Good evening! Would you like some help?

Subject: Report on the situation with the Novibet platform

I would like to report a serious situation involving the online betting platform Novibet, which has caused a number of problems and frustrations. Upon closer examination, it is clear that the site is trying to shift responsibility for its actions and failures onto the MGA (Malta Gaming Authority), in an unjustified and dishonest manner. Below, I detail the main points of this situation:

1. Opening an Account and Betting

After creating a Novibet account and placing several bets, I began to face constant losses. These losses had a serious emotional impact on me, leading me to make aggressive comments via e-mail to the site, with expressions such as "you don't win in this disgrace" and "you never win", among others.

2. Exclusion requests and technical problems

Because of the losses, I requested that my account be deleted if the site didn't offer a bonus. In addition, I tried to use the self-exclusion feature, but the tool was seriously flawed. This raised serious suspicions that the site was operating improperly and even fraudulently. I recorded screenshots of these failures, although I wasn't able to record every attempt.

3. Health Condition and Use of Medicines

I informed the site about my treatment with strong medication for depression (Clonazepam 2mg and Sertraline 50mg), which made my emotional situation even worse. Despite having reported this, my account was abruptly closed by the site.

4. Bonuses and complaints

After my account was closed, I received a bonus weeks later. I kept trying to recover the amounts lost (more than 12,000 reais), but the site dodged, claiming that the current regulations only apply after 01/01/2025. However, I consider this claim to be invalid, as I believe the site was already operating under valid regulations, even without having changed its CNPJ or name.

5. Support statement

In a call with support, an attendant stated that the site was not legalized until the end of 2024 and would not be legalized until 2025. However, when I contacted them again on 08/01/2025, the site informed me that my account was permanently closed. This contradicts any previous claims by support and demonstrates a lack of clarity and transparency in service.

6. Entry and Deposit on the Platform

On 19/01/2025, I was able to access my account again, make a deposit and play. I made a withdrawal of 19 reais, but when I contacted support, my account was blocked for the third time. This sequence of blocks with no clear justification reinforces the feeling that the site is trying to avoid any kind of responsibility.

7. Return offer

After the third suspension, I contacted the ombudsman. The only response was an apology and an offer to refund only 25 reais, which I find completely unacceptable given that the amount lost exceeds 12,000 reais.

8. Deposit simulation

To illustrate the seriousness of the situation, I made a simulated deposit of 20,000 reais. Although I didn't make the deposit, if I had, I believe I would be in an even more critical financial situation. This shows the site's lack of responsibility for the damage its practices can cause users.

9. Transfer of responsibility to MGA

One of the most worrying points in this situation is that Novibet has used the MGA (Malta Gaming Authority) as a "shield" to transfer all responsibility for its actions, technical failures and decisions. On several occasions, the support has claimed that the platform operates under MGA regulations, trying to justify its lack of action or commitment to what happens within the platform. This is not only irresponsible, but also a clear attempt to absolve itself of its legal and contractual responsibilities, placing the blame on an external entity that should not be held responsible for mistakes made by the platform itself.

10. Responsibility of the Website

The behavior of the Novibet website is extremely worrying. It seems to focus exclusively on profit, without considering the safety and well-being of users, especially the most vulnerable. By transferring responsibility to MGA and refraining from any corrective action, the site demonstrates not only a disregard for ethical standards, but also a possible violation of current regulations, which could characterize illegal behavior.

I would like to know how I should proceed to seek compensation for the damage suffered and to hold the site responsible, especially considering that it is improperly transferring its faults to an external entity. Thank you for your attention and I am happy to provide any further information or documents that may be required.

Thank you!

Hello,

I could comment on almost every point you posted here. But the way I understand it, you are not interested in how things work or further explanations; you seek conpensation. No problem with that. Since our website does not support compensations, I suggest asking a lawyer. Ethical aspects are better to consult with the MGA, like many other things, if I may say.

I'll leave the next step to you.

Hello Radka,

Thank you for your reply, but I must express my dissatisfaction with the way Casino Guru has handled this situation. The site purports to be a platform for helping players, but in practice it seems to be more interested in shirking responsibility than offering concrete solutions.

It is clear that Casino Guru, by claiming to be independent, actually ends up acting in a way that protects the interests of casinos, such as affiliates, without really looking out for the well-being of users. By shifting all responsibility to the MGA or suggesting that I seek legal counsel, the site deflects from issues that directly affect players, such as technical problems and the questionable practices of betting platforms. This sounds more like an attempt to avoid costs, such as those of a license, while still benefiting financially from the traffic generated.

If Casino Guru really cares about responsible gambling and player safety, as it claims in its messages, why then does it exempt itself from actually helping when players face concrete problems with betting sites? If the site doesn't care about acting more directly in resolving disputes, perhaps it shouldn't position itself as an advocate of responsible gambling.

Casino Guru should act with more clarity and transparency if it really wants to help players and offer a safer and fairer gaming environment. This lack of commitment to solving problems like mine raises doubts about the site's true intentions.

I hope that this issue will be reconsidered and that Casino Guru will dedicate itself to helping players more directly and effectively, rather than simply deflecting responsibility.

Sincerely,

Hello,

Allow me to start with a question, because I'm a bit lost now.

You're saying you are quite dissatisfied with the way Casino Guru handled your issue. From my perspective, though, you came here to the public forum and made your statement in which you confirmed you have been advised to contact the only regulating body capable of an official investigation of your experiences and also claimed you seek compensation.

We have not even handled anything for you; we just have exchanged a forum post. I would like to repeat that what you described and how you describe it is sadly something we can hardly help you with. We are not lawyers, we are not a licensing authority, and we are not doctors either.

In my opinion, your dissatisfaction primarily starts with uninformed expectations of how Casino Guru works.

May I help with that? It is all based on the Fair Gambling Codex for both players and casinos:

https://pt.casino.guru/jogo-honesto 👈

Which is a knowledge base for resolving players complaints against casinos; however, for the complaint to be accepted, it must be a concrete situation bound to concrete rules and a disputed amount stated clearly. What you described has, in my opinion, several weak points, even if I'm not familiar with the concrete details.

I'm really sorry to see you expected something else; on the other hand, the best you can do is to continue the process with the MGA, as the official regulator and in case of compensation for your user experience, a lawyer.

However, if you feel you want to submit a complaint, you are free to do so. In my opinion, you will be advised to stick with the MGA. I aimed to save you another possible frustration, considering what you stated about your health.

Let me know if you have questions, please.

Dear Radka,

Thank you for your reply, but I must express my total dissatisfaction with the way Casino Guru is dealing with my situation and, above all, with your attempt to divert the focus from the essential issues.

First of all, at no point did I mention that I was seeking medical help. The reference to the medical and psychological aspect of my situation was merely an explanation of the emotional context I find myself in due to the problems I faced with the Novibet betting platform. The point here is not to seek treatment, but rather a solution to the serious and irresponsible failings of the platform and the support I am receiving.

As for your suggestion to seek legal counsel, I understand that Casino Guru sets itself up as an intermediary that doesn't have the capacity to solve problems directly, but that doesn't justify a lack of commitment to defending players. Casino Guru purports to be a platform that supports players and helps them deal with disputes, but its stance is only showing itself as a "shield" to protect casino interests, rather than really caring about the well-being of users.

What is happening is that, by shifting all responsibility to the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) and suggesting that I seek legal counsel, Casino Guru is absolving itself of help and sidestepping the essential issues surrounding ethics and regulation in the gaming sector. Not only that, but it is ignoring Brazilian law, which requires any online gaming platform to have a valid license to operate in the country. Simply claiming that you can't help is not enough when the site is operating in a market with clear regulations that Casino Guru and Novibet must follow.

If Casino Guru really cares about responsible gambling and player safety, as it presents itself, it should be more proactive in solving problems like mine, and not act in a way that only protects the interests of the betting platforms it promotes. It's frustrating to see a site that claims to be an advocate of responsible gambling act in such a negligent and irresponsible way towards its users.

I really hope that Casino Guru rethinks its stance, because by absolving itself of any responsibility, it only perpetuates a practice that is disrespectful to players. If Casino Guru continues with this stance, I believe that the Brazilian government should intervene, regulating and supervising the actions of these sites that, without licensing, are harming players and operating illegally.

I ask you to rethink your response and for Casino Guru to take a clearer and more responsible stance, acting in accordance with Brazilian regulations, if it really wants to fulfill its role of supporting and protecting players.

Value of the dispute 12 thousand reais.

Sincerely,

Good day to you.

In my opinion, you are not very open to things I have already explained to you. Thus, I have no other option but to repeat myself here and ask you kindly to read my previous posts once more. Please do so.

My name is Radka—I'm a person, not Casino Guru company, and I'm trying to respond to the statements you've made so far on our public forum. This forum is not a place to resolve such matters; however, players are welcome to express their experiences, opinions, expectations, frustrations, or anything else in accordance with forum guidelines.

Perhaps the mutual misunderstanding is the issue now; let me clarify a few things again:

I did not suggest you seek medical help. On the other hand, you seem to use your health state as a context for your experiences, which is something we do not delve into here; that's up to you.

"Casino Guru purports to be a platform that supports players and helps them deal with disputes, but its stance is only showing itself as a "shield" to protect casino interests, rather than really caring about the well-being of users."

It is a general opinion, but in reality, we have a certain codex, which we apply only to situations we may get involved in. Based on the description of your experiences, you are concerned about the well-being but the complaints process is focused on very specific and concrete situation.

We cannot, for example, provide you with the compensation you seem to be interested in. In civil life, if anyone was harmed and then sought compensation for such an experience, it is the lawyer's domain because it requires suing.

I also told you you can submit the complaint here on our website, which won't bring you any compensation but may investigate the matters you described. Here on the forum, we are just talking.

Did you notice the offer, please? Are you interested in doing so?

Kindly once more read the Fair Gambling Codex 👈 and the complaint instructions 👈

My intentions were to spare you unexpected events. Feel free to ask me questions if you need it.

Dear Radka, first of all thank you for your attention!

I just want a punishment for Novibet bookmaker, for the simple fact that it doesn't take responsible gambling seriously, then it should also be expelled by Guru casino, if Guru casino takes responsible gambling seriously....

Good day to you.

I see, and I really wish we met under different cisrumstances. Hopefully I now understand your intentions better.

Did you browse the articles about the complaint process I sent you, please? You are welcome to submit a complaint; just please do not be disappointed in case the outcome will be different from what you expect. The main goal is to resolve concrete situations; we are not quite able to punish casinos for something quite abstract.

Let's say that bad user experience is far away from the issue our team resolves.

Perhaps every day examples will be far better; use this link to see currently open complaints and their topics. 👈

Any questions are welcome, of course.

Do you know what amazes me the most, Radka? The fact that I passed on the entire complaint to the MGA authorities. So far, they haven't replied to me, they've just asked me to write in a way that they can understand, and to send concrete evidence of the facts. It seems that they are not focused on responsible gaming. As for the link you sent me, I didn't have time to check it out, but I will look at the rules and conditions of the Guru casino. Thank you for your attention. When I have any updates, I'll let you know. Cheers!

Hello, Sadly, I'm not so surprised.

I hate to say it, but as I explained earlier, we would have the very same demands.

Without proving proofs and facts, the complaint will simply end, because fighting for ethics or moral principles is not a concrete task we could perform for you; it is a challenging sort of a general state of "things."

Do not hesitate to come back whenever you like.

Cheers!

Hi Radka,

I wanted to update you on my case. The Maltese authorities have taken over the process, but unfortunately it's been a month and I still haven't received any news or updates from them. I'm waiting for a response and as soon as I have something, I'll let you know straight away.

Hello!!!

It has been another month. Oh, I didn't even notice, and I'm sorry to see that things have not improved.

Not sure what I should say. I'm still not surprised, but I keep my hopes for you!

I appreciate you keeping in touch; hold on. 🤞

Radka, it's been over a month!

But it says that it could take more than a month, depending on the severity of the problem, so now we have to wait and see, they would have to give me an answer, because they wouldn't be being fair to me!

I definitely don't think that would be fair. Malta as an authority used to be quite respected and quite good, and I believe that after some time they will answer you. As you say, it may take longer than a month, so I trust you will hear from them soon. 

We will be glad for another, hopefully early, update.🙂

Hi Jaro,

I was wondering if you could provide me with an alternative e-mail address or other means of direct contact with the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA), as it's been two months since I opened the complaint and I still haven't received a response. I would like to have a more effective way of following up on the progress of my case.

Thank you for your help and I look forward to your guidance.

Sincerely,

That is quiet sad.

This is only thing we have, you can see guide about Malta authority and some contacts.

I do not have other links.