MummysGold Casino (PalaceGroup). Something stinks here...

[shawnh]

I'm not too happy with these guys. I'm a Canadian player and I opened an account at Mummysgold casino on Nov 17 and deposited 50 GBP. I have an online friend (a Canadian also) who played this casino a few weeks earlier and he told me he deposited and played in GBP with no problems. He said he had even contacted Mummysgold casino first and asked them if it was okay for Canadian players to deposit in GBP and was told it was fine.

So anyway, I received their 100% matching bonus of another 50GBP and started playing. Turns out I had some good luck playing roulette, finished up at around 300 GBP and requested a cash out a few days later. That's when I got an email from their "Justin" saying:


"Kindly note that we have removed all winnings, and we have issued your initial deposit of 50.00 back to your NETeller account.
The reason for this is due Terms and Condition of the Casino state the following:

13. The Player acknowledges that in order to be eligible for any promotion or bonus they must be playing with the primary currency used in the country where they have a registered address and are playing from. The casino reserves the right to withhold bonuses resulting from deposits in any currency made in contradiction to this condition. An exception is made for USD and CAD to this clause."


True - I neglected to read over the complete Terms and Conditions and I didn't see this. But why did they tell my friend in the first place that GBP was okay for Canadians then??

Does anyone else think something stinks here? First of all, they tell my friend that GBP is fine for Canadian players. He deposits 25GBP, gets another 25GBP in bonus, and proceeds to lose it all. Well, they had no problem KEEPING all HIS money. They never told him at any time that he deposited with the wrong currency. Nope. That's cause he lost. Everything was fine. But I do the same, I win, and everything gets cancelled and voided. Nice!!

So essentially with MummysGold Casino - if a player deposits using the wrong currency and LOSES, they are fine with keeping his money... they don't say boo then. But if he WINS, then they tell him he broke their rules, deny his winnings and send back his original deposit. What the hell??

Shawn

P.S: I messaged PalaceGroup's 'Darran' via the casino contacts section and told him all this. He basically just said I broke their T & C and it was my fault - case closed. Okay, next step afer this is a Pitch-a-Bitch I guess.

 

[winbig]

Your friend should go to them and let them know he broke the T&C, and ask for his money back. Let's see what they say to that.

 

[vinylweatherman]

Bad Practice

This is bad practice, and Darren's response is crap. The correct response would be to launch an investigation into the appalling CS your friend received that would have undoubtedly lead him/her into the same position had he/she had the good fortune to win. When you contact casino CS and ask a question and they say "yes" or "no" the player has the right to accept the answer as correct. If CS do not know they should check with a supervisor for a ruling.
This has been a recent problem in general, the software was designed to offer choice of currency to ALL players on the internet, which of course has no national boundaries. Casinos themselves have caused these problems by making up currency rules that differ between countries while not having the software block those currencies from the option menu, NOR having a warning at that point in the menu that the player should select their own currency if it is an option.
There is certainly good reason to ask WHY a player would choose to play in a currency that is not their own, but many players have a good reason for doing so, one being is the account they use to deposit is in a certain currency and they thus need to play in that currency, or possibly not at all.
Selective application of terms should not happen, bonuses are claimed, and it should never have been awarded in the first place, rather than selectively voided with winnings at the point of winning and withdrawing. Casinos cannot have their cake and eat it, so to speak, without getting a rant or two on this forum directed at them.

 

[tepux]

it's sure is .....

i had about the same problem with Jackpotinaflash also the palace group....
i am a french citizen the currency of my country is euro,i didn't lie in the registration
i deposited in GBP,they gave me a bonus in GBP ,i played and won,
as long as i remember when i registered at the casino the use of GBP was allowed .
the casino accused me in breaching the T&C,and they refuse to pay my winings,the way i see it they breached the T&C in the same way,they let me register a french account in GBP and even gave me the bonus (wich is not by the T&C)
its realy looks like a eveil practice from the casinos side, as long as you are a loser they will accept you deposit in GBP ,but if you win they will refound your deposit to your account and will cancel your winnings ,good deal,for the casino, isnt it ?
i have also posted a complain at Ecogra,but they are totally incompedent
they didnt check the casino integrity at all,and acused me in breaching the T&C,
Ecogra for me is not a a stamp for honesty,or for fair practice.
and the Palace group is example for none fair gamming
i hope you will see your money
keep on giving them shit ,i know i will........
and may the royal flash be with you ...............
emilie
Ps i have already piched a bitch for now i got no answer .......

 

[shawnh]

Emilie, we are both in the exact same situation, aren't we? Yes, this PalaceGroup is very dishonest, and like you say, it is a NO-LOSE situation for them: if the player loses, fine... but if the player wins (like you and me), then they deny the winnings and just return the deposit! UNBELIEVABLE!

I'm glad you have already did a Pitch-a-Bitch... let's see what comes out of it.

Wish us luck....

Shawn

 

[vinylweatherman]

Software

The real answer is to upgrade the software to make such misunderstandings impossible. Although a breach of terms, the software offers no warning that such a breach is about to happen; yet, they have designed the new EZBonus system in such a way that players are given an additional pop-up warning to make it completely clear to them that by clicking "next" they are agreeing to the terms regarding the irrevocable forfeiture of any remaining bonus.
Clearly, is CAN be done, but MGS choose instead to fill our PC's with crap every month (TWICE in 2 days this month yet again), yet will not make support amendments to reflect the changes of industry practice that could catch out the unwary player.

For goodness sake, we are playing in a casino, not buying a financial product from the bank - we don't need all these potential traps set for those who believe they can just walk in the front door, deposit & play, and not worry about T & C catching them out from behind rather than being approached by friendly floor staff with "excuse me, I know you are new here but the operators do not allow this, could you please therefore........ and you will be OK"

Now perhaps you can tell the forum why GBP was chosen over the Canadian Dollar and the Euro in these cases. Nowadays, the Euro, rather than the GBP, is considered the main benchmark currency of Euroland.

 

[melvin]

i still get offers in gbp from jackpotinaflash

hi
so first of all thanks guys for the info
i have an account with jackpotinaflash in Gbp,and i still get offers from time to time,in Gbp,
so low
Jonathan

 

[The Dude]

This is all being looked into at the moment, and I hope there is a solution shortly. Thanks!

 

[The Dude]

In the meantime, it's beyond me why any player would deposit in another country's currency when the local currency is available without contacting their customer support first.

You are only asking for trouble.

Even though you Canadians still have the Queen of England on your Canadian dollar - you should have checked the terms and conditions beforehand.

Perhaps your Canadian friend fell through the cracks somehow. This doesn't mean that you are not obliged to follow the casino terms and conditions.

If you are in Canada - why not sign up with CAD??

 

[Pinababy69]

If you are in Canada - why not sign up with CAD??

That's the part I don't get either. I've even changed over whatever accounts I could from US to CDN within the last few months, just for less headaches with conversion, etc.

 

[shawnh]

Hi Casinomeister, thanks for investigating this. I guess there's no point in me doing a PAB as Tepux's complaint is virtually identical to mine.

You asked why I chose GBP over CAD or USD - simple, you get more bonus money that way.... 1 GBP is worth almost 2 USD.

Not to sound greedy, but if I can get more, I will certainly take more.
After my friend told me he even got confirmation from MummysGold support staff themselves regarding GBP for Canadian players, I naturally figured it was okay.

Thanks
Shawn

 

[The Dude]

...You asked why I chose GBP over CAD or USD - simple, you get more bonus money that way..

And you have to deposit more money this way...

Most casinos ban this sort of depositing - and when they do, it's stated on their website. Terms and conditions change over time, perhaps when your friends signed up things were different, or perhaps they never were caught.

You are responsible to read all terms and conditions when using bonuses. You would have been better off not using one. There are many players who never or rarely use bonuses mainly because they are too problematic. This is something to consider.

 

[vinylweatherman]

Not acceptable

Hi Casinomeister, thanks for investigating this. I guess there's no point in me doing a PAB as Tepux's complaint is virtually identical to mine.

You asked why I chose GBP over CAD or USD - simple, you get more bonus money that way.... 1 GBP is worth almost 2 USD.

Not to sound greedy, but if I can get more, I will certainly take more.
After my friend told me he even got confirmation from MummysGold support staff themselves regarding GBP for Canadian players, I naturally figured it was okay.

Thanks
Shawn

Unfortunately, this is not a good reason for using another currency UNLESS the casino specifically allows it. Possibly, it is because of players like your friend taking advantage of currency choice in this manner before, that casinos had to add the new restrictive terms.
An acceptable reason would involve you having only GBP available within the account you use to gamble, possible, as Neteller will force you to choose one of the currencies on offer and will not allow different purses for different currencies.
Casinos could get round this by changing the amount of bonus money to reflect differing exchange rates, such as $100 or 50 rather than ?75 all round. The Palace Group already do this for all the newsletter competitions, so this would not be new to them.

 

[shawnh]

In response to those who wonder why a Canadian would deposit in anything other than Canadian dollars, the answer is simple: to get more bonus money.
If for instance a 100% bonus is offered, and Canadians (or any nationality for that matter) are allowed to deposit in any of CAD, USD, EUR, or GBP, then I'm going to pick GBP every time. You may argue "but depositing in GBP just costs you more... what is the difference?" Sure it costs me more, but if the 100% bonus gives me an edge over the casino, then I stand to make more money (on average) by using the 'highest-value' currency... ie. British Pounds.

Furthermore, my Canadian friend *asked* Mummysgold customer support if it was all right for Canadians to deposit in GBP. He was clearly told it was okay. if that's not a "yes", then I don't know what is. Call me careless, but I didn't feel there was any need for me to call in and repeat the same question.

Cheers
Shawn

 

[vinylweatherman]

Currency

This business of using GBP to get bonus money is fine, so long as the casino allows it. My big criticism is the fact that the software does not automatically enforce the appropriate currency rules. It allows a player to make or mistake, or try to get a bigger edge by depositing in a currency that appears to be available.

It is a trend now for casinos to limit the choice of currency to that of the player's residence OR the US Dollar (because it is so weak). The strongest GBP, is actually a thorn in the side of the casino industry, and it certainly makes it worthwhile being British (Let's face it, not a lot else going for it, but at least we have not been cut off from our daily wager by a repressive regime )

We have a strong currency for historical reasons, we need it, we can hardly do anything outside as it is always raining, except when sleeting. If I wake up with the sun streaming through the window, it has buggered off again by the time I am dressed and had breakfast. We never get "Proper" snow, "Proper" sun, nor "Proper" warm spells. "Summer" is three fine days and a thunderstorm on August bank holiday. Autumn lasts until May, and then it is Spring till August.
Before Global Warming, when the weather was even worse, the GBP was worth in excess of FOUR US Dollars, this would have really stressed the casinos!

 

[shawnh]

Hi Vinyl... you gave me a good chuckle with your description of UK weather. Funny!

But yes, it certianly wouldn't be very hard for casinos to modify their software to force players to use the currency of their country (or whatever currency the casino deemed fit) upon their registration. How hard is it to add an "if country='Canada' and currency NOT = 'USD' or 'CAD' then Display Error" statement in their programming. Such a simple thing to rectify. But instead, they let players through, give them the bonus, let them win, lead them straight down the garden path... then rip the rug out from under them at the end. That's just not right.

Cheers
Shawn