BetOnline Casino - Player's asking for a deposit refund.

Ive been a member with BetOnline for more than two years. I’ve gambled a lot of money with them and even earned VIP status. On March 18th 2022 I called BetOnline and explained to a rep that I have a gambling problem, that I don’t trust myself playing at the moment and want to self exclude myself. The BetOnline rep told me to then send an email to confirm the account closure, which I did. For whatever reason they would not delete my account. Fast forward a month and a half later and I’ve lost thousands. I’m wondering if BetOnline owes me a refund for all my deposits made on my account past the date of me self excluding myself. Seems they exploited a problem gambler

Dear AJ,

Thank you very much for submitting your complaint. I’m very sorry to hear about your negative experience. I checked the Responsible Gambling section and I found this:

"Stop Gambling: Self-Exclusion

If you feel that your gambling has become problematic, you have the ability to self-exclude yourself by contacting our Player Services team. During self-exclusion, you will not have access to your account, and we will take reasonable measures to prevent you from using the account or opening another account.

Once the self-exclusion is applied, you will also no longer receive any further marketing materials from us. Any ungraded bets will be graded when the event finishes and we will enable you to withdraw your winnings but not to use them to bet with."

Could you, please, forward me the self-exclusion requests which you sent to the casino? Do I understand correctly that you deposited $5,000 (dispute value) after you sent the request?

Also, if there is any relevant communication between you and the casino, please forward it to kristina.s@casino.guru together with your self-exclusion request.

Thank you very much in advance for your reply.

Best regards,

Kristina

I called BetOnline on 3/18/22 and I told them I have a gambling problem. They then sent me an email which I forwarded to you as well as my response which was to please delete the account. They kept my account open up until now. They refused to let me self exclude myself after doing everything that was required of me and it resulted in major losses I couldn’t afford. It was a little more than 10,000(not 5000) in deposits from 3/18/22 until now, it wouldn’t let me put 10,000 in my original complaint for some reason. BetOnline records their phone calls and I clearly called them and pleaded to be self excluded because I didn’t trust myself and then followed up with the email minutes later confirming to please delete the account and no action was made on their part.

Thank you for your email, AJ. I see that the support agent asked you to specify the reason for your request. Did you reply to that message? If yes, please, forward it to me as well.

The day I called them to delete my account I explained to them on the phone that I had a gambling problem and would like to delete the account. They said no problem we will send you an email please reply to confirm. The emails,which I sent you, say we can either temporarily disable your account or we we permanently delete it if you have a gambling problem, in which I replied "Please delete the account". My response to "Please delete the account" implies that I have a gambling problem because they only gave me two options. A- temporarily disable your account. Or B. you have a gambling problem permanently delete your account. I did everything by the book so self exclude myself, they ignored my requests. They have all phone calls recorded in which I clearly tell them I have a problem on the phone as well, I tried to get a copy of the recording but they wouldn’t give it to me

I am sorry, AJ, but if you only replied: "Please delete the account" and you didn't clearly state you have a gambling problem (which is a must in a written self-exclusion request) in your message, we cannot acknowledge it as valid self-exclusion request. Without seeing a proper self-exclusion request we don't think you are entitled to a refund and unfortunately, under these circumstances, we are not able to proceed with this complaint.

Please, let me know if there is anything else I could help you with, or if I have overlooked something, but I am afraid I will be forced to reject this complaint.

If you listed to my recorded phone call I think you’d think differently…. But of course they won’t release it

Also I read the entire terms and conditions and I’m not sure why anyone would argue that I did everything possible to self exclude myself. There’s no details written anywhere about the exact process of self excluding. I called them told them I have a problem followed up 2 mins later with an email saying please delete my account. Show me anywhere that says if you don’t mention the exact words "gambling problem" in your self exclude email it will not be considered valid. They clearly exploited a problem gambler and I think and judge and jury on the planet would agree that I should have been self excluded after my phone call and email

Please note that mentioning a gambling problem is a standard requirement for us to proceed with complaints as "failed self-exclusion". Unfortunately, we cannot accept your email as a valid self-exclusion request and ask for a deposit refund, however, I can give you instructions on how to proceed in the future.

When applying for the self-exclusion via email, state clearly the reason why you want your account to be deactivated and specify the time period. Also, email "Subject" should be clearly marked and easily recognizable as casino support receives many requests per day hence, if it’s visibly marked you stand a better chance to have your request granted as soon as possible. I would also strongly recommend that you always save your self-exclusion request so that you have a valid proof of such action.

If your account is still active, you can try using this example:

Email subject: Self-exclusion

Player’s info:

First name:

Last name:

DOB:

Casino login:

Email address:

"Greetings xxx xxx,

I’m writing to inform you that I wish to exclude immediately from this casino and from receiving any gambling related marketing material for a minimum period of xxx months/years (lifetime).

The reason that preceded my decision is xxx

I acknowledge that I will not be allowed to rescind my self-exclusion during this period and self-exclusion cannot be lifted before the end of the agreed period."

I would recommend that you send another email to this casino (you can CC me - kristina.s@casino.guru in the copy if you want).

Dear AJ,

We are extending the timer by 7 days. If there is anything else we could help you with, let us know, otherwise, we will reject your complaint.

Unfortunately, we’re forced to reject this case because the player hasn’t responded to our messages and questions. Therefore, we’re not able to proceed with further investigation or suggest possible solutions.