Celsius Casino - Player’s withdrawal is confiscated.

Dear Casino Guru Team,

I kindly request your assistance in contacting Celsius Casino to obtain a proper explanation as to why they rejected my withdrawal of $19,140 and subsequently confiscated the funds. I would like them to reference the exact sections of their Terms and Conditions that they claim I violated, as well as the specific part of the terms that justifies the confiscation of my funds.

Pretext:

On Nov 9, 2024, I made a deposit using their promotional code "EASYBONUS." I started wagering the bonus; however, the Bonus Terms were changed early in the process. Among other changes, the game I was playing was added to the list of prohibited games. Upon realizing that the terms had changed, I immediately stopped playing. I then contacted Celsius Casino to request the cancellation of the bonus and a refund of my $20,000 deposit, as I did not agree to the new terms. After waiting five days for their response, I was told that there were no changes to the bonus terms, that I would not receive any refund, and that any breach of these terms would result in the confiscation of my entire balance even upon successfully completing the wagering requirements. Since the games I had already played were prohibited under these new terms, it became clear that all my winnings and deposit would inevitably be confiscated. Based on this response, I understood that regardless of my actions, I would lose all of my money. From that point forward, I chose to treat it as play money, disregarding their bonus terms and playing it away on live blackjack and live baccarat with bets ranging from $250 to $1,000. Eventually, I lost it all, and the bonus was marked as "Completed."

The issue:

On Nov 15, I collected my Rakeback and initiated a withdrawal of my approximately $19,000 real balance. A few hours later, my withdrawal request was rejected, yet my funds were not returned.

Based on a prior case, Celsius Casino does not consider Rakeback to be part of the promocode deposit bonus. Even when the terms of the deposit bonus were breached and penalties applied, the Rakeback remained unaffected and available for withdrawal.

I immediately contacted support, and they told me that the case had been sent to their team for further review.

Soon after, I received the following response:

"Hello, as we can see, with the deposit bonus, you have played a game that is prohibited. You also attempted to accumulate funds in a specific game in order to withdraw them without completing the required wagering."

I clarified that the deposit bonus had already been cancelled, as I had lost the entire amount. I also pointed out that I had not played any game that could accumulate funds. I requested specific details of my alleged violation, including the exact sections of the Terms and Conditions or Bonus Terms that were breached. Additionally, I requested an explanation of why my withdrawal was rejected and my balance confiscated.

In response, I was told:

"When you played this prohibited game, you were still actively using the promocode bonus. If you wish, we can provide proof of this with a screenshot from your game history."

I found this response inadequate, as it failed to address my concerns. Neither the specific allegation with reference to the Terms and Conditions, nor a valid justification for the seizure of my funds was provided. So, I reiterated my request for detailed information and proper clarification.

This exchange occurred on Nov 15, 2024. I have received no further response since then. Despite sending daily follow-up messages asking for satisfactory answers, my requests have been ignored.

On Nov 21, I also sent my concerns via email, in case the on-site support chat was not functioning properly. However, I have yet to receive a reply.

I request your assistance in obtaining a clear and proper explanation from Celsius Casino regarding the confiscation of my balance. If their reasoning is unfounded, I ask for your help in recovering my funds.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Best regards,

Mannfred

Dear Mannfred,

Thank you very much for submitting your complaint. I’m sorry to hear about your problem. Please allow me to ask you a few questions, so I can understand the whole situation completely. 

• Do I understand correctly that the casino confiscated winnings completely unrelated to the deposit bonus?
• Also, could you please provide more information regarding the rakeback and how it works in this specific casino? You said you collected it and requested a withdrawal - did you have this amount in your casino account before or after you played with the deposit bonus?
• Could you please post a screenshot of your bonus history here in this thread?

Additionally, if there is any other relevant communication between you and the casino, please forward it to kristina.s@casino.guru. Alternatively, you can post it here. 

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

Dear Kristina,

Thank you for opening the case.

At Celsius Casino, rakeback is calculated as a percentage of the house edge and is returned to the player for every bet. The exact percentage depends on the player's loyalty level, ranging from 5% to 22%. Rakeback can be collected and withdrawn as real balance. Notably, all wagers contribute to rakeback generation, regardless of whether they are placed with an active bonus or not.

The rakeback I collected and attempted to withdraw was acquired during my play with the deposit bonus. While it is technically not entirely unrelated to the bonus, this is how the system is designed to work. Additionally, as I mentioned in my previous post, based on a prior case, Celsius Casino does not consider rakeback to be part of the promocode deposit bonus. Even in situations where the deposit bonus terms were breached and penalties applied, rakeback has remained unaffected and available for withdrawal.

The site does not provide a detailed bonus history. The limited information about previously used bonuses is available on the Bonuses/Promocodes page, and I have attached a screenshot of my page for reference.

This page only displays the promocode used, the activation date, and the bonus status ("In-Play" or "Completed"). If the status is marked as "Completed," a sentence appears stating that an amount "has been credited. Enjoy!" However, even when both the deposit and the bonus are lost during the wagering process, this message is displayed as if the original deposit amount had been credited back—though it is not actually returned. If the bonus were still active, a wagering progress bar would appear instead, indicating the current progress.

Unfortunately, despite my best efforts, the previously quoted two messages constitute the entirety of the communication between me and the casino on this matter.

Thank you again for your assistance.

Best regards,

Mannfred

Thank you very much, Mannfred, for your cooperation. I will now transfer your complaint to my colleague Peter (peter.c@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.

Hello there,

Thank you Mannfred for providing us with all the information. I hope we'll be able to resolve this issue together.

I would now like to ask Celsius Casino for their help in resolving this complaint. We would like to know why were the player's winnings confiscated and what can we do to help resolve this issue.

Thank you!

Hello,

So basically user "Mars" try to abuse everything since the beginning, finding the lowest house edge games to win on any event he could find

- Fine, we let him do that even if it reduces the chance from real players

Then, 

He made a big deposit, 10k, on a promocode on 2nd of November : https://prnt.sc/jELSbTbU-pBo

Instantly went for overbetting even if it's clearly written in both the bonus details and bonus title that the limit is 5$

We are nice, and we make an exception and agree to give him back his deposit - according to our rules his entire gameplay should have been voided

The guy comeback the next week with 20k, same promocode bonus, same rules and break AGAIN the rule by going for baccarat AND overbet 

It's written in the rules that it's not allowed, and we even blocked the game to access so nobody make the mistake). 

To bypass the block on the Baccarat game he found that he could enter the Bacarat through the lobby of another live game: https://prnt.sc/q8pQ8h7P1uYX to enter the baccarat : https://prnt.sc/KeqvFivoOpZK

He does that because baccarat has a very low house edge so it's way more profitable for him. 

He then processed to do major bets on this very low house edge game to accumulate rakeback, and once he "lost" all his money, basically it was saved as rakeback in order to be withdrawn after wager automaticaly desactivate.

He then tried to scam us a second time by withdrawing over 20k of rakeback he accumulated under wager on baccarat by bypassing our security, with Overbet (1000$ per bet!), with our bonus money.

- Overbet

- Baccarat abuse

- Rakeback abuse

We were nice the first time and tolerated a lot but this time he wont get a single dollar back. 

It's shameful to get a refund the first time from the site, then come with even more money and try another bigger abuse and then ask for a refund again.

This guy is just a professional abuser.

Dear Casino Guru and Celsius Casino,

Thank you, Casino Guru, for providing this platform where we can engage in dialogue. I appreciate the opportunity to address Celsius Casino’s claims. Unfortunately, Celsius Casino’s response lacks the professionalism and specific details I previously requested, including references to terms, conditions, or evidence justifying their actions. Instead, their reply focuses on accusations that misrepresent events and frame me as someone maliciously ignoring rules while portraying themselves as victims.

While I maintain that many of the issues they raised are irrelevant to the core of my complaint, I will address their claims in detail to ensure clarity. To support this, I give Celsius Casino my permission to publish all of my gameplay history and all of my chat logs with their support representatives. Cross-referencing timestamps from these records will substantiate my points.

Addressing the Allegations:

1. Low House Edge Games and "Abuse" Claims

Celsius Casino accuses me of "abusing" their system by playing low-house-edge games like blackjack, poker, and baccarat. These are simply my preferred games. Calling this an "abuse" is a stretch for several reasons:

• Low-house-edge games still favor the casino. They are not "no-house-edge" games.
• Such games have inherent variance, and in fact, I experienced significant losses—thousands of euros—during the periods they describe.
• Participation in wager leaderboard events is automatic for all eligible players. Every wager I placed on those games contributed to the event standings without any action or intent on my part.

I have two questions for Celsius Casino on this point:

• If playing low-house-edge games is considered abuse, why are these games featured and listed on the site at all?
• Alternatively, if such games are not meant to be included in wager leaderboard events, why does wagering on these games generate points for these events?

As it stands, it appears the only way to avoid "abusing" their events is by not playing blackjack, baccarat, or other common games at all. This approach appears inconsistent and unfair.

2. The First Bonus (Nov 2: $10,000 Deposit)

Celsius Casino claims I "instantly went for overbetting." While technically true, this accusation fails to recognize that the overbetting was a genuine mistake, not an intentional rule violation.

Here are the facts:

• Before depositing, I carefully reviewed the promotional email outlining basic terms (100% deposit match, 25x wagering requirement, €5 max bet). To ensure I fully understood the rules, I also contacted live support to clarify restricted games. Support informed me that only live games, blackjack, poker, and plinko were restricted—no mention of baccarat or other specifics.
• After depositing $10,000 and beginning to wager, I discovered that the restricted game list was much longer than support had disclosed. Some games that should have been available according to the support’s list were blocked by the system, making it difficult to identify eligible options. Eventually, I found a game I could play: Baccarat from Hacksaw Gaming.
• Initially, I played at a €10 bet size, unintentionally exceeding the €5 limit. It took me a few minutes to realize that the wagering progress bar was not updating. Once I realized this was due to the bet size and that the bets breached the max bet rule of the bonus terms, I immediately contacted support to ask how this would affect my gameplay.

The overbet did not provide any advantage—in fact, it worked against me in two ways:

• None of the overbet progress counted toward the wagering requirement.
• My balance when starting wagering was lower than it would have been otherwise.

When I reached out to support to clarify the situation, they informed me that they could not provide any information on how the overbet would affect my bonus or funds until the "bet check" was performed after the full wagering requirement was completed. This policy left me in significant uncertainty:

• I had no idea whether they would penalize the overbet, nor to what extent. The possibility of losing my entire balance—including my initial $10,000 deposit—hung over me as I waited for clarity. While Celsius Casino did not describe this as a minor offense, I believe it was one given the circumstances, however I had no way of knowing how the casino would classify or handle it.
• To resolve this uncertainty, I would have needed to wager hundreds of thousands of dollars before they could provide any clarity.

Despite this lack of transparency, I continued wagering in strict adherence to the bonus terms for the remainder of the requirement.

Celsius Casino ultimately confiscated the winnings due to the €5 max bet violation but refunded my initial deposit automatically without me requesting it. This led me to believe that refunding deposits in such cases is standard practice—not a "generous exception," as Celsius Casino now claims.

Rakeback Dispute

Celsius Casino left the rakeback earned during the bonus period untouched on my account. This led me to believe rakeback was not tied to the bonus terms and was eligible for withdrawal. If rakeback was earned improperly, why was it not addressed or removed alongside the confiscated winnings?

3. The Second Bonus (Nov 9: $20,000 Deposit)

Celsius Casino alleges I intentionally violated the rules by playing baccarat and overbetting. This is inaccurate and omits critical details.

• I deposited $20,000 using the "EASYBONUS" promocode, with terms similar to the previous bonus. I began wagering on baccarat at a €5 bet size, fully adhering to the stated rules.
• About 10 minutes into gameplay, Celsius Casino unilaterally changed the terms to prohibit baccarat and other games, rendering my chosen game inaccessible. I immediately stopped playing and contacted support, requesting a refund since I did not agree to the new terms. It took support about five days to address my request, during which time I had no clear resolution. Ultimately, support denied my request and informed me that both my deposit and bonus would be confiscated, regardless of whether I completed wagering, as I had already violated the terms (retroactively applied).

Frustrated by the situation—not only the unilateral terms change but also poor communication, delays in addressing my concerns, repeated email issues, and unresponsiveness—I disregarded the bonus rules entirely and played games of my choosing, including live blackjack and baccarat. While accessing these games technically circumvented their system, my actions were driven by frustration with Celsius Casino’s handling of the matter, not malice or an intent to exploit the system.  

Rakeback Dispute

The rakeback accumulated during this bonus period originated from wagering tied to the bonus. However, Celsius Casino’s system does not distinguish between bonus funds and real money when calculating rakeback. This inconsistency led me to believe that the rakeback was not subject to the bonus terms and was eligible for withdrawal.

If earning rakeback during bonus wagering is considered abuse, then every player who has ever used a deposit bonus could also be implicated. This policy raises significant concerns, as it suggests that the rakeback system is being retroactively penalized in ways players could not reasonably foresee.

Celsius Casino must clarify whether rakeback earned during bonus periods is universally ineligible for withdrawal, as the implications of this policy are far-reaching and could affect many players.

Questions for Celsius Casino

To clarify the situation and address broader issues with their platform, I ask the following:

• If playing low-house-edge games is considered abuse, why are such games featured on the site and included in wager leaderboard events?
• Why are bonus terms not published transparently on the site, including a list of restricted games?
• Why can’t players request a "bet check" during wagering to avoid uncertainty?
• Why doesn’t Celsius Casino implement an automatic system to prevent overbetting, as is standard in the industry?
• Cryptocurrency transactions typically involve minimal network fees. Why, then, does Celsius Casino charge a 2.5% withdrawal fee, which is much higher than industry standards?
• Why does Celsius Casino’s email system reject emails from verified addresses?
• Why does the on-site chat system, considered their main method of communication, lack many basic features, such as:

1. Timestamps for messages.
2. The ability to upload files (e.g., screenshots).
3. Basic text formatting (e.g., new paragraphs in a single message).
4. The ability to save or download transcripts.
5. A way to access conversations after tickets are closed.
6. These deficiencies make it difficult to document interactions or seek clarification.

• Why does the site still list games and providers that are no longer accessible?
• The new bonus terms prohibit all games with an RTP of 98% or higher, yet RTP values are not displayed on the site. How are players expected to identify such games without clear information provided by the casino?

Final Request

For the sake of transparency and fairness, I request that Celsius Casino provide a clear, specific explanation for why my rakeback withdrawal was rejected and confiscated, citing the relevant Terms and Conditions.

Additionally, I encourage Celsius Casino to publish my gameplay history and chat logs to ensure full accountability.

Sincerely,

Mannfred

Hello,

The simple fact you did an overbet is enough for us to forfeit your winnings and remove your entire balance.

All the other abuses, even if they are also enough to justify the same punishment, are just some more legit reasons to do it. The main one is overbet.

When you activate the bonus there is a button to validate "I read the rules and will accept the consequences if I break them", you have to open and read the rules to be able to click this button, so either you did or didn't read these rules - in both case it's your responsibility, you clicked that button.

I'm not here to judge if your overbet was intentional or not, we have 6.5k daily players, my job is not to be in their head at all time to know if it was done on purpose or not. We were nice the first time, no excuses the second time. Nobody is placing 1k€ bets instead of 5€ during hours for "by mistake".

If you did it, and you did, then you lose your balance and deposit.

Just the way all casinos are working.

Have a nice day

Dear Celsius Casino,

Your latest response fails to address the core of my complaint and the many issues I raised in my previous message. Not only did you fail to provide a proper explanation regarding the confiscation of my rakeback, but you also failed to reference any specific terms and conditions to justify your actions regarding the alleged overbet.

Addressing Your Latest Message:

1 - Excessive Penalty for Overbet

Your policy that "an overbet is enough for us to forfeit your winnings and remove your entire balance" is excessive and unfair. Mistakes like this can and should be prevented entirely by an automatic system that stops overbets from being placed. In fact, you already have such a system in place, as bets exceeding the €5 limit are excluded from contributing to the wagering requirement. This demonstrates that you can detect overbets in real-time but choose not to prevent them, instead penalizing players harshly for errors that could easily be avoided.

2 - Nonexistent "I Read the Rules" Button

Your claim about a "I read the rules and will accept the consequences if I break them" button is factually incorrect. No such button exists on your platform. This raises serious questions about your familiarity with your own website’s features. By bringing up a nonexistent feature, you create the impression that I was made fully aware of the rules and then knowingly violated them, which is untrue.

3 - Tone of Communication

While your previous message does not outright accuse me of malicious intent, the tone was accusatory and implied a lack of good faith on my part. This was both unprofessional and unnecessary. Additionally, you have now shifted your argument to emphasize that players are made exceptionally aware of the bonus terms before activation. This claim is undermined by the fact that your individual bonus terms are not published transparently on your website. I explicitly raised this issue in my last message, and it remains unanswered.

4 - Unsubstantiated Claim About Industry Standards

Finally, your assertion that "this is the way all casinos are working" is incorrect. Reputable casinos do not retroactively change bonus terms mid-wagering to justify confiscating deposits and bonuses. If you claim this is standard practice, I invite you to provide examples of reputable casinos with such policies.

Rakeback Dispute: The Core Complaint

Your latest message completely avoids addressing the rakeback dispute, which is the heart of my complaint. You focused on the deposit and deposit bonus, but the rakeback is neither. It is a reward for wagering activity and should not be affected by breaches of the deposit bonus terms, as your own actions in the first bonus period demonstrate.

In the first bonus period (Nov 2, $10,000 deposit), even after the bonus terms were breached and penalties applied—namely, the confiscation of all bonus winnings—the rakeback earned during that period was left untouched and available for withdrawal. This precedent led me to believe that rakeback was not tied to the bonus terms and was considered real money.

However, during the second bonus period (Nov 9, $20,000 deposit), despite earning rakeback in a similar manner as during the first bonus period, my withdrawal was rejected, and the funds confiscated without proper explanation. Why was the rakeback treated as valid real money during the first bonus period but not during the second? This inconsistent treatment undermines your credibility and suggests a discriminatory approach.

Final Request for Transparency

I request a proper explanation for why my rakeback withdrawal was rejected and the funds confiscated. This explanation must reference specific terms and conditions and justify the inconsistent handling of the rakeback between the two bonus periods.

Additionally, I once again invite you to publish my full gameplay history and chat logs to allow for transparency and independent verification of my claims.

Finally, I urge you to address the broader issues I raised in my previous message, including the lack of clarity in your bonus terms, your retroactive application of rule changes, and the absence of standard player protections like automated overbet prevention. Ignoring these concerns does not reflect the level of professionalism expected from a licensed casino.

Sincerely,

Manfred

Thank you for the update Celsius Casino representative. Would it be possible to provide me with betting history of the player to review it for maxbet rule violations? You can forward any information to my email. (peter.c@casino.guru) Thank you in advance for your cooperation!

Dear Peter and Casino Guru Team,

I have an unfortunate update regarding my situation. Today, my account was blocked with the stated reason: "Banned for abuse." The timing of this ban raises serious concerns.

On December 3, I requested a withdrawal of approximately $5,000 USD worth of ETH still remaining in my balance. After not receiving the funds in my wallet for over a week, I began making inquiries about the status of this withdrawal on December 10. As has unfortunately become typical, I received no response. Then, just one day later, my account was banned.

To provide further context:

  1. I received $2,500 USD worth of ETH as a reward for winning a wager leaderboard in mid-October. At that time, I was not using any deposit bonus and was playing solely with real money. I see no reason or justification for why this reward would be withheld.

  2. I received another $2,500 USD worth of ETH for placing in a different wager leaderboard at the end of November. My contribution to this leaderboard consisted of:

•     Real money wagering,
•     Bonus wagering while following the bonus rules, and
•     Bonus wagering that may not have complied with the rules.

Similar to rakeback, wagering with an active bonus automatically contributes toward leaderboard rankings. This is part of the system design and not something I have control over. Although I won the leaderboard with contributions from all types of wagering, I would still have secured the top position even if the bonus wagering that broke the rules had been excluded. Furthermore, I believe my wagering activity prior to November 2 (before the $10,000 deposit bonus in question) alone would have been enough to guarantee a top 3 placement, with a reward on the same scale, as the top 3 rewards ranged from $1,500 to $2,500.

Additionally, these leaderboard rewards were distributed manually by the casino, so I assume any eligibility issues would have been flagged during the review process at that time.

I have not received any explanation for the delay in my withdrawal, nor any message informing me of the closure of my account with proper—or any—justification. At the time of the ban, my account held approximately:

•   $200 USD worth of TRX,
•   $800 USD worth of ETH, and
•   The $5,000 USD worth of ETH withdrawal still pending.

This amounts to a total of $6,000 USD in cryptocurrency assets confiscated without explanation.

I believe the abrupt closure of my account was prompted by my inquiries into the delayed withdrawal and likely intended as retaliation for submitting this very complaint on the Casino Guru platform.

Peter, please advise whether this new issue—regarding the account closure and the confiscation of an additional $6,000 worth of crypto assets—should be added to the existing complaint or submitted as a separate one. Thank you for your time and assistance.

Sincerely,

Mannfred

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.

Hello,

To continue on his scam rampage the user used the funds he abused on a previous bonus to keep abusing even the next events. I've no words to comment such a despicable behavior.

The funds used were fraudulent (Coming from rakeback abuse etc..), the win of the event is fraudulent - and basically that's how we could describe the entire gameplay of this user. Fraudulent. I'm only impressed by his talent to find new ways to abuse the site.

Not impressed enough tho to let him steal the victory of other players, who actually deserved to win as they had a legit gameplay. He tried everything you could to scam us and other players, and it failed.

I don't think the user need to have his own scam explained again to him, he seems to understand very well how to perform it without our help.

Thanks

Due to the aforementioned reasons, this complaint will now be rejected. Thank you for your understanding, I am sorry we could not be of more help on this occasion. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you run into any issues with this or any other casino in the future.