Ybets Casino - Pelaajan tili on suljettu ja varat pidätetty.

I am writing to file a formal complaint against YBets, an online casino licensed in Anjouan, which was promoted on Casino Guru as a trustworthy platform available to Romanian players. When I registered and began playing, the casino’s Terms and Conditions did not list Romania as a restricted jurisdiction. I was allowed to register, deposit, and play without any restriction, despite being a Romanian citizen who is currently listed on the Romanian ONJN self-exclusion register due to gambling-related issues.

Over the course of my gameplay, I deposited a total of €7,740 and was able to withdraw €3,000. However, when I attempted to withdraw the remaining balance, the casino suddenly froze my account and disabled the withdrawal function, citing a review of my gameplay by the game provider for fairness. No timeframe or details were provided regarding this so-called investigation, and no proof of any wrongdoing was ever shared with me. This "review" dragged on, and as a result, I lost access to my remaining balance entirely. I believe this was an intentional stalling tactic, and it has caused me significant financial and emotional distress.

In doing so, the casino has violated several important legal and ethical obligations. First, by allowing a Romanian player who is on the national ONJN self-exclusion list to open an account and deposit money, they have breached Romania’s gambling regulations. This is a clear failure of their responsible gambling and KYC procedures, which should include verification against national self-exclusion databases to protect vulnerable individuals. Second, they failed to disclose Romania as a restricted jurisdiction, misleading me and likely many other players into believing we were legally allowed to use their services. This is not only unethical but may be in breach of their licensing obligations under the Anjouan Gambling Licensing, which requires licensees to comply with applicable laws and protect players.

Third, freezing a player’s withdrawal and ultimately withholding funds without clear, timely communication or evidence of misconduct is a violation of basic consumer rights and fair gaming principles. The Anjouan license obliges operators to ensure fair play and timely payouts. The casino has failed to do either.

Therefore, I respectfully request a full refund of the funds withheld from me, which amounts to €4,740, the difference between the €7,740 I deposited and the €3,000 I was able to withdraw. I trusted this casino based on the positive rating and availability information provided on Casino Guru. I now ask that Casino Guru intervene in this matter, contact the casino on my behalf, and ensure that my complaint is fairly investigated and resolved. If this issue is not resolved, I intend to escalate the matter further to the Anjouan Gaming Authority, Romanian consumer protection agencies, and other regulatory bodies and forums where such misconduct can be addressed.

I am waiting for a response from your side.

Dear Hav_inc,

Thank you very much for submitting your complaint. I’m sorry to hear about the issue you’ve encountered.

Please understand that Ybets casino does not operate with a license issued by Romania, therefore, they do not have access to the national register. In other words, because Ybets casino operates without a necessary license, it is not possible for them to comply with Romanian-specific responsible gambling measures, such as the national registry. Unfortunately, for this reason, we are unable to help you claim reimbursement for your losses unless you informed the casino about your gambling problem before depositing.

• Could you please advise if you have ever informed the casino about your gambling problem?
• Also, do you currently have access to your casino account?
• What is your current account balance in Ybets casino, please?

We understand your situation and while we sympathize, please be aware that if you haven't previously informed the casino about your gambling problem, our ability to recover lost funds is limited. We still encourage you to reach out so we can explore available options and resources to assist you moving forward.

Thank you for your reply.

Best regards,

Katarina

Please note that Casino.Guru will never ask for any payments or request access to your accounts. If anyone claims to be Casino.Guru personnel and asks for such actions, do not provide any information.

The only legitimate way we will contact you is through this official complaint platform or via the email addresses provided in your complaint thread.

Stay cautious and contact us directly if you have any doubts.

Thank you for your response to my complaint. However, I must respectfully disagree with your conclusion that no further action can be taken on the basis that the casino is not licensed in Romania and therefore does not have access to the national self-exclusion registry. While it is accurate that YBets does not hold an ONJN license, this does not absolve it of its obligations or the serious failures in duty of care that occurred. The casino clearly targeted Romanian users and presented itself as available in Romania. At the time of my registration, Romania was not listed as a restricted country in the casino’s terms and conditions. Furthermore the casino was featured on your platform as a trustworthy option that was accessible to Romanian players, which significantly influenced my decision to register and deposit funds.

By accepting players from Romania and offering services to individuals in this jurisdiction, the casino assumed responsibility for complying with basic principles of international consumer protection and responsible gambling. It cannot have it both ways, accepting Romanian players and their money without conducting proper due diligence, then deflecting responsibility when issues arise. This represents a failure under the Anjouan licensing framework, which includes obligations to uphold fair gaming standards and responsible gambling practices, as well as EU consumer protection regulations, including those prohibiting misleading commercial practices and the failure to act in the best interest of vulnerable consumers. Whether or not the casino had direct access to the ONJN exclusion database, it had a duty to implement responsible gaming measures and to verify the eligibility of players it chose to serve. Its failure to perform that due diligence, especially while allowing thousands of euros to be deposited by someone on a national self-exclusion list, constitutes gross negligence.

In addition to allowing me to register and deposit, the casino froze my withdrawal request of the remaining balance with no clear justification. I was told my gameplay was under review by the game provider for "fairness," yet no details or evidence were ever shared with me, and my account remained locked until my balance was entirely lost. This act of withholding winnings without transparency or resolution further undermines the legitimacy of this operator and raises serious concerns about their intent and business conduct.

As such, I respectfully renew my request for a refund of €4,740, the difference between the total amount I deposited (€7,740) and the amount I was permitted to withdraw (€3,000). I trusted this operator based on how it was presented on your website, which is why I am urging you to reconsider your decision and assist me in resolving this matter. This is not only a case of technical licensing jurisdiction; it is a matter of consumer rights, ethical responsibility, and protection of vulnerable individuals. I urge Casino Guru to use its position and influence to address this situation directly with the casino and support a fair resolution.

If this complaint remains unresolved, I intend to escalate the matter with the Anjouan Gaming Authority, the ONJN, and EU consumer protection bodies, and will include documentation of the casino’s conduct as well as how it was represented on your platform. I hope you will take a second look at this case with the seriousness it deserves and advocate for a responsible and fair outcome.

Dear Hav_inc,

Thank you for your message and the input you've provided. Before I address those points, could you please revisit the questions I posed previously? Your answers will allow me to formulate a more precise and comprehensive response.

• Could you please advise if you have ever informed the casino about your gambling problem?
• Also, do you currently have access to your casino account?
• What is your current account balance in Ybets casino, please?

Please respond as thoroughly as possible so we can resolve this complaint.

Looking forward to your reply.

Katarina

Dear Katarina,

In direct response to your questions:

I did not inform the casino about my gambling problem at any point. This is because I was under the impression that, being listed on Romania’s national self-exclusion register, I would not be able to register or deposit on any online casino that served Romanian residents.

Yes, I still currently have access to my casino account. However, most of the account functionality, specifically the withdrawal option, was disabled when I requested a withdrawal, and I received vague messages that my gameplay was under review. No clear updates or evidence have ever been provided since. This resulted in my full balance being lost without justification, except for the €3,000 I was initially able to withdraw.

My current balance in the account is €0.30, despite the fact that I had deposited a total of €7,740 into the account before being blocked from withdrawing. I trusted the platform based on the representation on your site and the lack of any warning or jurisdictional restrictions.

I trust that you will consider my situation fairly and compassionately, and I look forward to your continued support in resolving this matter.

Regards,

Hav_Inc

Dear Hav_inc,

thank you for your reply and for the information provided.

I am sorry but as the casino was not informed of your gambling concerns and, as previously stated, is not licensed in Romania, Ybets Casino had no means of accessing the national register and was therefore unaware of your inclusion. Consequently, the casino did not apply a self-exclusion and permitted your deposits. While this may be difficult to accept, the volume of daily registrations and existing players makes it impractical for the casino to cross-reference every name against all national registries.

Therefore I would recommend that you send another request, but this time, include me in the copy of your email.

When applying for self-exclusion, clearly state the reason for deactivating your account and specify the period. Additionally, the email subject should be marked and easily recognizable, as the casino support receives many requests per day. If it is marked visibly, you will stand a better chance of having your request granted as soon as possible.

Example:

Email subject: Self-exclusion due to a gambling problem

Player’s info:

First name:

Last name:

Date of birth:

Casino login:

Email address:

"Greetings Ybets Casino Support,

I’m writing to inform you that I wish to be immediately excluded from this casino and from receiving any gambling-related marketing material permanently.

The reason for my decision is that I am suffering from gambling problems.

I acknowledge that I will not be allowed to rescind my self-exclusion during this period and that the self-exclusion cannot be lifted before the end of the agreed period."

Please send another email to casino email (you can include me in the copy at katarina.d@casino.guru) and keep me informed about any further developments.

In the meantime, check other resources and information in our responsible gambling guide found here: https://casino.guru/responsible-gambling-guide

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

Best regards,

Katarina

Dear Katarina,

Thank you for your time and correspondence so far. After careful consideration and in light of your most recent response, I regret to inform you that I will be escalating my complaint further to the relevant regulatory and consumer protection authorities.

Although YBets is not licensed in Romania, it knowingly offered services to Romanian players without listing Romania as a restricted jurisdiction and enabled access to their platform and payment systems from within Romania. This amounts to a clear failure in consumer protection and a breach of responsible gambling standards, including those outlined under the Anjouan Computer Gaming Licensing Act and European consumer protection legislation.

Additionally, Casino Guru has contributed to this harm by actively promoting YBets Casino as a trustworthy and available operator for Romanian users, despite full awareness that it does not hold an ONJN license and therefore has no legal right to serve Romanian residents. Promoting such a platform to a vulnerable demographic, including self-excluded individuals, is deeply irresponsible and misleading.

I will be filing formal complaints with the Autoritatea Națională pentru Jocuri de Noroc (ONJN), the European Consumer Centre (ECC-Net), the Anjouan Gaming Authority, the Romanian National Authority for Consumer Protection (ANPC), and other relevant EU consumer protection institutions. These submissions will include documented evidence of the deposits made, the blocked withdrawal, my self-exclusion status, and the misleading promotion of the casino by your platform.

While I acknowledge the information provided regarding future self-exclusion procedures, this does not address the damage already done. I remain open to resolving this matter amicably through a refund of my lost balance but will move forward with the outlined actions should no meaningful resolution be offered.

Dear Hav_inc,

thank you for your message. My apologies for late reply, I was on a sick leave and unable to respond.

You have the right to escalate this matter to the appropriate authority of your choosing. I encourage you to do so, as it may resolve your concerns and provide the closure you seek.

To proceed with this case, please confirm whether the email requesting self-exclusion from the online casino was sent, whether you received a response, and whether you are currently self-excluded.

Regarding the funds you are seeking to reimburse, you have mentioned your current balance is €0.30. Do I understand correctly that you played your funds?

Looking forward to your reply,

Katarina

Dear Hav_inc,

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.

Dear Katarina,

As an update, I have sent YBets an email regarding being the last one for an amicable respolution in which the gambling related issues have been mentioned as well, however, my account on their platform is still open with no limitations.

Also, you are correct about the balance being played due to their tactic of blocking the withdrawals for a ridiculous amount of time with no deadline or further information and due to their lack of loss limit as part of responsible gambling.

Dear Hav_inc,

thank you for your reply.

Could you please forward all communications you have had with this casino to katarina.d@casino.guru. This includes emails, live chat transcripts, and any accompanying screenshots. Kindly include your self exclusion request.

Looking forward to your reply.

Katarina

Dear Hav_inc,

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.

We regret to inform you that, due to the lack of response from the player to our messages, inquiries, and reminder, we are unable to proceed with further investigation or provide potential solutions at this time. As a result, we must close this complaint for the moment.
However, please note that the player retains the option to reopen this complaint at any time in the future should they choose to resume communication. We remain open and ready to assist in resolving the matter should the player decide to reach out again.

Thank you for your understanding.

Best regards,
Katarina
Casino.Guru

We’ve reopened this complaint at the request of Hav_inc. We would like to allow this case one more chance to be resolved and help both parties involved to reach a satisfactory conclusion.

Dear Hav_inc,

thank you for your emails.

Have you received any response from casino to your emails, please?

Do I understand correctly that you still have access to your player's account?

Do you have an access to your deposit history? Kindly forward it to my email katarina.d@casino.guru.

Looking forward to your reply,

Katarina

Dear Katarina,

I have forwarded both emails that I have sent to YBets since creating my account on their platform to you.

Both of the emails have ended up unanswered, including the last one which mentioned my gambling problem.

On the other hand, I keep receiving promotional offers from YBets as my account is still open which is a clear violation of responsible gambling practices.

If the issue will not be solved amicably and have my funds refunded, I will take the matter further with the Anjouan Gambling Authority to have these practices investigated.

Dear Katarina,

As I have mentioned above, both of my emails are still unanswered till this date and I still have access to my YBets account which can be seen in the screenshots with my full deposit history that I sent you via email.

Looking forward to your reply.

Dear Hav_inc,

thank you for your reply and email.

Have you requested a self exclusion at this casino as was suggested in my previous responses, please?

If so, could you kindly forward your self exclusion request to my email katarina.d@casino.guru?

Looking forward to your reply,

Katarina

Dear Katarina,

My gambling problem has been clearly stated in my last email sent to YBets on 26.05.2025: "The loss of these funds has contributed to serious emotional distress and mental harm, particularly in light of my history of gambling addiction. This experience has caused considerable psychological strain, as I entrusted your platform in good faith based on its apparent availability to Romanian users and the absence of warnings or restrictions. The financial loss has had a damaging effect on my well-being, recovery process, and stability."

This should have been more than enough to have my account restricted and closed, however, the exact opposite happened since I started receiving more aggresive promotional campaigns which are a further threat to my well-being.

Nonetheless my email ended up unanswered which reflects the unseriousness that YBets has treated this entire case with.

Since this case has been going on for more than a month now, and since more laws and regulations have been broken by YBets, I would kindly ask for a final response regarding this matter. In case of failing to provide the correct and ethical solution of this complaint, I will take the case with all the evidence further to all relevant authrities, including the Seychelles Licensing Authority, Casino Guru having their fair share of fault for promoting unregulated Casinos as available and safe for romanian citizens, ignoring the lack of an ONJN license.

Looking forward to your reply.

Thank you very much, Hav_inc, for your cooperation. I will now transfer your complaint to my colleague Matej (matej.l@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 Hav_inc, nice to meet you!

My name is Matej, and I will be assisting you with this case. I'll do my best to help you resolve this issue as soon as possible.

I’d like to invite a representative of Ybets Casino to join the conversation and participate in the investigation of this case as well. Could you possibly provide additional information regarding the issue with the payments and self-exclusion and clarify the situation? I would also appreciate if the casino could provide us with any and all relevant evidence. Any sensitive information or internal system files can be shared with me directly by e-mail matej.l@casino.guru.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation in advance.

Dear Hav_inc and Casino Guru,

We have checked the account, and currently, there are no funds available on the balance, and there are no active withdrawal requests at this time.

Should you need any further information, feel free to let us know.

Respectfully,

Ybets Casino Representative

Dear Ybets Casino, the issue is not with the withdrawals, but rather the self-exclusion due to gambling addiction.

From the evidence provided by the player, he has informed you about his issues in the e-mail sent on 26th May 2025.

To resolve this matter as quickly and efficiently as possible, I would recommend the following steps:

• close the player's account, mark it as "gambling addict, never re-open" or something similar, cease the marketing communication and inform us in this thread about these steps being completed
• refund any and all deposits (minus any withdrawals and winnings) since 29th May until the account closure

If needed, feel free to send me the player's cashier history for confirmation to matej.l@casino.guru. Please, let us know once the first point is done and whether you are willing to refund the player as mentioned above.

Dear Hav_inc, just a side note: Ybets Casino is licensed by Anjouan Gaming Authority, and as such has no access to the Romanian national self-exclusion system. The ONJN only applies to the casinos licensed and officially operating in Romania, which is not the case of Ybets. Therefore you being able to create an account did not break any rules or laws from this point of things.

Dear Hav_inc and Casino Guru,

We have forwarded all the information to our KYC department and will receive a response on Monday during office hours. 

We appreciate your understanding and patience during this festive season.

Respectfully, 

Ybets Casino Representative

Dear Hav_inc and Casino Guru,

The player officially announced his addiction on May 29 and is currently inactive as a result.

He has not made any deposits since declaring his addiction, with the last deposit recorded on May 12.

We are prepared to send all relevant evidence to your email.

Respectfully,

Ybets Casino Representative

Dear Ybets Casino, thank you for the confirmation. Could you please let me know if any balance has been voided when closing the account, and whether the account has been marked as "gambling addict, never reopen" or has some similar note, and that all the marketing communication via e-mail and/or SMS has ceased?

Also if you can please send me the relevant evidence at matej.l@casino.guru I will be grateful.

Next, I will address Hav_inc's concerns voiced above, but will do it in separate message as it will be a long post, and I don't want this message to the casino to get lost in the following wall of text.

Dear Hav_inc, to manage your expectations about the outcome of this dispute properly, I would like to give you some further information regarding your previous post and thoughts:

1. Romanian Gambling Law – O.U.G. 77/2009 (amended by Law no. 124/2015)

This law requires that all gambling operators offering services to Romanian residents be licensed by the Romanian National Gambling Office (ONJN). Article 10 explicitly prohibits remote gambling without ONJN authorization. YBets does not hold such a license and still allowed access, deposits, and gameplay from my Romanian account. This makes their operation in Romania not only unauthorized, but illegal.

Unfortunately we do not live in a perfect world, and the Romanian law does not apply here. All because of the clause 4.5.b of the casino's T&C that you have agreed to upon registering your account. The said term states:

• 4.5. Ybets will not accept registrations from individuals who:

b) reside in jurisdictions where gambling is illegal or not permitted. Ybets is unable to verify the legality of the service in each jurisdiction, and it is the user's responsibility to ensure that their use of the service is lawful;

Because of this, the liability is being switched towards the player, and it is a common practice to protect casinos from lawsuits, as even the best country IP block can be easily avoided by VPN and other such services. Since you seem knowledgeable of the Romanian gambling laws, by creating the account you have violated the term 4.5.b knowingly, and therefore can't make this into a court case. I would compare this situation to buying medications online from shady e-shops, instead of purchasing them from local pharmacist or have them prescribed by a doctor. You can do it - but if it makes you sick, you are the responsible person, not the e-shop or the doctor. By playing at Ybets, knowing they are not licensed in Romania, you knowingly engaged in gambling within a casino with no local license, and therefore no local law can help you to enforce any gambling law in case of issues. I say knowingly, because by agreeing to the T&C you consented to uon account creation, that you made sure you know whether it is legal for you to play at this particular casino.

2. EU Directive 2005/29/EC on Unfair Commercial Practices

Articles 6 and 7 of this directive prohibit misleading commercial practices, including failure to disclose key information or presenting a service as legally available when it is not. By omitting Romania from their restricted jurisdictions and by being listed on Casino Guru as "available in Romania" with a high safety index, YBets and your platform misled me into believing I was playing legally and safely. This is a violation of EU consumer protection standards.

At the time of writing this message, term 15.5 is not showing Romania as restricted country, and when my colleague spoke to the live chat, she has been told Romanian players are allowed. Our review reflects this. Also as you yourself stated before, you were able to create an account, deposit, play and even withdraw the money, despite being Romanian. That leads me to believe that the Romanian players are accepted, as our review states.

As for the Casino Guru safety index, the casino has a rating of 7.4, which is still within the level of "GOOD" but not a high safety index. This casino is not even actively being promoted and does not hold a safety badge of Casino Guru. Also our review clearly states the casino has an Anjouan license, which does not cover Romania, as you know. If you had any doubts about legality of the casino in your country of residence, you could ask in our forum, pose a question within the comment section in the casino review (our colleagues tend to reply pretty fast to questions), or use the casino's live chat/support e-mail or inquire with the Anjouan Gaming authority itself, before creating an account at Ybets.

Also an important note - our review states that the casino "Accepts Romanian players" - which they do - and nowhere does it say the site is having local licence. Therefore the EU Directive is not applicable here either.

3. The Anjouan Computer Gaming Licensing Code

Even under the Anjouan license, operators are prohibited from offering gambling services in jurisdictions where it is illegal unless they also hold a local license. They are also required to implement identity checks and protect vulnerable individuals. YBets did none of this. They accepted me as a customer without verifying my identity, residency, or exclusion status, thus violating their own licensing obligations.

As with your first statement, this one also does not apply, not only because of the 4.5.b, but also because of the point 5.1.e that states:

5. Your Warranties

5.1. Prior to your use of the Service and on an ongoing basis you represent, warrant, covenant and agree that:

e) You are accessing ybets.net from a jurisdiction in which it is legal to do so;

Once again, the casino does not promote itself as a Romanian casino, they do not falsely advertise having a Romanian licence or being legal in Romania, and once again the whole responsibility has been thrown at the player's lap and makes it the player's due diligence to ensure they are playing in a casino that is legal in their country. And while I personally dislike this kind of things and wish every casino was enforcing the country IP restrictions, this is the reality we live in and what is not illegal, flies.

While I myself am not a lawyer, I highly doubt there is anything a law can do regarding your issue. Although, if you consult a lawyer about this, I would like to know what they said, as I am quite interested in legal side of gambling and player protection. Last but not least:

I request your assistance in resolving this matter fairly by supporting a refund of the amount lost in violation of these laws, €****, representing the difference between my total deposits (€****) and the only withdrawals I was able to make (€****).

According to the casino your last deposit has been made on 12th May, and you have notified the casino about your gambling addiction on 29th May. If this is correct, the only funds I can ask the casino to refund would be anything that they confiscated from your balance upon closing the account, or if they took longer time than necessary to close your account and you have managed to make further deposits before the actual account closure. Please, let me know if any of this has happened and if so - what was the amount - and I will do my best to help you out. Otherwise, I can only ensure your account is properly blocked and you will not be able to reopen/re-register with Ybets in the future, and that all the marketing communication will cease.

In case of further questions or if I have not answered something clearly, please do not hesitate to ask further.

Dear Matej,

Thank you for your detailed response. While I appreciate the transparency of your position, I must strongly disagree with the conclusion that liability lies solely with me, the player, in this case. Your arguments rely heavily on shifting responsibility via the casino’s Terms & Conditions, but I respectfully submit that this does not eliminate YBets’ or Casino Guru’s accountability under consumer protection standards, licensing obligations, and basic principles of fair play.

1. Clause 4.5.b does not absolve YBets of legal obligations or ethical

responsibility. The clause that places the burden on the user to ensure the legality of gambling in their jurisdiction may serve as a legal shield in theory but in practice, this is a textbook example of a "liability disclaimer" that is invalid when used to bypass public policy or regulatory law.

According to EU consumer protection principles (Directive 93/13/EEC and Directive 2005/29/EC), any clause that disproportionately places the burden on the weaker party (the consumer) or waives the operator’s duty to act

fairly and transparently may be declared unfair and unenforceable.

Moreover, Article 10 of Romanian OUG 77/2009 makes it illegal for unlicensed operators to provide gambling services to Romanian residents.

By knowingly allowing access, registration, deposits, and gameplay from a Romanian IP while not taking any steps to block or verify my jurisdiction, YBets actively enabled and facilitated unauthorized gambling. Their failure to implement proper KYC, IP filtering, and geo-restriction systems cannot be swept under the rug by pointing to passive disclaimers in a T&C document.

2. The lack of identity verification is a violation of both Anjouan licensing

and AML obligations

YBets allowed me to deposit €7,740, gamble extensively, and withdraw €3,000 without ever verifying my identity or residence. This is in violation of international AML standards, EU KYC regulations (including Directive 2015/849/EU), and the basic requirements under the Anjouan Gaming Code, which requires operators to perform checks to prevent fraud, money laundering, and protect vulnerable individuals.

The operator did not perform any meaningful due diligence before allowing a clearly at-risk individual to access their services. Even if Anjouan lacks detailed enforcement capacity, its licensing code is clear: operators must not allow access in countries where gambling is prohibited.

3. Romania’s absence from the restricted list creates a misleading representation

You acknowledged that Romania is not listed among YBets' restricted countries and that your colleague confirmed via live chat that Romanian players are accepted. This is not simply a reflection of access but it is an

implicit green light to Romanian users that the service is available and legitimate.

If the site explicitly listed Romania as restricted, and I bypassed it using a VPN or false data, that would be different. But that is not the case here.

Instead, the site permitted Romanian access, offered Romanian currency, and processed financial transactions from a Romanian IP. This conduct is misleading and creates a strong argument for passive deception

under EU Directive 2005/29/EC on Unfair Commercial Practices.

4. Casino Guru’s role and responsibility

Casino Guru stated that Romanian players are accepted, while listing the casino with a "Good" safety index and no warnings about its licensing incompatibility with Romanian law. While I acknowledge your team provided

licensing details in the review, the overall presentation lacked adequate risk signals for players from restricted jurisdictions.

As a platform that positions itself as an advocate for safe and responsible gambling, Casino Guru has a responsibility to ensure it does not endorse or indirectly validate access to black-market operators. Your current model, allowing "accepts Romanian players" without emphasizing the illegality of such access, enables operators like YBets to profit from regulatory gaps while exposing vulnerable users to harm.

I appreciate your continued attention and look forward to your final

response.

Sincerely,`

`Hav_inc

Dear Hav_inc, thank you for the further elaboration.

While your points are very detailed, I believe you are missing a very important fact - the casino is not operating under European or Romanian law. As per the point 26:

26. Governing Law

The Agreement and any matters relating thereto shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of Seychelles. You irrevocably agree that, subject as provided below, the courts of Seychelles shall have exclusive jurisdiction in relation to any claim, dispute or difference concerning the Agreement and any matter arising therefrom and irrevocably waive any right that it may have to object to an action being brought in those courts, or to claim that the action has been brought in an inconvenient forum, or that those courts do not have jurisdiction. Nothing in this clause shall limit the right of Ybets to take proceedings against you in any other court of competent jurisdiction, nor shall the taking of proceedings in any one or more jurisdictions preclude the taking of proceedings in any other jurisdictions, whether concurrently or not, to the extent permitted by the law of such other jurisdiction.

I think both of us will agree that Romanian and European laws are not applicable in Seychelles' courts and I am pretty sure if you asked any lawyer, they will confirm this. There is a reason why these casinos keep operating and are not swamped under thousands of lawsuits form every direction. Very smart lawyers made sure to create T&C that are very hard to be attacked, but by any means - if you are the first person who will succeed in this endeavour, please let me know. I will be more than happy to learn something new, as it can help me when dealing with future cases.

Now as for the Caisno Guru's obligations. We are not lawyers. And we can't scrutinise each casino to the core, as we would be unable to keep up with the business. Secondly, we are just humans and it is possible we may make a mistake. If it happens and the mistake is pointed out to us either by the casino or the players, we do all we could to rectify the mistake. I will ensure we re-review the casino and their T&C's again, and if any change to the terms and/or allowed countries has been made, I will ensure the review reflects this. Casinos tend to change their T&C at some point, so there may be some new information available, that was not there before. With this being said, we also have a clear disclaimer at the footer of the website stating the following:

Casino.guru is an independent source of information about online casinos and online casino games, not controlled by any gambling operator. All our reviews and guides are created honestly, according to the best knowledge and judgement of the members of our independent expert team; however, they are intended for informative purposes only and should not be construed as, nor relied upon as, legal advice. You should always make sure that you meet all regulatory requirements before playing in any selected casino.

Once again - you had ample opportunities to ask Casino Guru whether the Romanian players can legally gamble at that casino via at least 3 avenues:

• forum
• review discussion thread
• direct e-mail

and someone from our team would investigate further, to give you the correct answer. You chose not to do that, so throwing the responsibility on Casino Guru is - in my opinion - extremely unfair. Especially since it looks like you are very well aware of the international laws and casino licensing. Now I would also like to address the following points directly:

3. Romania’s absence from the restricted list creates a misleading representation

You acknowledged that Romania is not listed among YBets' restricted countries and that your colleague confirmed via live chat that Romanian players are accepted. This is not simply a reflection of access but it is an implicit green light to Romanian users that the service is available and legitimate

This is not true at all. Our review states that the service is available for Romanian users - as it was confirmed by the live chat - but nowhere do we state the gambling there is legal for said players. We clearly show the license of this casino as being the Anjouan's, not ONJN. And if you were unsure and not wanting to wait for an answer by asking a question as mentioned in previous point, all you had to do is go to the Online casinos section, where you can filter out only the casinos with Romanian license, to ensure you are gambling legally and will be protected by the local law if anything happens. We are currently listing 18 casinos with ONJN license in our database. We did all we could to provide you with all the available information and the tools to find the casino to your liking, you just chose to ignore this.

4. Casino Guru’s role and responsibility

Casino Guru stated that Romanian players are accepted, while listing the casino with a "Good" safety index and no warnings about its licensing incompatibility with Romanian law. While I acknowledge your team provided licensing details in the review, the overall presentation lacked adequate risk signals for players from restricted jurisdictions.

As a platform that positions itself as an advocate for safe and responsible gambling, Casino Guru has a responsibility to ensure it does not endorse or indirectly validate access to black-market operators. Your current model, allowing "accepts Romanian players" without emphasizing the illegality of such access, enables operators like YBets to profit from regulatory gaps while exposing vulnerable users to harm.

While I agree we have some level of role and responsibility, throwing it all on us is extremely unfair. Once again I remind you our site is only informational, and we are not a legal entity. We also assume a basic level of knowledge and care on the player's side, and that if they are not sure about something, they will ask. Choosing to ignore the options provided by our website, then blaming Casino Guru for issues caused by personal negligence and lack of knowledge, is ridiculous, in my opinion. Last but not least, if you look at our reviews of casinos with "BAD" safety index, you will see those are treated the same - our review states what players are accepted by the casino, we also show they have fake license, but you can still choose to play there at your own risk. We did our duty to review the casino and state all the good as well as bad about it - but it is up to the players to decide whether they want to play in the said casino. We can't hold the player's hand and make decisions in their stead, and we believe everyone has enough common sense, to choose for themselves, or ask for help.

Anyway, all this will not help to move the complaint forward. Originally I wanted to elaborate on what is going on, but I see you already decided that Ybets and Caisno Guru are the responsible parties and all the responsibility lies on us, and none on yourself. I also believe nothing I say further will change this opinion. Therefore, going forward I will just focus on resolving this complaint to the best of my abilities.

Please, let me know if:

• the previous statement of Ybets is correct, and your last deposit was made on 12th May and you have sent the self-exclusion request on 29th May
• the casino confiscated any of your winnings and/or balance at any point
• you had any balance on your account voided, at the time of the casino closing your account

In the meantime, I am still waiting for Ybets Casino to send me the evidence supporting their statement, then I can advise the next steps.

Dear Hav_inc and Casino Guru,

Currently, access to the site is restricted due to ongoing technical work.

I will follow up with you once the work has been completed.

Respectfully,

Ybets Casino Representative

Dear Ybets Casino Representative, any idea how long will the maintenance take, please?

Dear Hav_inc and Casino Guru,

The technical work that has been in progress will be completed in the near future, and we anticipate that it will be finished shortly.

Respectfully,

Ybets Casino Representative

Dear YBets Team,

I am further writing you to raise a complaint regarding your ongoing harassment through promotional offers and marketing emails. Despite my repeated efforts to unsubscribe and my explicit request to have my account permanently closed, I continue to receive marketing communications from your platform on an almost daily basis.

Continuing to target me with gambling offers despite my known vulnerability and request for exclusion is an irresponsible practice and may also constitute a violation of the Anjouan Gaming License obligations to protect problem gamblers.

Regards,

Hav_inc

Dear Casino Guru,

We will send all the relevant information to your email address shortly.

Respectfully,

Ybets Casino Representative

Dear Hav_inc , every marketing offer has to have a little "Unsubscribe" button at the bottom of the message. If that option doesn't work, you can escalate this to the authorities such as the National Authority for the Supervision of Personal Data Processing ( www.dataprotection.ro ), the National Authority for the Administration and Regulation of Communications ( www.ancom.ro ) or the National Authority for Consumer Protection ( www.anpc.ro ). Last option is to block the e-mail address sending you all the spam.

Dear Ybets Casino Representative , I am waiting for the aforementioned message, then I will post an update in this thread.

Dear Hav_inc, every marketing offer has to have a little "Unubscribe" button at the bottom of the message. If that option doesn't work, you can escalate this to the authorities such as Autoritatea Națională de Supraveghere a Prelucrării Datelor cu Caracter Personal (www.dataprotection.ro), Autoritatea Națională pentru Administrare și Reglementare în Comunicații (www.ancom.ro) or Autoritatea Națională pentru Protecția Consumatorilor (www.anpc.ro). Last option is to block the e-mail address sending you all the spam.

Dear Ybets Casino Representative, I am waiting for the aforementioned message, then will post an update in this thread.

Dear Casino Guru,

The requested information was provided via noted email address.

In regards to additional concerns regarding receiving promotional offers, the player expressing concerns about their addiction is automatically unsubscribed during account closure. If the player has re-subscribed, they should be able to cancel the subscription via the button at the footer of the email.

Respectfully,

Ybets Casino Representative

Thank you Ybets Casino Representative for the provided evidence and for dealing with the issue at hand. Much appreciated.

Dear Hav_inc, according to the screenshot provided by the casino, the last account balance changes happened on 10th August, way before the self-exclusion request. It was also confirmed no balance has been voided upon closure. Since the account has now been permanently closed, I believe there is not much else to do about it.

Regarding the unsolicited messages, casino confirmed the "unsubscribe" button is present within their messages. In case it doesn't work, I have outlined the official steps you can take against the marketing communication in my post above.

As for your other concerns, I have addressed them in detail and I don't believe there is anything else I could add, that would not be just repeating the same information.

Due to the aforementioned reasons, this complaint will now be rejected.

I would also strongly recommend installing free app BetBlocker (https://betblocker.org/) onto your computer and mobile device, to keep you safe from online gambling sites while browsing the internet. It's free, and for maximum protection it is recommended to install it as administrator and have a friend or a trusted family member to set the app's password in your stead.

Thank you for your understanding, and I am sorry we could not be of more help on this occasion. Feel free to request reopening of this complaint, in case you have new supporting evidence, that has not been presented yet. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you run into any issues with this or any other casino in the future.