Powerbet unreasonable document request

[digkas]

Hello everyone, I recently had a sizable win at Powerbet casino and am trying to withdraw some of my winnings. I was asked to send in my documents and I have so far sent in my passport, my drivers license, a utility bill, and my tax report.
The problem is that both the bill and tax report which are proof of address are in Greek since this is where I live. Every utility bill in this country is in Greek as is to be expected.
Every single casino before this has used some sort of translation service to verify my documents. Powerbet however is asking that I provide them with a greek utility bill that is in English.
This ofcourse is impossible for me, so they are putting me in a position where I can't possibly meet their demands in an attempt to withhold my funds.
I sent a pm to oliver_curran on this board a few days ago but he did not even respond... I assume he will reply here but if he doesn't should I use the Pitch a Bitch feature?
Thanks in advance,
Konstantinos Digkas

 

[winbig]

Hello everyone, I recently had a sizable win at Powerbet casino and am trying to withdraw some of my winnings. I was asked to send in my documents and I have so far sent in my passport, my drivers license, a utility bill, and my tax report.
The problem is that both the bill and tax report which are proof of address are in Greek since this is where I live. Every utility bill in this country is in Greek as is to be expected.
Every single casino before this has used some sort of translation service to verify my documents. Powerbet however is asking that I provide them with a greek utility bill that is in English.
This ofcourse is impossible for me, so they are putting me in a position where I can't possibly meet their demands in an attempt to withhold my funds.
I sent a pm to oliver_curran on this board a few days ago but he did not even respond... I assume he will reply here but if he doesn't should I use the Pitch a Bitch feature?
Thanks in advance,
Konstantinos Digkas

tax report????????????????????????

I would have stopped right there and refused it.

And yes, I would PAB... I wouldn't waste my time waiting on "Oliver"

Good luck.

 

[siriuscirrus]

Man, I really hate the crystal palace group. Good luck and hope they don't give you more run around.

 

[dc9999]

Oliver Curran respond?

You really have a better chance of meeting the REAL Santa Claus!

(By the way, just like Kris Kringle, "Oliver" is pretty much a mythical character as well....)

Not to make light of your dilemma, but I find it rather ironic that a casino group that prides itself on confusing and frustrating their clients by having authored bonus rules and T&C's that look like GREEK, would be having trouble translating greek themselves!

Seriously, this group of online casinos are notorious for screwing the player time and time again.

I agree to PAB, but also, rest assured that their "benefactor" - Realtime Gaming (RTG) has to bare the brunt of your anger as well.

They - RTG - have elected to further distance themselves from their stable of below board licensees, and until they start policing their own as well, the Crystal Gaming Group (or whatever they're calling themselves these days) of casino rip off artists will continue to run rough shod over players like you and me.

Keep up the pressure though, as the tide could start turning as early as late January, 2007

And Merry Christmas Oliver! - I hope you're enjoying the fruits of your labor...'cause I have a feeling your stocking may not be so full next year!

 

[umberto]

Ask help from Bryan mate. I had the same problem with a few casinos and i m from Greece too. Do not bother with them. They just try to stall your withdrawal. Especially Powerbet is too low in my books... Uninstall the casino and just wait... This is the best you can do.

Good luck. Do not ever send your tax report to any crook casino out there... Be serious... Some of these guys are criminals...

Merry Christmas.

 

[freakin]

This is one of the more incredibly absurd things I've seen an RTG do.

 

[dominique]

It's about as absurd as anything can get.

 

[digkas]

Update

Hi everyone, there are new developments in this case that I would like to share.
I continued playing at Powerbet while waiting for my documents to be verified and was (un)fortunate to have another big win. Since the amount has been posted in bryan's december PAB list I suppose I can post it here. My initial win was $300,000 and my second win was an extra 100k for a total of $400,000.
The very next day after my second win my account was locked. I was told this is because they are investigating player fraud from my city (Thessaloniki). Obviously I am not involved in any sort of fraud or any sort of bonus abuse. Before my account was locked I had wagered over $1,000,000 on Powerbet.
I updated this to my PAB, but all Bryan could do unfortunately is tell me to wait for Hastings BV to become operational. I would like to find out if anyone has any idea when this might happen, and also if anyone has any other ideas on what I should do next. My current plan is to wait for Hastings and if that fails file a lawsuit against Crystalisle in Cyprus.
Thanks in advance,
Konstantinos Digkas

 

[kyleb]

Best of luck, especially with the lawsuit. If Oliver Curran wants to play hardball, give him what he wants.

 

[Pinababy69]

Digkas, I'm not unsympathetic to your plight, but I just have to ask. Why, why, why would you go and play more at a casino that was giving you a bullshit excuse for delaying your first withdrawal? I'm sorry, but I just don't get it.

 

[digkas]

Digkas, I'm not unsympathetic to your plight, but I just have to ask. Why, why, why would you go and play more at a casino that was giving you a bullshit excuse for delaying your first withdrawal? I'm sorry, but I just don't get it.

Why would I not continue playing? If anything, stopping would only make me look like a bonus abuser. They didn't show any signs of nonpayment before they locked my account, just some stalling which I expected for a withdrawal this size.

 

[OliverCurran]

Thessaloniki

Hi Digkas et al

According to my research, Thessaloniki is a town in Greece with a population of about 350,000.

Over the past four years we have had about 5 players join from this town.

All of a sudden since November 2006 we have had literally dozens of players join from Thessaloniki. They are all aged in their early 20s. None of them is tracked as having come from any specific marketing campaigns. They all play with NETeller, all redeem the same bonus and all play/wager on the same game and in the same manner.

I have been in this business long enough to know when something seems more than coincidental. This is clearly another case of syndicated bonus abuse.

I have therefore blocked all of the accounts of these fraudsters, including Digkas's account.

Best regards
Oliver Curran
Power Bet Casino

 

[mucullus]

All of a sudden since November 2006 we have had literally dozens of players join from Thessaloniki. They are all aged in their early 20s. None of them is tracked as having come from any specific marketing campaigns. They all play with NETeller, all redeem the same bonus and all play/wager on the same game and in the same manner.

This alone doesn't justify a non-payment.

As with all matters of law, nulla poena sine lege.

So please specify exactly which terms have been broken by the player.

 

[Pinababy69]

Hi Digkas et al

According to my research, Thessaloniki is a town in Greece with a population of about 350,000.

Over the past four years we have had about 5 players join from this town.

All of a sudden since November 2006 we have had literally dozens of players join from Thessaloniki. They are all aged in their early 20s. None of them is tracked as having come from any specific marketing campaigns. They all play with NETeller, all redeem the same bonus and all play/wager on the same game and in the same manner.

I have been in this business long enough to know when something seems more than coincidental. This is clearly another case of syndicated bonus abuse.

I have therefore blocked all of the accounts of these fraudsters, including Digkas's account.

Best regards
Oliver Curran
Power Bet Casino

So if this was your reason for denying the withdrawal, what was the point of even asking the OP for a Greek utility bill in English? It seems absurd, even for you guys.

One more question, don't you think that if you just stopped offering these bonuses, and especially to people that aren't eligible in the first place...that maybe we wouldn't see so many of these complaints? Just a passing thought.

 

[BBKPoker]

At least someone else is having similar BS Powerbet issues.

This is also another case of ludicrous business practices.

"Oh, well, there's technically nothing wrong, no terms broken etc etc, but we don't like the way they wager, so obviously they are (pick one: related, assosciated, fraudulent, syndicated, etc etc). PS, we actually just never pay our players if they win".

If you think that city or country is suspicious, then don't accept wagers. You don't just blatantly steal $400,000 from someone and make hollow excuses.

Oh wait, you are a casino operator with a very sketchy history. I guess you do do that then, don't you?

 

[digkas]

Hi Digkas et al

According to my research, Thessaloniki is a town in Greece with a population of about 350,000.

Over the past four years we have had about 5 players join from this town.

All of a sudden since November 2006 we have had literally dozens of players join from Thessaloniki. They are all aged in their early 20s. None of them is tracked as having come from any specific marketing campaigns. They all play with NETeller, all redeem the same bonus and all play/wager on the same game and in the same manner.

I have been in this business long enough to know when something seems more than coincidental. This is clearly another case of syndicated bonus abuse.

I have therefore blocked all of the accounts of these fraudsters, including Digkas's account.

Best regards
Oliver Curran
Power Bet Casino

Exactly as the other posters said, all of this is BS since there is obviously nothing in the T&C against players from the same city playing. I will however argue that a) the Thessaloniki prefecture has a population of over 1,000,000 and b) I played a host of different games so the same game argument is invalid. The same bonus argument doesn't mean much either since Powerbet has the same promotions going pretty much every day of the week, someone would be quite foolish not to use them. Also I would very much like to see these "dozens" of players since I doubt there are so many, let alone in a specific age group.
To recap, you are using false arguments in pretty much all of your points and your conclusion is invalid as well since there is no breach of the T&C whatsoever even if everything you said was true. I understand you dont want to part with your money Oliver but this isn't convincing anyone.

 

[vinylweatherman]

Spam

The "marketing campaign" is just as likely to be from a "spammy affiliate". These Curran Clip Joints often seem to hit with tons of spam on a periodic basis. If spam was robotically directed at a particular ISP, such as spamming all likely permutations on <random_addy>@ntlworld.com then it is likely that many players will suddenly join from within a smallish area, such as that served by the ISP involved. Curran style coupons can be large, such as 150% on deposits of $16000 (Yes, I have seen this, I received them for Crystal Palace as escalating attempts to get me to deposit).

$400,000 is an awful lot to have to pay out, so no surprise then that this "issue" has arisen.

It would be interesting to see one of these issues tested in a court - would be worth it for $400,000. A success would pave the way for other players in the same position.

Clearly, in order to adhere to these "secret" terms. Townsfolk the world over need to realise that there is a ration on how many new players can join a casino, and they had better all collude to ensure they do not exceed this. Looks like the ration is a couple per year per 1,000,000 head of population.

 

[NextToYou]

This is clearly another case of syndicated bonus abuse.

I have therefore blocked all of the accounts of these fraudsters, including Digkas's account.

There is not such a thing as "bonus abuse".

If YOU decide to give some players some kind of a bonus offer with the terms that YOU have decided, then how can this be an abuse if player decides to take this offer given by YOU, with YOUR terms.

So funny you call this a fraud, LOL.

I hope this casino gets blaclisted ASAP, because of not honouring terms on bonuses they decide THEMSELF.

 

[vinylweatherman]

Quite.

There is not such a thing as "bonus abuse".

If YOU decide to give some players some kind of a bonus offer with the terms that YOU have decided, then how can this be an abuse if player decides to take this offer given by YOU, with YOUR terms.

So funny you call this a fraud, LOL.

I hope this casino gets blaclisted ASAP, because of not honouring terms on bonuses they decide THEMSELF.

Offer huge bonus to 1000 players. 100 take it up & "too many" get lucky. T & C have specifications as to what games can be played, and usually it is only the worst games for payouts.

So, these 100 players deposit and play a similar set of games, eg. the only ones allowed in the T & C; and they play in a similar way (they click on a chip, and click on the table with their mouse etc. etc). It follows then that these 100 players are now a "syndicate", working together to a common cause. I bet the ONLY real evidence is that, as a whole, the casino lost out on the promotion and the players as a whole made a net gain (even though many individual players lost and some won). The casino then plays the "abuse card", which enables it to keep any winnings and return just the deposits. Naturally, those of the "syndicate" who lost do not get their deposits back, and don't ever know that they could never have come out ahead as they are not informed they are in breach for so long as they lose. In the end, a loss making promotion turns in a net profit, and at a later date the promotion is repeated. When the casino does well on a coupon, winners are then paid so that it does not become too obvious what they are up to, and said paid winners then post something along the lines of "I have never had any trouble with ........... casino, and have always been paid without any problems".


Incidentally, I have not seen "multiple browsers" used by the Curran Clan as an excuse for non payment, how about it "Oliver", it would make a nice change to the usual "bonus abuse" or "wrong games" excuses.

I have seen this "multiple browsers" in a few T & C, but it never makes it clear what is meant by it. I bet many players have FireFox (or another) installed on the PC as well as the standard Internet Explorer - would this be enough for a casino to try this one on?

 

[REOdeathwagon]

I have been in this business long enough to know when something seems more than coincidental. This is clearly another case of syndicated bonus abuse.


Best regards
Oliver Curran
Power Bet Casino

Admirable that you would reply to this thread.

But, unless you can produce a better answer than this you will never see a deposit from this player.


REOdeathwagon

 

[REOdeathwagon]

There is not such a thing as "bonus abuse".

If YOU decide to give some players some kind of a bonus offer with the terms that YOU have decided, then how can this be an abuse if player decides to take this offer given by YOU, with YOUR terms.

So funny you call this a fraud, LOL.

I hope this casino gets blaclisted ASAP, because of not honouring terms on bonuses they decide THEMSELF.

Very well phrased NextToYou.

REOdeathwagon

 

[Freefall]

So whats up now? any news?

 

[digkas]

There is no correspondence from them as they obviously have decided what they want to do. I see casinomeister has added them to the Rogue list which is a step in the right direction. I plan to take my case with Kahnawake and Neteller although I am not sure how helpful they can/will be. I am waiting for Hastings to become operational. If nothing of the above works or if Hastings is taking way too long I will be filing a lawsuit.

 

[The Dude]

Admin Note

Just a heads up that any current PABs that I have for the CP group will be forwarded to Hastings as soon as they get their act together. I hope to have more news about this while at the ICE in london.

Cheers!

 

[digkas]

Update

Hi everyone, another update, I too received a reply from Montana stating that initial findings have been sent to the operator. I had filed a complaint with them even though their site appeared defunct. I also received a reply from the Kahnawake Gaming Commission saying they have allowed the operator 2 weeks to respond to their inquiries/investigations.