The player from Germany had requested self-exclusion via email on June 30th due to a malfunctioning website tool, but the casino had neglected the requests. As a result, he lost 2,840 USDT in early July. The player sought a full refund and permanent self-exclusion.
The Complaints Team acknowledged the player's concerns regarding the self-exclusion process but noted that he had the opportunity to complete the self-exclusion request through a straightforward method provided by the casino. Ultimately, it was concluded that the player did not complete the self-exclusion process as intended, leading to the rejection of the complaint.
I'm filing this complaint because the casino is failing to uphold responsible gambling practices.
On June 30th, I requested self-exclusion via email, and followed up twice, informing them that the self-exclusion tool on their website was malfunctioning. They neglected my requests, which resulted in my loss of 2,840 USDT between the 6th and 7th of July. I am seeking a full refund of this amount and a permanent self-exclusion from all their services, including the termination of my account.
Attached is the email I sent regarding my self-exclusion request.
Thank you very much for submitting your complaint and I'm really sorry to hear about your issue with Sportbet.one Casino. Please allow me to ask you a few more question before we would move forward.
Could you please advise if your account is already verified and if yes, since when exactly? What exactly is wrong with the manual self-exclusion request - can you describe it? When was the first time you mentioned gambling addiction? When was the last time you spoke to the casino and what was it about?
I am writing to express my profound frustration and disappointment with the casino's handling of my situation. As of June 28th, I was able to withdraw money without any issues, indicating that the casino was not using the standard KYC check.
On June 30th, I informed the casino about my gambling addiction and urgently requested permanent self-exclusion via email. Despite this, the manual self-exclusion process was ineffective as it did not provide an option to complete the permanent self-exclusion. I followed up with an email on July 2nd, clearly detailing the urgency of the situation, however the casino dismissed my concerns.
As a result of the casino's negligence, I suffered significant financial losses in amount of 2840 usdt between July 6th and 7th. The casino is fully aware of my critical situation and my vulnerability to losing control, yet has shown a blatant disregard for my urgent pleas for help.
This lack of action and empathy from the casino is unacceptable and has exacerbated my already critical condition.
I’m kindly demanding your attention and your assistance to this matter to get a definitive closure of my account and a full refund of the made deposits between the 6th and 7th of July.
All the questions were answered but here again a summarized overview:
1- the casino isn’t using the standard kyc check and i was able to withdraw money previously on June 28th. As it’s mentioned on their website no kyc check is needed.
2- when requesting a self exclusion manually i had no option to self exclude myself permanently but it was only a 24 hours cool off period and i informed them immediately about the issue through emails and followed up twice to get my account permanently self excluded but it was in vain and my request got discarded.
3- First time i mentioned the gambling addiction was back to 30th June and the last time i spoke to them it was on 2nd of July and informed them of the gravity and the urgency of self excluding my account but all in vain again.
Thank you rad234 for all the information provided. I will now forward your complaint to my colleague Michal (michal.v@casino.guru) who will be assisting you from now on.
my name is Jess, I`m the head of the Client success department.
We already have a thread on the LCB forum regarding this complaint. You can check it out here https://lcb.org/onlinecasinobonusforum/direct-casino-support/sportbet-one-support-and-complaints-thread#new_topic.
After the player's appeal, he was advised to follow the procedure in his account.
Then Rad234 activated the cooling-off period on July 1, at 10:06 a.m.
After 24 hours, he received an email that his account was reactivated. And if he wants to continue the self-exclusion process, he should click on the corresponding button. However, the player did not open this email, as you can see in the screenshot below.
Rad234 wrote us that the tool we provided didn`t work properly. But how he could know the tool wasn't working if he hadn't even opened the letter.
Also, our Privacy policy states:
To terminate user account and remove all user-related data, User can choose one of the options:
Use the self-exclusion option on the website. To do it, the user should log in and go to the settings page https://sportbet.one/#settings/general and click on "Request self-exclusion." After that, follow the instructions which can be found here - https://sportbet.one/responsible-gambling.
Every new user needs to familiarize themselves with it:
Regarding the above, we do not hold responsibility for the player's action because the procedure was violated by the player.
still this casino is falsifying the facts and turning them to their favor !!
Just after i got their email on the 2nd of July at 9:06 am, i sent them an email on the same day at 9:49 am where i explicitly and clearly said that there were no option and literally informed them about my problem with losing control and being a problem gambler and the gravity of the situation.
What i got is a discard and pure negligence instead of addressing the matter and helping me self exclude from their platform and this till nowadays where the account remains active !!
It's 1000% their fault by neglecting my request and ignoring my email and now saying they aren't responsible ! Well sorry they are more than responsible for the loss !
Do I understand correctly that after the player had asked for self-exclusion due to gambling addiction, he was given a cool-off period, which then he himself could extend into full self-exclusion?
Our platform has an automatic self-exclusion system. It means all players requesting self-exclusion on their account should undergo the same process. So, after activating self-exclusion, the system automatically sends a player an email to confirm a cooling-off period for 24 hours, which is the first step of the self-exclusion process.
After the cooling-off period, the system automatically sends a player an email you can see below.
Pressing the green button, a player is redirected to the website where (s)he can choose the period of the account disablement.
Permanent is also available at the very end.
After a player has selected the period, (s)he gets another email to confirm the choice.
For instance, a player chose 1 day.
It is all described on this page - https://sportbet.one/responsible-gambling.
Firstly, let me note that self-exclusion due to a gambling problem is a serious issue that should be treated with utmost importance and care. The players suffering from gambling addictions often lose control of their actions and can not help themselves. Actually admitting to the casino that one has a gambling problem is a big step.
With that being said, if an addicted player reaches out to the casino, and requests self-exclusion due to these reasons, he shouldn't receive a cool-off period, even if it's only 24 hours. His account should be immediately and permanently closed, with no previous cool-off period.
With that being said, we believe the player should have his account permanently closed and he should be refunded in this case.
Our model of self-exclusion was developed one-on-one with Stake Casino, the top 1 leader in the crypto betting industry. I also want to note that Stake Casino has a high rating on your platform, which means Casino Guru considers this casino worthy.
Overall, our goal was to make the self-exclusion process easy and quick for the player, without any intervention from our side. Please agree that starting the self-exclusion process yourself is much faster than writing a letter to support. There is also a chance that such a letter will end up in spam. We took all these points into account and created, in our opinion, a good working automatic model. In this way, I consider our casino to be treated somewhat unfairly and ask you to consider your decision.
Also, please note Sportbet.one is no KYC casino. That`s why we have a lot of abusers (usually bonus abusers or self-exclusion abusers). In two words players create a few accounts - the winning accounts they keep and when losing, they try to find a way to get money back. Here the self exclusion option is the favorite one to get a chance of returning money.
One of the arguments, why we consider the player red234 to be an abuser, is that he posted a screenshot of our letter on the LCB forum, which shows that the button is inactive. And here we caught him in a lie. Because his screenshot was taken via "Print all" option, based on the format in which the email is displayed and the inactivity of the button. Please take this argument into account.
In most online casinos, a self-exclusion request is processed immediately via email, ensuring the account is terminated without delay. Considering the five-day gap between my initial request and the subsequent loss, your delay is inexcusable and unfair !
Offering a 24-hour cooling-off period is utterly ineffective. A problem gambler is vulnerable and can easily lose control, especially during a losing streak so that your approach does nothing to protect such individuals.
Instead of taking responsibility, you continue to distort the facts and label me as an abuser where on June 28th, after losing over 1200 USDT, I recognized the gravity of my situation and urgently requested self-exclusion to protect myself from further disorder and my funds. This was a big step and huge effort from me to prevent further harm, not to manipulate the system as you claim !
Despite acknowledging my email and replying to me and the numerous email exchanges, you failed to act properly and leading me to further losses.
This is to be considered a pure negligence and has nothing to do with fair and safe gambling environment.
Stop downplaying the seriousness of this issue where people’s lives are at stake and it's a redline not to cross.
Everyone here is frustrated and complaining with your system, which fails to protect problem gamblers seeking help and instead only leads to further losses and again you are still fully responsible for the losses I’ve endured !
We would like to update you that due to Michal, your designated resolver, being on vacation, we have opted to extend the timeline by an additional 7 days. Since Michal has an in-depth understanding of your situation and maintains direct communication with the casino, we find this extension justified. Your patience is sincerely appreciated, and I assure you that Michal will contact you at the earliest opportunity.
Thank you for your understanding and ongoing patience.
Although I get your point that the automated self-exclusion might be more effective than an email request, the problem here is the cool-off period.
If a player with a gambling addiction made a decision to self-exclude themselves because of their addiction, it is unacceptable to offer them a cool-off period. Their account should be closed immediately and permanently. If the player made the decision to apply self-exclusion, they should not be given a chance to not complete the process by giving them a cool-off period.
We are not the first one who came up with a cool-off period. If Casino Guru considers this unacceptable, it would be fair to initiate the change of the self-exclusion process of Stake Casino too as he is a top 1 leader in the crypto-betting industry.
Also, we kindly ask you to take into account the fact that player rad234 accepted our rules of the self-exclusion process as he confirmed in the screenshot below.
Since you keep referring to Stake Casino, I would like to point out this complaint that Stake Casino had on our website: https://casino.guru/stake-casino-player-s-attempt-to-self-exclude-from, where the issue was very similar, if not identical to this case. My colleague Jozef also expressed that the protection of self-excluded players was insufficient.
The players suffering from gambling addiction should not be asked to complete multiple steps if they want their account to be closed permanently, without the possibility of opening. Giving them additional time/steps would only make them doubt their initial decision and leave them vulnerable to depositing and losing more.
Please, could you reevaluate your decision and help us resolve this case, or is this your final decision?
Please look at the screenshot. This is the first letter we received from rad234.
As you can see there is no word about his gambling addiction.
The screenshot you see below was taken from the case you shared as an example.
According to your colleague's conclusion, we shouldn`t have immediately closed the account because of the T&C we had mentioned. The first time the player rad234 mentioned his addiction was on 2 July. Exactly at this time, he received a letter from us with the option to close his account permanently. Please look at the screenshot below.
He had the opportunity to close his account permanently, but he did not use it! We shall not be responsible for the player`s negligence. Then rad234 claimed on the LCB forum that no options were showing our email via the 'Print all' option. Such action tells us this player is dishonest with us. Therefore, there can be no talk of a refund.
Please take a look at the screenshot, which again was taken from the case with Stake Casino. Your colleague Petronela said well.
Players should respect the rules of the casino and follow their instructions at first. But Rad234 didn`t do that.
And it's your negligence that led to such an issue not mine you were totally informed about everything and you just misused the opportunity to cause further disorder and loss to me instead of taking necessary actions !!
I can not stress enough that Casino.Guru considers the 24-hour cool-off period before self-exclusion confirmation as an insufficient protection measure for players who suffer from gambling addiction. You are right that casinos have certain rules for dealing with self-exclusion requests, and the players should follow these rules to make the process as easy and fast as possible.
However, in cases like these, the rules that need to be followed are not necessarily friendly for users who suffer from gambling addiction. Giving them an additional cool-off period is something we can not get behind. Any other casino with this policy, for example, Stake, the casino that you keep referring to, would be treated equally, with us expressing our dissatisfaction with this process.
With all of the above being said, let me ask you one more question. The email that you sent the player on the 2nd of July, where he had to confirm the self-exclusion, if he did, would his account be instantly permanently blocked with no possibility of reopening, and with no additional cool-off periods? If that would be the case, we would be willing to accept this process.
Yes, there was the option to close the account permanently, and I`ll show it to you in the screenshots below.
When the player presses the green button (s)he will be redirected to sportbet.one website where (s)he can choose the period of the account disablement.
In this screenshot, you can see the option of permanent account closure exists.
In conclusion, only two clicks were needed to close rad234`s account forever.
I would like to clarify a false statement given by the casino here in their last post !
So and to answer your asked question a player by asking a self exclusion will be initially given an email to confirm the self exclusion first which they sent to me on 1st of July so the email sent on 2nd of July is a successor. On the first email it will be mentioned that you will activate 24 cooling off period so there's no way to self exclude the account instantly and permanently.
Furthermore, they sent me their second email on 2nd of July at 9:06 am about the fact that my account is now reopened and to confirm again the self exclusion but i sent them back directly an email on the same day at 9:49 am informing about the issue encountered and this where till nowadays it's still unreplied instead of helping me solve the issue !
As you can see attached the screenshot of the first email that i got and how the account will become after hitting the button start self exclusion !
Since you're using Stake as your reference for the perfect model, it's crucial to note that in their responsible gambling section, they clearly say help is always available through chat or email if someone can't proceed with self-exclusion. (They clearly recognizes the urgency of self exclusion and/or errors could occurs with their self exclusion model, from which you inspired your model one-on-one)
With your comparison to Stake in every instance you have to make sure at least you're offering a safe environment for problem gamblers too. This shouldn't be done by providing lies or falsifying events to cause more harm to vulnerable people or take advantage of them. !
We would like to express our dissatisfaction with the current self-exclusion process at the casino. Specifically, we believe that providing players who request self-exclusion with a 24-hour cool-off period is counterproductive and contributes to the issues we are facing with complaints of this nature. When players make the decision to self-exclude, it is typically a result of careful consideration, and delaying the process can have adverse effects. We definitely recommend improving the self-exclusion process so it is more acceptable for players who are struggling with gambling addiction.
That being said, we acknowledge that in the end there was a relatively quick and straightforward method available for the player to complete his self-exclusion request, which, unfortunately, he did not utilize. In light of this, we are inclined to accept that the player did not complete the process of self-exclusion, which could be done in a few clicks.
Due to the aforementioned reasons, this complaint will now be rejected. Thank you for your understanding, I am sorry we could not be of more help on this occasion. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you run into any issues with this or any other casino in the future.