UK resident playing in USD

Hi everyone,

I live in the UK, sometimes when signing up to a casino I like to make an account in USD. I always check the terms & conditions of the casino to make sure this is allowed. I signed up to Jackpots in a Flash casino with a USD account after reading these T&Cs:

"12. 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 and winnings resulting from deposits in any currency made in contradiction to this condition. An exception is made for USD and CAD to this clause."

They say there is an exception for USD and CAD, however after successfully claiming my sign-up bonus and wagering, I am told that I should have made an account in GBP.

I emailed them pointing out these T&Cs and this is their reply:

" This rule is based on gameplay and registration in countries where the primary currency is to listed in the casino software and thus USD or CAD is the only option. Australia would be a county that comes to mind.

I trust that this does assist you and make it clearer."

I think these T&Cs are very misleading. I know a lot of UK players like make accounts in USD and these T&Cs would appear to have allowed this.

Do I have a point here? The fact is their T&Cs say nothing about the exception only being for countries were the primary currency is not listed.

 

They should have let you do it because it is a lower-valued currency than your default currency. There are a handful of UK players at this forum that prefer to deposit in USD when possible to get more play from their GBP.

I understand the casinos having a problem with non-UK people trying to use GBP, but I don't see what the big deal is about UK people downgrading to a crappy currency such as my own.

 

I have a USD account with of their other casinos and im from the Uk. No probs with them. And that clause is applicable to UK players, I know cos i queried it myself a long time ago before i signed up

Just send them another email saying that they either allow you to play in USD or youll take your custom to another more worthwhile casino and their are many of them My guess is they will allow.

 

It's an unclear term. This is shown by how it has been interpreted differently according to when a player signed up.

If it was intended that only players whose currency was unsupported could use dollars, then that clause should have been separated from the first paragraph which deals with players whose home currency IS offered by the software. It should then have been part of a separate paragraph which clearly dealt with players whose home currency was NOT supported by the software.

In terms of "bonus abuse" a UK player using the US dollar is only getting half the amount of free money, but in terms of "entertainment" is getting DOUBLE.
Since the industry keeps on about how they want us to play "for entertainment" they should be happy to accept play in a lower value currency.
If two cinemas in a city were showing the latest blockbuster, but one charged 10, and the other only 5-50, where would you most likely go to see it?

One reason why the casino might NOT want UK residents playing in the US Dollar is that they make only half what they would were they playing in UK Pounds, and this has nothing to do with "entertainment", and all to do with getting as much as possible from the player.
Given that the US players can no longer play, why do they still offer the US Dollar? Surely they should only offer the Pound, Euro, and Canadian dollar, and tell players whose currency is not supported they can only use the Euro, which is the European equivalent of the universally accepted US Dollar, and is the only serious contender for a "world currency" to replace the US Dollar.

 

Thanks you for your replies!

Yous have made some excellent points and I will email them back linking them to this thread.

Just to add, I had emailed them before I signed up asking if it was allowed to have a USD account if you are a UK resident. After waiting around for a long time for a reply I grew impatient and decided I was just being paranoid about something I was 99.99% sure that I was correct about. After all they do say that there is an exception for USD accounts!!!!

It was only when I claimed my sign up bonus and began wagering that I received the response to my email telling me that I am not allowed to have a USD account. This is when I emailed them back explaining I have already made an account and began wagering. That is when I got this response:

"Thank you fro contacting support.

This rule is based on gameplay and registration in countries where the primary currency is to listed in the casino software and thus USD or CAD is the only option. Australia would be a county that comes to mind.

I trust that this does assist you and make it clearer."

If I was breaking the T&Cs then how come I was able to successfully claim my sign up bonus? Isn't the whole point of having to "submit" a claim so the casino can do a check on your account to see if you are eligible?

I feel they are deliberately misleading players into thinking they can have a USD account, then should they someday hit a nice win they can pull this excuse as a reason not to pay them.

I like playing in USD because Power Poker usually has a 5 min bet if you want 4000/1 for a Royal Flush so $5 isn't just as bad

 

I agree with all the above posts.
There should be no problem at all with you playing in $ as this is a lower value currency and their terms actually state this ok.
If you were to ask them for a reasonable reason as to why they have a problem with you playing in $ they probably could not give one.
Many other casinos allow UK players to play in lesser valued currencies and they probably make a little on the exchange rate as well.
At least you got response before you tried to withdraw any winnings, that would of been quite cheap and tacky of them.
Let us know how you get on.

 

Hello Rusty,

I should just mention that I have not attempted a withdrawal at this casino yet. I wont play there again until this matter is cleared up as according to them they have the right to withhold any money I might win because they claim I have broken the T&Cs.

I actually consider myself lucky that I have not yet hit any worthwhile wins there.

 

I have played like this once or twice but it doesnt really make a difference. Just because the currency converts into more numbers it is not worth anymore.

 

Hi,

Video Poker pays a higher percentage when betting the maximum bet which depending on the casino is usually 5. Five pound a hand is a little much for me so its a good idea to play in USD at $5 per hand

 

I daresay the answer to that is because many people myself included would stop playing at all. Im an entertainment playr as are many players and as you said yourself it doubles your entertainment value.

 

Just to clear things up for any UK player who's playing at the Palace Group with a USD account. I received a PM from their rep here on casinomeister.

__________________

 

Ahh all is well then.Thought it was an odd rule

 

I can recall several casinos who have made it very hard for me to play in $usd with my neteller account- name's escape me currently, admittedly.

Seeing as I have it from 2 senior people at 2 different major UK casinos that they find their UK client base very much like to play in USD (so haven't bothered making their sites multi-currency yet) as makes them feel like have more money, despite the loss of currency exchange - I can only therefore assume is another example of over-paranoia by casinos in relation to potential bonus abuse & a general malaise & arrogance regarding their rights to impose whatever conditions & reasons not to pay, that they want.

 

i see the casino had resolved this issue, but when i read that bolded term, to me it says "players from america and canada can choose between either USD or CAD." but i'm biased because i am canadian and my currency is worth the least. but i can definitely see the other side, since these currencies are worth the least and it can be interpreted as the casino doesn't mind anyone using these cheap currencies. just another testament to why casinos need people with skill in grammar to proofread these for clarity.