I asked them about the confiscation of advantage player deposits and their policy dictates that this is not done.
I haven't seen any evidence of the confiscations of deposits from this group, and I have in contact with them since 1999. As far as I know, the only time deposits have been forfeited is from fraudsters.
If there is evidence of this claim - please post it here. And please don't include complaints that are associate with player fraud.
BKKpoker - if you have an old issue with them, please PAB and I'll find out what happened to your deposit.
Some confusion still seems to exist between GRAND Virtual, and the !Queen of Rogue City", the VIRTUAL group, who DO indeed confiscate anything they deem fit.
One thing that DOES need clearing up is whether the OP did anything at all "wrong" that could have lead them to receive this most direct of accusations from the casino:-
Thank you for your inquiry. Your account has been permanently blocked
by our Operations Department. The reason for blockage is that your
computer used to set up your player account has been connected to a
known fraud ring. There will be no further debits and/or credits posted
to your credit card or your preferred payment method and thus no
winnings will be paid out.
Regards,
Customer Care Team
There was nothing "woolly" about this explanation, and if these mistakes can be so easily made then it is most important that casinos accept that mistakes CAN be made, and should NEVER say they consider this final. In this particular case, it seems this came even BEFORE the player was asked for the usual documents.
It is IMPOSSIBLE for casinos to be anywhere near 100% sure at that stage, the cleverest fraudsters are not as stupid as the amateur, and will have taken steps to ensure that their details are NOT "fabricated", but are "cloned" so as to stand up as genuine from a cursory inspection. It is only when supporting documents are requested that casinos can see discrepencies in the details that require further investigation.
This player would do well to check their credit files in case they have had their details "cloned" and used elsewhere on the internet, it is this cloning that can create a completely groundless association between a "fraud ring" and an unconnected player. The cleverest fraudsters would even implement "dynamic MAC addresses" for the machines they use, so as to make them appear as different people, they would spoof IP addresses, and ensure any falsified data was consistent with the details given to any merchant.
If we have to accept non-disclosure because of security fears, then casinos must ENSURE they get it RIGHT before they shoot off a damning accusation to a customer and tell them they are having large amounts of money "stolen" from their accounts. EVERY TIME a casino gets it wrong, and the player does not get redress, we have one casino that can be considered a "thief". This is in the same sense that we can be convicted of "theft" if we take advantage of a mistake, and refuse to listen when it is pointed out to us, usually by a bank or shop.
Unfortunately, so many casinos have grossly misused the term "fraud ring" to include members of certain casino related forums, or even recipients of certain mailings from their affiliates, who will mislead to make a mundane offer look brilliant, even to the point of telling how it should be played (no doubt such affiliates are paid for new players, not a percentage of the hold for them should they lose). Even husband & wife* playing together seem to constitute a "fraud ring" in the eyes of some casinos, and is probably one of the few leisure activities where husband & wife* should split up, and go to separate venues.
When I first started playing in the summer of 2004, I saw almost NO complaints of players saying casinos had "stolen" their money except when related to the worst rogue sites, now barely a single day goes by without a complaint related to confiscation of winnings from a player. While some are fraud, it surely cannot be the case that the entire increase is due to such an increase in player fraud. If this were so, most casinos would have gone bust, as detected fraud is usually only a fraction of what goes undiscovered, and technology has moved on in those 3 years, and casino software has had the opportunity to be adapted to weed out the silly mistakes that new players might make that could look like fraud.
Given how big business behaves towards UK consumers, I will never be able to believe that any business is incapable of "bending" the rules in order to make a few extra dollars. The biggest, and most reputable and longstanding pillars of UK business society have been caught with their fingers in consumer's wallets at some time or another, and they spend fortunes pullling the wool over the eyes of the regulators. Casinos have openly exhibited one of the traits already, treating "loyal" players like "cash cows" who can get along with minimal levels of benefits, while spending fortunes treating NEW players like Kings (or Queens) for a while till they seem hooked.
* Includes all kinds of partnerships, the problem being that they cohabit one dwelling, as one would expect.
