- Joined
- Aug 21, 2012
- Location
- Toronto, Ontario
ADMINISTRATIVE NOTE: The player's gameplay was analyzed by an independent third party, and it was determined that the player used a computer program to assist in his game play. In other words, he used a bot.
Betfred Casino offered a promotion entitled "Blackjack 7s Special" which is described here.
www.betfred.com/gg/casino/blackjack-special
In short, BlackJack players were offered different prizes for winning hands consisting of the three sevens. For the three unsuited sevens the prize was 10xBet, for the three sevens of clubs, hearts, or spades the prize was 100xBet, and for the three diamond sevens the prize was a a new Jaguar XF or a price equivalent of GBP 29,940, regardless of the bet amount.
The term "blackjack" was never explicitly defined; the promo text simply said "Play Blackjack at Betfred Casino" while the terms further specified the exceptions: Duel Blackjack, Blackjack Surrender, Lucky Blackjack and Blackjack scratchcards. Sometime around August 14th they added Blackjack Switch to the list.
From the remaining BlackJack games I chose Pontoon as the one having the lowest house edge. It was in the "Blackjack" menu, but I decided to clarify it with the customer service rep in chat. The representative confirmed that as long as it was not listed as an excluded game, it was valid. So I hit the tables. And on August the 17th I hit the three diamond sevens
When I contacted the support I was told I did not win the prize as Pontoon was not a Blackjack game. When I asked for an explanation, weird stuff started happening. They made some changes to their web site, including the instant play casino. In the download version they removed pontoon alltogether! Apparently, they were not able to simply move it away from the BlackJack menu and so they had to have it disappear. As of writing this message, the game was still not available. Here is the proving screenshot.
Unfortunately I have not screenshot it when it was available. But you can check any other Playtech casino. Wherever the "blackjack menu" exists, Pontoon is in there. Wherever the search exists, Pontoon is subtitled "BlackJack" when found. Not a "blackjack game", or "blackjack like game", just "blackjack". Here are some screenshots.
Additionally, while cleaning their web site of the "pontoon evidence" Betfred missed some of the important traces. For example the wagering contribution table from the high roller bonus table
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has the following line:Blackjack (all varieties, excluding Pontoon, Blackjack Switch and Blackjack Surrender)
if Pontoon is not a blackjack game to begin with, why list as an exception in the blackjack line? This was among the other questions I asked them on August the 19. They took a pause and then on August 20th I got another email from them. Now it did not mention the Pontoon issue. Instead, they said... I was using a bot. Which they concluded based on my gaming patterns. And therefore my winnings are void and my account is locked.
This was ridiculous.Yes, I was playing a lot - for hours. One needs to play a lot to see a rare event like this. The promo was limited in time. They kept excluding the games. So I was playing and playing. But my play never went beyond the human capacity. I will be more then happy to repeat it by playing the same amount of time without stopping, while observed by a Betfred authorized agent in person. Also it should be noted that immediately after hitting the 3 sevens I stopped playing, took a screenshot and started talking in a chat. Can that be also done by a bot?
After asking them these questions I was presented with another surprise. I was informed that Canadian players are ineligible for the promotion according to the terms and conditions, and therefore I am not allowed to play and win. However, Google cache still shows the old terms
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and I kept the screenshot of the old terms as well:Thank you for reading through the end. In summary I would like to say that Betfred is applying hideous tactics and otherwise going out of their way to find a reason not to pay a prize they offered. So at very least there is no way Betfred should be given the "accredited" status.
And of course I want my 30,000 GBP I honestly won.
If required, I am ready to provide the full screenshots, transaction histories, timestamps as well as any identification documents necessary.