Vernons Casino Review

Besides having a cock-up of a Baptism by Fire in August of 2012, Vernon’s casino is aloof and oblivious to player issues. And in fact after reading their terms and conditions, I am under the impression that they are ethically challenged.

Here is a segment from their withdrawal terms:

6.7. If You win a progressive jackpot, We reserve the right to, provided all the terms and conditions of the Agreement have been observed, pay or procure the payment of the prize money to You in equal monthly instalments (sic) of £20,000. In lieu of the monthly payments, a progressive jackpot winner may be offered the option of selecting a reduced lump sum amount based on the present value of the future payments.

That is not only unethical – it is near criminal. There is no reason why a casino would keep a player’s progressive win and pay it out £20k per month. To begin with, it is not the casino’s money. Progressive wins come from a progressive pooled funds. If this is a Playtech progressive win, the money comes from all Playtech casinos which have contributed to the pooled funds.

So let’s say you are the lucky winner of a £4 million progressive jackpot. Vernons casino will pay you in full within about 16 and a half years. Don’t believe that this can happen? There is a worst case than this that actually happened: Playtech’s Progressive Jackpot Scandal

It is not the casino’s money, it belongs to the play and should be payed in one lump sum.

And to state that the player can choose to take a portion and give the rest back to the casino is laughable.

Perhaps the casino is confused with a state run lottery. This is totally different. If a state lottery is advertised at $4 million dollars, this is how much the actual amount of money would be worth in 20 years (interest and estimated inflation). So the actual jackpot in real money would be way lower than this. That is where the lump sum comes from. That is what the actual jackpot fund is.

So for an online casino to think that this is a term that they should be making up, this reflects on the lack of its operators ethics.

And for a gambling jurisdiction to allow this is a downright shame. This can really make you lose faith in this industry.