Match bonus at intercasino

[chuchu59]

I would like you guys to give your views on this. Since 2001,I have been an active player at intercasino, The bonuses were good although I did play many times without them. After playing at this casino in October last year,I didnt play until May this year. I deposited $86 and expected a match bonus of the same amount. The bonus,which should have been credited instantly,did not appear. This seemd normal,though,as this has happened many times in the past and I sent their support a message requesting for the bonus to be credited manually and began playing freely,safe in the knowledge that the bonus would come. Well,I lost my whole deposit and when I checked my e-mail inbox,they said that I wasnt eligible for the bonus because I am from hong Kong and as their website says players from China are ineligible for the bonus,I couldnt get any bonus as Hong Kong is part of China. This made me furious,as in the address pulldown menu,Hong Kong and China are listed separately and there is no indication that the exclusion of players from china applied to players from Hong Kong too. I sent a mail to their manager,Ryan Hartley,requesting for the bonus but this was refused and he said all I would get was a 10% rebate on losses. I did explain to him that I had been an active player for several years but to no avail.

Fellow members may wish to know that China regained sovereignty of Hong Kong in 1997 but a concept called "one country,two systems' is used. Hong Kong practises capitalism while China remains communist Many online casinos require players from China to meet more stringent bonus wagering requirements. However,even though I use my Hong Kong address,I do not have to meet these same requirements. Once casino,Bet Royal casino,explicitly says that players from both Hong Kong and china are excluded from their promotions. This is fair,intercasino is not.

 

[trick]

I think you are totally right...

.. when they themselves make a destinction in the pulldown menu, they should be so kind as to list ALL places banned. Not just assume that we can guess what is included in eg. China.

 

[Stanford]

This made me furious,as in the address pulldown menu,Hong Kong and China are listed separately and there is no indication that the exclusion of players from china applied to players from Hong Kong too. I sent a mail to their manager,Ryan Hartley,requesting for the bonus but this was refused and he said all I would get was a 10% rebate on losses...
Fellow members may wish to know that China regained sovereignty of Hong Kong in 1997 but a concept called "one country,two systems' is used. Hong Kong practises capitalism while China remains communist

You are right. Ryan is wrong. Is there anyway to get him to post here? I know he does at WOL.

Maybe you can pitch a bitch.

Stanford

 

[sw2003]

Just go to WOL and post your message there, no?

If you put Intercasino front and center in the topic, he will have to read it some time unless you post get pushed to the second page and beyond.

 

[ryan_hartley]

Hi all,

I am sorry if you feel that it is confusing to list both, Hong Kong and China. I will see if we can take Hong Kong off the drop down menu if this will avoid further confusion. However, Hong Kong is China and China is excluded from the match bonus. Therefore Hong Kong players can't receive it either.

Regards,

Ryan Hartley
Casino Manager - InterCasino

 

[KasinoKing]

Hey!
Nice to see the manager of the BEST casino on the net is a visitor to the BEST forum on the net!

 

[chuchu59]

Hi all,

I am sorry if you feel that it is confusing to list both, Hong Kong and China. I will see if we can take Hong Kong off the drop down menu if this will avoid further confusion. However, Hong Kong is China and China is excluded from the match bonus. Therefore Hong Kong players can't receive it either.

Regards,

Ryan Hartley
Casino Manager - InterCasino

Its not that I feel this is confusing. It really is confusing. What you are in fact doing is locking the stable doors after the horse has bolted. The fact that you will alter the pulldown menu does not affect me since after the last deposit,I know that Hong Kong players are excluded from the match bonus. There was nothing to suggest in your website that Hong Kong players will be excluded and I am sorry to say,Hong Kong is not China. You can only say that China has resumed sovereignty over Hong Kong since 1997 and that Hong Kong is part of China.

 

[ryan_hartley]

I am sorry to say,Hong Kong is not China. You can only say that China has resumed sovereignty over Hong Kong since 1997 and that Hong Kong is part of China.

That's exactly true, HK is part of China and therefore wasn't listed seperately as the excluded country, because China is listed. As I said, I agree it should be taken off the pull down menu, as it's not a sovereign country and I will see if I can get this done. If not, I will add Hong Kong seperately on the excluded country list, even though it's not a country. But if that's what it takes to not confuse people, then that's what I'll do.

Regards

Ryan Hartley
Casino Manager - InterCasino

 

[chuchu59]

That's exactly true, HK is part of China and therefore wasn't listed seperately as the excluded country, because China is listed. As I said, I agree it should be taken off the pull down menu, as it's not a sovereign country and I will see if I can get this done. If not, I will add Hong Kong seperately on the excluded country list, even though it's not a country. But if that's what it takes to not confuse people, then that's what I'll do.

Regards

Ryan Hartley
Casino Manager - InterCasino

Thats pretty much a joke. You listed the 2 places separately and assumed that everybody would guess that one is included in the other. Come on,just admit you have failed to do the right thing instead of being adamant that there is no problem. Once you do,I will not insist on getting back the bonus from you. And please,other forum members,give your views on this. If people say that i should have known that the China stated at their website should have included Hong Kong though it was listed separately,thats ok with me.

 

[m249a]

Fellow members may wish to know that China regained sovereignty of Hong Kong in 1997 but a concept called "one country,two systems' is used. Hong Kong practises capitalism while China remains communist .

This is a tough one chuchu59. The one country 2 systems concept does not appear to allow for a distinction between sovereignty. Hong Kong is indeed China. Having seperate forms of govt and commerce doesn't mean you are a seperate nation. That said, since the casino somewhat failed to make those distinctions they could smooth things over with you a bit and give you a match play or a couple bucks of free chips for your time. Customer service is the heart of all business and pehraps instead of discussing national borders, gain a happy player who will most likely come back and play/lose more in the future.

 

[chuchu59]

CM,may i kindly know your views on this issue? Its sort of going nowhere.

 

[sw2003]

Hi all,

I am sorry if you feel that it is confusing to list both, Hong Kong and China. I will see if we can take Hong Kong off the drop down menu if this will avoid further confusion. However, Hong Kong is China and China is excluded from the match bonus. Therefore Hong Kong players can't receive it either.

Regards,

Ryan Hartley
Casino Manager - InterCasino

Hong Kong is most definitely not China, the former is just a dot on the map of the latter.

 

[chuchu59]

Hi guys,I am reviving this thread as it seems that,despite CM's assistance,this casino isnt going to budge to give me back my match bonus. In a way,this is akin to the complaint on Omni casino as I was not forewarned that no match bonus would be forthcoming. Intercasino offers instant bonuses so they must have been able to locate where I was from and the system denied my bonus. If so,being a long-term customer,they should have told me that players from Hong kong would not be eligible for any match bonuses in future. instead they remained silent and when I deposited after some time away from this casino,the match deposit did not appear. As I stated at the beginning of this thread,sometimes due to unforeseen problems,bonuses were credited manually and thus I played freely right away safe in the knowledge that the bonus would be forthcoming. Despite all the good things about intercasino being posted here,I simply feel that I am being slighted because there is nothing i can do about this especially when they do not care much about business from either China or Hong Kong. Frankly,the last post from Ryan Hartley,manager of intercasino,smacks of arrogance as he admits that the whole thing is confusing and he has now added Hong Kong to the list of excluded countries. Doesnt this mean that it confused people right from the beginning and most would not think that the exclusion of China applied to Hong Kong players as well.

Meanwhile,on a separate note,the customer service at intercasino seems really lousy nowadays. My wife has e-mailed their support 4-5 times over the past 2 weeks requesting for the comp points in all of her accounts there be merged. No response,whatsoever,from them. What explanation have you got this time,Ryan?

 

[The Dude]

I can't believe you're getting worked up this much over a friggin' bonus. China and Hong Kong are exempt. What do you not understand about that? It's not like you're barred from their casino - you're still allowed to play.

I don't see where Ryan comes across being arrogant. But one thing's for sure, you are coming across being annoying.

 

[ryan_hartley]

This is the last time I will reply to this thread. Hong Kong is EXCLUDED from the match bonus at InterCasino, has been since over a year and you can see this now also mentioned separately in the t&c's, since you insisted of mentioning it separate, despite it being China.
I have nothing to say to this anymore, you'll just have to accept the t&c's.
Or maybe you need to move to a country that is included in receiving the match bonus, it would solve your problem as you seem to lose way too much sleep over this
Hong Kong will stay excluded, even if you continue to be upset over this fact, it won't be changed.

Regards,

Ryan Hartley
Casino Manager - InterCasino

 

[Stanford]

Ryan pay the bonus

This is the last time I will reply to this thread. Hong Kong is EXCLUDED from the match bonus at InterCasino, has been since over a year and you can see this now also mentioned separately in the t&c's, since you insisted of mentioning it separate, despite it being China.

I disagree. This is a grey area and certainly confusing but you have control over your Ts/Cs and confusion should be resolved against those that draft the terms. The players arguement that InterCasino themselves have made a distinction between China and Hong Kong is compelling. Especially, in light of the two systems concept.

If you watched the recent Olympics you saw Hong Kong vs. China in the ping pong finals. Obviously, the olympic committee doesn't consider Hong Kong to be China and no other country objected that China was getting double entered.

The person played. You should pay the bonus this one time. You shouldn't be that worked up over $100 bonus. It is pennies to InterCasino, although significant to a player.

IMHO,
Stanford.

 

[chuchu59]

I can't believe you're getting worked up this much over a friggin' bonus. China and Hong Kong are exempt. What do you not understand about that? It's not like you're barred from their casino - you're still allowed to play.

I don't see where Ryan comes across being arrogant. But one thing's for sure, you are coming across being annoying.

I dont see why I should not argue about the bonus,which I believe is rightfully mine. The fact is the casino has not been clear in its T&Cs when I made that deposit. Of course,I understand now that Hong and China are both exempt from receiving the bonus but not before. If making such a post can be deemed annoying,I honestly do not know what cant be. If Ryan wasnt arrogant in his previous posts,the recent one certainly was. Asking a player to move to another country to receive the match bonus to ensure that he doesnt lose too much sleep over it is simply ludicrous. One more thing,I never asked for Hong Kong to be included back into the countries receiving match bonuses so dont use that as a distraction.

 

[paul1]

I dont see why I should not argue about the bonus,which I believe is rightfully mine.

Discretion? That's why I wouldn't argue it if it were me. I'd just live with it and move on. Internet gambling and bonuses are not a God-given right. Intercasino has done MORE than enough to be considered the best online casino. They are miles ahead of the rest of the pack. I'd just accept their position on this, graciously wish them good luck, and thank them for the good treatment that they've given you in the past.

 

[chuchu59]

Discretion? That's why I wouldn't argue it if it were me. I'd just live with it and move on. Internet gambling and bonuses are not a God-given right. Intercasino has done MORE than enough to be considered the best online casino. They are miles ahead of the rest of the pack. I'd just accept their position on this, graciously wish them good luck, and thank them for the good treatment that they've given you in the past.

I would not disagree that perhaps intercasino has done much for them to be considered as one of the best online casinos. However,what you said is baffling. How can you be sure that they have given me good treatment in the past? The fact that they are a reputable casino does not mean that I cannot raise my doubts on any of their actions/inactions. Take this for an example. In the post i made yesterday,I complained that my wife's several requests on comp points to intercasino via e-mail had fallen on deaf ears for 2 whole weeks without the courtesy of a single reply. Now that Ryan Hartley had seen the post,she finally got a reply. And that's it. Slow customer service and who knows when she would be answered if I had not made the post. As with the complaint regarding Omni,given their database,the casino could have forewarned players from Hong Kong of their ineligibility for further match bonuses. Long-time customers of this casino are unlikely to dwell deep into the Ts and Cs when downloading the casino again especially when it is stated at their homepage that this promotion still existed. In my case,even though I did read them,it did not cross my mind at any time that i was ineligible.

 

[Stanford]

Discretion? That's why I wouldn't argue it if it were me. I'd just live with it and move on. Internet gambling and bonuses are not a God-given right. Intercasino has done MORE than enough to be considered the best online casino.

Ryan and InterCasino has been stand up. But I think they are just flat wrong in this instance. There is an acknowledged separatism between Hong Kong and China. They themselves distinguish between the two.

They should pay the bonus. Church should raise the issue, their previous good performance aside. Let Lady Luck determine who keeps the money. ;-). He still would have to meet the WRs.

imho,
Stanford.

 

[paul1]

As with the complaint regarding Omni,given their database,the casino could have forewarned players from Hong Kong of their ineligibility for further match bonuses.

Well what you say is true. But, maybe they can't think of everything. I don't want to take sides, even though it seems like I am. I am going to guess that Ryan Hartley has his own reasons for doing whatever he does. If it were me, I'd probably give you one more bonus for "old times sake" and be done with it. But I won't second guess his decision. He has a casino to run. People are always second guessing people who are in charge of something above their knowledge. For instance, every employees I know seems to think that they always know more than their employer. But who works for who?

Anyway, I ran a home poker game once, for over a year. I know I gave them filet mignon and gormet everything and Baskin Robbins ice cream and I even massaged their necks when they had played for a long time and were having bad luck. I did EVERYTHING for them. And STILL, they are gamblers and found things to complain about. Gamblers are NEVER happy. Frankly, I don't see the big deal about $100 bonus, that's not your money anyway. Move on to the next of life's little problems.

I don't mean to seem rude, Chuchu. I'm just giving my two cents. I think you should just forget about it. Honest, I wish you the best.

 

[sw2003]

Discretion? That's why I wouldn't argue it if it were me. I'd just live with it and move on. Internet gambling and bonuses are not a God-given right. Intercasino has done MORE than enough to be considered the best online casino. They are miles ahead of the rest of the pack. I'd just accept their position on this, graciously wish them good luck, and thank them for the good treatment that they've given you in the past.

Could you please elaborate on and list those things that they do much more than other good online casinos out there?

 

[paul1]

Could you please elaborate on and list those things that they do much more than other good online casinos out there?

Ok. I'll name a few.

Monthly bonuses for years with low and reasonable WR.

Fast pay through ECash Direct.

Constant promotions.

They don't "sweat" you.

VERY LOW player complaints over the years.

If you lose your account info, you can open up another one without getting into trouble. What other casino does that? Not that it's a big deal if you don't lose your password but it just shows how user-friendly they are.

They are the first of the Cryptologics to bring on new games offered.

They have a room full of players all the time. You can see them sitting at the table games. They must be doing something right.

My point is, they have a GOOD attitude. They are VERY player-friendly. That is a big plus.

But alas, as I have mentioned, most gamblers are just never satified. They could win a million dollar jackpot and still find something to complain about. It's just the way with gamblers. Been around them all my life. It will always be the same.

 

[chalupa]

Wow. I am amazed at Intercasino's response and the defense of them by some of the posters and the Casinomeister himself.

Casino's need to remember they are in a CUSTOMER SERVICE business, and that they are far from the only game in town!

How much better if Ryan's first reply had been:

"Thank you for bringing this to my attention. It is our intent to exclude all of China including Hong Kong from our bonus. We will revise our web site to make this more clear.

In the meantime, due to the confusion, we have credited your account with the $86 match bonus you were expecting. Your wagering requirements to withdraw are 25 x $86=$2150 as usual."

After all... it's EIGHTY-SIX BUCKS, the same amount the player has already lost. Actually it's not even $86, instead maybe $50 in expected value after the wagering requirements. Or if he has the same experience that I've had lately meeting Intercasino wagering requirements, about $0 in expected value.

As a former small business owner, this type of behavior -- "saving" $50 while both alienating a player for life as well as generating bad publicity -- borders on the unbelievable to me.

 

[The Dude]

Wow. I am amazed at Intercasino's response and the defense of them by some of the posters and the Casinomeister himself.

It's not like this player did not have his situation reviewed and commented on numerous times before he decided to start posting. How many times did the player need to be told he was disallowed the bonus? Once, twice, three times five, ten, what?

What I'm getting at is that when chuchu59 decided to start posting his complaint, he already had the answers to his questions.

 

[chalupa]

Yeah but... the whole point of the Complaint forum (I thought) was to complain when the Casino gives you a weasely answer.

Obviously I have no behind-the-scenes knowledge, but from what has been posted here the player deposited in good faith and was confused by terms that were not as clear as they could have been.

If he was trying to whine his way into a bonus he knew he shouldn't get, why would he first wager and lose all his $86? A better strategy would be to whine first, and withdraw if he can't get the bonus.

And an $86 deposit doesn't indicate to me a professional bonus abuser, although maybe that's part of his nefarious plan, not depositing the full $100? Hehe.

Why are Chinese/Denmark/whatever players presumed to have magical abilities to abuse bonuses better than US players, anyway? As a US player, I'm offended by the implication.

 

[sw2003]

Ok. I'll name a few.

Monthly bonuses for years with low and reasonable WR.

Fast pay through ECash Direct.

Constant promotions.

They don't "sweat" you.

VERY LOW player complaints over the years.

If you lose your account info, you can open up another one without getting into trouble. What other casino does that? Not that it's a big deal if you don't lose your password but it just shows how user-friendly they are.

They are the first of the Cryptologics to bring on new games offered.

They have a room full of players all the time. You can see them sitting at the table games. They must be doing something right.

My point is, they have a GOOD attitude. They are VERY player-friendly. That is a big plus.

But alas, as I have mentioned, most gamblers are just never satified. They could win a million dollar jackpot and still find something to complain about. It's just the way with gamblers. Been around them all my life. It will always be the same.

I will grant you the monthly bonus one! And because of that, it is not a surprise that they have people playing all the time. The rest of them aren't much different from other good casinos.

Do you have to tell them first before you open a second account?

 

[paul1]

Do you have to tell them first before you open a second account?

I don't think it really matters with them, SW. I used to have this old Pentium-1 computer and I started getting into online gambling and the darn thing just froze up and finally conked out. I think I lost the password or wasn't smart enough to know how to bring back my old setup on a new computer. I think I called ECash Direct or the Casino's support. They told me just to start a new account.

I forget the exact details. But I was amazed that they didn't mind because what I had read about other casinos, if one was to do that they would hang you up by your thumbs. I just remember thinking to myself, "Gee, these guys are very user-friendly" and I was impressed.

I don't know, SW. I just feel good about Intercasino, with my own personal experience and all of the good comments that other people have posted about. I wish they were a prototype for the industry standard. I guess I'm dreaming.

 

[chuchu59]

It's not like this player did not have his situation reviewed and commented on numerous times before he decided to start posting. How many times did the player need to be told he was disallowed the bonus? Once, twice, three times five, ten, what?

What I'm getting at is that when chuchu59 decided to start posting his complaint, he already had the answers to his questions.

I dont really know what you mean. Ryan hartley never reviewed the case but stuck to the same argument that I was confused about the terms which he believes were very clear. One thing i really dont like is why the casinomeister and the manager of this reputable casino keep saying that I want Hong kong included back into the list of countries where the bonus is given and on top of that gave quite rude and offensive comments too. In the Omni case,many players felt screwed up because they were not told they were to be excluded from match bonuses in future. Does this not strike a familiar chord here. Ryan Hartley,you can keep the bonus forever.

On a lighter note ,there was a casino called Innercasino who decided that anyone with the name Bryan would be excluded from its match bonuses. A guy called Ryan deposited but was denied the bonus. On asking,the reply from the casino was that since 'Ryan' was part of 'Bryan',it was clear that Ryan was ineligible for the bonus. To make things up,however,since Ryan felt confused,they would amend the Terms and Conditions and list Bryan and Ryan separately. The casino told Ryan not to worry as he can always change his name and when he did so,he would be eligible for future bonuses after that. Ryan,who didnt sleep well during this ordeal,felt comforted and dozed off right away.

 

[chuchu59]

I don't think it really matters with them, SW. I used to have this old Pentium-1 computer and I started getting into online gambling and the darn thing just froze up and finally conked out. I think I lost the password or wasn't smart enough to know how to bring back my old setup on a new computer. I think I called ECash Direct or the Casino's support. They told me just to start a new account.

I forget the exact details. But I was amazed that they didn't mind because what I had read about other casinos, if one was to do that they would hang you up by your thumbs. I just remember thinking to myself, "Gee, these guys are very user-friendly" and I was impressed.

I don't know, SW. I just feel good about Intercasino, with my own personal experience and all of the good comments that other people have posted about. I wish they were a prototype for the industry standard. I guess I'm dreaming.

So you feel good about intercasino. Read all about this in another thread in this forum. many posters have given views.

 

[Stanford]

I dont really know what you mean. Ryan hartley never reviewed the case but stuck to the same argument that I was confused about the terms which he believes were very clear.

Chuchu59,

As the thread has matured, I think there are now real arguements on your behalf. Ryan has always been a reasonable guy in the past. Why don't you PM him and ask him to review the thread and offer further comments.

Stanford.

 

[chuchu59]

Chuchu59,

As the thread has matured, I think there are now real arguements on your behalf. Ryan has always been a reasonable guy in the past. Why don't you PM him and ask him to review the thread and offer further comments.

Stanford.

Stanford,

Thanks for your concern. Actually,I have sent several PMs to Bryan in the past and he has full knowledge of all the arguments posted here. However,it seems that he is adamant that since the casino has stated that no bonus should be given and that's final. What is interesting is that both bryan and Ryan Hartley seem to indicate that I would like to have Hong Kong included back into the list of countries that can acquire match bonuses at intercasino which is simply not true. Frankly,I would feel that my case is similar to the one at Omni but in that case,there were plenty more players involved. In both case,the players were pelted out by the Terms and Conditions which were not clear. However,I do agree that Ryan is a reasonable guy and that this forum attracts plenty of quality posts,unlike some I have seen elsewhere. Just thought it strange that he doesnt have an open mind on this particular case.

 

[chuchu59]

I am reviving this thread to warn players from Hong Kong that intercasino will not honour the monthly match bonus as stated in the advertisement on new MARVEL games. Despite saying explicitly that Hong Kong players are excluded from the match bonus nearly a year ago,my wife received this advertisement addressed to her in person ie $90 free every month to every player. Make an initial deposit each month of $25 or more and we will match it up to $90. Why not use your $90 free to try the new games. If this is not deceptive advertising,then what is?

 

[The Dude]

I am reviving this thread to warn players from Hong Kong that intercasino will not honour the monthly match bonus as stated in the advertisement on new MARVEL games. Despite saying explicitly that Hong Kong players are excluded from the match bonus nearly a year ago,my wife received this advertisement addressed to her in person ie $90 free every month to every player. Make an initial deposit each month of $25 or more and we will match it up to $90. Why not use your $90 free to try the new games. If this is not deceptive advertising,then what is?

Hi Chuchu,

Did you forward (or have your wife forward) the email to [email protected]? Sometimes these mailers are from affiliates who have your email address for one reason or another.

If your wife is in Hong Kong, and she received this email directly from Intercasino, then I would guess there is a problem with their email server. They should be notified immediately so they can correct this - not necessarily slammed in public for trying to be deceptive

They don't know if there is a problem if no one tells them there is one.

 

[chuchu59]

Hi Chuchu,

Did you forward (or have your wife forward) the email to [email protected]? Sometimes these mailers are from affiliates who have your email address for one reason or another.

If your wife is in Hong Kong, and she received this email directly from Intercasino, then I would guess there is a problem with their email server. They should be notified immediately so they can correct this - not necessarily slammed in public for trying to be deceptive

They don't know if there is a problem if no one tells them there is one.

My wife is in Hong Kong. What I am trying to point out is after all that has been said in this thread,they should have weeded out any match bonus promotions to players from Hong Kong. Suppose a Hong Kong player deposits without knowing about this,should he get the match bonus or not? From my experience,the casino is likely to say thast he is excluded and that's too bad. They have had adequate time to do the weeding exercise but they didnt. Ryan had been very indignant about Hong Kong players not getting the match bonuses so how could they possibly send such promtions to my wife in HONG KONG. And yes,this ad was sent by intercasino and signed by Ryan himself.

 

[chuchu59]

One other thing I forgot to mention. This wasnt an e-mail ad. It was a letter sent to our address in Hong Kong.

 

[vinylweatherman]

Why Would?

Why does a rather technical political change in the status of Hong Kong suddenly make all it's residents "abusers" of casinos, especially customers who have an established track record. There appears to have been no problems before giving the bonuses to Hong Kong residents, I wonder which group is next - I have heard of one casino that banned the Brits, let them back, and then banned them again. Cannot see why, as online gambling does not feature that highly in our culture, although this is set to change soon.

Indeed, the Chinese government consider Hong Kong as part of China, they were never happy with it being run by us Brits, and would not contemplate an extension of the lease beyond 1997, our political masters did try, warning the Chinese that the Hong Kong economy would collapse if the Chinese took over.

Isn't this form of sterotype discrimination bad for the industry? If I was badly let down by a Chinese business, would it be fair for me to then say "ALL businesses run by the chinese are bent, and should be left out of any tender for new work". The chinese market is huge, and I am sure that if the USA finally manage to enforce its anti-gambling stance for online casinos, then operators will be looking to break into new markets quickly.

If I found terms in a casino, or any other business, that implied I was considered to be dishonourable due to where I lived I would take my custom elsewhere.

Even postal mail could have been outsourced to another company, although had they done the same here in Britain (send an invalid advertisement) they would have been censured, and possibly fined, by the Advertising Standards Authority unless the advert made it clear that the recipient was ineligible for the bonus part of the promotion. Since there are exceptions, they should not be using the term "Every Player", rather they should be using "Most Players" when describing the eligibility. The word "Every" does not mean "Not if you live in...", it means "ALL".

 

[The Dude]

This just in from Ryan who is away from his desk at the moment and couldn't log in:

Hi all,

It appears that the matter of the country issue is moving away from what
we, at the casino, need to manage. In our terms and conditions at

You do not have permission to view link Log in or register now.

for the standard Monthly
Match Deposit bonus, it states that both Hong Kong and China are
excluded from receiving this bonus. These decisions are made on the
behaviour of players from those areas and unfortunately we do need to
uphold this for all players registered there. Again I apologise for the
confusion and inconvenience this matter has caused. We are striving to
ensure that our players receive the best they can and therefore offer a
10% credit on the players' losses each month from our excluded
countries. We trust that this proves that we are serious about all
countries and their players.

Kind regards,

Ryan Hartley

 

[chuchu59]

It's not the country issue that we are talking about here. Ryan made it very clear when he decided to retrospectively deny me a bonus and I am through with this issue now. What I am concerned about is why after so much hassling,they still send out promos to unwary Hong Kong players by post and entice them to deposit with a promise of a 100% match bonus which they definitely will not honour using the same old trick.

 

[vinylweatherman]

I am not impressed!

I am not at all impressed by Ryan's response. Stereotyping on place of residence is not good enough. They are treating all their players as numbers and not individuals. If you had been receiving the bonus in the past, and had not been behaving "badly" with it, then as a valued player you should be treated as a regular customer of good standing and be allowed to keep the bonus (their suggestion that if you move to another country you can have the bonus is yet another example of treating you like a number, and not an old customer). They should certainly stop sending these promotions out to the excluded countries with immediate effect. Obviously, they want all their customers from Hong Kong to "Sod off down your end of the neighbourhood" now they have taken their money for a while, just because new sign-ons are playing only for the bonuses. They can get away with this because China is not seen as "One of us" but "One of them" with the rest of the former Communist countries. I am sure that in the long term this short sighted view will come back to haunt them. The best thing would be to move on with the industry. I expect that other operations will step in to service the markets shunned by other operators, although at present these are usually based in the former East European countries, and the lack of accountability means they are risky to use at present.
Only when they send the CORRECT promotions to Hong Kong residents can they be said to be doing the right thing, even if you don't like it. I am surprised the Hong Kong authorities do not take sanctions about this sending of misleading promotional literature through the postal service. Us players should be sticking up for those players who suffer discrimination simply because of where they live, and not through their own behaviour online. Pity Gibraltar is not part of the EU, or you could make a complaint that they have discriminated on the grounds of Race by singling out the countries of China and Hong Kong - discrimination does not have to be direct, it is enough to show that a rule disproportionately singles out one racial group.

 

[chuchu59]

So where is Ryan? Shoudnt he be explaining why the promotional letter was sent out.

 

[The Dude]

So where is Ryan? Shoudnt he be explaining why the promotional letter was sent out.

I don't think they can create and send different CD's so
that excluded countries don't receive anything with the match bonus on
them. I'll make the suggestion when CDs or letters are sent to excluded countries bonus offer is not stated.

He did mention the following: We are striving to
ensure that our players receive the best they can and therefore offer a
10% credit on the players' losses each month from our excluded
countries.

What's wrong with that?

And it has nothing to do with race. C'mon, how do you know that Ryan doesn't come from Chinese descent?

 

[chuchu59]

I don't think they can create and send different CD's so
that excluded countries don't receive anything with the match bonus on
them. I'll make the suggestion when CDs or letters are sent to excluded countries bonus offer is not stated.

He did mention the following: We are striving to
ensure that our players receive the best they can and therefore offer a
10% credit on the players' losses each month from our excluded
countries.

What's wrong with that?

And it has nothing to do with race. C'mon, how do you know that Ryan doesn't come from Chinese descent?

I mentioned earlier that it was a letter,not a CD. They can definitely weed out the addresses so that players from excluded countries dont receive the promo. Come think of it. If this letter was posted to a player that had played there before and he deposits and plays. He wouldnt be getting the 100% bonus stated in the letter,would he? So he says tough luck,you get back 10% of your losses anyway. Frankly,this is similar to the Omni case only that there is different treatment.

By the way,I never mentioned anything racist,so Bryan why are you mentioning what descent Ryan could probably be of.

 

[The Dude]

...By the way,I never mentioned anything racist,so Bryan why are you mentioning what descent Ryan could probably be of.

That was in response to Vinylweatherman's comment:

...Pity Gibraltar is not part of the EU, or you could make a complaint that they have discriminated on the grounds of Race by singling out the countries of China and Hong Kong - discrimination does not have to be direct, it is enough to show that a rule disproportionately singles out one racial group.

 

[GrandMaster]

Pity Gibraltar is not part of the EU,

The government of Gibraltar seems to believe othewise, see for example,

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.

or you could make a complaint that they have discriminated on the grounds of Race by singling out the countries of China and Hong Kong - discrimination does not have to be direct, it is enough to show that a rule disproportionately singles out one racial group.

By the same argument every company would have to sell its goods or provide its services at the same prices and with the same conditions everywhere, otherwise it would be discriminating against some ethnic group.

 

[The Dude]

I think the EC and EU are two differing entities. One is for commerce (EC), the other is political (EU). Gibraltar is not an EU state.

 

[GrandMaster]

I think the EC and EU are two differing entities. One is for commerce (EC), the other is political (EU). Gibraltar is not an EU state.

The EC morphed into the EU at some point. Gibraltar is not a member state, as it is not an independent country, but it is part of the EU. As

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states:
"Gibraltar is a constituent part of the European Union, having joined with the United Kingdom in 1973, under the provisions of the Treaty of Rome relating to European dependent territories. However, it is excluded from the Common External Tariff, the Common Agricultural Policy and the requirement to levy Value Added Tax."

 

[vinylweatherman]

?

If it's fine for Casinos to discriminate against players simply because of where they live, how do they feel when the players consider a casino disreputable simply because the software they have chosen to utilise is used disproportionately by rogue operators. I am guilty of this myself, if I see RTG I log off the site immediately because of my experience at Crystal Palace, coupled with all the bad posts about RTG operations. Thsi issue does concern me, as UK has been discriminated against in the past by one or two casinos, and I do not want them to get the idea it is fine to start turning their backs on whole countries because they are unable to contain the fraud they get from some players.

We are being asked to stop shunning casinos simply on the grounds they use Playtech or RTG, and that we should judge them on their individual performances. I would therefore expect casinos to judge players on an individual basis. rather than simply on the fact they come from a country that has a disproportionate number of fraudulent players. I bet they won't ban the USA if they get a lot of fraud from there. Intercasino should change their systems in the way Littlewoods have to prevent the abuse they are getting (I know what players are doing, and it isn't necessarily country specific - it's freely posted on various fora billed as playing Intercasino without ever having to risk your own funds).
If the business does become more formally regulated they may well find that such broad discrimination will be illegal. Even now, they would have to offer the same terms to all residents of EU contries (as opposed to EC wider membership). It is up to consumers to vote with their PCs. If the USA make life even more difficult, I expect they will push to open new markets. There has been a noticeable push here in the UK. Only a year ago online casinos were not general knowledge, and often equated with internet porn sites as "shysters and immoral"; now they advertise everywhere, even on TV!!!