Bitstarz closed my account because of SOW

[canuckguy1983]

I have been playing on @BitStarz for over 6 years... approx 3 years ago I won a Government Lottery in my home province of just under $500,000.00 CAD. Naturally my deposits and play increased on Bitstarz... nothing too crazy or out of my means but naturally they increased after my lottery win. Playing on bitstarz I was in the negative until about a year ago... I started winning and cashing out $10-15k a handful of times, sometimes $20k-$25k... over this time I turned into a winning player. Of course as I started withdrawing more I had a lot more extra winnings sitting around to play and deposit more. Shortly after that I received an email from Olle my VIP host asking for Source of Wealth Documents. I submitted my paystubs from my employer and documentation of my $500k Lottery Win... well of course he replied saying they couldn't use lottery wins and it had to be actually income so they went ahead and closed my account. Found this extremely weird how it happened after I started winning and withdrawing more often and turned my Bitstarz account into a profitable one for me. So by this rationale if somebody were to Win a $10Million lottery and decided not to work they wouldn't be allowed to play on Bitstarz? or If somebody Retires and doesn't have an income they can't play on Bitstarz?

Can somebody please provide me with some info as to why this would happen? All of the years depositing and losing or maintaining my overall #'s, for this to come out of nowhere I find it a bit odd. Do sites use this as an excuse to get rid of players that can potentially be higher risk of hitting big jackpots or winning % players?

Thank you, @Casinomeister @BitStarz

 

[Kroffe]

I have been playing on @BitStarz for over 6 years... approx 3 years ago I won a Government Lottery in my home province of just under $500,000.00 CAD. Naturally my deposits and play increased on Bitstarz... nothing too crazy or out of my means but naturally they increased after my lottery win. Playing on bitstarz I was in the negative until about a year ago... I started winning and cashing out $10-15k a handful of times, sometimes $20k-$25k... over this time I turned into a winning player. Of course as I started withdrawing more I had a lot more extra winnings sitting around to play and deposit more. Shortly after that I received an email from Olle my VIP host asking for Source of Wealth Documents. I submitted my paystubs from my employer and documentation of my $500k Lottery Win... well of course he replied saying they couldn't use lottery wins and it had to be actually income so they went ahead and closed my account. Found this extremely weird how it happened after I started winning and withdrawing more often and turned my Bitstarz account into a profitable one for me. So by this rationale if somebody were to Win a $10Million lottery and decided not to work they wouldn't be allowed to play on Bitstarz? or If somebody Retires and doesn't have an income they can't play on Bitstarz?

Can somebody please provide me with some info as to why this would happen? All of the years depositing and losing or maintaining my overall #'s, for this to come out of nowhere I find it a bit odd. Do sites use this as an excuse to get rid of players that can potentially be higher risk of hitting big jackpots or winning % players?

Thank you, @Casinomeister @BitStarz

The bold part makes it sound like you increased playtime&deposits towards the end which i think is the sort of thing that could trigger a SOW check.
I dont think Casinos would actively get rid of highrollers, if anything thats the kind of people they want playing on their site, the more the better because the house always wins in the long run.
If its true that they cant accept the lottery win and have to go by current income then i would guess that closing your account is just covering their backs.

 

[canuckguy1983]

The bold part makes it sound like you increased playtime&deposits towards the end which i think is the sort of thing that could trigger a SOW check.
I dont think Casinos would actively get rid of highrollers, if anything thats the kind of people they want playing on their site, the more the better because the house always wins in the long run.
If its true that they cant accept the lottery win and have to go by current income then i would guess that closing your account is just covering their backs.

So by this logic though … if someone wins Powerball for 100 million dollars and quits their job , they’re not allowed to play online ?

 

[Kroffe]

So by this logic though … if someone wins Powerball for 100 million dollars and quits their job , they’re not allowed to play online ?

Im not saying i agree with it, personally i think its weird that they cannot accept your money when you can prove that its legit and that you can afford to play at the level you play at.
Im just saying that if its true that they have to use current income for SOW checks they are probably closing your account so it doesnt come back to bite them later.

Like you say it doesnt make much sense, people should be allowed to spend their money as they see fit, shouldnt matter if it comes from a lottery win or from work.

 

[canuckguy1983]

Im not saying i agree with it, personally i think its weird that they cannot accept your money when you can prove that its legit and that you can afford to play at the level you play at.
Im just saying that if its true that they have to use current income for SOW checks they are probably closing your account so it doesnt come back to bite them later.

Like you say it doesnt make much sense, people should be allowed to spend their money as they see fit, shouldnt matter if it comes from a lottery win or from work.

Ya I’d agree. Weird part is other casinos have accepted my lottery win documentation as a SOW. @BitStarz is the only site that won’t. I wonder if it’s a casino decision or the regulating body. ??‍

 

[shadow123]

In a similar situation, would have difficulty passing a SOW as I can only show a healthy bank balance but very little
income,my tax return would probably show a loss last year but only because I dont need to touch profit made on investments
so they dont show on the accounts.

 

[bruinsdude]

wow never heard of a SOW done in Ontario.....i thought that was a UK thing exclusively. Scary times

 

[aceking123]

It's more likely a mix, let's be clear here casinos do not like persistent winners regardless to what people think, ibwould count yourself lucky your ahead))

 

[justdoit]

same thing is happen in UK now, WHG ban my account simple coz I was up a lot, Partycasino I won just over £5500 they limit my account to £200 lose deposit and £3000 deposit limit, whats the point having £3000 deposit limit after 20 spins my lose limit will end, casinos they use SOW safer gambling on nice way to tell players fk off from here you are win a lot, if you keep losing they keep your lose limit all high deposit high till you start wining, 95% of casinos run like scam, hard to find fair play casino now

 

[all4greed]

I have never heard of a casino asking this. Why should they care?

 

[justdoit]

I have never heard of a casino asking this. Why should they care?

come to UK play and you find out ?

 

[hhhelllo]

Sorry friend but the only problem is that your made several big withdrawals. I will never understand why casino managers are so much short term oriented and can't stand real action even if rtp is terrible and player keeps increasing bets. Especially from a joint like bitstarz that is making big profits since many years because they were ahead of many others being able to deal with crypto properly associated with online gambling.

Please realize that their action saved you a lot of money. I know you won't stop. I wouldn't either ??

 

[Video_Poker_Pro]

Would love to hear from @BitStarz

 

[BitStarz]

I have been playing on @BitStarz for over 6 years... approx 3 years ago I won a Government Lottery in my home province of just under $500,000.00 CAD. Naturally my deposits and play increased on Bitstarz... nothing too crazy or out of my means but naturally they increased after my lottery win. Playing on bitstarz I was in the negative until about a year ago... I started winning and cashing out $10-15k a handful of times, sometimes $20k-$25k... over this time I turned into a winning player. Of course as I started withdrawing more I had a lot more extra winnings sitting around to play and deposit more. Shortly after that I received an email from Olle my VIP host asking for Source of Wealth Documents. I submitted my paystubs from my employer and documentation of my $500k Lottery Win... well of course he replied saying they couldn't use lottery wins and it had to be actually income so they went ahead and closed my account. Found this extremely weird how it happened after I started winning and withdrawing more often and turned my Bitstarz account into a profitable one for me. So by this rationale if somebody were to Win a $10Million lottery and decided not to work they wouldn't be allowed to play on Bitstarz? or If somebody Retires and doesn't have an income they can't play on Bitstarz?

Can somebody please provide me with some info as to why this would happen? All of the years depositing and losing or maintaining my overall #'s, for this to come out of nowhere I find it a bit odd. Do sites use this as an excuse to get rid of players that can potentially be higher risk of hitting big jackpots or winning % players?

Thank you, @Casinomeister @BitStarz

Hi Mike and everyone else,

Sorry for the slow reply first of all.

I think this goes back to April when your account was closed, right? Back then when we spoke, you very were understanding (although you didn't agree with the decision), but I'm OK with elaborating on the decision making, and there were some points and concerns here that probably is best that we clear up.

Now, from a business perspective, it makes very little sense to close down a player. I mean, unless there's some fraud going on, or bonus abuse which is not the case here. Just pointing that out.

I can speak from my own personal perspective and from a casino operator perspective here. For me personally, I'm all for people spending their hard-earned income as they please, we're all adults here who are hopefully cape-able to make their own decisions and live with the consequences of the decisions made. That's what I believe personally, but it's not my casino nor am I a regulator.

Acting on behalf of a brand is a bit different, and the approach might be a bit more conservative and perhaps more polished than my options are sometimes. Regardless of which direction the company would take here, there's always going to be people who think we're wrong, and others who thought we did the right thing.

There are a lot of factors here that the RG guys were looking at. Firstly, regarding the lottery win, I believe I saw an article of 350,000 dollars right? not 500,000? Perhaps there was a mistype in the article. I'm not sure if taxes apply on that or not, but I know the government love their fair share. From here, all casinos make an assumption (as wrong as it may be) that players play in other casinos than just theirs. On top of that, you mentioned an income of around 60k per year?

The deposits made to BitStarz over time exceeds 400,000, there were concerns that you were perhaps playing above your means, and the decision was made to close your account on those grounds.

Again, my personal opinion might be different, but I also respect a strive for some sort of responsible gambling (even though it sometimes might not be accurate in all cases). I lean more towards acting on the side of caution than the other way around, but we're all entitled to our different opinions, and I respect all of yours.

Olle

 

[Video_Poker_Pro]

Hi Mike and everyone else,

Sorry for the slow reply first of all.

I think this goes back to April when your account was closed, right? Back then when we spoke, you very were understanding (although you didn't agree with the decision), but I'm OK with elaborating on the decision making, and there were some points and concerns here that probably is best that we clear up.

Now, from a business perspective, it makes very little sense to close down a player. I mean, unless there's some fraud going on, or bonus abuse which is not the case here. Just pointing that out.

I can speak from my own personal perspective and from a casino operator perspective here. For me personally, I'm all for people spending their hard-earned income as they please, we're all adults here who are hopefully cape-able to make their own decisions and live with the consequences of the decisions made. That's what I believe personally, but it's not my casino nor am I a regulator.

Acting on behalf of a brand is a bit different, and the approach might be a bit more conservative and perhaps more polished than my options are sometimes. Regardless of which direction the company would take here, there's always going to be people who think we're wrong, and others who thought we did the right thing.

There are a lot of factors here that the RG guys were looking at. Firstly, regarding the lottery win, I believe I saw an article of 350,000 dollars right? not 500,000? Perhaps there was a mistype in the article. I'm not sure if taxes apply on that or not, but I know the government love their fair share. From here, all casinos make an assumption (as wrong as it may be) that players play in other casinos than just theirs. On top of that, you mentioned an income of around 60k per year?

The deposits made to BitStarz over time exceeds 400,000, there were concerns that you were perhaps playing above your means, and the decision was made to close your account on those grounds.

Again, my personal opinion might be different, but I also respect a strive for some sort of responsible gambling (even though it sometimes might not be accurate in all cases). I lean more towards acting on the side of caution than the other way around, but we're all entitled to our different opinions, and I respect all of yours.

Olle

What about when you start to win the accounts get closed!

 

[canuckguy1983]

Hi Mike and everyone else,

Sorry for the slow reply first of all.

I think this goes back to April when your account was closed, right? Back then when we spoke, you very were understanding (although you didn't agree with the decision), but I'm OK with elaborating on the decision making, and there were some points and concerns here that probably is best that we clear up.

Now, from a business perspective, it makes very little sense to close down a player. I mean, unless there's some fraud going on, or bonus abuse which is not the case here. Just pointing that out.

I can speak from my own personal perspective and from a casino operator perspective here. For me personally, I'm all for people spending their hard-earned income as they please, we're all adults here who are hopefully cape-able to make their own decisions and live with the consequences of the decisions made. That's what I believe personally, but it's not my casino nor am I a regulator.

Acting on behalf of a brand is a bit different, and the approach might be a bit more conservative and perhaps more polished than my options are sometimes. Regardless of which direction the company would take here, there's always going to be people who think we're wrong, and others who thought we did the right thing.

There are a lot of factors here that the RG guys were looking at. Firstly, regarding the lottery win, I believe I saw an article of 350,000 dollars right? not 500,000? Perhaps there was a mistype in the article. I'm not sure if taxes apply on that or not, but I know the government love their fair share. From here, all casinos make an assumption (as wrong as it may be) that players play in other casinos than just theirs. On top of that, you mentioned an income of around 60k per year?

The deposits made to BitStarz over time exceeds 400,000, there were concerns that you were perhaps playing above your means, and the decision was made to close your account on those grounds.

Again, my personal opinion might be different, but I also respect a strive for some sort of responsible gambling (even though it sometimes might not be accurate in all cases). I lean more towards acting on the side of caution than the other way around, but we're all entitled to our different opinions, and I respect all of yours.

Olle

Thanks for chiming in Olle. @BitStarz So your post is misleading. You state that my deposits made to Bitstarz over time exceeds $400k... you forgot to mention that I've also withdrawn over $400k from Bitstarz over that time. You also forgot to mention that the majority of my bigger stakes play came after my lottery and online wins... Secondly, my lottery win was $100k up front and a secondary prize of $350k for a total of $450k.... in Canada lottery wins are "NOT" taxed so my take home was $450k ... just under $500k as I stated, not a mistype. My income should not be part of the issue here as I have been fortunate in life to inherit as well as win large sums of money. Why do you not factor in that i've withdrawn over $400k from Bitstarz? Do you only count deposits? Weird. My issue with Bitstarz is you guys are only relying on my income as you stated in our previous correspondence... and I find this odd since during my last few months of play with you guys I was on a winning streak withdrawing a lot. There seems to be a lot of assuming on your end. The timing by you guys stinks like something odd. Not too sure why you guys don't allow proof of investments, lottery wins and other means of wealth like many other Casinos do. @Casinomeister

 

[jcowdough]

I have been playing on @BitStarz for over 6 years... approx 3 years ago I won a Government Lottery in my home province of just under $500,000.00 CAD. Naturally my deposits and play increased on Bitstarz... nothing too crazy or out of my means but naturally they increased after my lottery win. Playing on bitstarz I was in the negative until about a year ago... I started winning and cashing out $10-15k a handful of times, sometimes $20k-$25k... over this time I turned into a winning player. Of course as I started withdrawing more I had a lot more extra winnings sitting around to play and deposit more. Shortly after that I received an email from Olle my VIP host asking for Source of Wealth Documents. I submitted my paystubs from my employer and documentation of my $500k Lottery Win... well of course he replied saying they couldn't use lottery wins and it had to be actually income so they went ahead and closed my account. Found this extremely weird how it happened after I started winning and withdrawing more often and turned my Bitstarz account into a profitable one for me. So by this rationale if somebody were to Win a $10Million lottery and decided not to work they wouldn't be allowed to play on Bitstarz? or If somebody Retires and doesn't have an income they can't play on Bitstarz?

Can somebody please provide me with some info as to why this would happen? All of the years depositing and losing or maintaining my overall #'s, for this to come out of nowhere I find it a bit odd. Do sites use this as an excuse to get rid of players that can potentially be higher risk of hitting big jackpots or winning % players?

Thank you, @Casinomeister @BitStarz

one, it's none of their business where your money comes from. two, it's none of their business what you do with it. a billionaire could play with 20 bucks and they'd never say a word. someone normal bets or wins too much it raises eyebrows. you'd be smart in my opinion to play with crypto to stay semi anonymous. technically they can boot you for anything they want, but your personal finances are just that personal. they aren't the police, the federal government, or your mom and dad. feel fortunate you got away with what you did. that's my 2 cents