Betway Casino - Player’s requesting a full deposit refund.

I signed up on Thursday 27th October around 2pm. I know that I had a previous self exclusion here but was unsure if it had expired. But I thought anyway if it's still in place my details from the self exclusion will be on file and I will get refused. I joined up. I made a genuine typo error in my surname but I couldn't go back and rectify it. Still I thought my address and date of birth is under the self exclusion if it was still in place.

To my surprise I was asked to upload identification I submitted my passport which obviously had my correct surname and was sure they'll tell me account Is blocked due to self exclusion. But above 30 minutes later I received an email stating my account was fully verified.

Being an addict I went onto deposit about 1300 euros. I only brought it to their attention very early this morning about the situation.

I mean it's obvious that there no checks done on my passport against the details used to register or they knew who I was. So I requested a return of my deposits as this surely must be a major breach of social responsibility codes. Where I know regulators are very clear that the operator must ensure that no further gambling related harm would be applied to vulnerable people. I tried to set a deposit limit but it said updated but it did not kick in.

I then took an overdose and I spent all of yesterday evening and up until this morning in hospital. Lucky my partner found me.

If checks are not being carried out what hope is there . It's wreckless and very incompetent on their behalf to allow something like this to occur.

I'm chatted with a guy called Michael on the live chat and he stated " i can confirm that this is a mistake and an error has been made".

He was then referring what id told him to the relevant department. It's difficult to make contact with them because once your account is locked you cannot chat live abd their support@betway.com when you email states that this inbox is not monitored regularly .

With the tight restrictions the regulator has on responsibility issues around protecting vulnerable people. Surely this must be a major breach.

They decide who gets to open an account and to send in an official document and for it not to be checked that responsibility lies with them.

Can you help.

Dear Antrimlisa,

Thank you very much for submitting your complaint. I’m sorry to hear about your problem. Could you please confirm the following facts?:

• you made a typo in your last name when creating second account
• your previous self-exclusion should be still active as you didn't go through a serie of questions to have it lifted
• you have used a different email address and phone number to register your second account
• your home address and DOB were still the same in both accounts

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,

Petronela

Hi to your response yes. I explained to Michael why I used a different phone number and email address. It's for very personal genuine reasons which I don't want to disclose here but I'd be happy to tell you in private.

Yes I made a typo but clicked the back page and it came up with clear submission form and I suppose looking back I should have but then I thought I'll have to recreate a new email address etc and it will look odd. So I proceeded. But as I've said I wasn't overly concerned because I was sure my name anyway and my date of birth along with my address would be automatically detected and of course once they asked for my identification I was sure it was game over. But within 20 mins of verifying my email address I recieved an email telling me I was fully verified. just to add no I was not asked a series of questions as that's only if your trying to reopen an old account and asking permission.

Please see chat with Sergio another chat member. Yes both my date of birth and address were both the same as i was not trying to fool anyone. If i had wanted to make it look like I was someone else i would have changed everything.

Just to add to my case. Despite my recent account being blocked I recieved this email from them last night.

Thank you very much, Antrimlisa, for providing all the necessary information. I will now transfer your complaint to my colleague Jozef (jozef.k@casino.guru) who will be at your assistance. I wish you best of luck and hope to see your problem being resolved to your satisfaction in the near future.  

Thank you. I appreciate any help. Also to add I don't know what kind of payment system they have in place. Despite my account being registered with a typo in my surname when I deposited it was showing up as my proper surname. So again something else to consider that when you look at all this. It sure looks like they applied no measures at all in terms of KYC.

I have also to date yet to receive even an acknowledgement from Betway that they recieved my complaint despite the fact that apparently they have reviewed the case and via the online chat it was told that they would not be returning the refund.

Isn't there protocols that is suppose to be in order for complaints procedure. So no conformation of receiving my complaint and no final response or any email communication defining the outcome. How is this even deemed to be following procedure.

I believe it looks more and more like they knew who I was and opened the account anyway. They are show boating the very points I've been making all along that there's no rules or regulations being followed here.

Surely no regulatory body would say their actions are that of a responsible operator.

Hello Antrimlisa,

I absolutely appreciate that you shared your experiences with the Casino Guru team. We will now try to get in touch with the casino.

Thank you. This was the screen shot where the live chat guy Michael confirmed they had made a mistake and error had been made with regards to having my passport and still opening my account

We would like to ask the Casino to reply to this complaint. We are extending the timer by 7 days. If the casino fails to respond in the set time frame, we will close the complaint as ‘unresolved’ which may negatively affect its rating.

Well you know I hope this proves to anyone out there who may be reading this about how this company treat you. Its very plain to be seen they are making a laughing stock of any rules and regulations and think they don't even owe someone the right to have their complaint dealt with in the proper channel. So if they cannot be bothered to do that is it any wonder they allowed a self excluded customer to open a new account. I think it shows Moat definitely that they believe they are well above the law and that customers at the end of the day are merely their at their disposal. Disgusting company with no morals.

So I am now day 17 from making m official complaint to Betway. As of yet I have not had one email or any form of communication from them with regards to my complaint. I cannot move forward with this to their regulatory body as I need to have a final response in my possession to move to the next stage. How is it possible that this company is allowed to dismiss my complaint. Isn't there a time frame in which they must comply with in terms of complaints procedure. As you can see they are purely applying what measures they want. There is a complaints procedure and that isn't even being adhered to. So it shows you really that they feel they don't have to comply. With my case the whole way through that's what they've done applied whatever rules they wanted or made them up as they go along. Absolutely disgusting to be treated in this manner. 😒

Betway have been sanctioned see the Gambling Commissioner website for similar issues.

Dear Antrimlisa,

I have tried to contact the casino repeatedly but had no success. I’m afraid there is not much that can be achieved without cooperation from its side. I will mark the complaint as "unresolved" in our system. I understand this isn't a satisfactory solution to your issue. However, the decrease in the rating caused by unresolved complaints might help to change the casino's approach. If the casino decides to react, we will reopen the complaint, and you will be notified by email. In the meantime, I recommend you contact the an alternative dispute resolution service of the casino and submit a complaint to them. It collaborates with the Gaming Authority and has better options and tools to help players. The next step would be contacting their licensing authority. Please let me know if you need help with it. I am sorry I could not be of more help on this occasion.

Best regards, Jozef

jozef.k@casino.guru