The player from Norway filed a complaint against Joker.io, Buumi.com, and KoiCasino for failing to implement self-exclusion measures despite his severe gambling addiction. The operators had allowed him to deposit €9,618 on an unverified account and neglected his compulsive behavior during a crisis. He requested a full refund of his deposits due to the operators' violations of their duty of care and AML regulations. We were unable to assist with the complaint as the incident had occurred more than six months prior, classifying it as a "cold case," which prevented effective investigation and evidence collection. Consequently, the complaint was rejected due to the elapsed time and our policy limitations.
Koi Casino - Player's account is closed; seeks refund for major losses.
Closed
Our verdict
Other
Amount: 82,300 kr
Koi Casino
Safety Index:HighCase summary
Discussion
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3 months ago
Translation
I am filing this complaint against the operator group behind **Joker.io, Buumi.com and KoiCasino** due to systematic failures to protect a vulnerable player, violations of network-wide self-exclusion, and serious deficiencies in their AML/KYC processes.
1. Network-wide self-exclusion failure
I suffer from a documented severe gambling addiction. Despite previously requesting permanent self-exclusion from the operator's associated brands/networks, Joker.io, Buumi and KoiCasino failed to conduct the necessary cross-referencing
This allowed me to open new accounts and lose large sums of money even though I had explicitly informed the network about my problem.
2. Serious violations of deposit limits and KYC requirements
On June 7, 2023, Joker.io allowed me to deposit a total of €9,618 in a single 24-hour period. This was done on a completely unverified account. The operator’s own policy and licensing requirements (Curacao/EU) stipulate a maximum limit of €150 for unverified users before KYC checks and Source of Funds verification are required [1, 2]. Allowing deposits of close to €10,000 without any validation whatsoever is a serious violation of AML regulations [2, 6].
3. Total lack of duty of care
During the gaming session, I exhibited extremely compulsive behavior that the operator completely ignored:
I played for 30 hours straight without sleep [7].
My deposits quickly escalated from €40 to €1,400 per transaction.
I was in a severe mental health crisis at the time, which I have offered to substantiate with medical documentation.
4. Manipulative withdrawal barriers
I tried to make a withdrawal after my first deposit, but it was put on hold by the casino. The delay caused me, in my unstable state, to cancel the withdrawal and gamble away all the money, which is against the requirements of protecting player funds.
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### **Evidence:**
* **Transaction logs:** Showing deposits of €9,618 over 24 hours on Joker.io [3, 4].
* **Communication history:** Support's refusal to acknowledge network connections and ignoring medical diagnoses [10-12].
* **License Violation:** Evidence that they allowed deposits well above the €150 limit for unverified accounts [1, 2].
### **Desired solution:**
I demand a **full refund** of the deposits made (€9,618) after the operator failed to enforce my self-exclusion and breached its statutory duty of care [5, 13]. The operator's actions have caused me enormous financial and personal harm [5].
Automatic translation:
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3 months ago
Important notice:
Casino Guru will never ask for payments or access to your accounts to complete KYC. If someone claims to be from Casino Guru and does that, do not share any information.
We only contact players through this official complaint thread or via @casino.guru e-mail addresses. Always check the sender’s domain and verify your complaint resolver’s e-mail address by clicking on their avatar visible inside the official complaint thread.
If anything seems suspicious, contact us directly.
Stay safe.
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3 months ago
Dear hejsan88kr,
Thank you very much for submitting your complaint. I’m sorry to hear about your problem.
I have reviewed the casino's Responsible Gaming Policy, and this is what I found:
Protecting the Vulnerable and Underage from Gambling
KoiCasino does not seek the custom from underage users, the vulnerable, or those that are actively Self-Excluded. We will actively seek to prevent them from gaining access to remote gambling at the point of account registration.
For those individuals that have identified they may require support to stop gambling, KoiCasino has a variety of tools available to limit or stop the play as well as links to professional organizations that may be able to assist them.
Unfortunately, it is not stated that all accounts held at other casinos operated by the same company will be automatically blocked or self-excluded. Please understand that self-excluding from one casino does not necessarily guarantee protection across all associated platforms.
To proceed further, could you please confirm whether you specifically requested a self-exclusion from Koi Casino?
I look forward to your reply.
Best regards,
Attila
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3 months ago
Thank you for your response.
To clarify your question: yes, I explicitly requested self‑exclusion from all three platforms — Joker.io, Buumi.com, and KoiCasino.com. This request was made on an operator‑level basis, not limited to a single domain. Since all three brands are operated by Njord Ventures B.V., they share the same systems, payment channels, and responsible gaming obligations.
1. Operator‑level responsibility
The operator’s own Responsible Gaming Policy states that they will:
"actively seek to prevent vulnerable or self‑excluded users from gaining access at the point of account registration."
This obligation applies to the operator as a whole, not only to one of its websites. Once a player is identified as vulnerable or self‑excluded, the operator must prevent access across its entire network of brands.
2. I informed the operator about my gambling addiction and requested exclusion
Despite this, I was still able to open new accounts on all three platforms and lose significant amounts of money.
This is a clear cross‑brand self‑exclusion failure.
3. Why limiting the question to KoiCasino alone is insufficient
Even if a policy does not explicitly mention "network‑wide exclusion," the operator is still required to:
• prevent vulnerable players from registering,
• prevent self‑excluded players from accessing any of their platforms,
• and apply responsible gaming measures consistently across all brands they operate.
This is standard practice in regulated markets and part of the operator’s duty of care.
4. I will now provide all deposits across Joker.io, Buumi.com, and KoiCasino.com
These records show that:
• I was allowed to deposit €9,618 in 24 hours on an unverified account,
• I was allowed to open multiple accounts despite prior exclusion,
• and no responsible gaming intervention occurred despite extremely risky behaviour.
I will now attach the full deposit history for all three platforms.
Best regards
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2 months ago
Dear hejsan88kr, could you please forward me the account closure request that you sent to the first casino from this group? My email address is attila.g@casino.guru.
Thank you in advance.
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2 months ago
Dear hejsan88kr,
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.
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2 months ago
Dear hejsan88kr, thank you for your response. In order for me to properly assess this issue, could you please forward the evidence directly to my email? My email address is attila.g@casino.guru.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation.
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2 months ago
Dear hejsan88kr,
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.
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1 month ago
Dear hejsan88kr, thank you for your response. I would like to kindly ask you to review my request once more. The evidence you provided does not pertain to this complaint. I would greatly appreciate it if you could send your self-exclusion request from this casino instead of your game history.
Thank you for your understanding.
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1 month ago
Kindly be aware that without adequate evidence indicating that you expressed gambling concerns which the casino failed to acknowledge, we will not be able to request refunds of your deposits from the casino. I completely empathize with how disappointing it must be to feel unprotected by the casino, but gambling establishments are only required to implement responsible gaming measures when gambling-related issues are explicitly stated.
Could you please confirm whether you have any documented evidence of expressing gambling-related concerns to Koi Casino? Additionally, do you still have access to your account at Koi Casino?
Thank you in advance for your response.
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1 month ago
You mean like asking for a bonus and such yes of course it’s all in the material and I also beg them to give me bonuses plenty of times
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1 month ago
Dear hejsan88kr, thank you for your response. Could you please confirm whether you currently still have access to your account at Koi Casino? If not, could you please confirm when did the casino close your account?
Thank you in advance for your reply.
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1 month ago
TranslationHi Attila,
Thank you for your message.
I hereby confirm the following:
1. I no longer have access to my account at Koi Casino.
The account was closed by the operator after I expressed that I have a serious gambling problem and that I should have been blocked. Therefore, I cannot log in and retrieve further history or internal messages.
2. My self-exclusion request has already been submitted to you.
The email I forwarded (from May 27, 2023) is the documented request where I explicitly inform the operator about my gambling addiction and that I should have been excluded.
This was sent to Joker.io, which is the same operator (Njord Ventures BV) that runs Buumi.com and KoiCasino.com.
The self-exclusion thus applied at the operator level, not just an individual domain.
3. The operator was fully aware of my vulnerability.
Despite this, I was able to:
• open new accounts on their other brands,
• make deposits well above their own limits for unidentified accounts,
• and gamble away a total of €14,518 without any form of RG intervention.
This is a clear breach of their responsibility to protect vulnerable players and to prevent play on all brands when a self-exclusion or vulnerability is known.
4. I have already provided all the documentation I have access to.
Since the account is closed by the operator, I can't retrieve more than what I've already sent.
I therefore ask you to continue the case based on:
• my documented self-exclusion request,
• transaction history,
• and the operator's non-compliance with both RG and AML requirements.
Thank you for continuing the processing.
Kind regards,
Automatic translation:
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1 month ago
We’re sorry, but we are unable to assist you with your request. Due to the amount of time that has passed since the incident you described—more than six months ago—we are no longer able to investigate the matter effectively. Our policy does not allow us to pursue cases that are considered "cold cases," as collecting evidence and reconstructing an accurate timeline becomes too difficult after such a period.
Due to the aforementioned reasons, we will now proceed to reject this complaint. Thank you for your understanding. I am genuinely sorry that we were not able to assist you more effectively in this particular situation, as we always aim to help players resolve their issues whenever possible.
Please remember that you are welcome to contact us again if you run into any problems with any other casino in the future. Whether it is a question, a concern, or a new issue that needs to be looked into, our team is here and ready to support you.
Best regards
Attila
