. They also have a casino, and BJ was involved in this incident...JMO