Goodbye Bodog

[pokerdan]

I have had a horrible experience trying to receive money from bodog and eventually gave up and closed my account. I had a credit card on file which I had lost and no longer had. The card was a bank debit card so there was no way to prove I was the actual owner of the card. There were 2 other cards I had on file which I sent copies of along with my drivers license which were approved. They found out there would be no way for me to prove I was owner of the old card because it was gone and used this as a platform to not pay me out a measly 300.00 when I had lost a heck of a lot more on there in the past. All the other casinos I play at, riverbelle, Platinumplay, 3dice casino, jackpot capital, and even the ones I don't trust still took a letter explaining the fact I had lost the credit card as enough information to not hassle me. Bodog made me feel like a thief and a crooke by acting like i was a liar. I talked to suport via phone and explained to them my situation and that it was a bank card whereby I could email them a copy of my bank statement showing the transactions which came off that credit card and the fact they were tied into my bank account which they said was fine. After emailing them they stated that was not good enough and I needed a personal letter from my bank explaining the situation. my bank would not give me a letter explaining that I had lost that credit card. So I could not cash out!!


Here is my final email to them:

I WENT AHEAD AND SOLVED the problem you guys created. I reversed the funds I was Entitled to receive which you would not pay me and gambled them away. I have had no problems at any other casino with the fact I had lost credit card ending in ****, they all simply had me send them a letter via email explaining why I no longer had that card. The fact you wanted proof that credit card ending in **** was my actual card, made me feel like you considered me a thief and a liar. I am not a liar and not a thief, and am currently enrolled in law school and pride myself at my honesty. I also have a J.D. and bachelors degree in business. I know tons of people that play on your site because I am a Semi professional Poker Player that came in *** place in the world poker tour which was televised on the travel channel. I will never play on your site ever again and would appreciate it if you would close my account. The fact you wouldn't pay me out a measly 300.00 USD makes me feel sorry for your company that you guys need the 300 bucks that bad, that you would actually call me a thief and liar. I will let everyone know how bad my experience was with your website. The only good thing I can say is that I am satisified with your prompt responses to my problem, which should never have been a problem to begin with, but one you guys created in an effort to not pay me my winnings. I am who I say I am and credit card ending in **** was MY CARD, not a card I stole from someone else. Thanks for emotionally making me feel like an untrustworthy person. I will keep my online wagering with companies I know and trust. It is sad that I was hoping to trust you guys after hearing how great of a site you are. At least I now know for myself that you guys are a ***** enterprise that never complained once when I was depositing and losing my money. Goodbye BODOG

 

[Nate]

Thanks for the post Pokerdan,

Interesting to say the least. I have lost 3 Credit Cards with my wallet a month or two ago. I DO NOT want to be put in the same predicament as you have been. The sad reality is that its so easy for Casino's to accept your deposit (There's no Security Issues in That!!!) but when you request a withdrawal, all of a sudden the Security aspect comes into play.

If you are able to accept a deposit WITHOUT Security, You should make the withdrawal too.

Also, why would your bank need to give you a letter?. That letter would also be hearsay based on your statement to them. They took your word to begin with (that you owned the card) so that they were able to rake some funds in, but they don't take your word to say you have lost it? I would recommend that you PAB as this is an insane way to go about doing things. You could also PM BoDogbecky in an attempt to resolve this.

Nate

 

[pokerdan]

They replied to my Email simply stating, "Thanks for playing at our casino, as per your request we have closed your account. If you would like to re-open it let us know" LOL.. no apologies or anything. I learned my lesson, I will make sure I get everything straightened out ahead of time before I start playing anywhere new. I am still currently waiting for money from grand eagle that made me send them all my documents even though I had previously sent them to them before. The best casino's really are the old microgaming casinos, sad they won't let me play lord of the rings and all the new games, i am stuck playing games that were released before the US ban went into effect. I do like 3dice casino though, they are really good because they pay really fast and same with jackpot capital. i just wish jackpot capital would loosen things up a bit

 

[aodat2]

Thanks for the post Pokerdan,

Interesting to say the least. I have lost 3 Credit Cards with my wallet a month or two ago. I DO NOT want to be put in the same predicament as you have been. The sad reality is that its so easy for Casino's to accept your deposit (There's no Security Issues in That!!!) but when you request a withdrawal, all of a sudden the Security aspect comes into play.

If you are able to accept a deposit WITHOUT Security, You should make the withdrawal too.

Hey Nate, not trying to be on the side of the casino or something but here's what I feel why the casino needs stuff from you on a withdrawal.

When you first deposit, they still don't really care and if you actually play on and don't make a chargeback then great, they get the money. But since you have 6 months to make a chargeback and since you want to make a withdrawal now (them paying you money), then basically think of it this way.

1. You deposit and they are NOT 100% sure you are legit.
2. There are laws that require them to know their players which without ID, they don't really know you.
3. If you make a withdrawal and they pay you and then after that you start making chargebacks with your card, then they are screwed on both ends so it kinda is scary for them to pay you without something to protect them from a chargeback (like a copy of your card, ID and etc).

So sometimes I do feel that the casino is kinda also afraid stuff like that might happen to them as well. With e-Wallets and if the transaction once done is final, you will see casinos paying you faster than Credit Card payments because there's no way for you to even making a chargeback.

Tha's my take on why verification is important to them.

Then again, if the OP has already played there many times and it has been long past there should be no reason why BODOG would still make it such a big deal to get his CC from him. He can't make any chargebacks or anything even if he wanted to. Sometimes I don't really understand what they might be thinking about.

To each, they have their own rules and regulations to follow.

 

[Nate]

1. You deposit and they are NOT 100% sure you are legit.
2. There are laws that require them to know their players which without ID, they don't really know you.

Cause for concern noted - If this is the case - Request ID BEFORE you allow the client to make a deposit.

Nate

 

[rockycatt]

Cause for concern noted - If this is the case - Request ID BEFORE you allow the client to make a deposit.

Nate

Nate this pre approved before play would be heaven , why all dont do that ????

i wish that the op had contacted Becky first ,

 

[Nate]

Nate this pre approved before play would be heaven , why all dont do that ????

i wish that the op had contacted Becky first ,

It's simple Rocky - They would lose potential players and/or business. They need to make it as easy as possible for deposits to come through, but inturn make it as difficult as possible for cashouts to leave. This is not in specific reference to BoDog, but all who have funny rules and WD requirements.

I for one know that I'm sometimes lazy to send those Docs in. I wouldn't hassle to send them in just to play at X Casino so Id move on to a place where I wasnt required to submit docs upfront.

Casino's assess these possibililies and before even putting this rule into effect, ensure that it is a Win/Win for them... They get the deposit, they withold the winnings. The player ... What rights does he have?.. Nothing actually...

 

[chayton]

Cause for concern noted - If this is the case - Request ID BEFORE you allow the client to make a deposit.

Nate

Actually if all casinos did this, there are lots of people who wouldn't like it! If it's a casino that you're just trying out, or if they're new and maybe you don't know how trustworthy they are, you want them to have your ID and CC information on file?

 

[Tengil]

Actually if all casinos did this, there are lots of people who wouldn't like it! If it's a casino that you're just trying out, or if they're new and maybe you don't know how trustworthy they are, you want them to have your ID and CC information on file?

ID should be enough. They see the card owners name when the card is used and only have to match it with the information they have (assumes they have reuested ID).

 

[Jasminebed]

Sorry to hear of your ordeal. If this was a bank debit card, and you can provide copies of statements with the transactions, statements issued in your name, I see no reason to deny payment. A little more flexible approach and Bodog would have retained a player.

It's not a bad idea to take copies of all your cards, even for non-gambling related cards. It aids in speeding up reporting lost/stolen cards.

 

[Nate]

Actually if all casinos did this, there are lots of people who wouldn't like it! If it's a casino that you're just trying out, or if they're new and maybe you don't know how trustworthy they are, you want them to have your ID and CC information on file?

Lol - Exactly... It's the perfect model for a loss of Business... Thats why we have accredited lists these days... seems any of the local 'Trolls' can start their own Casino's

Im just saying - Why ask for Identity ONLY when we withdraw? Is this the only time the risk presents itself - Nope... Its the only time the Casino is put at risk....

With Accreditation, we expect reasonable practices and if we suspect that we have been treated unfairly, this is the place to vent

 

[BMWSTACK]

Bodog is the worst!!!! No need to say more.

 

[greedygirl]

Cause for concern noted - If this is the case - Request ID BEFORE you allow the client to make a deposit.

Nate

Through the years there have been casinos that have tried this approach...all quickly abandoned the practice.

Also, there have been some groups that have incentivized existing players with free chips, if they were willing to do 'pre-withdrawal' documentation submissions. Didn't really work well, either.

It's a tough one for both the casino operator and the player.

I know it's too late to help the OP, but perhaps it makes sense for anyone using credit cards at casinos to scan the cards they're using NOW and keep the scans in a file. If for some reason the card is lost or no longer valid, at least you'll have something on hand should the casino request it.

Not really a solution for the big picture, but hopefully it'll help save some players some disappointment.

 

[X-Raided]

OP, sorry about everything that happened. I know if I was in your
shoes, I would be highly peeved off as well.

I think that every casino's rules are bent depending on where you
play at and here's why...

A similar situation happened to me 6 months back when I made
my main deposit (which I won with) at English Harbour using a
prepaid card I bought from a convenient store. After using it,
I trashed it thinking I wouldn't need it anymore. After 4 days of
playing off a $50 deposit, my bankroll grew to around $350. I
requested a withdraw and was asked for a scanned copy of the
prepaid card I used to deposit. I explained my situation to the
security department and they said just send us a signed
release document saying I authorized the purchase I made
with the prepaid card I trashed. The money was sent to me
about three days later.

Since then, I opened a UseMyWallet account and have never
thought of depositing with a credit or debit card again directly
into a casino.

So if English Harbour was that lenient with me, why couldn't Bodog
be a little more lenient with you?

Make no mistake about it... If a casino wants to help out a little and
release a withdraw, they will. Or they can make it into a nightmare.

 

[AGW]

i always have a bad feeling about bodog.

And yes, great point. If they want ID when cashing out, they have to want it before deposing,too. Then we'll know where we are going to play.

 

[taysh075]

You know what gets me about this whole situation is that the OP could provide bank statements showing the money coming out of his account. Ergo the debit card was definately his. This to me is proof. I cannot fathom why this is not enough proof but a copy of the card (which simply shows the physical card and name etc) is enough. I would think the bank statement with the dates of withdrawal and amounts would actually equate to more proof. I have a common name and could imagine someone stealing my credit card with a similar or same name (lol). I figure the bank statement should be stronger proof overall.

Sorry to hear about this poker-dan. I'm glad that other sites have been more reasonable.

 

[Rebel2k5]

Bodog has always been a scam in my book.

Look at their past history, once a crook, always a crook.

 

[The Dude]

Bodog has always been a scam in my book.

Look at their past history, once a crook, always a crook.

eh?

Why don't you be a little more explicit? I don't want any crooks in the accred section.

 

[betpartners]

Bodog seems to be one of the gambling set ups that divides opinion, looking on some forums about players experiences they do come in for some stick, looking on some webmaster forums they do come in for some stick.

But, i have never actually read of them doing anything to deliberately rip off players or affiliates, it just seems to be a "personality thing"

Would also be interested in seeing if they have done anything that is classed as crooked as i just don't get that impression about them to be honest.

 

[Rebel2k5]

eh?

Why don't you be a little more explicit? I don't want any crooks in the accred section.

I'm just going by Calvin Ayre's shady past, a few years ago they had HUGE payment issues, etc etc.

A lot of drama in the past few years with the company. From poker, sports lines, to casino, to payments.

Sure recently people have been pleased with them (poker related and payouts) but I still would never trust them with the history they have.

 

[The Dude]

Calvin Ayre may have been (or still is) a playboy, but I wouldn't say he was a crook.

You say once a crook always a crook, that's pretty strong language. You say there were HUGE payment issues, care to show me where one player was not paid?

Bodog has been listed in the accredited section for a number of years, and I don't think there is any evidence that they are crooks or ripping off players. Show me an unresolved complaint.

I feel that you are out of line throwing the term "crooks" around so freely.

 

[nisosbar]

I feel that you are out of line throwing the term "crooks" around so freely.

I don't play on Bodog anymore (for reasons unrelated to dissatisfaction with the casino), but I have to agree 100%. Getting verified there was a pain in the freaking ass, but once done, payout speeds were second only to 3Dice. In the past (talking two years ago), yes, payouts were not coming, and withdrawal checks weren't always being honored, but as far as I know, they always settled up eventually with players, and fixed these issues. Further, they take their license agreements very, very seriously - almost too seriously, IMHO, but that's their call, and reflects a certain professionalism, IMO. Just my experience.