The player from Canada had permanently self-excluded from the casino. At a later stage, their account was reopened following communication with the casino, after which they lost $7,506.04 USD within three days of playing. The player subsequently requested a refund, believing this situation constituted a breach of the casino’s responsible gambling obligations.
We investigated the case thoroughly; however, we found no evidence that the player had explicitly informed the casino about a gambling problem at the time of requesting the permanent self-exclusion. It is important to note that permanent self-exclusion does not necessarily imply problem gambling unless this is clearly communicated.
Additionally, there was no sufficient evidence demonstrating that the casino had violated its responsible gambling policy when the account was reopened.
Consequently, due to the lack of proof that the casino was made aware of the player’s gambling problem or that it breached its obligations, the complaint was closed as rejected.
I self excluded permanently from this casino due to problem gambling. I am unable to control my gambling. My account was reopened (from my asking, I admit) and I proceeded to play recklessly (why I self excluded in the first place, due to my extreme vulnerability to gambling) and lost $7506.04 USD over the course of the last 3 days.
i would like these deposits refunded as I believe this to be a breach of their responsible gambling pledge.
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Thank you very much for submitting your complaint. I’m sorry to hear about the situation you’ve experienced.
To better understand your case and assess it properly, I would like to ask you a few additional questions:
Could you please confirm when exactly you requested the permanent self-exclusion and how it was processed (e.g., via email, live chat)?
Did you explicitly state that you have a gambling problem when requesting the self-exclusion?
When you later requested the reopening of your account, what exactly did you communicate to the casino?
Did the casino perform any responsible gambling checks (e.g., warnings, cooldown periods, questionnaires) before reactivating your account?
How long after your self-exclusion was your account reopened?
Have you contacted the casino regarding this issue after the losses occurred? If yes, what was their response?
Additionally, if you have any relevant communication with the casino (emails, chat transcripts, confirmation of self-exclusion, or reopening request), please feel free to forward it to petronela.k@casino.guru.
Your cooperation in providing these details will help us investigate and work towards a resolution.
I hope we will be able to help you to resolve this issue as soon as possible.
requested Jan 10. Via their responsible gambling tab. I initiated the 24 hour cooling period and once that was up, I chose permanent self exclusion. From there, any attempt to log in was not granted, message of "account not activated", I dont recall if there was an option to select the reason for permanent self exclusion but certainly chose that over any of the short term options
i received promotional material via email (attached) advising that my quarterly bonus was available lZ March 17. As a compulsive gambler, this triggered my request to reopen my account. I did advise via chat that I would be responsible but there was no safeguard in place to protect me from this. They requested my last 2 deposits and proceeded to reactivate my account.
There were no warnings or questionnaires or cooling off periods to protect me and I deposited immediately.
My account was permanently self excluded Jan 10 and was reopened on March 19. Per another Winna complaint on casino guru (attached), it appears Winna has a 3 month cooling off period before considering return to play. This was less than 3 months
I contacted the casino and they advised that there no way to refund my deposits.
i am attaching promotional material, casino gurus other thread mentioning a 3 month required cooling off period, and my deposits after March 17.
i am a losing player on Winna and lost an incredible amount of money on trust dice in between Jan 10 and March 17. I believe Winna responsibility is to monitor if I had problem gambling behaviors before reopening my account.
hello, just 1 quick add. Can we please ensure I am removed from all promotional material permanently. Even after their support team closed my account permanently again themselves (2 days ago) I continue to receive these emails.
i don’t believe the onus is on the player to unsubscribe from these emails but rather for the casino to actively remove at-risk players from their promotional content
Thank you very much for your reply and for providing all the additional details.
I would like to clarify one important point before we proceed further with the investigation.
Could you please confirm whether you have any proof that you explicitly mentioned a gambling problem when requesting your permanent self-exclusion back in January? For example, this could be an email, chat transcript, or any confirmation where the reason for self-exclusion is clearly stated.
This detail is very important for us, as the level of responsibility on the casino’s side can differ depending on whether they were clearly informed about a gambling problem or if the self-exclusion was requested without specifying the reason.
If you have any such evidence, please upload it here or forward it directly to petronela.k@casino.guru so we can review it carefully.
no, I don’t have this explicit proof as suddenly I am unable to view my chat history on winna’s web page. I was able to see my chat history yesterday but am unable to now.
my process was to select cooling off period for 24 hours. I was then presented with the choice of 1/3/6 month self exclusion or PERMANENT self exclusion and selected permanent.
I am a problem gambler and the casino certainly has access to the data that backs that up.
I ask, why a "1 time exception" for return to play? If I permanently self excluded again and followed the same steps to return, would I suddenly not be acting in accordance with their responsible gambling policy?
i have examples on apps such as telegram that help show that my problems were clear. See below.
winna clearly states in another thread here that they have a 90 day cooling off period for any player looking to return to play.
why was there no safeguard in place from allowing me to return (cooling off period, questionnaire)? The damage my return to play has done is irreversible and life changing in a very negative way.
Apologies to vent, I lost tens of thousands of USD on this site. How can a player that is losing this much, typically within the first 8 hours of deposit, not have any additional questions/due diligence before allowing me to immediately deposit again?
Thank you very much for your detailed reply and for sharing all the information provided so far.
I have also reviewed the casino’s latest statement from 08.04.2026, where they mention that "it was only at a later stage that you communicated experiencing gambling-related difficulties."
To better understand the timeline and assess the situation accurately, could you please clarify the following:
Do you know which exact communication the casino is referring to with this statement?
Do you recall when and how you informed them about your gambling problem (e.g., via live chat, email, or another channel)?
Winna rep mentions users self excluding themselves through their "Winna cares" section. This was my tool to self exclude. 24 hour cooling off period followed by PERMANENT self exclusion. The casino has record of my PERMANENT self exclusion.
This was not an account closure but rather, a self exclusion. I did not pair up my permanent self exclusion with a message to their chat or an email regarding my problem gambling as I did not believe that to be necessary since Winna claims that this is a valid method of self exclusion here https://help.winna.com/en/articles/10436161-self-exclusion-on-winna
I am reattaching this photo as it provides clarity into winnas responsible gambling policy which confirms, and I am paraphrasing, "3 months cooling off period before return to play reevaluation. My account was reopened in LESS than 90 days.
please see this response from Igor in another thread through Winna:
the casino TWICE mentions a 3 month reassessment for return to play.
to reiterate, I did not reach out to chat/email because Winna offers a tool to self exclude without having to communicate to any staff members. I initiated a cool down and then permanently self excluded. My account was reopened after permanent self exclusion in less time than required for reevaluation based on multiple Winna agent comments on casino guru.
combined with the promotional material that I was sent in March though already permanently self excluded, I have no doubt that Winna should refund my deposits after March 17.
I would say that it would be inarguable that permanent self excluded should be taken seriously and not reversed, especially in less than 90 days and without a return to play questionnaire/true evaluation of a players state of mind.
i followed Winnas responsible gambling pledge and used their "winna cares" function.
needing to couple that with messaging the casino of specific reasons for self exclusion only gives the casino a potential "out" when situations such as these arise.
permanent self exclusion should not be reversed under any circumstances.
moreover, especially for a perpetual LOSING player who has displayed tendencies of losing everything they deposit (and very rarely withdrawing) within hours or minutes.
Thank you for your detailed replies and for providing all the information so far.
I would like to make one final request for supporting evidence regarding your case.
It is very important to clarify that a self-exclusion request, on its own, does not automatically mean that the player has explicitly informed the casino about a gambling problem. Some casinos offer self-exclusion tools that can be used for various reasons, without classifying the user as a problem gambler.
For us to assess the casino’s level of responsibility in terms of responsible gambling, we need clear proof that you explicitly informed the casino about your gambling problem (GP). This could be in the form of:
an email,
a live chat transcript,
or any other communication where this was clearly stated.
Additionally, if the self-exclusion tool did not work as expected, it is important to note that the casino provides alternative methods to request self-exclusion, such as:
At this stage, we need to see evidence that you used these channels and explicitly communicated your gambling problem to the casino.
Therefore, I would kindly ask you one last time to check whether you are able to provide any such supporting evidence. Without this, it will be very difficult for us to proceed further with the case.
Thank you in advance for your understanding and cooperation.
(self exclusion followed by user request to return to play)
winna’s self exclusion tool worked successfully and my account was deactivated.
my complaint centers on how the casino handled my "re-evaluation".
in the above situation, the casino explicitly mentions a 3 month cooling off period. This was not applied in my case even though my account had been deactivated.
I request that you invite the casino to respond and ask them:
why was a "1 time exception" (see photo above from gmail exchange) applied to bypass my permanent self exclusion and why was there no return to play reevaluation?
ask for confirmation of their "responsible gambling policy" that explicitly states (from a Winna staffer on the "akin" complaint from above) a 90 day cooling off is period before reevaluating for return to play.
Further, when researching for similar cases, there is a common understanding that the distinction in following through on complaints is when the distinction is made between "account closures" vs self exclusion (see attached as an example)
not explicitly having proof of advising the casino of an explicit gambling problem.
If possible, please move forward with my request as soon as possible. The last 2 replies I made required 8 and 10 days for casino guru to respond.
i know your team is doing gods work and we, as a community, are very grateful.
Thank you for your detailed messages and for all the information you have shared throughout this complaint.
I fully understand your perspective and the concerns you’ve raised regarding responsible gambling measures. However, I would like to clarify an important point regarding how we assess cases like yours.
Each complaint we handle is reviewed individually, and while similar cases can provide some context, our conclusions are always based strictly on the specific facts and evidence available in your case.
At this stage, we still do not have any evidence confirming that you explicitly informed the casino about your gambling problem at the time you requested the permanent self-exclusion. The only statement that somewhat refers to this comes from the casino’s message dated 08.04.2026, where they mention that "it was only at a later stage that you communicated experiencing gambling-related difficulties." However, this does not confirm that the casino was clearly informed about your situation at the moment the self-exclusion was requested.
It is also important to explain that requesting a permanent self-exclusion does not necessarily mean that the player has declared a gambling problem. Players may choose this option for various personal reasons, and unless the gambling problem is explicitly communicated, the casino’s obligations can differ.
We understand that your account was later reopened at your request and that you subsequently experienced losses. However, based on the information currently available, we are unable to establish that the casino breached its responsible gambling obligations in a way that would justify a refund of your deposits.
For this reason, I’m afraid we will have to close this complaint as rejected for now.
That being said, you are always welcome to contact us again and request a reopening of the case if you are able to provide any evidence showing that you clearly informed the casino about your gambling problem at the time of requesting the permanent self-exclusion.
I’m sorry we couldn’t assist you further in this case.