1Bet Casino - Player has been struggling to withdraw their winnings.

I won nearly HUF 100 million on Blackjack at 1Bet.com Casino. Unfortunately, I didn't notice at first that it was hidden in point 3. Account and Personal Information of the terms and conditions, the following in point 3.14. A customer can withdraw up to €5,000 (or currency equivalent) from his/her account for a period of 7 consecutive days.

The site language is Hungarian, but the conditions are not translated, which makes the contract itself illegal

The terms of the contract says that higher limits are available to VIP customers. I am a VIP customer, so I had a personal account manager. 

As I was afraid that I would play back the amount again so I personally asked him to raise the limit and I would like to withdraw a larger amount. I didn't write the whole amount because I was afraid that my request would be rejected immediately.

After several requests, he replied that he had sent my request to the competent department. There was no answer, so I asked if it could be speeded up to get my money. I hadn't received any answer, so I asked how exactly the payment will be made if I cancel my account because this is not included in the terms of the contract. She ignored my question. I wrote carefully in the letter because I was afraid that with such a large amount, I would lose everything and simply they would close my account and I would never see the money. As they did not answer I wrote in the chat that I want to close my account and what are the rules regarding the payment. 

They didn't answer me again but I was redirected to the account manager, who didn't answer me before either. I wrote to him again yesterday afternoon to inform him, he read my message but did not reply to it. Due to the stress, I continued to play and lost the entire amount. I think they slowed down the withdrawal on purpose, I wrote several times that I wanted to withdraw my money, I didn't want to play. 

They didn't answer anything, they didn't help me to not be able to play, they didn't offer any restrictions and they didn't even let me close my account with such a large amount intentionally.

To this day, I have not received an answer as to how long it will take for me to receive the money on my account if I delete it. Based on the current payment system, the above amount would have been transferred in more than 50 weeks. Correct, right? I think the reason they didn't answer my question more than 4 times is because the rule is that if someone closes their account, the full amount will be disbursed within a short period of time. It is not only incorrect, but also fraud, that in some cases they refer to the terms and conditions of the contract, and in other cases they do not answer any questions that affect this circle at all. They advertise responsible gaming, but they don't allow you to withdraw money and they don't have any loss prevention system, and if you want to close your account because of this, but want to find out what happens to your money first, they don't answer.

I hired the best gambling lawyer in Curaco, he said he has a lot of cases like this with this casino. And my lawyer in Hungary spoke to the Hungarian gambling authority, based on the background conversation, if we file a lawsuit, they will start an investigation against the site, because even at first glance, there are big problems with it. If I don't get at least part of this amount back, I'm sure I'll go until I'm banned from Europe.

Dear HelmeHU,

Thank you very much for submitting your complaint. I’m sorry to hear about your withdrawal issue.

Could you please advise how many days since accumulating your winnings you lost everything? Have you sent any request to Customer support (not your VIP account manager) that you wish to close your account?

However, since you have played your winnings, I’m afraid, there is not much we can do for you. Please understand, that the player is the only one responsible for their account, active balance, and all the bets taking place. For future references, please contact us as soon as the issue evolves so we can intervene before it's too late.

Thank you in advance for your reply and understanding.

Best regards,

Petronela

Hi Petronela! This is the second time I've requested the chat conversation. Yesterday they wrote that the request was sent to the relevant department. 1 day has passed. I wrote to them again today. 1bet chat has now told me to write a letter to the official e-mail address. They would have a legal obligation to release it. They don't even know what to lie about anymore. Yes, I wrote in chat, but I said that I would like to know before closing what happens to the money, whether I will receive it at all. I was directed back to the VIP account manager, who I asked again about the process. He read the message but didn't reply, Today, for the 6th time, I have asked what happens to the amount and the payment process if a customer closes his account. Still no answer. How can they advertise responsible gambling if they don't respond when you want to close your account but you're worried about whether you'll be permanently banned from the system and you'll never have access to your money again. It happened between Friday last week and yesterday

In addition, the VIP manager didn't mention a single word that the limit increase request is only for old customers anyway, that would have been a red flag that they would reject me so that I wouldn't be able to withdraw the amount. I opened my account at the beginning of this year. She only told me about it after I lost the amount.

I'm really sorry, but you never requested the actual account closure. You asked a few times how it would work if you requested it, but you never did. Please understand that if you request an account closure, a reputable casino doesn't confiscate your winnings. If you are afraid, that you will lose your winnings, you should definitely ask for help and have your account blocked. Sadly, you never did.

Please let me know if there is any additional information that I have overlooked, but I’m afraid I will be forced to reject your complaint as unjustified. I wish I could be of more help. Thank you in advance for your reply and understanding.

I'm asking seriously. If 1bet Casino did nothing wrong, why don't they send me a copy of our chats? Why do I have to take it to court to access my messages? I have already asked for the 8th time, they don't even send a response. The whole discussion could be closed with the messages.

Dear Petronella, I read on the Casinoguru website that you have quite a lot of experience. What does it mean if the conversation has to be reached through court, and the VIP manager is suddenly not a VIP manager anymore?

Interestingly, after the incident, the VIP manager sent the following message.

Dear Petronella!

You said that a reputable casino won't take your money.

When I asked the customer service in chat to cancel my account, it was almost HUF 138 million.

This is more than 340,000 euros.

Based on the current payment system, I could have withdrawn the 340,000 euros in 68 weeks.

The terms of the contract include:

3.17. Accounts having no recorded activity for a period of 6 months are considered to be inactive. Should an account be inactive for 6 consecutive months or longer (no deposit and betting/gaming activity), 1bet reserves all rights to terminate the customer's account, and therefore; all outstanding balances are forfeited.

However, based on the terms of the contract, I could only withdraw money for 24 weeks before my entire balance was lost. Nearly 220,000 euros were at stake.

It's a bit nonsense that I don't get an answer to my question for more than a week. I didn't ask for fun. However, they have not responded to it to date.

As I mentioned earlier, a reputable casino wouldn't confiscate your winnings if you decide to have it closed. The rule that you cited in your previous comment is not for closed accounts, but for inactive accounts, that's a big difference. Also, once you were asked if you wish to have your account closed, your reply was:

"(07:18:12) K********

Welcome! I have a question, if the amount in my account is above the withdrawal limit and I want to close my account, what is the procedure for the withdrawal?

(07:18:21) Laura

Give me a few moments to check, please.

(07:21:31) Laura

Thank you for your patience.

(07:23:15) Laura

Do you want to delete your account now or not?

(07:24:16) Laura

As far as I can see, you have no current withdrawal or money in your real balance+

(07:26:00) K********

I'm asking in general

(07:27:00) K********

I would like to know how this system works, because I want to repeatedly deposit money into my account, but if I win a lot and don't want to play anymore, what is the payment method.

(07:28:04) Laura

Give me a moment to review this with the appropriate department please!"

Based on the conversation I assume that it took place when your account had no balance anymore and still your answer wasn't clear. If you are asked if you wish to have your account deleted, the answer should be clear Yes or No. Please let me know if there is any additional information that I have overlooked, but I’m afraid I will be forced to reject your complaint as unjustified. 

Dear Petronella! When there was money on it, I asked to close the account. I literally wrote that. But I can't prove it until 1bet intentionally withholds a copy of the messages. Why can't they be asked how they can do this anyway? I have the right to a copy of the messages.

Dear HelmeHU,

In your very first comment you wrote that you asked very carefully about account closure:

"After several requests, he replied that he had sent my request to the competent department. There was no answer, so I asked if it could be speeded up to get my money. I hadn't received any answer, so I asked how exactly the payment will be made if I cancel my account because this is not included in the terms of the contract. She ignored my question. I wrote carefully in the letter because I was afraid that with such a large amount, I would lose everything and simply they would close my account and I would never see the money. As they did not answer I wrote in the chat that I want to close my account and what are the rules regarding the payment. "

Now you are saying that you requested the account closure. I'm truly sorry but this is a bit confusing. Could you please elaborate? Please understand that without solid proof that the account closure has been requested we stand no chance against the casino. When would you suggest was the first time you informed the casino clearly that you wish to have your account blocked?

On the 1bet chat interface at three o'clock in the afternoon on August 30, I asked to close the account, but to be informed about what happens to the amount if I do this. In the chat, the colleague wrote that the VIP manager will answer this question. I wrote in the chat not to be directed to the VIP manager because I can't get an answer out of him, he doesn't answer. In the chat, they promised me not to worry, they would respond in a short time. She didn't write all day. At that time, I still had more than HUF 100 million in my account. I wrote to the VIP manager about exactly how the payment works when closing the account.. She read the message but deliberately did not reply. When I realized that the account would not be closed despite my request and the VIP manager did not respond, even though she read the message, I lost the amount.

Dear Petronella!

One of your colleagues in another case gave the following answer to another player's problem:

I'd like to bring to your attention that it's a common practice for many casinos not to allow withdrawals during the self-exclusion therefore players are usually requested to withdraw their funds in the account via the cashier before applying for the self-exclusion.

https://casino.guru/mozzart-casino-the-player-s-withdrawal-is-delayed

This is exactly what I wanted to know in the case of 1bet, because there is nothing about this in the terms of the contract. I'll say it again. They did not answer for the 4th time what happens to the money in my account if I cancel it. I should have known immediately. Both the customer service and the VIP manager deliberately ignored the question. I don't even understand why it's not clear that they deliberately misled and wasted time.

I asked more than 4 times and got no answer. Why couldn't they answer such a simple question for more than 48 hours? They pushed the question between departments. This should have been included in the contract terms. They took time on purpose, that's clear.

If they answered my question and closed my account, they wouldn't have had a chance to get the amount back. That's why they didn't answer, diverted the topic, directed me back and forth to other people. The whole thing is such a clear scam that I don't even understand how this can work in 2022.

Dear Petronella and HelmeHU, 

We reviewed the player’s account. Please refer to the clarification below: 

In site's T&C https://1bet.com/terms-and-conditions it is stated that "3.14.  A customer can withdraw up to €5,000 (or currency equivalent) from his/her account for a period of 7 consecutive days. - Customer’s maximum winning amount per day (of any type or kind) can’t exceed €100,000. - A VIP customer may have higher limits applied" 

It is stated that if a customer is a member of the VIP club, he may have an option for higher limits, however, this needs to be approved by the relevant department after an evaluation of the account. While this evaluation was ongoing, the customer decided to cancel his withdrawal and continued playing. 

Furthermore, he never claimed that he had any gambling issues or that he wanted to close his account. He asked his account manager, quoting:  

"29/08/22, 18:40 - (Krisztián)1411881 | goog_106129754285503093702 - 1bet: "Can you at least help me with how the payment works, if I want to cancel my account, and how long it takes to withdraw the amount? I really don't want to delete my user account, but the payout limit is ridiculous." 

The account manager's reply is: 

 "29/08/22, 18:47 - Roberta Russo: "I am sorry I could not give you this information earlier, but the relevant office is not on duty at the weekend. As I have already said, I have forwarded your request to the relevant office and as soon as they reply you will be informed by us immediately. I cannot tell you what the timeline for this might be. The possibility of raising the withdrawal limits is subject to many evaluations. As promised, I will update you as soon as I hear back. It could take a few days or so... I really don't know. We'll just have to wait at the moment. You know you can count on me but at the moment we have to wait for a reply from their side." 

We hope this shines more light into the matter. Of course, if any further clarification is required, we remain at your disposal.  

Best Regards,   

1Bet Casino Team 

Thank you very much, 1Bet Casino team for your reply and clarification.

Dear HelmeHU,

I'm sorry, but as I mentioned earlier, you never mentioned a gambling problem, or requested an account closure. You requested more information about the withdrawal process in case you'd have had self-exclusion applied or the account closed as per your request. But the request itself never came. Instead, you decided to play all your funds and all has been lost in 24 hours.

Once again, we can't help you.

I’m sorry we couldn’t help you to resolve this case, but please do not hesitate to contact us if you run into any issues with any other casino in the future. For the abovementioned reasons, I will now reject this complaint. Thank you for your understanding.