PowerUp Casino - Player’s winnings are confiscated and withdrawals are restricted.

Complaint Details

Complaint Subject: Unfair tournament prize confiscation and account withdrawal restriction – PowerUpCasino

Disputed Amount: €1,000 (Tournament prize) + 3,400 PLN (Account balance)

Description of the Situation

1. Context and Tournament Participation

On April 6, 2026, I started participating in the "Easter Hunt" (Wielkanocne Polowanie) tournament. At that time, my account was fully eligible and had no restrictions. I played in good faith, investing my time and funds.

2. Account Restriction and Contradictory Support Advice

On April 7, 2026, I noticed my account was restricted. On April 8, I was informed by support that I was no longer eligible for tournament winnings. However, when I inquired about the ongoing "Easter Hunt" tournament, a support agent (Yarka) explicitly instructed me on April 9 to wait until the end of the tournament to report any missing prizes. Based on this binding assurance from customer support, I continued the competition.

3. Unfair Prize Denial

I finished the tournament on April 12, 2026, in 2nd place, which entitles me to a €1,000 prize. Despite completing the competition and following support's instructions, the casino now refuses to credit the prize, claiming the decision is final and citing "internal procedures". I believe that restrictions should not be applied retroactively to events that started before the administrative decision was made.

4. Withdrawal Issues and Verification

Furthermore, my account balance of 3,400 PLN is currently frozen. Initially, the system stated no verification was required, but later I was asked for numerous documents, including bank statements, BLIK history, and a specific selfie. Although I have provided the bank documents and agreed to send the remaining selfie, I still have no access to my legitimate funds.

My Demands

Immediate crediting of the €1,000 tournament prize for the 2nd place finish in "Easter Hunt".

Unblocking the withdrawal function for my balance of 3,400 PLN.

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Hello,

Thank you very much for submitting this complaint. I'm sorry to hear about the problem you're experiencing. Please allow me to ask you a few questions to clarify your situation:

• Did you continue participating in the tournament even after you received an email from the casino informing you that you had been excluded from participating in tournaments?
• Have you previously been informed by the casino that your account was not eligible for tournaments before April 8, 2026?
• Regarding your verification, which documents have you already submitted, and on what dates were they sent?
• Have you previously made successful withdrawals from this casino? If yes, could you please specify how long those withdrawals usually took to be processed?
• What types of games did you play to accumulate your real-money winnings?

I hope we will be able to help you resolve this issue as soon as possible. Thank you in advance for your reply.

Best regards

Veronika

Dear Veronika,

Thank you for looking into my case. Please find my detailed responses to your questions below:

1. Participation after exclusion notice:

Yes, I continued to participate in the tournament despite the notification. The primary reason was that on April 9th, a support agent named Yarka explicitly instructed me to wait until the end of the tournament to report any missing prizes. I interpreted this as a "green light" to continue competing. Furthermore, I firmly believe that an exclusion should not be applied retroactively to tournaments that are already in progress and in which the player is already actively invested.

2. Prior notifications:

After a thorough check of my email (including the spam folder), I found the first notification regarding tournament exclusion dated April 6th, 2026. This was the same day the tournament started and I was already participating. I had received no such warnings or restrictions prior to the start of the "Easter Hunt."

3. Verification process and documents:

My ID was approved immediately. I submitted my bank statement on April 23rd and the requested selfie with the website in the background on May 1st. Both were initially rejected without any explanation or email notification. Interestingly, after I filed this complaint, I resubmitted the same documents yesterday and they were "magically" approved today. However, despite the full verification, my withdrawal functionality remains blocked.

4. Previous withdrawals:

I have made one successful withdrawal of 600 PLN on January 5st, 2026. The processing time for that transaction was approximately one week.

5. Games played:

To accumulate my real-money balance, I played various slots, including: Sweet Rush Bonanza, Sweet Bonanza Super Scatter, Candy Luck, Break the Piggy Bank, and Easter Mayhem. I can provide a full list of all games played if necessary, though it is quite extensive.

I hope this information helps in resolving the dispute regarding my €1,000 prize and the restriction on my 3,400 PLN balance.

Best regards,

MRWPOLAND

Dear Veronika,

I have a quick update regarding my case. As of today, the restrictions on my account have finally been lifted. I was able to successfully request a withdrawal of 2,000 PLN, and I am currently waiting for the funds to be processed and credited to my account.

I will keep you posted once the money arrives. However, please remember that the issue of the €1,000 tournament prize (for the 2nd place finish) still remains unresolved, as it has not been added to my balance.

Best regards,

MRWPOLAND

I'm glad to hear that the casino has lifted the restrictions on your account.

Regarding the tournament prize, could you please clarify the following:

• How much did you have to deposit in order to participate in the tournament? If you have a link or screenshots of the tournament’s Terms and Conditions, kindly forward them to me.
• Were the winnings generated from your deposit credited to your real-money balance while also earning you points in the tournament, or was the deposit used exclusively for tournament participation without any possibility of real-money winnings?
• Has the casino refunded your deposit, or did you receive nothing at all after the tournament ended?

Dear Veronika,

Thank you for your response. Please find the answers to your questions below:

1. Tournament participation and T&Cs:

There was no specific minimum deposit required to enter the tournament. Participation was free for players, and I accumulated points by playing qualifying games. I have already forwarded the screenshots of the tournament’s Terms and Conditions to your email (veronika.f@casino.guru) for your review.

2. Winnings and points:

The winnings generated from my deposits were credited directly to my real-money balance. Simultaneously, those same rounds earned me points in the tournament ranking.

3. Refunds or prizes:

The casino has not refunded any deposits, nor have I received the tournament prize or any other compensation after the event ended.

Additionally, I would like to update you that I have just requested another withdrawal of 1,400 PLN today. I am currently waiting for both transactions (the previous 2,000 PLN and today’s 1,400 PLN) to be processed and credited to my account.

I will keep you informed about the progress of these withdrawals, but I look forward to your help regarding the missing €1,000 tournament prize.

Best regards,

MRWPOLAND

Dear Veronika,

I would like to provide you with another update regarding my case.

Today, I successfully received the first withdrawal of 2,000 PLN into my account. I am still waiting for the second transaction of 1,400 PLN to be processed and credited.

However, as previously mentioned, the main issue regarding the €1,000 tournament prize for the 2nd place finish remains completely unresolved, as the casino has still not credited this amount to my balance.

I will keep you updated on the remaining withdrawal, and I look forward to your further assistance in resolving the matter of the missing tournament prize.

Best regards,

MRWPOLAND

Dear Veronika,

I would like to provide you with another update regarding my case.

Today, I successfully received the second withdrawal of 1,400 PLN into my account, which means my full real-money balance (3,400 PLN) has now been successfully withdrawn.

However, as previously mentioned, the main issue regarding the €1,000 tournament prize for the 2nd place finish remains completely unresolved, as the casino has still not credited this amount to my balance.

I look forward to your further assistance in resolving the matter of the missing tournament prize.

Best regards,

MRWPOLAND

Dear MRWPOLAND,

Thank you for your message and for providing all the updates regarding your withdrawals and the remaining disputed tournament prize.

We carefully reviewed the available information and the communication provided.

Regarding the €1,000 tournament prize, we must inform you that we are not able to agree with your claim. Online casinos are generally entitled to restrict or exclude players from promotional events and tournaments at any time, provided this is in line with their internal rules and promotional terms and conditions. In such cases, eligibility for participation is determined by the operator, and a player does not automatically retain entitlement to promotional winnings if the account is later marked as ineligible.

We also understand your point regarding the message you received from customer support. However, individual support communication cannot override the official terms of the promotion or the casino’s internal eligibility decisions. Therefore, even if you were advised to wait until the end of the tournament, this does not create a binding entitlement to a prize if the casino later confirms ineligibility.

I understand that you may feel your winnings were taken unfairly; however, your account balance was not affected by this restriction, and no funds were deducted. As such, the impact was limited to the time spent participating in the tournament.

Taking all the above into account, we do not consider the casino’s decision to withhold the tournament prize to be unfair or unjustified. 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 this or 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

Veronika