BitStarz Casino - Player's account has been closed after raising responsible gambling concerns.

Do not be fooled in to thinking BitStarz are the good guys!

I was completely naive to gambling and any addiction that could arise from it. Id never done it before and after a bad run of luck in life i turned to BitStarz and started to exhibit dangerous gambling behaviours.

I am deeply concerned about BitStarz Casino’s adherence to legal and responsible gambling practices based on my recent experience. Despite their claims of prioritizing player safety and compliance, my interactions with them have raised significant red flags.

My recent experience highlights severe shortcomings in their responsible gambling measures:

High Frequency of Deposits: I frequently made up to 5 deposits in a single day.

Excessive Transactions: Over 81 days, I conducted 148 transactions. This does not include numerous smaller transactions in other deposit measures.

Ineffective Self-Ban: A self-imposed ban I set was overturned within 24 hours, allowing continued access to the platform despite my attempt to control my gambling.

These issues point to a serious failure in implementing effective responsible gambling practices and raise concerns about their commitment to player safety and legal standards.

What's even more disturbing, when asking the casino to comment on these issues via their customer support in 3 separate emails my account has been banned but there has been no reply.

BitStarz’s lack of transparency and inadequate response to these critical issues are troubling. If you value both compliance and responsible gambling, I recommend exercising caution before engaging with this casino.

Dear australianstandard19,

Thank you very much for submitting your complaint. I’m sorry to hear about your negative experience with BitStarz Casino.

Please allow me to ask you a few questions, so I can better understand the situation. 

• Could you please explain if your account is currently blocked?
• Have you made any recent attempts to reopen your account? With what result?
• Could you please explain whether you informed the casino about any gambling issues or addiction you are suffering from?
• Have you asked the casino for a refund of your deposits? with what result?
• In which way have you requested self-ban to be implemented? (in account, via live chat, via email) Have you received any confirmation from the casino about the scope of the implemented ban imposed on your account?
• If you have any interaction with the casino support saved regarding the issue please forward the information to my email at tomas@casino.guru

I hope we will be able to help you to resolve this issue as soon as possible. Thank you very much in advance for your reply.

Best regards,

Tomas

Hi Tomas,

Thank you for looking through this for me and helping out.

Currently my account is disabled and itsays so when I try to log in. Luckily I somewhat anticipated this and managed to screenshot my whole transaction history.

I havent tried to reopen it at all but the way I see it the account is still there just has been made unable to be accessible. I can only assume to stop me getting any screenshots off of it.

I self barred myself for 3 years and said something like 'Online casinos are ruining my life' in the section asking to explain why i wanted the ban. The next day I messaged the chat and got it reversed bang on the 24 hour mark. The person I was messaging about it was kind of odd, almost pleased to open it back up. There was no resistance on their end and I was only asked some generic questions like, 'have you ever gambled to pay back debts?' To which I obviously replied 'no' because im addicted to it and wanted back in.

I havent even been able to speak with the casino as they just don't reply to my emails and have now disabled my account. The email was pretty much my concern for their enabling me to continue after showing obvious signs of addictive behaviour. I did work out all my deposit/withdraws and net losses , which came to around -$4500 (AUD). transactions for doge over the period and its a net loss of -$4500 (AUD) with some days depositing over 5 times. That was only doge transactions aswell, if I took in to account the lite coin transactions i'd say it would be another half on top. I estimate about 200 deposits in 81 days and the net loss over $4500...

This ban was done through the account section on their website. I imposed it roughly a month ago and overturned it via the online chat within 24 hours. Since then they have let my behaviour continue with no intervention.

I can definitely supply you with my transactions list although there is quite a few screenshots as you can imagine.

Thanks again for all your help

Thanks for the explanation and your email.

Please note the reason you give to the casino when requesting self-exclusion matters. If you inform the casino about any struggle to control your gambling, gambling problems, or gambling addiction the casino has obligation to protect you by preventing you from further gambling.

After the explanation you presumably gave to the casino, the process the casino opted for might not include such protections.

• Do you have any communication from the casino in which you or they acknowledged the gambling problems you might share with me? Could you send it to my email at tomas@casino.guru?

At the time of asking for the exclusion I can't recall if I took screenshots or not. I know that i did say self exclusion for gambling problems as it's one of the options and they make you pick a reason.

I would also be able to look back through my chat messages to staff but again, they have blocked me from accessing the account for this very reason I'm sure!

If the Casino would merely talk to me and hear my underlying issues with their lack of enforcement of their own policies, we could come to a very simple agreement. Instead I've just been flat out ignored and barred from their site. It's fairly obvious to me they would rather cut and cover as opposed to making any positive change for themselves and most importantly, their players.

Thanks for your explanation.

Based on your description of events and without evidence or the casino acknowledging you ought to be protected, we, unfortunately, cannot ask the casino for a refund of your lost deposits made after your account was reopened. The protection against repeated deposits is not a mandatory or widespread feature in online casinos and the self-ban feature without giving the appropriate reason might not protect you.

You might want to inquire about the status of your account and the reason for your self-exclusion using the casino support

If you fear you may be showing signs of problem gambling and want to take measures to ensure the issue does not escalate, then you can opt to self-exclude yourself from our casino. In order to activate this, or to find out more information on self-exclusion, please contact our support team at support@bitstarz.com.

Please also consider further resources on the topic:

I would like to call your attention to our Self-Exclusion Assistance Tool https://casino.guru/global-self-exclusion-initiative/assistance-tool

This tool will make it easier for you to block your casino accounts across multiple gambling establishments simultaneously and is not affiliated with any specific casino. The Self-Exclusion Assistance Tool was designed to assist individuals who may be facing challenges with their gambling habits by helping them limit their access to gambling and reduce the potential for further harm.

If gambling is becoming a burden, it is highly advisable to seek professional assistance. I strongly recommend reaching out to centers in your country that specialize in addressing gambling problems. You can find some of these centers by referring to the following link https://casino.guru/problem-gambling-help-centers#cnt_16=true

As part of our Global Self-Exclusion Initiative, we've partnered with BetBlocker, a UK-registered charity providing a free service to support people worldwide. You can find more information about our initiative here https://casino.guru/global-self-exclusion-initiative and about BetBlocker here https://betblocker.org/.

BetBlocker, which supports seven languages, is quick and easy to install on multiple devices, taking just 2 minutes. Once installed, it blocks access to over 84,230 gambling websites and runs quietly in the background. The service can be used anonymously and helps individuals manage their access to gambling safely and appropriately, whether that means complete restriction or limiting access during vulnerable periods. 

Additionally, BetBlocker includes a list of 824 gambling information sites. These sites primarily inform users about and advertise gambling services. You can choose to include these sites in your restriction by ticking a box. However, if you have an ongoing complaint against a gambling operator, do not check this box, as it will prevent you from accessing the Casino.Guru website as well.

I'll await your reply.

Dear australianstandard19,

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.

Unfortunately, the player has not responded to our messages and questions. Consequently, we are unable to investigate further and have no choice but to reject this complaint.

The player can reopen this complaint at any time.