Poll Winnings Confiscation : guess the most common reason

[maxd]

From our PAB (Player Arbitration) work we know that winnings confiscations typically boil down to a small subset of reasons.

Can you guess which are the most common reasons? You can vote on one, two, or three from the list.

Winners get Two Free PABs!!!
(all PABs are free so ... there's that. )

PS. I'll post an info-graphic at the end of the Poll -- end of the month unless peeps want to have the Poll go on longer -- to show everyone what we've been seeing this year.

 

[Jono777]

I guessed at multiple accounts, equal highest vote so far lol...

Guessing that in some cases there are genuine instances where a player has registered forgetting they did so a year or more back for example....

Then the not so genuine with the tasty SUB's on offer (more so outside UK nowadays)

 

[SYPlayer95]

Id go with scam casinos, as the number of these are definitely on the rise.

 

[Jono777]

Ps Slight typo in the

Scam casinos that we never going to pay.​

Option

 

[teckiwi]

multiple accounts, lots of sporksbook people complaining

 

[Mr Shine]

I'd guess straight up scam sites are about 50%, with multiple accounts making up the majority of the rest.

 

[SCATT3R]

I think a more recent trend (which isn't in the list) is exceeding the max cash out limit on deposit bonuses. People have generally become much better at adhering to bonus conditions like staying within the bet size, not playing restricted games, completing the WR and such, only to now have missed the part where it says (often in microscopic writing) that any wins will be capped at so and so much - a practice it feels is now common in like 9/10 bonus offers.

 

[LoopsterAU]

Considering my recent 6 figure PAB im def going with scam casinos that were never going to pay even though in my case they paid 3 x 5k payments (max limit per week which they struggle to do on time and only because I was redepositing like 3/4 of it straight back to their sister casinos which i stopped doing for a couple of weeks before they pulled the next move) before retroactively claiming a max bet breach (so I guess this one also sits somewhere on the list) on the initial bonus wagering and then denying all video evidence I have to prove they are lying by ghosting me.

Tobique Gaming commision were also completely useless ghosting me despite all my evidence I have against the casino which I created a seperate thread about.

 

[Nate]

Considering my recent 6 figure PAB im def going with scam casinos that were never going to pay even though in my case they paid 3 x 5k payments (max limit per week which they struggle to do on time and only because I was redepositing like 3/4 of it straight back to their sister casinos which i stopped doing for a couple of weeks before they pulled the next move) before retroactively claiming a max bet breach (so I guess this one also sits somewhere on the list) on the initial bonus wagering and then denying all video evidence I have to prove they are lying by ghosting me.

Tobique Gaming commision were also completely useless ghosting me despite all my evidence I have against the casino which I created a seperate thread about.

In our experience, most dodgy places do this to inspire confidence in their ability to 'pay'. As long as you are historically in the negative and continue to deposit, that is.

Once the deposits stop, so do the payments.

Nate

 

[lukey141]

Feels like it's a trick question to go for the obvious scam casino.

I went with account not cleared. I can see people clearing wagering that had a withdrawal limit then continuing to play with that balance and getting screwed by any max withdrawal t&c.

 

[HBx99]

Any casino with 5k weekly withdrawal limits and limited withdrawal limits like 3-10x after wagering a deposit bonus are basically scams in themselves. Like bugger depositing $100 for a 100% bonus and having a max 1k cash out limit.. what's the point, never playing those sites again. Casinos shouldn't have limits, or atleast offer 50k or 100k minimum on monthly withdrawal limits.

 

[LoopsterAU]

Any casino with 5k weekly withdrawal limits and limited withdrawal limits like 3-10x after wagering a deposit bonus are basically scams in themselves. Like bugger depositing $100 for a 100% bonus and having a max 1k cash out limit.. what's the point, never playing those sites again. Casinos shouldn't have limits, or atleast offer 50k or 100k minimum on monthly withdrawal limits.

Yeah I always read the terms and if it says max cash out x5 or x10 completely avoid them.

If they were a bit more reasonable like 50 or 100x deposit i may think about it but even then with the bet sizes I like to do $5 - $10 getting a 5000 - 15000x would shatter me due to only being able to withdraw a portion of the actual win.

 

[Nate]

Any casino with 5k weekly withdrawal limits and limited withdrawal limits like 3-10x after wagering a deposit bonus are basically scams in themselves. Like bugger depositing $100 for a 100% bonus and having a max 1k cash out limit.. what's the point, never playing those sites again. Casinos shouldn't have limits, or atleast offer 50k or 100k minimum on monthly withdrawal limits.

They can't - because their limits alone tell you that they are struggling to keep their heads above water. They offer stupid bonuses, cap them, and when you win, they can only pay you a percentage monthly.

Now... that's if they have exhausted asking you for verification (again), claiming you breached their terms, changing your payment method, or charging exorbitant withdrawal fees.

The list of tactics goes on and on...

Nate

 

[JohnSnow]

All the casino's that have confiscated my winnings no longer exist or have a new domain. So I would say the main reason is rogue predetory terms for (whatever reason). You wouldn't guess but some (early legit) casino's have financial troubles. Then again if you are having financial issues in the iGaming business you must be doing something wrong.

 

[Webzcas]

I'd say now it would be Scam Casinos.

 

[maxd]

Feels like it's a trick question to go for the obvious scam casino.

No, not at all! I intended the questions to be quite serious, because frankly we've seen all of those pass through the PAB gates in recent years.

Outright scam casinos were a big thing back in the Before Times, virtually disappeared (comparatively speaking) in the middle years and have recently made a big come-back. But the other options are totally legit too, meaning we very much have and do see them.

I would say the main reason is rogue predetory terms

I'm thinking this is a bit in Scam Casino territory in that their purpose from the start in both cases is to cheat players. It used to be that they did it through the Terms -- among other ways -- whereas today it's just plain money-hoovering fakery. In any case I've combined the two options in the questionnaire.

 

[maxd]

I think a more recent trend (which isn't in the list) is exceeding the max cash out limit on deposit bonuses. People have generally become much better at adhering to bonus conditions like staying within the bet size, not playing restricted games, completing the WR and such, only to now have missed the part where it says (often in microscopic writing) that any wins will be capped at so and so much - a practice it feels is now common in like 9/10 bonus offers.

Hmm, that's an interesting one because from my complaints-service-non-player point of view there have always been -- or close to it -- Max Win limits on bonuses. Maybe it's just been around for so long that I've mis-remembered it.

In any case I'll add it to the list. Good call.

Also, FYI, I've changed the Poll so you're free to make up to three votes now, sort of a "name the worst" thing. Prob should have done that from the start.

 

[ViciousVixen]

I'd say they slow play with the excuse they are "backed up" because the millions they pull in, they can only hire one person per department. They hope you will play your redemption winnings. *Scummy Scammers*

 

[Jorj]

All the casino's that have confiscated my winnings no longer exist or have a new domain. So I would say the main reason is rogue predetory terms for (whatever reason). You wouldn't guess but some (early legit) casino's have financial troubles. Then again if you are having financial issues in the iGaming business you must be doing something wrong.

It has been years ago but a casino withdrew money from my checking account, it almost caused overdraft. When I confronted them they said I played without paying!! How do you do that??? Anyway I told them I reported my card stolen and I think I closed the account, they banned me from their casino!! LoL like I cared! They did the same thing to a friend of mine for $2000.00!!!!!

 

[maxd]

OK, time to close the book on this one. Respondents to the poll rated the top four reasons for winnings confiscations as:

• Scam/crook casinos ... (includes rogue Terms to justify confiscations): Votes: 22
• Multiple accounts: Votes: 11
• Max Bet violations: Votes: 8
• KYC failures: Votes: 6
• 3rd party account deposits: Votes: 6

On average these are spot on. Of course, the ratio changes all the time depending on who's coming to us for help in any given month. But overall, I would only tweak a few of these up or down a little.

"Scam/crook casinos that were never going to pay"
This really started taking off early in 2025 as AI made generating an entire online casino so much easier. https://www.casinomeister.com/forum...the-new-face-of-online-gambling-scams.107079/ I think people are starting to be more careful, but it still averages at 40-50% of our cases.

Max Bet violations
Probably a bit higher: 20ish%. People either don't read the Terms or they say "I only broke it once or twice". It's a black and white thing: either you broke the Terms or you didn't. "I only stole one or two cars!" would not hold up in court.

Multiple accounts
These are probably GourdFollower's favourite fraudsters as there are some really creative "the dog ate my homework" style assertions from scammers along the lines of: "we are two separate real individuals" and "He is my father's cousin's brother (a relative), not my sibling. We are different people."

KYC failures. higher: 15-20% An increasingly popular scam with AI fraud, purchased real IDs and hacked accounts. Of course, real people get caught in automated doom loops or just don't want to hand over as many documents as the casino is asking for.

3rd party account deposits. Far less common nowadays as generally people have learned this is not allowed. Maybe 3-5% at most. Mostly, it's only people fraudulently trying to use someone else's payment method.