PartyCasino Unfair Terms

3dfella

Banned user - violation of <a href="http://www.ca
Joined
Jun 26, 2009
Location
UK
Partycasino have hidden away in their terms and conditions a clause which I came across purely by accident when trying to make a withdrawal. I say trying as my withdrawal was bounced back into my account and I was provided with an email stating that I had not accrued enough "Party Points" to make a withdrawal.

I had wagered my deposit through a few times and then submitted a withdrawal request and didnt think any more of it. It transpires that you must accrue party points equivelent to 15% of your deposit before you can withdraw your funds. Now this wouldnt be so bad if say for example it was a term put in place to prevent money laundering or people making deposits without wagering but it isnt.

It seems to me that this clause is specifically designed to force you to lose money.

Not all games accrue points equally and my game (Blackjack) required me to wager over 100x my deposit in order to withdraw. Let me repeat that - 100X my deposit on my chosen game! This is with no bonus but purely playing for fun!

I have seen an awful lot of strange and unfair terms imposed by casinos but this is ridiculous.

Suffice to say I wont be playing at Party Casino again.
 
Partycasino have hidden away in their terms and conditions a clause which I came across purely by accident when trying to make a withdrawal. I say trying as my withdrawal was bounced back into my account and I was provided with an email stating that I had not accrued enough "Party Points" to make a withdrawal.

I had wagered my deposit through a few times and then submitted a withdrawal request and didnt think any more of it. It transpires that you must accrue party points equivelent to 15% of your deposit before you can withdraw your funds. Now this wouldnt be so bad if say for example it was a term put in place to prevent money laundering or people making deposits without wagering but it isnt.

It seems to me that this clause is specifically designed to force you to lose money.

Not all games accrue points equally and my game (Blackjack) required me to wager over 100x my deposit in order to withdraw. Let me repeat that - 100X my deposit on my chosen game! This is with no bonus but purely playing for fun!

I have seen an awful lot of strange and unfair terms imposed by casinos but this is ridiculous.

Suffice to say I wont be playing at Party Casino again.

If you and I are interpreting these T&C's correctly they are totally unacceptable and if used, as in your case, to force unfair wagering restrictions on vanilla deposits then they need to be put in the rogue list.

10. CASH OUTS

Your account balance is the amount of real money held in Your Account (if any), plus any winnings and/or minus any losses accrued from using the Services, less any rakes or entry or other fees, if applicable, and less any amounts previously withdrawn by You or amounts forfeited or reclaimed by Us due to any known or suspected fraud or due to deposits or other transactions rejected or cancelled by Your bank or any relevant third-party bank (whether as a result of insufficient funds, charge-backs or otherwise), any Inactive Account Fees (see Section 11 below) or any sums which are otherwise deductible or forfeited under these Agreements ('Account Balance'). Before You are able to cash out monies deposited by You or received by way of Inter-Account Transfer or Gift Certificate You must first have earned Standard Player Points with such monies (excluding any bonus points awarded) greater than or equal to15% of the amount received in USD ("Release Requirements"). Where such monies are deposited or received in a currency other than USD, the required 15% of Player Points must be calculated on the value of such monies in USD (based on the exchange rates offered by Us at the point of cash out. Please see Currency Converter). In addition, acceptance of a cash out request is subject to any deposit method restrictions, bonus restrictions and/or Security Reviews (see Section 16 below) and any other terms of these Agreements. All amounts You withdraw are subject to the transaction limits and any processing fees for deposits and withdrawal methods that We notify You of before cashing out. For further details of current deposit and cash out options and fees please see PartyCashier. Further, We may report and withhold any amount from Your winnings in order to comply with any applicable law. All taxes due in connection with any winnings awarded to You are Your sole liability. Account balances cannot be transferred, substituted or redeemed for any other prize. Payment of funds which You withdraw shall be made by cheque, wire, credit card and/or any other manner which We select in Our sole discretion, although We will try to accommodate Your preferences as indicated by You when You register. Payments will be made as soon as reasonably possible, although there may be delays due to any Security Review (see Section 16 below) undertaken by Us and save where We hold any such payments in accordance with these Agreements.
 
Party casino seem to be "reputable" given how they are allowed to advertise on the telly, but these must be the most predatory terms ever seen. They are worse than Winward, who made it compulsory to wager plain deposits 30x.

Party casino are preying on the "newbies" here in the UK, through the TV adverts and program sponsorships. Even seasoned players often miss such things. It is in deliberately "long winded" language that might tempt people to skip such a large congested paragraph, perhaps dismissing it as "legalese" which to does look like on first inspection.
The term also seems to give the casino wide ranging and unspecified permission to void winnings, confiscate balances, dick players around with cash-ins "at the management's discretion".

Should be "not recommended" at the very least due to these terms (which would actually be ILLEGAL in the UK, falling foul of both the old unfair consumer contracts law (biased unfairly towards the casino - little or no rights to customer), and also under the new trading laws, which specifically outlaw 31 "business practices" as well as give the consumer extra rights to have terms of business CLEARLY DEFINED (no woolly subjective clauses).

In reality, these terms are designed to penalise players who don't take bonuses, as those who DO take bonuses are likely to meet the "party points" criteria alongside meeting wagering requirements. The bonuses are also likely to steer (or force) players to play slot games rather than blackjack.

I would suggest a PAB, so that this can be investigated, and maybe a casino warning - pretatory terms will result. This might get their attention, and they might decide to remove the predatory terms.
 
Glad to see Im not alone in finding these terms offensive. I wouldnt be looking to use my one freeshot PAB on this issue but will send a message to highlight the thread so that at least the issue is not buried.
 
I invited Party Casino to respond to this either me directly by email or here (link supplied)
So far no response.
These T&C's are scandalous as far as I can see and I urge CM to have Party Casino at least on the not recommended list until they respond and try and justify this.
If they can't or fail to modify or remove this term they should be thrown in the rogue pit.
There seems to be a lot of apathy here to recent scandals - even if you do not play at these places you should be making your voice heard.
 
I was aware that Party used this system when it came to bonus WR, in that you had to not only meet the WR but also collect a minimum number of Party Points, which, in my opinion, was a way for them to make it appear that all games counted in what were very reasonable terms. I think we could understand if they wanted say a 1x deposit turnover to save on costs, but this is just obscene.

I wonder just how many people have been caught out by this.
 
I was aware that Party used this system when it came to bonus WR, in that you had to not only meet the WR but also collect a minimum number of Party Points, which, in my opinion, was a way for them to make it appear that all games counted in what were very reasonable terms. I think we could understand if they wanted say a 1x deposit turnover to save on costs, but this is just obscene.

I wonder just how many people have been caught out by this.

Absolutely, a reasonable condition to prevent unnecessary processing costs would be acceptable but this is not.
 
I would also like to add that the value is calculated based on USD so if as I did you deposit in a currency which is stronger, then your deposit is converted to the dollar amount and the 15% is based on that. So if you deposit 1000 GBP they convert it to 1500 USD and require you to acheive party points equivelent to 15% of that which is 225 rather than equivelent to 112.50 which is 15% of GBP.

It really is terrible. Here is a list of how the points are accrued:

Single-deck blackjack $200
Roulette $50
Las Vegas Downtown Blackjack $150
Baccarat $50
Progressive slots $25
Table poker $25
Video poker $20
Slots $10
Keno $10
Casino War $20
Red Dog $20
Blackjack Bonus Pairs $25
Virtual racing $5

So if I am playing Single Deck BJ with a 1000 deposit I must acheive 225 party points and need to wager 200*225 which is 450,000 just to be able to cashout my own money!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please tell me I have calculated this wrongly!
 
That is why I have invited Party Casino to explain.
If they are conspicuous by their absence then they should be thrown in the pit or at the very least put on the not recommended list and a warning issued.
Perhaps we are misreading the meaning of such abstruse Terms but since they are intentional abstruse I very much doubt it.

The First sentence alone contains Six commas, Four sets of brackets,Thirteen "or", a couple of "and", as well as a forward slash for good measure.

I also doubt very much that it is presented in unattractive block text by accident either.

The person who wrote it should be put against a wall and shot (without a blindfold)
 
I would also like to add that the value is calculated based on USD so if as I did you deposit in a currency which is stronger, then your deposit is converted to the dollar amount and the 15% is based on that. So if you deposit 1000 GBP they convert it to 1500 USD and require you to acheive party points equivelent to 15% of that which is 225 rather than equivelent to 112.50 which is 15% of GBP.

It really is terrible. Here is a list of how the points are accrued:

Single-deck blackjack $200
Roulette $50
Las Vegas Downtown Blackjack $150
Baccarat $50
Progressive slots $25
Table poker $25
Video poker $20
Slots $10
Keno $10
Casino War $20
Red Dog $20
Blackjack Bonus Pairs $25
Virtual racing $5

So if I am playing Single Deck BJ with a 1000 deposit I must acheive 225 party points and need to wager 200*225 which is 450,000 just to be able to cashout my own money!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please tell me I have calculated this wrongly!

You have, its only 45.000, ONLY 45.000 WR before you can cash out on your own money, or whats left of it.
Bonus: 0 WR: 45x deposit.
Now ain't that a real bargain?:rolleyes:
 
Here is Party Casinos response;

Thank you for contacting Customer Service.

As you know, before a player creates an account with us, he must agree to our Terms and Conditions. These Terms and Conditions are the same for all our players and when a customer agrees to them, he needs to abide by those rules. You can check the full Standard Terms and Conditions of Use from the link below:

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


The rule of accumulating a certain amount of points before being able to make a withdrawal is indeed present in our Terms and Conditions. This condition exists solely for security purposes to prevent players from using their accounts with us simply as a tool to transfer money in and out. After all, we are a gaming site and the basic idea to transfer money into an account should be to use the funds for gaming purposes.

Also, in the same section of the Terms and Conditions there is a link to our 'How to Earn PartyPoints' page, which shows in details how a player can earn points on our different games. This way our customers can check how it would be most convenient for them to collect the required 15% in points and be able to make a withdrawal. You can check out those details from the link below:

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


As you can see, we do not hide any information from our players, and we - the Customer Service - are always there if anyone needs clarification on the matter. I hope I have managed to explain our position on the matter to you. If a specific player has any complaints or needs further assistance on the matter, we would appreciate it if he addresses us directly by writing us an email or simply giving us a call - because this is the only way we can give account-specific information.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us at any time.

Thank you for choosing us as your online gaming site.

Best Regards,

Atanas,


So it would seem Blackjack players would have to wager 45Xdeposit before allowed to cashout and Party Casino see this as convenient for the player.

Bryan?
 
After seeking further clarification I have received a reply from Party Casino that this interpretation of their Terms is correct.
A deposit without bonus would indeed need to be wagered 45X on blackjack before the player is eligible to cashout their own funds.
This is the reason they give for imposing such unfair restrictions.

This rule of earning 15% of the deposit amount in Party Points is there for security purposes. This is to prevent unlawful activities such as money dumping, money laundering, etc.

This obviously a nonsense reply.
The fact that such wagering requirements are buried within a block of text that is almost unfathomable and these wagering requirements are surreptitiously implemented and disguised by being stated as "15% of deposit in party points" instead of broken down into plain English is strong evidence this is nothing more than a scam to force players to play when they may otherwise wish not to do so.


Surely these are unfair terms and potential players need to be warned before depositing.
 
If you want B to weigh in on this it might be wise to alert him to it via PM. There's a lot of stuff on his plate and it could take a while for him to pop in here if he's busy elsewhere.
 
If you want B to weigh in on this it might be wise to alert him to it via PM. There's a lot of stuff on his plate and it could take a while for him to pop in here if he's busy elsewhere.

Thanks Max, I PM'd him just after posting as I was surprised he had not commented on this.
I sometimes forget how busy he must be.
 
Thanks Max, I PM'd him just after posting as I was surprised he had not commented on this.
I sometimes forget how busy he must be.
Yeah, I'm taking care of a number of things at the moment - to include reflooring the room in the attic, and goin' to town on the weeds in the back. Never a dull moment. :p

I'll contact the people over at Party Gaming to see if they can take a look at this. I can understand protecting oneself from money laundering - thus a wagering requirement for regular play (no bonus), but 45x seems a bit steep to me. Side note - didn't 888.com have something similar? Can't remember.

Nevertheless, it should not be hidden - but we are responsible to read ALL terms and conditions, aren't we?
 
Yeah, I'm taking care of a number of things at the moment - to include reflooring the room in the attic, and goin' to town on the weeds in the back. Never a dull moment. :p

I'll contact the people over at Party Gaming to see if they can take a look at this. I can understand protecting oneself from money laundering - thus a wagering requirement for regular play (no bonus), but 45x seems a bit steep to me. Side note - didn't 888.com have something similar? Can't remember.

Nevertheless, it should not be hidden - but we are responsible to read ALL terms and conditions, aren't we?

Yes I agree but the Casino has a moral responsibility to ensure those T&C's are clear and fair to the player.
As you can see the T&C is neither of these.

If they have a T&C stating they will remove every second deposit would that make it OK?
I sent them a follow up email myself before posting and I will PM you with the correspondence I have had with them.
 
I don't buy the money laundering part - unless they allow money to be transferred to other accounts.

If a deposit is made without bonus, the maximum playthrough I would personally tolerate is 1x deposit.
 
I would also like to add that the value is calculated based on USD so if as I did you deposit in a currency which is stronger, then your deposit is converted to the dollar amount and the 15% is based on that. So if you deposit 1000 GBP they convert it to 1500 USD and require you to acheive party points equivelent to 15% of that which is 225 rather than equivelent to 112.50 which is 15% of GBP.

It really is terrible. Here is a list of how the points are accrued:

Single-deck blackjack $200
Roulette $50
Las Vegas Downtown Blackjack $150
Baccarat $50
Progressive slots $25
Table poker $25
Video poker $20
Slots $10
Keno $10
Casino War $20
Red Dog $20
Blackjack Bonus Pairs $25
Virtual racing $5

So if I am playing Single Deck BJ with a 1000 deposit I must acheive 225 party points and need to wager 200*225 which is 450,000 just to be able to cashout my own money!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please tell me I have calculated this wrongly!

15% of 1000 is 150. 150*200 = 30,000 not 450,000 which equals 30x WR

progressive slots makes it 3,75 xWR
slots 1,5 x WR
virtual racing 0,75 x WR

I cashed out a few times at partygaming. Didnt know about the 15% of deposit wagered, but has never had any problems cashing out. So if I understand this right, If I make a deposit of 50$ I must get 7,5 $ worth of partypoints
 
15% of 1000 is 150. 150*200 = 30,000 not 450,000 which equals 30x WR

progressive slots makes it 3,75 xWR
slots 1,5 x WR
virtual racing 0,75 x WR

I cashed out a few times at partygaming. Didnt know about the 15% of deposit wagered, but has never had any problems cashing out. So if I understand this right, If I make a deposit of 50$ I must get 7,5 $ worth of partypoints

100 deposit=15 points@ $200 per point for BJ so yes 30X deposit.

Yes you would need 7.5 Party points on a $50 deposit.
 
Their response is bullshit. The bit about players having to check for the most convenient way to accumulate points is all about FORCING players to play a fair bit of slots with their gameplay, whether or not they have taken a bonus.

Winward casino pulled this stunt on a player who steadfastly refused to accept the welcome bonus, which Winward were trying to insist was compulsory. They agreed not to give the bonus to the player, but told them they had to wager the deposit 30x anyway, the same as if they had accepted the bonus.

Their response is a bit like saying - "If we have set a trap in our terms, it is the player's responsibility to find it".

There are LAWS about unfair terms, it is NOT the case legally that just because a customer slipped up & agreed to something they should have avoided like the plague it becomes binding. The terms can be assessed to see whether they are fair to the consumer. In law, the consumer is NOT expected to be a qualified legal expert, and terms can be classed as unfair if they are not clearly written, yet impose harsh conditions.

The "money laundering" excuse simply does not wash:p

There is no need for anywhere NEAR a 30x or 45x WR on a plain deposit to be imposed, in fact, this is most probably a breach of the rules surrounding responsible gambling, as the terms prevent any meaningful bankroll management by players, and in particular the ability to cash out all, or some, of their pile after a big win, or a good run.
Nearly all casinos impose a 1x WR on deposits to prevent "money laundering", and others limit the number of FREE deposits and withdrawals a player may make, which is another method of preventing excessive churning of funds.
Once a player has supplied all their ID to the casino, and this has been verified, then the risk almost vanishes UNLESS it is possible to move money from one player to another, such as by "chip dumping"

Responsible gambling has been discussed at length, and the BIGGEST problem has been where players have been unable to get their winnings out of their casino balance, or where a reverse is available for an extended time, and players give in to temptation.

The terms at Party push all the WRONG buttons. The player is forced to have their bankroll available in their casino balance until they have earned this 15% in Party Points, and this presses ANOTHER "wrong" button for the player who wants to get a win out quickly, but lacks the points - they will bet big to "get it over with", and will more likely than not lose it all.
 
The laws about contract fairness are covered in England, Wales and NI by the UCTA (unfair contract terms act) which would certainly consider the Party Casino conditions unreasonable.
Also the UK Gambling commission would not allow such T&C's under the following regulations which also reference the Unfair terms in Consumer contracts regulations of the Office of fair trading as well as the UCTA.

Licensees must satisfy themselves that the terms on which gambling is offered are not unfair
under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 and, where applicable, meet the
reasonableness test under the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977. An accurate summary of the
contractual terms on which gambling is offered must be made available to customers and set out
in plain and intelligible language.
Customers must be notified of changes to terms before they come into effect.


Also any remote Casino that considers itself respectable should take note of that last regulation.

I outlined all of this in another email to Party Gaming which, since this is a matter that their customers should be aware of but probably are not and their is no breach of privacy, I will post below.

Dear Party Casino,
You state;
This rule of earning 15% of the deposit amount in Party Points is there for security purposes. This is to prevent unlawful activities such as money dumping, money laundering, etc
The logic of your argument is then that by applying such unprecedented wagering requirements on your customers you will only have genuine players depositing. Therefore you are simply penalising your genuine players by forcing them to wager in your Casino when they may otherwise wish to cashout.
If Party Casino are so keen to dissuade fraudulent deposits why do they not make the T&C's headline news?
Instead they are surreptitiously buried in a block of legalese text and the WR is made even less conspicuous by unnecessarily converting it into a 15% of deposit Party point requirement.
Why are there no other remote Casinos enforcing such unjust WR on their players if it is so necessary?
Let us be clear about this.
Given Party Casinos feeble explanation for the reason for such T&C's this appears to be nothing short of a scam to enforce unfair wagering requirements on your players.
Will you state in writing that Party Casino see this policy as fair to their players?
Do you intend to review and modify this T&C into something that One would expect of a legitimate online Casino?
While Party Casinos has the right to make T&C's it sees fit it also has a moral obligation to its customers.
such T&C's would never be allowed under UKGC regulations or even be considered reasonable under the UK UCTA.
Here is a suggestion;
Deposits must be wagered 3 times before a withdrawal request can be made to prevent money laundering and prevent unnecessary cost of processing transactions and to ensure fair play etc.
Clear, concise and reasonable. In fact that is still above the requirement of the majority of respected operators.
Regards


This is their reply;

Thank you for contacting us.

With regards to your question about our Terms and Conditions I'd like to confirm that the 15% rule is implied for the reasons mentioned in the paragraph you have cited. We do not try to penalise our loyal customers, we just try to ensure that our site and the services we offer are not used for processing of fraudulent transactions. Furthermore I'd like to inform you that these 15% are not chosen at random the amount of points has been reviewed by the department dealing with all cash outs and is considered to be achievable and acceptable.

Moreover it is clearly stated on the site and is available for all players to check before they cash out. Also I'd like to inform you that we have ensured that our Terms and Conditions comply with the local regulations of all countries we offer our services in.

In case you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact us. We will be more than happy to help you.

Thank you for choosing us as your online gaming site.


So they consider the T&C's to be fair and though they state they try not to penalise their loyal players - imposing a possible 30XWR on their deposit seems to do just that.
However they see it as achievable and acceptable.
Acceptable to them certainly but not for their customers.

They state WR on deposit without bonus is clearly stated on their site - who would agree with that?
I think my description is far more accurate.

Finally they assure me that their T&C's comply with UK regulation when I have clearly demonstrated they do not.
 
I've just spoken to Party Gaming over the phone - and the administration is in the process of changing these terms to something more reasonable and realistic. :thumbsup:
 
I've just spoken to Party Gaming over the phone - and the administration is in the process of changing these terms to something more reasonable and realistic. :thumbsup:

Well done Bryan.
I think they will benefit themselves as well as the player in the long term - it will save on a lot of complaints.

I will look out for the revision. :thumbsup:
 
It was a close shave for them though, with this quote:-

Also I'd like to inform you that we have ensured that our Terms and Conditions comply with the local regulations of all countries we offer our services in.

This seems not to be the case, and I am pretty sure that if these terms were put before the UK OFT as a "hypothetical case" they would have said they looked unfair, and in breach of a number of provisions in the regulations. This would have been a SERIOUS embarrassment for Party Casino, and it is good to see they chose to avoid it by having another look at the terms.

I also noted the point in Rusty's post from the UKGC rules.

Customers must be notified of changes to terms before they come into effect.

Almost EVERY online casino breaks this one, since they mostly rely on a clause of the form...

It is the player's responsibility to revisit these terms and conditions at least once a month............

This has lead to many problems, since it allows the casino considerable leeway to chose a random mid-month date to make a change, and apply it from that date, meaning that even players who check the terms every month could miss changes for up to 30 days.

It should be a simple matter to email existing players a notification that the terms had changed, and for players yet to register they should ensure offers have start dates and expiry dates.

Some casinos make changes that are hard to spot, since they don't highlight them, giving the player no clue as to where to look in what could be more than a dozen header items in the terms.

Outside of online gambling, changes to consumer terms, and their notification, has been dealt with.

The onus is on the BUSINESS to notify the CUSTOMER of any changes. IF the changes are detrimental to the customer, they must give 30 days notice before the changes come into effect, which gives the customer time to decide whether to accept the changes, or leave. There is also a right to leave a contract early if a detrimental change is made part way through that was not mentioned in the initial agreement. Customers CANNOT "opt out" of their basic consumer rights. This means that the often used argument of "the player agreed to these terms when they signed up" means nothing if these terms include clauses that imply the consumer has agreed to forego some of their basic rights.

I am rather surprised there have not been more complaints about this policy while it was in force, but suspect the reason might be down to bonuses, with players who use bonuses automatically gaining their 15% worth during the process of meeting WR, and perhaps never encountering the rejection of a withdrawal for this 15% Party Points reason. The maths seems to support this, with 30x deposit easily being covered by the WR that would be expected with a bonus.
It seems peverse that it was players who did NOT take bonuses that were being targeted by this rule, since such players must surely be the best catch of all, as if there is one thing they are NOT - it is an "advantage player/bonus abuser", supposedly the scourge of online casinos.
The low level of complaints might also indicate that very few players decide to opt out of the bonuses at Party Casino.
 
Thanks for all the great posts and thanks to Bryan for contacting them. I will wait and see how they amend the terms before returning. One thing I have never understood about the money laundering thing is how money can become laundered if you deposit and withdraw using the same electronic methods?
 

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