Be Aware Ladbrokes, Gala and Coral: won't discuss player complaints

maxd

Head of Complaints (PABs), Senior Forum Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jan 20, 2004
Location
Saltirelandia
[FYI: Ladbrokes now owns Gala and Coral so the "won't discuss" policy now applies to the group as a whole. Although Gala and Coral are mostly mentioned below the same policy applies to Ladbrokes, always has FWIW. Anyway, it's "talk to the hand" 24/7 with these guys.]

Gala Casino has reminded us that they do have a player complaints process in place and are ready to accept player issues.

If you have an issue regarding Gala Casino please approach them first. Their process is detailed here:
You do not have permission to view link Log in or register now.


If Gala's process does not yield the desired results players are of course welcome to file a Pitch-A-Bitch (PAB) . As ever that process begins with the Pitch-A-Bitch FAQ.

The point is this: if you have an issue with Gala Casino you need to take it to them first. Generally speaking we will only accept your PAB against Gala if you have attempted to resolve your issue by submitting it to them directly, as per their T&Cs.
 
Last edited:
UPDATE: As experienced readers will know the Gala group has had a pretty rocky history here at Casinomeister insofar as the PAB process goes. Sometimes they cooperate, sometimes they don't, half the time they've said they would but -- by doing nothing -- they effectively did not.

Unfortunately Gala has (fairly) recently changed their policies -- again! -- and told us that they are no longer willing to "provide transparency" which means that they won't be participating in the PAB process to resolve player complaints. As such we can't accept PABs against Gala because we know that no progress will be made. Players are advised to follow the complaints procedures given in the casino's Terms & Conditions, specifically sections 17.5 and 17.6.

Update January 2018: The same now officially applies to Coral: PABs are "no can do" because of the casino's stated "talk to the hand" policy on 3rd party player complaints.
 
Last edited:
FWIW a recent PAB met with this response:
... after our last conversations it was confirmed that Gala Casino were no longer in accredited Casinos but in the reservation list since we were unable to participate in the PAB process or provide player information to any ADR we do not list on our site.

... this is the position we are still in - we cannot communicate any player details over casinomeister or via your PAB process, so I will not be able to provide the information directly. ...

So, the "talk to the hand" situation at Gala continues. Their refusal was and remains a corporate decision: there is nothing keeping them from cooperating other than their decision not to.

FWIW the "we were unable to ... provide player information to any ADR we do not list on our site" thing directly contravenes the recent UKGC statement that operators should cooperate with other ADRs. But I'll let them figure that out for themselves. We're not a UKGC accredited ADR so it wouldn't apply to us in any case.
 
In the interests of "equal time" I should say that the casino rep responded:
... The player got the same assistance he would have received from any of your accredited Casinos but the only difference is that we aren't able to provide the information via casinomeister, but rather have communicated directly to the player via email. He has also got his case escalated and replied to in less than 16 hours which is also a service you have helped to push along by bringing the case to us. ...

Of course this ignores the fact that the PAB process is not simply "he received a reply" but is an arbitration of the case based on all the facts and data we gather in the process of investigating. And Accredited casinos typically do a whole lot more on complaint resolution than "send an email".

And, FWIW, the player just contacted me to say:
I found it hard to find an avenue to complain with them. I had even written to Coral/ Ladbrokes prior to contacting you about a complaints/ appeals process. I will endeavour to pursue it further without much hope of success ...

As I've said time and time again, "responding to the player" is not dispute arbitration, as evidenced here by this player's continued frustration.
 
Not surprising turn of events seeing as they have merged with Ladbrokes. Ladbrokes were never good from an affiliate perspective, but since they opened their Tel Aviv office several years ago, things started to go south and quickly. They actually once upon a time used to be a good outfit, I should know I worked for them for five years in Gibraltar. But that was a long time ago now....
 
The "talk to the hand" party line now officially includes Coral. No big surprise but sucks nevertheless. Thread title updated accordingly.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Meister Ratings

Back
Top