888 Casino - Player's winnings were lost due to a delayed verification process.

I won 1000€ and sent the document to verify my account. I have waited 72 hours for the verification process and they emailed me requesting a new POA claimin that the address was not correct. During the registration process I registered with the correct address but I put it in english while on all my POAs it is in Maltese. I have preswnted the issue on chat and they asked me to send the same document in and wait for another 72 hours for them to verify once again. I asked to speed up the process since I had alresdy waited the full process and they informed me only after 3 days about the rejection of my POA. After being told to wait 3 days more, I ended up playing my balance (of 1000€) which I left untouched during the whole process (I even deposited on top). I feel they did not work efficiently and did not listen to my esplanation about the address and not even prioritized my account verification. After 12 hours I played the whole balance. I kindly ask the original balance of 1K to be paid out. I have self-excluded from such Casino for this issue.

Dear Enrico_P,

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

Please understand that KYC is a very important and essential process, during which the casino makes sure that the money is sent to the rightful owner. As they don't have the luxury of being able to physically see all of the players and check their identification and documents, this is the only way gambling establishments are able to complete the verification procedures. None of the serious and licensed casinos take KYC lightly and it might take a few working days to complete this thorough process. 

I understand that you may have felt impatient and frustrated with the entire verification process. However, since you have played through your entire balance, we regret to inform you that we are unable to assist you any further. In our opinion, you are not entitled to any refunds as the money has been lost in the game.

Please let me know if there is anything else I can help you with, otherwise, this complaint will be closed. Thank you for your understanding.

Best regards

Veronika

Hi Veronika,

Thank you for the explanation. I would agree with you if it wasn't for the fact that the POA I have sent in was showing the real and correct address. Once I explained the issue, they told me that I had to provide a document with exactly the same address I have registered with. That was the same address in a different language!

They asked me to send in the same document once again to a different Team (Operations@888brands.net) and wait the full processing time of 3 days. They asked for the same document, not a different one. They had already checked that document before, it was nothing new to them. I believe this is taking advantage of Players' habit to play their balance. From that the long waiting time.

I work in online Casinos myself and I perfectly know how these things are handled.

I believe that in this case I have been damaged as I patiently waited for the processing time and then advised to send in exactly the same POA. I suggest that you request the chat history.

Wishing you a great day.

Best regards,

Quick update. They have obviously just verified my account with the address in Maltese with the same document I sent in over 4 days ago. This clearly shows that that document was valid.

Kind regards,

I'm glad to hear that your account was verified. This only confirms that sometimes, it is necessary to be patient because the verification process may take several days to be finished.

Is there anything else I can assist you with, or may we close the complaint?

Dear Enrico_P,

We are extending the timer by 7 days. Please, be aware that in case you fail to respond in the given time frame or don’t require any further assistance, we will reject the complaint.

Nothing to add.

Thank you for your response. This complaint will now be closed. 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. We are here to help.

Best regards

Veronika