Playtechs sharing player information?

[slafs]

I haven't posted in a while, but am still playing regularly. Getting tired of RTGs (that I usually prefer) I remembered some of the nice Playtech slots and decided to find a Playtech to play at. Also knowing the normal payouts for these slots I decided to find a casino offering some sort of bonus and ended up with a new, although reputable one. The name is not important, they treated me well apart from the issue below:

I read the T&C thoroughly, download and sign up. Receive a welcome email and make a deposit - but no bonus is added.

Going on live chat, I am told that I will not be getting any bonuses due to "management decision". Considering I had never played at this casino before, nor at any of its sister sites, I decided to dig a bit deeper in it. So I sent them an email asking for a little more than the canned response, telling them "management decision" is not a reason, rather a reaction to a reason. I get the following answer:

The Management has decided to block your account from any bonuses and this could be due to your previous activity in the gaming industry and/or affiliated online gaming sites.

I admit, I have taken more than my fair share of bonuses through the years, and know enough about math and variance to make most of them profitable. My entry into the world of online gamling was even a "bonus whore" site, and I have used bonuses to make a profit at several Playtechs before.

But never on any site that would be known to this casino! Unless they are getting and sharing player information with other casinos outside their 'sphere'.

I have seen Rivals getting a pounding for this, but didn't know Playtech was doing the exactly same thing. Have I been sleeping when the issue was raised? Are my player data being circulated between all Playtechs without my consent and knowledge? Have I actually allowed them to do so?

PS: This is not about me not getting a bonus, this is about my player data being shared. I still played, lost, deposited some more, lost some more and deposited again before miraculously turning a profit - all without a bonus. Marvel slots are even better than I remembered.

[vinylweatherman]

The existence of a player "blacklist" has been hotly debated, but always denied by anyone offering an "official" view. We are assured that the ONLY shared list is one containing FRAUD suspects, and that data on "playing style/history" is NEVER shared outside of groups of sister casinos.

I have never bought into such denials, and cases like this demonstrate that there IS some kind of "player blacklist" containing data shared by unrelated operators, and used by said operators to identify "bonus whores" who have done too much "whoring" on the Playtech software platform to be allowed any more bonuses at any new Playtech casinos they join.

The "management decision" part is probably down to the fact that the lost is made available to management, but it is up to them to decide what to do with the information, bonus ban you immediately, or let you use them whilst they assess whether you are "guilty" of what is alleged on the blacklist.

Who owns and runs ths list has also been debated, and Playtech claim (through channels) that THEY do not operate any such list, and nor do they handle player data - they merely supply the software.

I suspect that whilst technically true, it is a case of complex company structuring and subcontracting that lets Playtech exert control over all of this, yet be able to deny "ownership" of any of it.

There seems to be a considerable level of cooperation between unrelated Playtech operators, and I can't see any reason for one operator NOT to be happy that all their "bonus whores" have been offloaded to a competing casino, which then stands to be rendered less able to compete due to being "whored to death" by bonus players.

However it has been achieved, this casino DOES have some kind of "history" of your playing style, yet seems to have no legitimate means by which to have acquired such information.

There has been a suggestion that some Playtech casinos have LIED about not being related to each other, and this has even formed part of an "official defence" made on behalf of Playtech, since if casinos ARE related, they CAN share this information between them.

It is worth looking deeper into the connections, as you may find that you HAVE actually played in this group before, and they will have kept this information. It may be nothing more than you ONLY playing the once at each casino with the welcome bonus, and then moving on, and they have a data record of you having done this at x consecutive casinos before you signed up with them, so they expect you to repeat the procedure, so they are not interested in your custom.

Casinos are very good at keeping such records, but it seems players may not be, and some "bonus whores" sign up at so many casinos without keeping records that they can sometimes screw up by signing up again at a casino they have already "done".

For decent records, you should record name, group, and software for EVERY casino, even if you only registered without depositing. This should prevent "accidents", and when a new casino is launched, you can run a "sisters check" through your records to see whether you have played with that group before.

[slafs]

It is worth looking deeper into the connections, as you may find that you HAVE actually played in this group before, and they will have kept this information. It may be nothing more than you ONLY playing the once at each casino with the welcome bonus, and then moving on, and they have a data record of you having done this at x consecutive casinos before you signed up with them, so they expect you to repeat the procedure, so they are not interested in your custom.

After double-checking my records I found out that I actually had played at one of their sister casinos, but did NOT take/get a welcome bonus there. So what they should have on file was a player depositing once playing a while and withdrawing a small profit - no bonuses involved.

It is however beyond reasonable doubt that there circulates such a list of players with unwanted playing patterns, even used by accredited CM casinos. Having the list distributed and maintained by a third party allows them to deny doing it themselves, failing to mention their knowledge and involvment.

I can fully understand their reasons for wanting one, I could even be persuaded to let them have such a list. But I want to know how much information about me is being shared. Keeping it a big secret only makes me assume the worst and imagine CC details and security documents roaming free among all Playtechs, reputable or not. That's not a great image to have stuck on your mind..