BitStarz Casino - The player struggles to verify.

Hello,

I registered at this casino because it had good ratings, deposited and played on slots. I won 2000 EUR and wagered it. That was 2 months ago... Since then, I have been going through agony with account verification. I have sent numerous documents and everything they asked for. Many photos of my identity card, proof of address, proof of deposit and proof of method of payment and bank statements on several occasions. After that, they asked me for a selfie.. and then a selfie with the newspaper where I had to write some things on newspaper. After they verified all these documents and selfies they asked for a call and a selfie on a street where I live on. I provided that also. I had to provide screenshots from google maps and link to a bar where that selfie was taken. Now they've requested another selfie on the same street. (after every document request they stated that they will proceed with withdraw immediately, but they never do, they just ask for more and more pictures). I am worried this is too much and that they are just playing with my time as well as the winnings they have to pay me... I think I need help with this or I will never get my winnings back to me. I will provide some screenshots from emails we exchanged... Unfortunately I cannot screenshot you "My document" page on my Bitstarz account because they disabled it after all the verification.

Hello LaterECT,

Thank you very much for submitting your complaint and I'm really sorry to hear about your issue with BitStarz Casino. Please allow me to ask you a few more question before we would move forward.

Could you please advise since when exactly is the verification process ongoing? Which documents have been already approved for sure? When was the last time you spoke to the casino and what was it about?

Did you already forward them the photo with the visible street sign?

Looking forward to your answer.

Regards,

Nick

If you did send them the selfie only a few days ago, be sure to wait at least a few more days to finalize the verification. If there wouldn't be any update until the end of this week, we will definitely intervene.

Hello,

I contacted them again and the response was the same, they won't verify my account until I send another selfie. After all the documents I mentioned in the previous email I sent, I'm not going to send them anything else. ( ID front and back, proof of address, proof of deposit and proof of method of payment and bank statements multiple times during these two months, selfie with my ID, selfie with newspaper, selfie on the street). 

Unfortunate for players, casinos can abuse "ask pictures and documents for verification purpose", I think gambling licence authorities should make it clear what they can ask. There must be a line, where asking for more selfies is simply an abuse. (as this is the case)

They could do this forever, simply stalling my verification so I am unable to withdraw my funds.

Kind regards,

Roko

Thank you LaterECT for all the provided information. I will now forward your complaint to my colleague Michal (michal.k@casino.guru) who will be assisting you from now on.

Wish you best luck resolving it.

Regards,

Nick

Hello LaterECT

I'm Michal and I have taken over this complaint. I have reviewed this case and I would like to put to your attention the fact that KYC as well as AML 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 fair licensed casinos takes KYC or AML lightly.

I understand that the KYC process can be sometimes frustrating, but the casinos need to follow rules and regulations as well, so although I can empathize with you that the whole process can be done more userfriendly or quicker, it is a standard procedure that the casinos are entitled to.

With this being said, I will contact the casino to shed more light on this matter.

We would like to invite BitStarz Casino to join the conversation.

Dear BitStarz Casino,

What other, if any documents or proof needs to be provided by the player to successfully finish the verification process? If all the required documents have been provided when will the process successfully finish?

Hi Michal and Roko,

I believe we've requested a street selfie from the street he lives on with the street name visible, which is yet to be submitted.

I see that you posted a picture above where you're outside somewhere, but it's not in Ireland where you claim to be a resident, right?

Olle

Hello Olle,

You requested a photo of me near a street sign on my street or near an identifiable location (e.g. a shop or bus station), and I provided that photo. Could you check our e-mails and notice several e-mails about the place where I photographed myself, google maps links and links about the bar behind me on that picture? I will provide a link and pictures from google maps to prove this is in Ireland near the place I live. My address is Apartment 8, Main St, Carrigaline Middle, Carrigaline, so casino Guru can check too that pictures are from Ireland, 20 meters from place I live.

Kind regards,

Roko

https://www.google.com/maps/@51.8128387,-8.3925038,3a,75y,276.27h,86.05t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sIYoeA_rHHfjl0lK7B7WYxA!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DIYoeA_rHHfjl0lK7B7WYxA%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D34.53122%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192

Hi Roko,

Can you please upload all this to your account?

Olle

Hi Olle,

I wish I could, but my account is blocked... which is why we were talking by email and I sent all this information in an email. I'm more than happy to upload it if you give me access to my account.

Thank you

Hello LaterECT

Can you please forward all the evidence you have provided to BitStarz Casino to my email michal.k@casino.guru as well as all the documents laying on a table or bed together?

Can you make a short video where we can clearly see all the documents on the table and then how you walk out of your apartment outside so we can see the surroundings and clearly visible your home address in Ireland?

This will be much appreciated.

Hi Roko,

Ah, but I changed the settings so you could upload docs 🙂

Olle

On August 12, I uploaded the front and back of my identity document and proof of address. On the same day, I uploaded a screenshot from Neteller with the visible transaction to Bitstarz.

On August 13th, they asked for a page where my name and postal address are visible on Neteller. 

On the 18th, they asked for photos of my credit cards.

I had been waiting for a while for my card to be checked, and then they asked for a selfie with the newspaper with today's date, my ID and my signature. I uploaded several pictures on September 12th.

Apparently, that wasn't enough because they requested a bank statement that I uploaded very soon, on September 13. I uploaded a statement from my Revolut card because I used it for making a deposit...but they declined it because "they cannot accept Revolut bank statements" and asked me to upload the alternative bank statement.

After that, I had to download proof that a card I used was mine, it was a PDF card confirmation document. 

On September 14th, they requested proof of deposit that I made with my card and after it was uploaded on site, they blocked my account so I can't access it. Then, when I noticed that my account was blocked, which nobody told me about, I had to start a conversation with them by e-mail.

On September 22nd, Bitstarz requested a selfie on the street near an identifiable location (i.e. shop or bus station) via e-mail. After sending it, we exchanged emails regarding my location until October 13 when they requested another selfie. 

So after all that, you asked for a video of me filming my bed with documents, my apartment, and me walking out to the street? 

In short, they asked 6 times for extra documents, pictures, selfies (you could do this in one go), and after 2 and half months of stalling I lost so much time and nerves, so I will not be your monkey anymore. Don't expect any more documents from me!

Guru, please make this post public as I want everyone to see how Bitstarz treat its customers.

Dear LaterECT / Roko

I fully understand your frustration, but the KYC as well as AML is a very important and essential process, that can take a longer time to finish. None of the fair licensed casinos takes KYC or AML lightly. As a part of this process, the casinos are entitled to request various documents or evidence from the player as well as a video verification call if needed. It is an industry standard.

Sadly, as providing all the evidence is solely the responsibility of the player, there is not much we can do from our side.

I can only kindly advise you to cooperate with the casino, otherwise, without the completed verification check we won't be able to move with your complaint further.

What would you like to do? If there is anything else we can do to help, please let us know.

Dear Michal, you guys have a big power, for start decrease Bitstarz ratings or let them know you will do it if they do not pay. 

I sent you all the crazy photos they requested and this case is a simple stalling, basically I am angry on licence providers, they are allowing this behavior. They should tell casinos what they need to ask from players ( they are abusing KYC to stall payments indefinitely , because I feel like a used monkey and I am 100% sure if I sent anything else they will just ask for something new. ( and I have evidence for that, I can see lots of similar cases like mine )

Below are a few references I found on your website:

https://casino.guru/bitstarz-casino-the-player-s-unable-to-finish-verification

https://casino.guru/bitstarz-casino-player-s-struggling-to-complete-account-1

Dear LaterECT / Roko

As I already mention I fully understand your frustration, but the KYC as well as AML is a very important and essential process, that can take a longer time to finish. None of the fair licensed casinos takes KYC or AML lightly. As a part of this process, the casinos are entitled to request various documents or evidence from the player as well as a video verification call if needed. It is an industry standard.

Every complaint is a bit different and although there are some similarities with your complaint the complaints you mentioned both have been ruled differently as there was different evidence. 

From what I understood when I communicated with the casino representative about your case If you provide the short video, we have been asking you for, this will be sufficient evidence to finish the KYC check. I can empathize with you that the whole process can be done more user-friendly, but the casinos need to follow certain regulations.

I have to repeat myself, providing all the evidence is solely the responsibility of the player. So it is up to you to cooperate, but please understand, without your further cooperation we won't be able to move with your complaint further.

Dear LaterECT,

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.

Thank you for your response. I will provide you with the requested video and hopefully this will be enough evidence to complete the KYC check after all the documents and photos I sent.

Dear LaterECT / Roko

Just to clarify, please make a short video where we can clearly see all the documents on the table and then how you walk out of your apartment outside so we can see the surroundings and clearly visible your home address (Street name) in Ireland. Please make sure that all the needed documents are clearly visible and recognizable.

Thank you

Dear LaterECT,

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.

I'm actually relocating to the new apartment at the moment. So I'm going to shoot this video in my new apartment. Could you please tell me what documents to include in my video?

Dear LaterECT / Roko

We had your complaint open for nearly 2 months, which is way too much without any further development. Most of the time was waiting for you to provide the requested short video which in theory would take only a few minutes to shoot. As mentioned before, this verification video with the combination of the required documents would be sufficient to complete the verification process, but until this day, you were not able to provide it. 

The fact that you are moving to a new address is irrelevant in this case, as you were requested to provide proof of your residence that has to match the information you provided when registering in the casino.

We were trying to help you, but as you were not able to provide the short verification video, there is not much we can do to move your complaint further.

Sadly, because of the above-mentioned reasons, we are forced to Reject your complaint.

If you manage to shoot the short verification video you can send it to me at my email michal.k@casino.guru and we will consider reopening your complaint, but at the moment, we are being forced to Reject your complaint.

Regards

Michal