Captain Cooks group in trouble?

Vesuvio

Dormant account
Joined
Apr 22, 2004
Location
UK
The following e-mail seems to have been sent out to a lot of players at Integrity Casinos (Captain Cooks, Casino Kingdom, Casino Classic):

We have been the subject potentially of a large group of abusers who have
taken unfair advantage of our promotions. This has been done at the
expense of our loyal players, such as yourself, who deposit and receive
promotions on a regular basis.

We must now undertake an immediate and complete audit of all player
accounts, and as a consequence, your funds have been temporarily placed
on hold as we undertake this audit. You may elect for an immediate refund of
deposit(s) made to claim signup bonuses up to the amount of your player
current account balance or withdrawal, however, in doing so you will
forfeit any amounts in your accounts/withdrawals above and beyond your
deposit(s). If you wish to elect for this option of deposit refund please
respond to this email with "BJ play return deposit" in the subject line
and we will attend to your query immediately.

If you have not played BJ with your signup bonus or signup bonus
qualifying deposit, we can give express attention to your query and we
will be able to process your withdrawal quickly. If this is the case
please respond to this email with 'No BJ Play" in the subject line, and we
will attend to your query immediately.

Our audit and reconciliation will be complete within 7 days of receiving
this email. We will advise you at the end of this audit of our findings
and decisions.

It is important to us you understand we are not inferring you are part of
this abusive group, however we must audit every player to prove the
innocent as well as identify the abusers.

Kind regards,

Fraud and Security Department

They seem to be suggesting that playing BJ and meeting their already harsh terms and conditions can be considered 'abuse'. More seriously they seem to be trying to blackmail players into forfeiting winnings. I'd also be curious as to whether they'll refund players who lost their deposits using exactly the same pattern of play?

This goes together with recent e-mails sent to players mentioning problems with payment and asking for patience, making this latest e-mail look like a desperate attempt to solve a cash-flow problem.

Perhaps Willy (their representative on here) might like to comment, but at the moment it doesn't look good, so be very careful with this group. I've got a feeling they might be making Casinomeister very busy in the near future!
 
Wow, and this after locking a bunch of people's accounts, taking away the bonus and profits, and sending back their deposits. What a weird turn of a events at what was one of the better groups.........
 
Captain Cooks

Strange given that they utilize a bonus account, and money needs to clear the bonus account via WR and then your real account needs to clear the money via WR.
If someone can find a way to abuse this system, they deserve to get the money.

I think this group abuses the term "bonus"

Buck
 
As I saw posted on another forum, AND I AM NOT SUGGESTING ANYTHING, maybe they opened up Classic because they were running out of funds and needed the influx of new signups for cash flow.

This is just a thought and not a direct refereral
 
Haviton said:
As I saw posted on another forum, AND I AM NOT SUGGESTING ANYTHING, maybe they opened up Classic because they were running out of funds and needed the influx of new signups for cash flow.

This is just a thought and not a direct refereral

i actually think you're spot-on for this one, integrity casinos have not been living up to its namesake in my recent dealings with them. this is from someone with vip status and have lost over 2k in deposits with ccc
 
LOL, the good 'ole "audit" - always good for laugh. :)

Not often you see a mass-audit from Microgaming - I think Goodfellas was the most recent one, or possibly Gaming Club. In the former case the casino folded, and in the latter the casino eventually and red-facedly paid up, with all aggrieved parties paid.
 
this group is most certainly in trouble, recently they sent out an email, in which they admitted to having finacial troubles and would be unable to pay by neteller due to a cash flow problem, if you havn't done so yet,it maybe time to say goodbye to your money :lolup:
 
Another e-mail (posted on various boards) that's been sent to players from Casino Kingdom:

Hi there XXXX,

Thanks for the email.

You have been found to be skimming our promotions and using them for financial gain or a means of income rather then for entertainment purposes. You WILL have your deposits refunded but anything above the deposit amount will be retained by the casino.


I apologise for the inconvenience.

Please let me know if there is anything else I can help you with.

Fair thee well,

Friar Theodore
Royal Clergyman

I just checked and all these casinos are still in the 'accredited' casino section here, despite recent evidence suggesting they should be rogued and a warning sent out about them. Have you been able to get in touch with them, Casinomeister?
 
Vesuvio said:
Another e-mail (posted on various boards) that's been sent to players from Casino Kingdom:



I just checked and all these casinos are still in the 'accredited' casino section here, despite recent evidence suggesting they should be rogued and a warning sent out about them. Have you been able to get in touch with them, Casinomeister?
It's Monday, and I am just getting to this thread now. Before jumping to conclusions - please give me a chance to have the casino explain what's going on on their side of the fence.

I don't think it's a cash flow situation, I believe it has to do with other circumstances. Please bear in mind, if you are hurting financially - you don't open up another MG powered casino; it's usually the other way around.
 
casinomeister said:
I don't think it's a cash flow situation, I believe it has to do with other circumstances. Please bear in mind, if you are hurting financially - you don't open up another MG powered casino; it's usually the other way around.

My guess is they might have made the terms and conditions so unappealing to the average player that only bonus hunters played there - plus the fact that bonus hunters are usually the first to play at a new casino as they know many offers don't last long. If that was the case then the casino might have found itself in trouble, but the tactics they've adopted still seem inexcusable - and likely to deprive them of the 'recreational' gamblers they need to balance the books.

It'll be interesting to see their side of the story. I didn't mean to prejudge, just to spur them into coming up with some sort of public response.
 
Very dissapointing. Another MG confiscating bonuses and/or winnings AFTER they've allowed a player to signup, deposit, wager etc.

Assuming the reason for this the casino has given (i.e. 'skimming' bonuses) is the only reason, then they haven't got a leg to stand on.

Also noticed that these lot don't seem to be accredited with the eCORGRA seal - strange for an MG.
 
Joining eCOGRA is not compulsory for MGS or for that matter CON licensees. It is a major commitment that not all licensees are prepared to make.
 
Just my two cents:

I generally like this group.

1.Whenever I've emailed them i've gotten a responce within 10-15 minutes.
I really think I haven't had prompter Customer responce times than at Captain Cooks (Kingdom was Ok though not nearly fast which is strange since I always thought of tham as being the same team. I'm beginning to wonder.).
2. I haven't been hassled with my bonuses. I even got one of the no-deposit bonuses on the back of a pre-paid visa card that didn't have a name(nothing fishy, that's just how they issue them here) . Their attitude was "sure, what's 16$?"
3.I've won playing cool buck a few grand. I got paid.
4. They are Slow in paying. Maybe even SLOW (capitalised).
Expect their excellent customer care team to lose 100 iQ points when dealing with your winnings.
I set up a system for funds to be sent into my bank acct (In Greece).
It took the better part of a month.
I also got some comment that they were having problems with Neteller: this was about a year ago.
However: I never felt that I'd be cheated out of my winnings. I never got stupid "auditing" remarks on how I played, (Just adiministrative delays).
5. I got a huge delay in my responce (for their standards) when I emailed them to clarify the bonus T&C when Classic launched. The delay was about 3 hours which they put down to "huge customer responce" or something like that. Since the whole bonus thing was clearly IMHO a typo -which was their fault and they should eat BTW- I'm wondering whether the whole thing is attributable to them actually being swamped and messing things up due to customer care not being able to handle things at Classic. Especially as they stupidly allowed the thing to escalate in spite of the threat to "pitch a bitch" by the player in question.

I'm only stating my experiences to remind readers that all is not automatically doom and gloom.
These have been good guys in my book so far.

Notwithstading the above, I always appreciate a heads up as much as the next guy, and since I don't know what their current situation is financially, thanks for bringing these concerns to everybody's attention.
I, for one am extremely curious as to what responce Bryan will get.
 
They've also been fine for myself - however by the looks of it they've just confiscated a players bonus and winnings for no particular reason other than they didn't like the way he played.

If things are as they seem they clearly are not a casino to be trusted so why would you take your business to them when there's umpteen other MG casino's with the same games that you never see these problems with?
 
Dirk Diggler said:
If things are as they seem they clearly are not a casino to be trusted so why would you take your business to them when there's umpteen other MG casino's with the same games that you never see these problems with?

Look, it's precicely because I happen not to believe that there are "umpteen other MG casino's" that I can trust and play at.
I don't have Fifty or even fifteen casinos I've enjoyed playing at.
For my money, God is in the details and -even in the face of slow payments which I raised myself- the customer care wasn't just "fair" it was exceptional at Cooks.
As this was important enough to make them a favorite casino in my books, I thought it was worth saying.
This doesn't mean they walk on water nor that they cannot sin.
If they messed up, they messed up and life's tough.
I just thought that readers should be aware that there have been positive experiences with this group.
There often seems to be a stampede mentality in the forums in which someone gets railroaded before the judge gets into town.
Lets not hang em untill we get a responce from the the horse's mouth.

And there you go partner making me all so excited that I mix up my wild-west metaphors.
 
Yaaaaaaaaaaawn..

same people, same wild irresponsible assumptions..damage a good operators reputation.. unreal....Im no lawyer but I am amazed sometimes Bryan doesnt get sued for some of the cr*p posted here.

rogue them? for what???

why shouldnt they check things out?? they have a business to run..not a charity for bonus abusers..

why not wait the 7 days and then see..


Im also amazed that a certain member hasnt jumped to the aid of a micro casino..you know who you are!!
 
Lurkio - I agree the calls to rogue are very premature, and I agree they do and should have the right to audit accounts for whatever reason (which I also apreciate can be worrying for players).

However they seem to have confiscated players winnings and or bonuses for not liking the way they play - NOT bonus abuse (i.e. multiple accounts, not following T&Cs). IF this turns out to be true then they clearly are not a casino to be trusted, especially for new players.
 
Lurkio said:
Yaaaaaaaaaaawn..

same people, same wild irresponsible assumptions..damage a good operators reputation.. unreal....Im no lawyer but I am amazed sometimes Bryan doesnt get sued for some of the cr*p posted here.
Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawn - same blind defence of any casino actions showing almost no knowledge of the industry except for the frequency of affiliate payments.

I agree they've been a good operation with a good reputation (& I hope they'll pull through this and return to that), but their reputation's not being damaged by me or other posters - it's being damaged by their own actions and the e-mails they're sending out. If, as it seems, they're short of money and are trying to claw it back by refusing to pay out to players who met all their terms and conditions, then that's simply the action of a rogue casino. It's up to them to prove to us all that they're not.

Lurkio said:
why not wait the 7 days and then see..
As Dirk mentioned we're not just talking about that initial e-mail, but also the one confiscating players' winnings. The 'audit' e-mail also reads for me like an attempt to scare players into forfeiting winnings (though others may disagree). Why not wait 7 days? Because this is a serious issue which needs to be addressed by the casino & should clearly be highlighted on here. It might also help them pull back from the brink. This is a very unusual situation for an MG casino - not something run of the mill as you seem to think.
 
Lurkio said:
Yaaaaaaaaaaawn..

same people, same wild irresponsible assumptions..damage a good operators reputation.. unreal....Im no lawyer but I am amazed sometimes Bryan doesnt get sued for some of the cr*p posted here.

rogue them? for what???

why shouldnt they check things out?? they have a business to run..not a charity for bonus abusers..

why not wait the 7 days and then see..


Im also amazed that a certain member hasnt jumped to the aid of a micro casino..you know who you are!!

I totally agree. The call to rogue is getting way out of hand here. There are people here wanting to see a casino rogued becuase they don't like the wagering requirements of the various bonuses they offer. I play at the casinos within this group and have never had any problems. Their customer service is top notch and responds right away, and they payout fast. When I saw the title of this thread I got very worried about playing there but then when I saw that the reported problem involved bonuses, and the fact that there could have been some abuse I was no longer worried about playing there. I guess I should not have been surprised.
 
Black21Jack said:
There are people here wanting to see a casino rogued becuase they don't like the wagering requirements of the various bonuses they offer.
No, there aren't. It's nothing to do with the wagering requirement. If players meet all the terms of an offer do you think they should be paid? (forget for a moment that you think all players using bonuses are the spawn of the devil ;) )

I also agree this group have had good service in the past, but that doesn't mean something hasn't changed dramatically recently. Let's see what happens.
 
Lurkio said:
Yaaaaaaaaaaawn..

same people, same wild irresponsible assumptions..damage a good operators reputation.. unreal....Im no lawyer but I am amazed sometimes Bryan doesnt get sued for some of the cr*p posted here.

rogue them? for what???

why shouldnt they check things out?? they have a business to run..not a charity for bonus abusers..

why not wait the 7 days and then see..


Im also amazed that a certain member hasnt jumped to the aid of a micro casino..you know who you are!!


In my newly launched "personal universexf6 forum", this casino is already put into "ROGU" ( be careful not rogue ) section which is like a sliver medal in Olympic. Not a Rogue but a rogu. this subtle title is enough for players to
keep the distance from the casino. Hahahahaha.
 
Vesuvio said:
No, there aren't. It's nothing to do with the wagering requirement. If players meet all the terms of an offer do you think they should be paid? (forget for a moment that you think all players using bonuses are the spawn of the devil ;) )

I also agree this group have had good service in the past, but that doesn't mean something hasn't changed dramatically recently. Let's see what happens.

I didn't mean you Vesuvio, and I was not talking about your initial post in this thread. There are people in this forum who have posted that certain casinos are rogue in their opinion because of stupid reasons like wagering requirements. I don't think that bonus players are the spawn of the devil at all, they are just like me; trying to make money off the casino. When I was really getting to know about online gambling my first attraction was the bonuses. Then as I read more on the internet and on various forums I decided to never use a bonus and that I could make a lot more money without them. The fact that I get paid twice as fast with no hassles was the main reason I did not want to use bonuses. The reason I knock bonuses all the time is because of the hassles. All the posts in the complaints section are bonus related. The answer to your question is yes I think they should be paid, but I also think that a reputable casino with no track record of ripping players off must have a good reason to request a 7 day period to check something out. I would give them this time and after the 7 days, if they keep having excuses saying they need more time and it drags on then I would start to get suspicious. They most likely have a good reason for this, let them explain what they are doing before calling for them to be rogued is all I am saying.
 
Last edited:
I've played at Casino Kingdom in the past and their support is top notch. Payouts are generally next-day (although i had a couple delayed for a week which put me off a bit) and overall i thought they were generally good, if not the best.

When I see threads like this, i look for the word "bonus" in the first post or two and if spotted, take everything else with a pinch of salt. I'm with Black21jack on this...bonuses will always cause controversy.

Bryan...idea: why don't you break this forum into two: one for "bonus" related complaints and one for "other" complaints.

Cheers

Simmo!
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Meister Ratings

Back
Top