Merkur Slots withholding money (Eyas Gaming)

Lets keep it simple: Provide the relevant documents that funded your gambling. If you received payments from others, that appear on your balance and were used on the site after? Get statements of 1 month from those individual(s) as well. The casino operator needs to follow the money, close that by providing all required information on how you used the funds from your deposit methods towards them.
wow, that is some scary stuff you are writing, Jan.
Which casinoes are you representing again?
 
Just received this:

We hope this email finds you well.

The relevant department has closed your account until we have received acceptable documents. You are to provide 3 bank statements from the last 3 months including your name and all details not covered, kindly send the original PDF Bank Statements.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are available 09:00-00:00 via Chat and E-mail, and we are always happy to help!
 
The relevant department has closed your account until we have received acceptable documents. You are to provide 3 bank statements from the last 3 months including your name and all details not covered, kindly send the original PDF Bank Statements.
Ya, that aint happening; it might be one thing to see some sources of my income - ie enough to afford to play - but certainly not all, and not certainly not from whencw they all come. It's noone's business but mine - well, at least not the casino's, where I work, how much I make, nor where I spend my monies; they isnt simply encroaching upon my privacies but others' as well......i send bank statements for bank verification purposes and black out everything but the name/addesss/acct number
 
Ya, that aint happening; it might be one thing to see some sources of my income - ie enough to afford to play - but certainly not all, and not certainly not from whencw they all come. It's noone's business but mine - well, at least not the casino's, where I work, how much I make, nor where I spend my monies; they isnt simply encroaching upon my privacies but others' as well......i send bank statements for bank verification purposes and black out everything but the name/addesss/acct number
I actually provided them with 3 months statements as well downloaded from my
Online banking and even then they have rejected it saying that my name is not on it.
 
I actually provided them with 3 months statements as well downloaded from my
Online banking and even then they have rejected it saying that my name is not on it.
I’ve only played there for a week. And I’ve shown them where the money came from. But they are adamant they want 3 months of bank statements. I sent them the ones downloadable off my online banking but because my name is not at the top they are rejecting it. The ones for this month are not available yet.
 
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Tell them had you have provided enough documents and you cannot reasonably continue to support their request, please also make it clear you are not refusing anything and If they suspect you are money laundering, they should kindly submit your details to the NCA for review using a suspicious activity report


Also remind them the UKGC has stressed online casinos that only verifying a customer’s identity at the point of withdrawal is a high-risk policy from a money laundering and terrorist financing perspective and may be in breach of Licence Condition 17, as it means that CDD or EDD checks or KYC checks are carried out too late in the customer journey. This poses a risk to the Licensing Objective, ‘keeping crime out of gambling’ along with potential breaches of TACT (Part 3) and POCA (Part 7) which requires that a SAR is submitted to the NCA where there is knowledge or suspicion of money laundering (including criminal spend) with failure to do so amounting to a criminal offence carrying a maximum penalty of up to 5 years imprisonment (s.330 and s.331 POCA).
 
Ya, that aint happening; it might be one thing to see some sources of my income - ie enough to afford to play - but certainly not all, and not certainly not from whencw they all come. It's noone's business but mine - well, at least not the casino's, where I work, how much I make, nor where I spend my monies; they isnt simply encroaching upon my privacies but others' as well......i send bank statements for bank verification purposes and black out everything but the name/addesss/acct number
Dionysus you say it ain’t happening but what option do I have? Lose £4200?
 
Jan, I have a great deal of respect for you.

BUT the bolded statement by yourself is out of order. Those individuals have nothing to do with the casino as they are not its customers, and should not even come into the SOW equation.

The casino operator needs to follow the money...WTH?

They are a casino, for heavens sake, NOT a financial institution.

If the UKGC's rules and regulations really state this as a requirement, then it is not fit for purpose.

Or is this just Merkur's interpretation of said rules?

Either way, No! Just No!
Agree, I've said many times on here that casinos should not be expected to play judge, jury and executioner over people's spending habits...they should be alert for obvious patterns of potential harm to players and fraudulent activity on accounts but that is as far as their remit should go.

As for the UKGC not being fit for purpose...again I agree and there was a report a couple of months ago which essentially said the same thing.

What really sticks in my craw is that the UKGC seem to go invisible when it comes to players getting shafted by the casino for their withdrawals. It's like they set the fire then walk away from the ashes with their fingers in their ear.

Let's put it this way, if I was a casino operator I wouldn't even entertain the idea of trying to get licensed in the UK.
 
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I’ve only played there for a week. And I’ve shown them where the money came from. But they are adamant they want 3 months of bank statements. I sent them the ones downloadable off my online banking but because my name is not at the top they are rejecting it. The ones for this month are not available yet.
The worst thing about it is if you were to tell the bank you are sending 3 months worth of bank statements to a Malta based casino, they'd raise more than a frown.
 
wow, that is some scary stuff you are writing, Jan.
Which casinoes are you representing again?
Exactly. Who in their right mind is going to provide someone else with their bank statement for the benefit of an online casino? I wish these casino operators would take a step back and actually take a long, hard look at what they are asking for and the practicalities involved.

Why aren't these operators getting together and putting an argument together vs the UKGC?
 
Exactly. Who in their right mind is going to provide someone else with their bank statement for the benefit of an online casino? I wish these casino operators would take a step back and actually take a long, hard look at what they are asking for and the practicalities involved.

Why aren't these operators getting together and putting an argument together vs the UKGC?
probably, because quite sadly, some of these operators are quite content to say, so sad, too bad, my hands are tied - as is your hefty WD in our hands :) Look at the amount of 'stuck' funds posts we see of late
 
probably, because quite sadly, some of these operators are quite content to say, so sad, too bad, my hands are tied - as is your hefty WD in our hands :) Look at the amount of 'stuck' funds posts we see of late
It's pure short-termism to think you'll maintain a steady customer base when you repeatedly withhold withdrawals.

The UKGC should be stipulating clearly that unless there is significant reason to believe fraudulent activity on the account, all withdrawals should be settled and account closed immediately after in the event the player is not willing to comply with the SOW request. If it's just a matter of hitting an arbitrary threshold and the casino has no reason to suspect foul play by the customer then where exactly is the issue?

I mean, if you were the casino you'd just save the hassle and pay it, wouldn't you?! It's not hard to pay out the money and close the account thereafter, severing the customer-casino relationship and thus adhering to the regulation.
 
I thought kennygamerboy had a recent experience of this with a casino, similar anyway some kind of kyc, and issued a small claims letter of notice or something. I cannot find his thread now though :oops:

edit: found it, not quite the same issue as Kenny's was purely kyc: sometimes it’s nice to win - Casinomeister Forum

However if you feel you have given them enough bank statements/info to reasonably fulfil the request, maybe a small claims letter is not out of the bounds of possibility?
 
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I thought kennygamerboy had a recent experience of this with a casino, similar anyway some kind of kyc, and issued a small claims letter of notice or something. I cannot find his thread now though :oops:
I suspect this will become more common in time. People firing off notices of intended litigation. If this becomes common then the UKGC will be forced to act.
 
It's pure short-termism to think you'll maintain a steady customer base when you repeatedly withhold withdrawals.



I mean, if you were the casino you'd just save the hassle and pay it, wouldn't you?! It's not hard to pay out the money and close the account thereafter, severing the customer-casino relationship and thus adhering to the regulation.
I mean, you'd think so wouldn't you? I've been through enough verification and income request headaches and Lord knows there's enough threads to suggest this isnt always the thought process - I mean, didnt a rep just suggest supplying 3rd party documents?
 
I mean, you'd think so wouldn't you? I've been through enough verification and income request headaches and Lord knows there's enough threads to suggest this isnt always the thought process - I mean, didnt a rep just suggest supplying 3rd party documents?
As I said above it'll eventually come to a point where the UKGC will have to act, there will be that many complaints. People put their hard earned cash into a casino and expect to be able to cash when they win fairly and squarely. The odds of that are against you as it is :laugh:
 
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The last couple years have become such a well, excrement-show....I remember, you popped in a few bucks and you had fun. You hoped you hit big and were glad you verified. Now, it's like, ok, but...will I get paid or slammed with a SOW or hung up for months in hums and hahs and passing the casino your recent life's history :(
 
The last couple years have become such a well, excrement-show....I remember, you popped in a few bucks and you had fun. You hoped you hit big and were glad you verified. Now, it's like, ok, but...will I get paid or slammed with a SOW or hung up for months in hums and hahs and passing the casino your recent life's history :(
At the end of the day, when all said and done there is nothing that says you HAVE to send sensitive documentation to the casino. The casino cannot legally confiscate your winnings without good reason. They MUST either pay you or refer your case to the relevant authority to pass judgement on the matter. Colinsunderland used to hammer home this point relentlessly.
 
So eCOGRA and the UKGC have been informed? I suspect the casino will just stall payment until whatever 'verdict' is reached, so sending in any more documents would surely achieve nothing, other than handing them more free personal financial details!

And I'd forego submitting 3rd- parties' details too - if Driver's Licence, Passport and bank PDF statements aren't sufficient then that just whiffs of rogue behaviour. You know, the kind of shit bad casinos used to pull, not every operational casino still in the UK 🤔

Then when the governing bodies do what they do best, i.e nothing, then the best action would be to take a PAB here.
 
wow, that is some scary stuff you are writing, Jan.
Which casinoes are you representing again?
Pff go and try and get verified at l&l casinos. Once you hit the point where they want to do proof of wealth they hold your money and wont pay you until you give them everything you want which is difficult enough. If it is ukgc demanding they do this they should drop ukgc license
Jan, I have a great deal of respect for you.

BUT the bolded statement by yourself is out of order. Those individuals have nothing to do with the casino as they are not its customers, and should not even come into the SOW equation.

The casino operator needs to follow the money...WTH?

They are a casino, for heavens sake, NOT a financial institution.

If the UKGC's rules and regulations really state this as a requirement, then it is not fit for purpose.

Or is this just Merkur's interpretation of said rules?

Either way, No! Just No!
You ever have to verify yourself at l&l? The process is well worth not even playing with this group. They use UKGC as an excuse for their invasive requests but they hold your money until you provide it and tell you too bad. Even if you arent in the UK they do this. They do not make it easy for the customer and treat them like absolute shit. They are very player unfriendly during this process.
 
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unsure if i can post links (delete if not allowed) and got the letter template from here and i copied it but worded it accordingly and i added my own bits to it as well justiceforpunters.org/helpful-letteremail-layouts/not-paying-out-letter-before-action-two-versions/
 
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unsure if i can post links (delete if not allowed) and got the letter template from here and i copied it but worded it accordingly and i added my own bits to it as welljusticeforpunters.org/helpful-letteremail-layouts/not-paying-out-letter-before-action-two-versions/
Dear Eyas Gaming Ltd

Closure of my account and failure to return funds without good reason


I opened an online account with Merkur Slots Account number 58160 Head office address No.2, Zebbug, ZBG 4351, Malta using this email id.

On 23.03.2022 I received an email informing me that my account was now closed and that my remaining balance would be retained unless I provide 3 months bank statements. Against my better judgement I provided this using the time frame downloads option on my online banking, yet you have rejected this as my name is not on the document. You have also rejected clear screenshot of my banking statement also.

I have provided you with the following:

1. Driving license front and back

2. Photo of physical bank card front and back

3. Invoices which were paid to me on March showing where the source of funds came from.

4. Utility bill

5. Bank statements for 3 months downloadable on my online banking

6. My latest official 1 month bank statement with name and full details of bank accounts.

I have made exhaustive enquires to your customer services team and I have not been given a reason for your failure to return funds nor any valid reason or timescales by which they will be released.

In terms of the information you hold about me which will of course indicate your reasons for failure to return my funds, I ask, under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that you provide me with such information. This is now a legal requirement on your part.

I also ask that you give me a set of time scales by which time this matter will be resolved.

Eyas Gaming Ltd and Merkur slots has an implied contractual duty to conduct matters within reasonable time scales and to treat a customer with fairness and transparency at all times. This has certainly not been the case in this matter.

You will no doubt be aware that the UK’s ‘Competition and Markets Authority’ (CMA) has and is investigating unfair terms and conditions (T&Cs) being used by online bookmakers. This in my view is a classic case of where a company is using unfair T&Cs in order to frustrate its customers and arguably withhold funds in order to accrue interest and/or skew balance sheets. This practice is totally unacceptable and a clear breach of contract at common law.

I have already logged a conplaint with Ecogra and hereby give notice that if the following actions on your part are not met within 14 days, I will make formal complaints to:

  • The UK Gambling Commission
  • The UK Competition and Market’s Authority
  • The UK Information Commissioner’s Office
I further give notice that failure to return my funds or allow me the ability to do so, I will, without further notice, take out a Small Claim via the European Small Claims Court. In addition I will be seeking costs and statutory interest from the date my funds were withheld from me.

I sincerely hope that in the interest of both parties that this can be resolved. Litigation is time consuming and costly to both parties. Furthermore it cannot be a wise commercial decision to conduct your business this way in today’s current climate.

I would respectfully suggest you instruct your staff to either unblock my account thus allowing me to withdraw my money or ask them to provide evidence to conclusively prove what is being claimed,and provide reasonable time scales in which to do this. If it is the latter, I remind you that Eyas Gaming cannot be ‘judge and jury’ using unfair T&Cs.

I look forward to hearing from you urgently but in any event no later than 7 days hence.



Yours sincerely,
 
So eCOGRA and the UKGC have been informed? I suspect the casino will just stall payment until whatever 'verdict' is reached, so sending in any more documents would surely achieve nothing, other than handing them more free personal financial details!

And I'd forego submitting 3rd- parties' details too - if Driver's Licence, Passport and bank PDF statements aren't sufficient then that just whiffs of rogue behaviour. You know, the kind of shit bad casinos used to pull, not every operational casino still in the UK 🤔

Then when the governing bodies do what they do best, i.e nothing, then the best action would be to take a PAB here.
Sending in such documents can probably just make it even worse and harder if f.ex you've received a payment from your grandmother, a friend or something. Ref. what Jan said about the need of getting 3rd part bank statements to pass your SOW.
 

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