Energy Casino - Pelaajan tili suljetaan ja voitot takavarikoidaan.

Hello

I joined Energy on December 30th and won $10,068 in total from the first part of the welcome bonus, which was an offer whereby you had to deposit $200 for a $200 bonus and then the wagering challenge was to bet a total of $12,000. I won a significant amount in doing so, and was then asked for documents over the next two weeks.

There was a lot of requests for documents, including proof of my identity, proof of my address, proof of my ewallet account with Mifinity, all of which I provided. I was then asked for a selfie holding both my passport and a handwritten note containing the date, which I provided and they accepted.

They then sent me an email immediately after accepting these, confiscating my entire balance using the following terms as a reason

''During internal checks we have detected irregular activity, therefore decided to take appropriate steps.

Kindly note, that according to general terms & conditions you have accepted upon creating your gaming account:

10. ACCOUNT CANCELLATION

a. Energy reserves the right to cancel the services, and/or refuse to distribute winnings to anyone for any legitimate reason including, but not limited to:

· any instance when Energy has cause to believe that a person's activities on the website may be illegal;

· any instance where Energy may suffer any fiscal, regulatory, or pecuniary disadvantage by virtue of anyone’s activities;

· any instance where one or more transactions on the website are judged by Energy to have been performed in violation of this agreement.

b. Energy prohibits player collusion and takes measures to prohibit the use of devices, such as robots, that distort normal gameplay.

c. Energy reserves the right to terminate events or games including ones which have already commenced without prior notice, whenever it deems necessary and/or due to errors in the software or games which cause games to work incorrectly or malfunction.

d. Energy reserves the right to terminate an Account and retain all the remaining funds in the Account where Energy has reasonable belief that a player committed/attempted to commit/ was involved in proceedings leading towards potential fraudulent activity or otherwise advised on fraudulent activity to third-party-player/s or hacked or accessed otherwise unlawfully third-party players’ Account for the purpose of alleged fraudulent activity or otherwise. Such activity could involve inter alia, organised betting, use of stolen or falsified debit cards or Account numbers, forgery, collusion and submission of data or documents which are forged, stolen or otherwise misappropriated.

e. Energy reserves the right to terminate an account and retain all remaining funds due to irregular play. 

The full text of the terms and conditions is available at the following link

Kindly note that your gaming account has been permanently suspended.

Our decision in this case is final and conclusive.

Yours sincerely,''

The list of terms they've used appears to be intentionally vague, so as to cover all outcomes and give grounds to take away my win. I have no idea what sin I've committed in their eyes but I joined up and followed the rules of the welcome bonus terms to the letter.

I have further concerns, such as the outright confiscation of my deposited funds, as well as the fact that under their own terms, bets and wins are proportionately split between the cash balance, and the bonus balance. Half of that win came from just my own deposited money wagering, so even if they don't want me as a customer, they've approached this in a very heavy-handed way to take away all my cash winnings as well as bonus winnings.

I disagree with their actions, and feel unfairly treated by this casino. I asked for a review and they replied very quickly saying they'd reviewed their decision but weren't going to change anything.

They also cited something about the European Commission, the reason for which I've no idea. That has no relevance or influence where I live in British Columbia, Canada.

I'm seeking the reinstatement of my account and full winnings, and I would greatly appreciate the opportunity for any mediation.

Kind regards

Steve

Dear steviechoice,

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.

Have you made any successful withdrawals before?

Could you please confirm that you have passed the KYC verification?

Have you been able to find out more from the casino about the detected irregular activity?

Could you please share your communication with the casino? Send emails or chat transcripts to my email at dominika.l@casino.guru, or post screenshots 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,

Dominika

Hello

I haven't successfully withdrawn before, this was on my first deposit to the site.

I believe I passed the KYC verification, as they asked for multiple rounds of documentation, and only once I'd provided everything that they asked for did they then choose to confiscate my winnings. Presumably they were looking for me to fail the verification for that excuse, although perhaps that's too cynical.

I did initially upload my drivers license and selfie with this to verify my account. They then asked me to take another selfie holding a note with today's date on it with my license also in view, but my other half had taken my wallet out and lost my ID and half my cards. I therefore uploaded my passport, passport selfie and passport selfie including note on the second try since my license needs to be replaced.

The casino won't speak to me or give me any further information. They claimed to have reviewed the situation at my request after their initial email taking my winnings, however their response was so quick that a proper review could not have taken place.

They have issued me with a deadlock letter and told me to go to some third party arbitration, but when I was googling around looking for a new casino it was your website and safety rating that prompted me to visit their site, so I would like to give arbitration a try here first.

Kind regards

Steve

The copy/paste above is a direct transcript of what they've said, I don't have any further communication wit hthe casino.

Dear steviechoice, have you not contacted the casino for details on why your winnings were confiscated and your account closed?

Did you use a VPN?

Did you participate in casino games or sports betting?

Did you deposit using a payment method registered in your name?

I contacted them twice after their email to me informing me that my winnings had been voided. The first time they said they'd review and upheld their decision. The second time they didn't answer.

I didn't use a VPN, I only played casino slots, and I used my own Mifinity account and proved this during the verification process.

Thank you very much, steviechoice, for providing the necessary information. I will now transfer your complaint to my colleague Stefan (stefan.m@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 steviechoice,

I am so sorry to hear about your problem with the casino. I will contact the casino and try to resolve the issue as soon as possible.

Now I would like to invite an Energy Casino representative to join this conversation and participate in resolving this complaint.

Dear Energy Casino,

Could you comment on the situation?

Thank you in advance for providing the information.

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 steviechoice,

I have contacted the casino representative outside of the complaint thread with a hope they will respond here as soon as possible. I will extend the timer by an additional seven days.

Your patience is much appreciated.

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 steviechoice,

I spoke to a casino representative and I need to verify some things. Could you provide me with the driver's license and a selfie with the driver's license? You can send it to my email address stefan.m@casino.guru.

I'll be awaiting your reply.

Hi Stefan

I lost my drivers licence while the verification process was underway (or to be more accurate, my other half did) so I was unable to provide retakes as the casino had requested. However I provided my passport and passport selfie(s) instead of this. I've sent these to you now.

Kind regards

Steve

Hello steviechoice,

Did you manage to provide it to the casino?

I'll be awaiting your reply.

Hello

Yes I provided that and a selfie holding it to the casino, but if I remember correctly they then asked for a retake of this photo which I couldn't provide, as it had been lost. The timing was unfortunately but surely this isn't justification for confiscating my winnings?

Dear Energy Casino,

Did you receive the selfies with the Player's passport? Please be advised that a valid passport should be sufficient to verify the player's identity at the casino. Could you state which additional documents the Player must provide to verify his account fully?

I'll be awaiting your reply.

Hi Stefen,

A follow-up email with information relevant to this case has been sent to your address (stefan.m@casino.guru).

Thanks,

EnergyCasino

Hello steviechoice,

I can confirm I have received an email from the Energy Casino.

In the meantime, I recommend you file a complaint to the casino's ADR eCOGRA.

The form for the eCOGRA ADR service is available here: https://ecogra.org/forms/adr-dispute-step-1.

Please let me know once you file a complaint with them.

I'll be awaiting your reply.

Hello

If the casino are providing you with information relating to me and this decision, I would also like to see a copy of that information as it will be directly relevant to my complaint both here and with an ADR.

As far as I'm aware this whole problem is centered around my proof of ID, have you bee provided with new information that has caused you to refer me to another organization?

Hello steviechoice,

I was explicitly asked by the casino representative to not disclose any information, that is why I asked you to file a complaint with the casino's ADR. It collaborates with the Gaming Authority and has better options and tools to help players. Please, let me know once you contact them.

I'll be awaiting your reply.

Dear steviechoice,

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.

Hello

I've submitted a case to eCogra

Hello steviechoice,

Thank you for your response.

Please keep us updated regarding the case and let me know once you receive a response from them.

I'll be awaiting your reply.

Hello

I will do, but I don't think they work on 7 day timescales, is it possible to keep this complaint open here indefinitely and I will let you know when they've responded?

I'll be honest though I've looked them up and the internet is full of cases of eCogra not listening to players, so I don't have high hopes.

Hello steviechoice,

Could you provide us with the documents you have previously sent to the casino support? You can send it to my email address stefan.m@casino.guru.

I'll be awaiting your reply.

Hi Stefan, I've emailed you all the documents that I uploaded to their site.

Thanks

Steve

Hello steviechoice,

I have received and reviewed the provided documents. We were unable to prove that the provided documents were edited, and therefore, we advise you to wait for the ADR's verdict. Please keep us updated.

I'll be awaiting your reply.

Dear steviechoice,

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.

Hello

Is that what Energy Casino are saying that my docs are edited? A video call could sort that out.. but I suppose they won't want to do that.

Hello steviechoice,

Have you received any response from the eCogra?

I'll be awaiting your reply.

Hello. Unfortunately nothing, I don't know how long they'll take. From a quick Google it looks like it could be 8 weeks or longer.

Hello steviechoice,

Do you have any news regarding the comlpaint on eCogra?

I'll be awaiting your reply.

No update as of yet. As soon as I hear anything I'll update the complaint.

Hello steviechoice,

I will extend the timer by an additional seven days until we wait for their response.

Your patience is much appreciated.

Hello steviechoice,

Do you have any news regarding the ADR? I will extend the timer by an additional seven days.

Hello

Nothing yet, I submitted on March 20th and they confirmed they have a complete case file from both parties.

Hello steviechoice,

Any news regarding the ADR response?

I'll be awaiting your reply.

Hello, the ADR have given me an initial response which was summarized with:

The operator acted in accordance with Sections 1-F, 4-I and 10-D of their Terms and Conditions by confiscating the consumer's funds and closing his gaming account, as the operator

deemed that the consumer submitted documentation that did not meet their minimum verification requirements. Therefore, no funds are due to the consumer.

They have given me an opportunity to appeal this, which I have done. Just speaking from a common sense perspective, it's a clear and obvious overreach to state that because Energy Casino did not like the quality of my documentation that I submitted, instead of asking for new documentation, a video chat, a liveness check or any of the other ways in which gambling firms verify customers, the logical response is that my large balance and win should be confiscated. I really cannot see why one leads to the other.

To be perfectly frank, I don't have much hope. Just looking them up, eCogra have a long and documented history of not acting impartially, and simply siding with gambling firms because it's the easiest position to take.

Just to make the point, I sent them the documentation that I had initially attached to the casino alongside a tracker that would tell me when it was opened and viewed. Not once did they open or review the documentation, so how can an ADR's opinion have any weight or usefulness if they can't be bothered to carry out their role properly? How can they know my documentation was insufficient if they themselves have not reviewed it?

I know Casino.Guru has no jurisdiction here: but I believe this should result in a negative downgrade to their reputation. The ADR siding with them is meaningless and doesn't mean they've acted correctly in my case.

Hello steviechoice,

Could you forward the conversation between you and eCogra to my email address stefan.m@casino.guru?

I'll be awaiting your reply.

Dear steviechoice,

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.

Hi Stefan, I'm forwarding them to you now.

They've quite simply said that my documents didn't meet the required standard, therefore I'm not due my winnings, which is a crazy position to take. If there's a problem with my docs, why not explain it and ask me to send new pics or similar? The position that because they didn't like my doc pics therefore $10,000 in winnings is forfeit is absurd.

Dear steviechoice,

We have gathered the information from the casino outside of the complaint thread and we believe that the casino acted within its terms and conditions therefore we decided to agree with the eCOGRA's decision.

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.