firevegas Casino - Player's winnings confiscated on the grounds of bonus terms violation.

Hello

I joined Fire Vegas last year on the 20th October 2023. I deposited for each stage of the welcome offer, so that was a $265 deposit, then a $400 deposit (both of which lost). On my final deposit, I deposited $300 for a $300 bonus, and this is where my dispute begins.

I read the terms carefully before playing, and played in full compliance with these terms. I lost my cash funds, but then I won $9123.50 from one of their slots.

I submitted a $5000 and $4123.50 withdrawal on the 21st October. I was asked for documents which I submitted and they were verified. I then received an email on October 24th saying the following;

'Dear Scott,

Your account has been found to be in breach of Clause 9 of the Promotional Terms associated with the welcome offer:

Clause 9- The maximum bet allowed while the Welcome Bonus is in play is CAD 5. Should You bet higher than this while the Welcome bonus is in play, the Casino reserves the right to confiscate all winnings.

Therefore, your withdrawal has been canceled, your winnings have been confiscated and your deposit of CAD 965 has been returned to your gaming account.

Regards

Accounts Team

Firevegas'

I was very careful not to breach the term that they are claiming that I breached. The wording is very clear on their site in the welcome bonus terms - they differentiate between cash bets and bonus bets. A separate cash balance which is used first shows, and a separate bonus balance is then used if you lose your cash. In the meantime, you are allowed to withdraw should you win with the cash balance, and forfeit the bonus funds.

On the landing page it states the following ;

'Bonus funds are separate to cash funds'

In the more extensive promotional terms and conditions which govern all bonuses at the site, term 5.7 states the following;

'5.7 For any wagers made, the wager is first deducted from the player's Cash Balance. If there is no cash available, then the wager is deducted from the Bonus Balance.'

When I was using my cash, I placed larger bets since the cash is used first. As soon as I reached the bonus funds, I ensured that my bets were $5 or lower, and on a slot that wasn't excluded.

The $5 maximum bet restriction is stated in their terms to only take effect when the bonus is 'in play'. Under their own rules, the bonus cannot be used until the cash has been fully spent. Therefore it cannot be said that the bonus was 'in play' for the duration of my cash gameplay - because I was prohibited from playing with the bonus while I still had cash in the account.

This casino has gone the extra mile to differentiate cash from bonus, and has specifically worded it so that the $5 max bet restriction applies only when a bonus is in play. I did not use the bonus to place any larger bets, and have clearly demonstrated to the site that I went the extra mile to comply with the terms.

I went through their internal complaints procedure, where they acknowledged that I had a point. After 'taking all the factors into consideration', they offered me a $500 cash credit as a 'gesture of goodwill', and notified me that accepting this $500 cash credit would be me acknowledging that the matter is closed.

I don't regard a 5% payment of the winnings to be a fair resolution to this dispute. I played in good faith, and was not contacted about any sort of breach until I had won. I do respect the site for returning all three of my initial deposits once the dispute came to light, but I believe they have worded their terms in such a way that any number of people could fall into the same trap. I think it is perfectly reasonable given how far they've gone to differentiate cash bets from bonus bets, that the max bet would only apply when you are playing with the bonus.

I'm seeking two things by coming to Casino Guru. Firstly, I would like my winnings returned. Secondly, I would like the casino to change their terminology to avoid anyone else having this problem in future and I think it's a relatively simple change. Something along the lines of 'please note that the maximum bet applies to any cash bets when a bonus is in your account'.

Thanks in advance for your help, and I apologise for the length of my message, I have tried to be thorough and not miss anything out.

Scott

Dear sc9374824,

Thank you very much for submitting your complaint. I’m sorry to hear about your negative experience with firevegas Casino.

Please note that 'while the bonus is in play' is a common wording choice regarding the maximum bet rule in online casinos

Please allow me to ask you a few questions, so I can better understand the situation. 

• Was the wagering of the bonus progressing while you were playing with the bonus?
• Could you please share your communication with the casino? Send emails or chat transcripts to my email at tomas@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,

Tomas

Dear sc9374824,

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.

Thanks for your email.

Sadly, We don't agree with your conclusions regarding the wording of the casino rules and have to conclude the bonus rules were applicable since the bonus was activated. As I mentioned previously, the rule is often found in online casinos worded similarly.

If you wish for us to investigate further, kindly forward your gaming history to my email at tomas@casino.guru so we may review it. You can usually request the records of your gameplay from the casino support for a given period.

I'll await your response.

Dear sc9374824,

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.

Okay, I don't really agree on your decision but feel free to close the case then.

Thanks

Due to the aforementioned reasons, this complaint will now be closed. 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 issues with any online casino in the future.