Betvictor Casino - Player's experiencing issues with the casino.

Problem gambler, late 2023 I Stupidly managed to open an account with this company despite being GAMSTOP registered, fully admit the account name was different to my actual name I completely understand that was wrong but at the time I was in a real bad place with my gambling (job loss and personal turmoil) despite this my deposit method was my bank card which was fully accurate and in my name. My address and contact details were correct and the same as what is registered on Gamstop, was allowed to play for a period of time with all withdrawals and deposits accepted despite the discrepancy on the different names, the company never once reached out for my identification and I showed clear signs of problem gambling. Fast forward a few weeks and after reaching out for therapy and support to try and beat my gambling problem I submitted a self exclusion request with the company, this was put through I sent an email voicing my dissatisfaction with how no identification checks were made at all as I feel had they done this as expected, it would’ve prevented me gambling with the company. Fast forward to just last week Feb 2024 I undertake on CIFAS Data subject access request under the advice of my Bank as they notified me to a mark put against my name. This was done by BetVictor and the reasoning for this was ‘address fraud’ the address was perfectly accurate and had they requested my identification this would’ve confirmed this. On their CIFAS filing the ‘Device ID’ they have reported is not actually my Device ID so I believe they have added false information about me, and also on the section where they are asked what checks they made prior to applying this marker, they claim to have ‘checked the electoral roll’ had they of done this they would of confirmed that my address was correct and I’ve been registered since 2021 as confirmed by Equifax, Experian and Transunion. This company in my opinion has acted in extreme haste and not done a correct or thorough investigation into this. Had they of done their duty as a licensed bookmaker and requested identification this incident could’ve been avoided. I must reiterate at the time of opening the account I was not in a good headspace at all. I was extremely vulnerable and compulsively gambling, changing the account name was foolish and a sign of how bad things had gotten for my problem with Gambling, but I never committed identification fraud as all of my documents are in my name ‘John Bruton-Holmes’ just like the payment card was on the account that they were happy to take payments from. What this company has done is extremely damaging and has directly affected a major application with a bank that my family have been customers with for over 30 years. I have reached out to as many contact points as possible with BetVictor (email, text service live chat, social media) no one is prepared to talk about it with me. Please can you help me out?

Dear johnbh23,

Thank you very much for submitting your complaint. I’m sorry to hear about your problem. Unfortunately, I am not completely sure what help you expect from us. If you registered your account with the correct personal information, you would probably be blocked immediately, or at least you would stand a chance of receiving proper help from GAMSTOP. Under these circumstances, the casino didn't have a chance to act properly and I am sure you will agree with me that it is not their fault.

You must understand that the vast majority of casinos cannot block players only based on the payment method because technically it is very difficult to check who’s the owner of the payment method at the depositing stage. This can be checked only during account verification, which is usually done when a withdrawal is requested. There are no unified rules when it comes to verification and we cannot penalize the casino for not requesting documents immediately after registration. To be honest, from my experience, players usually prefer verification later - before the first withdrawal.

Furthermore, we do not handle matters related to bank issues even if they were caused by casinos directly. This falls under the jurisdiction of your bank, rather than a mediator like us.

Please, do not hesitate to let me know if there is anything else I could help you with, or if I have overlooked something, otherwise, I will be forced to close this complaint.

Thank you for your understanding.

Best regards,

Kristina

Hi there, over 15 withdrawals were made with no verification request over a period longer than a month. My complaint is done yo the company using false information to list a CIFAS marker on my name, they have used a false Device ID number and an IP address linked to Liverpool. I am based in the West Midlands. I’m hoping to get the casino to remove this CIFAS marker as it’s been added falsely. It’s nothing to do with my bank as they did not add the CIFAS marker. It’s not a issue directly related to my bank the problem is that the casino have unlawfully added a marker to my name on a national fraud database

Hi, prior to this company adding any marker against my name I had reached out via email after I self excluded myself explaining my current issues with gambling and I admitted my fault and simply asked them why an account under one name would allow deposits and withdrawals from a payment method under a different name for an extended periods of time. I have not profited from this at all I made a mistake whilst vulnerable and this casinos actions with a CIFAS marker is massively disproportionate to the incident that took place. They a required to undertake a rigorous investigation prior to any such marker being added on a national fraud database and they clearly have not don’t that, proven by the false information they have added. This marker lasts for 6 years and means I cannot open a bank account, can’t get insurance, can’t get any penny of credit or a loan, cannot get a simple mobile phone contract, and this is solely down to the CIFAS marker applied by BetVictor for an issue where I didn’t profit, used my full address and contact detail and my full name was fully visible on my payment method. I’m requesting help with asking them to remove such a damaging marker

Thank you for your reply, johnbh23. I apologize, but I have already explained why we cannot assist you with the mark. We mediate disputes between players and casinos, and your bank is an external party in this situation over which we have no control. We cannot penalize the casino for this matter, nor are we in a position to intervene in legal issues such as this.

You provided incorrect details when creating an account, and while I understand your frustration, these are most likely consequences of what happened. Again, you must resolve this issue with your bank and your bank should get in touch with the casino. Seeking legal advice may also be beneficial, but our ability to help is limited.

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.