Casinoways - Player’s self-exclusion request was ignored.

 (www.casinoways.com), which is licensed under Curacao eGaming. I am seeking your assistance in resolving an issue involving significant financial losses due to the casino's failure to address my self-exclusion request.

Details of the Issue:

Total Amount Lost: £66,000

On the date above, I lost a total of £66,000, including £59,000 that I had previously won. Before this incident, I had expressed a desire to self-exclude in order to prevent further gambling, but despite notifying Casinoways customer support, my request was not honored. I was not provided with the tools or processes to effectively self-exclude from the platform, and as a result, I continued to gamble and lost the funds.

Despite the casino's disclaimers in their terms and conditions, which attempt to absolve them of liability, the failure to implement responsible gambling measures such as self-exclusion left me in a vulnerable position. I did not receive adequate support or safeguards from Casinoways when I requested assistance to prevent further losses.

i woke up one morning dosed with medication as i was fighting a throat infection and a second degree burn all down my arm i wasn’t thinking straight at all i literally wasn’t myself… i was able to then cancel and play through £59,000 in a two hour session with no safer gambling tools ever popping up or any message from any safer gambling team about the massive amounts of money i was playing with. I proceeded to lose it all despite the fact my account should have been self excluded at my request previously when i had stated to customer support i was worried that i will lose this money, Can the casino be liable for this ? is this a breach in safer gambling laws or rules ? please help this was everyhting to me and now that i have recovered i cannot fathom or understand what has transpired on that one single day last week when i wasn’t myself at all…

Dear utopia1771,

Thank you very much for submitting your complaint. I’m sorry to hear about your problem. I checked the Responsible Gaming section and I found this:

We offer you the option of deactivating your account for a specified time period (self-exclusion). The deactivation is effective immediately and is not reversible. Your account will be deactivated for the selected time period regardless of whether you change your mind during the time the account is deactivated.If you feel that you would like to take a break, please visit My Account and Play Safe section or send an email to our customer support team stating your preferred self-exclusion period and your personal details.

Could you please forward me the self-exclusion request and any other relevant communication between you and the casino? My email address is kristina.s@casino.guru. 

Do you currently have access to your casino account?

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,

Kristina

Hi, yes i will forward my emails back and forth with a VIP staff member for their customer service whom of which i stated i was worried i will lose it all and i request the pending option on my withdrawals to be removed or if there is any way i can self exclude myself to guarantee the payouts and there to be no risk of me playing further, i also have a problem with the fact i was able to cancel €59,000 and play through it all within an hour without any intervention

I also do not have access to my casinoways account since they have fully restricted access to my account which is limiting the resources i have available to prove everything unless they provide it for me

I have forwarded one email of me asking a support email address for casinoways to see if initially there was any way of protecting my pending withdrawals which they replied there aren’t any and i have attached the transcript i was able to locate in my emails from when i had asked to self exclude before i lost it all… i was told to contact another support email address to which i haven’t had a reply from since my first initial response from them …

A quick follow up:

Despite their terms and conditions, which disclaim liability for losses, there are unique circumstances that I feel warrant a thorough review.

Reasons for Refund Request:

Self-Exclusion and Cooling-Off Period Not Honored:

The week before i lost it all , I reached out to request a self-exclusion period, as I was concerned about potential gambling losses. I clearly indicated my intent to avoid further participation and to prevent the risk of losing funds. However, I was not provided with any effective self-exclusion tools, nor was my account limited in response to this request. Without this necessary intervention, I was able to gamble away my winnings and additional funds, which would likely not have occurred had a self-exclusion measure been honored.

Failure to Enforce Responsible Gambling Measures:

Most online casinos prioritize player welfare by offering safeguards like cooling-off periods, reality checks, and session limits. These measures are considered industry standards and are part of responsible gambling obligations, even in jurisdictions with fewer restrictions. By allowing me to continue depositing and losing funds without any intervention, the casino did not take reasonable actions to help protect a player at risk.

Casino’s Duty of Care and Good Faith:

The lack of response to my self-exclusion request indicates a failure to exercise a reasonable duty of care. When I expressed concerns, I hoped the casino would act in good faith to help manage the risk. Instead, I was permitted to play through all my winnings and more. This absence of safeguards allowed the continuation of play in a manner inconsistent with responsible gambling principles, and it ultimately led to significant financial loss.

Unique Circumstances Surrounding My Losses:

Given that I was under medication due to medical issues during this period, my ability to make fully informed gambling decisions was compromised. Casinos often offer tools to prevent impulsive decisions in situations like these, and such tools would have helped mitigate losses.

Responsible gambling practices require that casinos respond to players' requests for help in limiting their gambling. My request signaled that I was concerned about my gambling behavior, particularly in relation to impulsive play and loss of significant funds. Allowing me to continue depositing and playing without offering any protective measure is, in my view, a breach of the casino’s duty of care.

Many reputable casinos offer options such as self-exclusion, locked withdrawals, and cooling-off periods to ensure players can protect themselves from excessive losses. Had Casinoways followed industry standards and implemented my request, I would have been protected from these losses.

For these reasons, I respectfully request a refund of €40,000-€59,000 I believe this request is reasonable, considering my proactive request to limit my gambling activity and the absence of a response from the casino to protect my welfare.

Thank you for taking the time to review this appeal. I look forward to your response and am hopeful for a favorable resolution.

In addition, total amount is €59,000 which translates to £48,940 not £66,000 or £59,000

Could you please clarify when exactly was your account closed? Do I understand correctly that you lost all your winnings before it was closed?

Yes on the 31st October 2024 my account was permanently closed and i had lost the money on the 28th 3 days prior

In addition my account still was not closed because of my gambling problem it was closed since i had believed that my account had been breached so they had closed it as a safety measure… So they still have not even acknowledged that i have had a gambling problem and that my account should’ve been closed when i asked… I had asked for my account to be closed and for the cancel button on my €59,000 in pending withdrawals to be taken away since i have a gambling problem and addiction which i knew would lead me to play through it sooner or later on the 22nd which is a WEEK prior to when i lost my money… This was not listened to by casinoways and was not honoured despite the fact it is in my right to wish to be self excluded to guarantee my payout .

So I investigated the whole case and the emails you sent and this is the timeline:

• In one message you sent on October 22 I see:

Okay thank you, is there a way to make it so i cannot cancel my withdrawals so i don’t end up losing it ? if not it’s fine i can resist the urge to play until it’s all paid out 

• The casino informed you on October 23 that this wasn't possible.
• You also sent me a live chat transcript from October 29 in which you asked for self-exclusion and indicated a gambling problem.
• On October 31 your account was closed.

Are there any other messages between October 22 and October 29 in which you asked the casino for self-exclusion and informed them about your gambling problem? Maybe I overlooked them, so please forward them to me, if possible.

Hi Kristina,

Thank you for your reply, yes i will check my emails for any more correspondence. I have so many emails to and from the casino so i’m sure i should have more buried somewhere relating to actually asking directly for a self exclusion as i remember doing so

I have forwarded the email to you i forwarded it to the wrong email at first but i have re forwarded to you so you should be able to see an email before the timeline on the 21st October in which i requested it through live chat and the agent actually sent it to a team to reach out to me and discuss my requests of self exclusion and removing the option to cancel my withdrawals which were overlooked

I understand from the timeline initially when i first enquired simply about removing my option to cancel my pending withdrawals it was not a request or a cry for help with my gambling addiction however once i had followed up on the 29th it was a red flag to the casino and they should have locked off my account immediately… Even on the 21st i clearly stated i have a big gambling problem and addiction and i would like my account self excluded, i was told that he would forward this to the correct team which would handle it and reach out to me and they did reach out to me but never mentioned anything to do with my self exclusion i believe this was almost targeted at myself since i had been the second highest net profit winner on the site last month, Even if the casino would try and settle this with an amount a little below i would be satisfied

I have found a live chat transcript sent to my email address from the 24th October where i had requested yet another self exclusion request… I will forward this aswell… As if one attempt at self excluding wasn’t enough

Thank you very much, utopia1771, for your cooperation. I will now transfer your complaint to my colleague Jozef (jozef.k@casino.guru) who will be at your service. I wish you the best of luck and hope the problem will be resolved to your satisfaction in the near future.  

Dear utopia1771,

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