Rant thread or just disillusioned with online casino tactics?

[RichyJ75]

Feels like it should be a rant, but feel more let down by the sector and rather upset at reading complaints in PAB and on the AskGamblers website. Seriously, some of these chaps have lost thousands through confiscations, etc even though the casino accepted the initial bet.

For years I have enjoyed fruit machines, casinos and online casinos, but of late there seems to be so many complaints ranging from breaching 30% of deposit/bonus stakes (why, just why is there such a T&C? If I deposit £10, why is my maximum bet £3? Why should I deposit £35 if I wanted to do a £10 bet?) through to SE spanning far and wide to different casinos within the same group in a bid to them forfeiting winnings yet willing to accept deposits for as long as possible before you try a withdrawal, even if it looks and feels like a different casino?

I enjoy playing slots, they are time killers and add enjoyment when you win, even more enjoyment when you win big and manage a successful withdrawal! I am even happy playing slots in demo mode if I am following my budget.

But I now fear pages and pages of T&C's, hidden text, hidden names, reversal time frames while funds pending (there is a reason why I opted for a withdrawal!!), bet calculations needing a degree in maths (30% of deposit or bonus whichever is lesser amount, even if additional bonus added during wagering, not allowing splits, double ups etc if playing BJ and wagering requirements not applicable on all slots with some only contributing 80% of WR, etc etc). What has happened to the good old rule of handing over cash to the casino and they say yes or no to accepting the wager. If yes, they pay out straight away if you win and no questions asked, if no, punter changes the bet prior to it being accepted. Simples!

I have always been honest and fair in my life, never had points on my driving licence, never been in trouble with the police (honestly, I do have fun sometimes!!), but now my latest situation has seen £500 (from £235 in deposits) forfeited from my account because I made the mistake of closing a casino account some time back because I didn't want an open account at that casino where I didn't want to play again. Couple of years back saw roughly £450 forfeited because I bet approx 32% of my deposit amount on a couple of non-winning spins (irregular play T&C stated 30% was max stake), even though over £300 had been won on low bets previously! I have also had other funds confiscated because I closed a bingo account operated by the casino group and they classed it as SE and problem gambling, even though I didn't want to play bingo!!

Is there such a stigma where punters feel embarrassed to pursue negative casino outcomes in fear of being labelled with a gambling problem?

Yes, there are some great casinos out there who I do trust. One similarity between them is that they are the only online casino under that operator and not formed in a group.

Time to realise that trying new casinos should not be attempted and in all fairness, surely the market is saturated with casino sites/groups now? Probably makes more sense to knock it on the head and get a different hobby, just a shame I do like IR, T3, DoA, Gonzo, Raging Rhino, etc. Also enjoy a session on progressive jackpot slots for the 'what if' thrill. I used to play the Lottery until that got manipulated and changed too much with peanut wins for huge odds matching those numbers.

Hmmmm, perhaps we do need a rant thread to let off steam once in a while!

 

[slotter999]

If we're in a ranting mood I have a little one.

I've got a complaint against everymatrix rumbling along. Short version is they confiscated winnings for SE but only once I'd actually turned a profit.

So I went through the appeals process and lodged an ADR - they rejected and said it was a regulator issue contact the UKGC. Took three weeks to tell me that BTW.

So I contacted UKGC....two months later I got reply. It's quite generic but they asked for more information including a signed copy of my SE (does such a thing even exist?).

So I forwarded the UKGC email onto everymatrix who have pretty much ignored me for two weeks. I've cc'd in UKGC to perhaps prompt them into action but I get the impression they couldn't really care less.

One of the points made by the UKGC to me was they couldn't help get my money but they could take regulatory action including sanctions.

This morning I took a look at the sanctions list and there doesn't appear to have been any serious action taken against any remote gambling operator which the industry is in absolutely fantastic shape or the regulator is completely toothless. I'm guessing the latter.

Back to your point. I don't know what the solution is. In an ideal world all of the above could be legislated for and technical solutions put in place to prevent these breaches I.e. don't accept a £10 bet if I'm not allowed to place it. Alternatively, someone has to go to court, win and path the way for the rest of us. I think we are now allowed class action lawsuits in this country but imagine if there was PPI equivalent for various confiscations / non payments etc. I can only imagine how much money would be at stake.....huuuuuge. Of course this won't happen because the government / UKGC don't really care enough to do anything....they just want their slice of the money in return for giving a warning to the occasional under 18 caught playing a fruity.