A little abrupt...

[Dipity]

Lol. Just recieved this email from AllJackpots and WildJack.

Important update about your account

Hi xxxxxxx,

We regret to inform you that we can no longer serve players from Spain and have closed your account at All Jackpots Casino.

We will contact you regarding any outstanding account balance.

If you have any questions, please contact support at support@alljackpotscasino.com.

Zero warning from any previous emails. I mean, I knew it would happen with some casinos - but this is very abrupt.

[Nate]

Lol. Just recieved this email from AllJackpots and WildJack.



Zero warning from any previous emails. I mean, I knew it would happen with some casinos - but this is very abrupt.

Insensitive, abrupt and rude. They do not even have the decency to say thank you for your patronage and we hope to serve you sometime in the future... Hey didn't Allslots win the Customer Service of the year award?? ..... NOT...

Nate

[SlotsLover]

Is there some issue with online gaming in Spain?

[vinylweatherman]

This is extremely poor. There is no way they were ambushed by this decision. They must have known in advance that they would be doing this.


They should have set a date, and then sent emails to all their players in Spain that from a given date, they could no longer be served, and should play out any bonuses, redeem any comps, and withdraw their balances before a set date, after which they would no longer be able to log in.

I have seen many casinos close down markets in this manner. Jackpot Factory certainly did this when they moved US players over from Microgaming to the Level 11 clone, and again when they pulled out altogether. The same notice was given when Royal Joker was closed down. I had an account there inherited from Intertops, and I received several emails in advance of it's closure.

So, despite this, it is OK to be abrupt and rude to the Spanish, and do an overnight ambush closure after giving no indication whatsoever that this was about to happen. Now, Spanish players will be expecting the same from casinos that ARE staying in the market, and are less likely to play because they will fear they will suffer yet another ambush closure. This is a particular concern with MGS as they could have been mid way through one of the MPV tournaments, or playing their weekly slots race.

Players in other countries will fear the same also if they have laws that are similar to those in spain. Greece, for example, who now ask that operators get an internal license on top of their main international one. Even UK players may not be clear if the UK rules change to introduce the need for a licence with the Gambling Commission, rather than simply being on the whitelist. UK players are lucky in that so far the government have not interfered by taking measures to block offshore gambling sites, nor the transactions. As far as the government are concerned, it's up to us whether we play at a casino in the whitelisted jurisdictions, or one "licensed" in Costa Rica. They are only revisiting this view because they have seen that rogue operators have been taking advantage of this relaxed regime and targetting UK players, and then screwing them over.

This could become a problem for many EU countries as it seems the idea of having separate licenses in each is catching on.

It seems odd that these operators fought hard against the DoJ when they were in the US market, and broke all sorts of US laws for years in order to hang on to the players, yet they fold without putting up much of a fight when it comes to countries like Spain trying to shut out the offshore operations. JF are in Israel, not part of the EU, and therefore out of reach of the EU courts. I thought their servers were outside the EU as well (KGC), so again out of reach of the EU courts.

The ONLY motive seems to be that they intend to get a license for Spain soon, and don't want to spoil their chances. In this case, why tell the players their accounts are closed, rather than temporarily suspended pending the grant of a license to operate within Spain.

[jetset]

I think it's just bad management - as professional operators with even half an ear to the ground they must have known the Spanish changes were coming, and presumably the casino owners had considered their reaction to the situation, giving them plenty of time to put together a proper and professional exit plan.

As others have said, this comes across as rude and autocratic...and definitely lacking in player sensitivity.

You would think these people, who have been in the industry for awhile, would know better.

[jetset]

Is there some issue with online gaming in Spain?

They've liberalised the market and introduced an online gambling regulatory system like other European nations (Italy, France, Denmark, Belgium etc etc)

[vinylweatherman]

They've liberalised the market and introduced an online gambling regulatory system like other European nations (Italy, France, Denmark, Belgium etc etc)

So, how come this caught JF on the hop, forcing them into an abrupt "panicky" overnight no-notice closure. Usually such rules become effective on a set date, known well in advance, and operators have to either comply by this date, or leave. Whatever the options, JF would have had loads of time to apply and be granted a license, or plan an exit from the market the day before. They did it properly when moving from MGS to Level 11, and again when level 11 pulled out altogether. Same with their handling of Royal Joker, but perhaps not so with their sale of Wild Jack, which Bryan STILL lists as a JF property some years later (so obviously was not informed through his official channels).

Players do NOT like these abrupt overnight closures, it makes THEM "panicky" about whether other casinos they play at, no matter how well regarded, will do the same over another night.

Will the same happen in the UK now that the government have decided to go with a similar model to that the rest of the EU seems to be adopting, which is secondary licensing in individual markets, with taxes assessed on players from those markets.

UK players have previously had no government interference, and operators have not had to fear a crackdown simply for offering their services to UK players. This new regime changes this, as it raises tax for the UK treasury, and I can't see them ignoring operators who dodge this by operating into the UK from outside the EU, and relying on internet based advertising to get around the ban on advertising in UK based media, which will become a taxable privilege.

UK players should beware of the nominal date this new law comes into force, as this is when operators may decide to comply, or ditch players with little or no notice.

[Dipity]

This has been in the works for Spain since late last year, and was due to be implemented last month if I remember rightly (off the top of my head, cooking dinner so can't be arsed looking for the original thread I made, nor googling the date :P). However, the date was set back again.

Other casinos have emailed me warning of the change, but have not been anywhere near as abrupt, most have just said that they will be closing access for Spanish players on xxxx date, or just warning that there will be some changes to Spanish players accounts.

This email was a bit of a shock in how it was worded.

[Dipity]

Just, lol. Just 6 hours after recieving the email I listed in the first post, I recieve this in my inbox:

Hi xxxxxx,

The racers are closing in on the finish line this week, but there’s still time to join the Casino Grand Prix and win!

Deposit and play €100 or more any slot game by midnight Saturday. The top 25 wagerers will share €5,500 in bonuses AND win a ticket to the Grand Prix Final!

See you there,


Charlie Burton
General Manager
All Jackpots Casino

No, Charlie Burton, you WONT be seeing me there. You closed my account, remember?

[Casinomeister]

Word I have is that MGS is blocking Spanish IPs as of yesterday. The operators are only reacting to this move, so it's unfair to beat them up for it. I'm sure it's a surprise to them just like it is for you.

Unless the operator has a license from the Spanish regulator, it's adios amigos.