Buumi Casino - Player complains about the lack of essential feature violating gambling law.

hello i hope you are doing well. I am contacting you regarding a complaint against buumi.com casino and the operator Njord Vantage Services LTD. I made a complaint to them because they are not compliant with the estonian gambling law the section § 55.  Protection of players in remote gambling.

This casino has violated the estonian gambling act and law by not having clear information on for how long a player has been continuously playing which is called a "session timer" and which is a regulatory requirement under the estonian gambling act and law when it comes to responsible gambling. Only thing they have on their casino is just a normal clock that shows my local time but no session timer or clear information for how long the session has lasted continuously displaying. I have checked and all of the other casinos have this session timer who are operating under the estonian license except this one and i asked them to refund the net losses of 5061,58e based on not being compliant with the gambling regulation and law and without the clear information how long a session has lasted under the estonian gambling law this does not count as remote gambling and all bets should be voided and ent losses refunded. i have been playing in a casino that is not safe to play in under the estonian gambling law and they are not compliant with the regulation and law missing one of the most important things they need to have under the player protection in remote gambling section. There is already almost no requirements under the estonian gambling act but they still are missing the little bit they should have under the regulation.

Their response to me was this:

Vilhelmiina

October 23, 2023 at 12:35

Hi Sami,

We are contacting you from Buumi customer support,

In accordance with your GDPR request on Oct 17th, 2023, kindly find the requested information attached.

Regarding your complaint, we wish to again state and confirm, that our website has been approved by the regulator during the registration process, these were done on the following dates:

Gambling operations permit granted on 17.01.2023

Operating license for organizing gambling activities: 29.11.2022

Buumi team wishes you all the best for the future!

Best regards,

Vilhelmiina

Buumi Support Team

They are stating that they are fully compliant with the estonian gambling act which they are not by missing on of the most important things what comes to responsible gambling under the estonian gambling act, the session timer or clear information to see how long the session has lasted. I have not been aware of how long i have been playing which ofcourse resulted in me losing much more than i could afford and i developed a gambling problem because of it. I thought i was playing somewhere that is safe and properly regulated under the estonian gambling act but this casino is not.

it says the following under the estonian gambling act:

§ 55.  Protection of players in remote gambling

 (4) Clear information on for how long a player has been playing shall be continuously displayed to the player, and the player shall be enabled to access the data regarding the bets made and prizes won by him or her.

it also says this:

Gambling is not considered remote gambling where electronic means of communication are used only for receiving bets, information about the outcome of the game or transferring payments to the account of a player.

A server containing the software used for the organisation of remote gambling shall store data regarding the registration, identification and verification of the identity of a player, verification of compliance with the age limit, verification of restrictions on gambling, the start of a gaming session, and logging in.

this casino is not compliant with the estonian regulation and law and thats why i need you're help to get this money refunded since this casino has refused and lied that they are compliant with the regulation when they are not and i have all the proofs attached to this message.

I have checked and other casinos under estonian gambling license have the "session timer" and clear information how long a session has been going on since without it this does not count as remote gambling under the estonian gambling regulation. Proof of this attached also tot his complaint

I have video proof of the casino me logged in and opening games and the session timer or clear information is nowhere to be found on the casino. there is no information anywhere that shows how long you have been logged in or playing, which is clear violation of the estonian gambling law under the protection of players in remote gambling part which i quoted before.

evidence supporting my claims are attached to this message.

Dear sam_i,

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

Unfortunately, we do not deal with complaints related to licensing regulations and policies. We have no authority to enforce legal rules. 

We also cannot penalize the casino if they fail to implement this particular responsible gambling tool on their website, nor assist you in asking for a refund based on this reason.

If you believe the casino didn't follow its licensing obligations, our only recommendation is to contact the gambling authority directly.

• Could you please specify if you requested a self-exclusion in the casino due to your gambling problem?
• Is your casino account currently accessible to you?

Thank you very much in advance for your reply.

Best regards,

Tomas

hello. yes my account is self excluded since i made the complaint against them. problem here is the casino is in clear violation of the estonian gambling regulation where i proved it but they don't give an answer except that what you see on my message.

Their reply makes no sense. there are plenty of casinos who have approved license from regulator and still they don't meet all their obligations sometimes under regulation and thats why these complaint forums and procedures exist where people can get help.

yes i have to contact the regulator and hope to get help from them but it would have been nice to get an direct reply from them to what i put in my complaint which they did not.

Thanks for the confirmation.

Unfortunately, we cannot pursue this case by requesting a refund based on the circumstances you presented.

If you believe your case is valid I would recommend you contact the Estonian gambling authority directly. I sincerely hope they will be able to help. Since your account is self-excluded already there is no further assistance we can offer.

Once again the reason we can't help is that from our point of view, we don't consider the responsible tool you describe as mandatory in online casinos, and therefore can't compel the casino to refund you for not featuring it on their website. If the tool is mandatory according to the licensor of the casino, it's in their capacity to act.

While we could not provide a resolution that meets your expectations, please know that we appreciate your time and effort in bringing this matter to our attention.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you encounter issues with any online casinos in the future. We are here to assist you in any way we can.