Complaint Resolution Information and Instructions
Before you submit your complaint, please read the following information and instructions, so that you know how the entire process works and what to expect along the way. We will discuss the steps needed to resolve a complaint successfully, the chances of a successful resolution, and a rough estimate of how long it will take.
In this article, we will cover:
- Things to know before you submit your complaint
- Steps you can expect along the way
- What will be the consequences of your complaint?
- How long will it all take?
Things to know before you submit your complaint
- Be prepared to cooperate. If you just submit your complaint and engage with us no further, it's almost certain that your complaint will be rejected. For our complaint experts to help you, you need to respond to their questions and provide all the information needed for them to assess the situation and decide on the best course of action.
- It may take time to resolve your complaint. The process of complaint resolution is not always easy and quick. It often takes a lot of communication with the casino and can be quite time-consuming. You should prepare yourself for this.
- It's not always possible to resolve complaints successfully. We do our best to help players but we can't always persuade the casino to make things right. Many online casinos have a fair approach to gambling or at least care enough about their reputation to rectify the situation if they have done something wrong, but some of them don't. What's more, some casinos don't respond to complaints at all or choose to communicate only with their official regulator.
- Sometimes, the casino is right. We are very strict towards casinos, as explained in our fair gambling codex, but they are not always to blame. You might feel that you have been wronged by the casino, but sometimes they haven't done anything unfair. Our experts will do everything they can to find out what really happened and deal with the complaint accordingly.
- We are not a casino; we are an independent website with information about online casinos. Players sometimes think that Casino Guru is the casino about which they are submitting a complaint. Please note that we are not a casino, we are simply a review website that is trying to help you resolve your complaint.
Steps you can expect along the way
So that you know what to expect, here is a quick overview of the entire complaint-handling process:
1. You submit your complaint
The more information you give us, the easier the entire process will be. It's therefore best to answer truthfully all the questions in the complaint submission form and to read the tips that we give you along the way, as they can help you find out what happened before you even submit your complaint.
Then, when asked for your description of what happened, provide all the relevant information and attach any evidence that supports your claims. That said, please refrain from providing unnecessary details that may actually make it harder for us to process the complaint.
2. We analyze the situation
We will look at the information you submitted, try to understand it, and figure out what the next steps should be, so that we can help you as well and as quickly as possible.
3. We ask you for more information, if needed
Further information may be required if we are to understand what happened. In these cases, we will get back to you with additional questions and wait for your responses. This can happen several times, depending upon the complexity of your case.
4. We try to resolve the complaint without contacting the casino
We may be able to help you without getting the casino involved, if the information you provided guides us towards what has happened and either the issue can be fixed without any action from the casino or it can't be fixed at all.
Alternatively, there is no need for the casino to get involved if we find out that the casino hasn't done anything wrong in your case.
5. We contact the casino for their views, if necessary
If we decide to involve the casino, we request its side of the story and then facilitate a conversation between you and the casino to find out what should be done about the complaint.
Of course, this relies on the casino communicating with us. We have the biggest online casino database and contact information for a large proportion of the casinos that it contains, but some casinos just cannot be reached or do not respond to us, regardless of how hard we try to get in touch.
6. We do everything we can to help
This often requires a lot of communication with the casino and with you as a player, as well as a fair bit of 'detective work' to assess the situation and find out what really happened. It can take time to sort everything out, so please be patient.
7. We close the complaint
This happens when one of the sides stops responding altogether; when the complaint is rejected or successfully resolved, or when the casino refuses to do what you ask. Either side can ask for the complaint to be reopened afterward, should any new, relevant information arise.
What will be the consequences of your complaint?
Let's start by stating that not all complaints are justified. Therefore, if the circumstances and evidence show that the casino has not done anything that we consider to be unfair, the complaint will be closed and categorized as being 'rejected'. The same happens if you stop communicating with us after submitting your complaint.
If the complaint is justified and the casino has done something unfair, the ideal scenario is that we resolve the complaint to your liking. In this case, the complaint will be closed and categorized as being 'resolved'.
If the complaint is justified and we are unable to resolve it, it is closed and categorized as being 'unresolved'. This happens when the casino either does not respond to us or refuses to do what we consider to be fair in that specific situation. You will not get your desired outcome but the complaint will be saved in our system, the casino will be punished with a lower rating from us and our review of the casino will warn other players of what happened. What's more, if the casino wants to improve its rating in the future, it will be forced to address the complaint, so there is a chance that your complaint will be resolved at a later date.
How long will it all take?
The time elapsed between submitting a complaint and the complaint being closed varies greatly. The complaints processed most quickly are those that can be resolved without getting the casino involved or those that are rejected because the casino has not done anything wrong. Other complaints, however, can be very time-consuming.
Here are some rough estimates and time-related information about complaints:
- You will get your first response from our complaint team within 48 hours, but we do our best to respond within 12 to 24 hours.
- Each involved party (you, the casino, or the Casino Guru team) has seven days to respond when they are required to do so to move the complaint forward. When this period elapses without a response, we usually choose to prolong the time limit by another seven days.
- As the successful resolution of a complaint often takes a lot of communication between all three parties, the total time can add up. The average time it takes to close successfully-resolved complaints is roughly 21 days from the date they were submitted, but again, this varies a lot from one complaint to another.
We do everything we can to resolve complaints as quickly as possible, but it's not always a straightforward process. Please be patient and provide all the necessary information to speed things up on your side.
