Question about Gambling websites with Curaçao license using incorrect Merchant Category code (page 189)

I'm interested to see how this pans out! I am thinking of contacting an ombudsman myself. To get everything I can back from all santeda casinos. I only ever managed wintermdse from goldenbet. Keep us all updated with what is going on 🙂

Hello,

i’ve contacted the ombudsman. I’ve sent all the casino "Receipts" which i got from the casino support. He wrote that i will get the answer in 30 days.

it was 30.07.2024, should i wait or its better to write to him? Or should it be 30 work days? 😅

I didnt, it is thru my bank

Does anyone have a template to send to your bank/credit card company explaining your gambling addiction and also incorrect merchant codes er

I think this link has the templates on: https://exclusive-icicle-e54.notion.site/Refunds-8dbe7bee16854c0b92dd5e8ba21a9890

Hello,

Many people believe that they have found great "luck" in the Ombudsman and that he will now take care of everything else for them, but this is not the case.

The ombudsman checks whether the bank has made a mistake; the bank is not obliged to make a chargeback. This only applies if the card details were known to third parties, in which case the bank must act; in all other cases there is no obligation. The oft-quoted point 12.8 from VISA could possibly work, but I see a chance of 20%.

It would be great if I could participate in illegal gambling with false codes and then simply get them back, gambling without any risk.

The ombudsman will check whether the transactions have been verified; if so, the bank has done its duty.

Everything else is a private dispute, and the bank does not have to oversee it. Even if the ombudsman said that the bank had to make a chargeback, it does not have to do so, the ombudsman is not legally binding. And I am not aware of any decisions from various countries that are in favor of the player; they tend to decide against the player.

The player is responsible for his payments with the card, not the bank. And what's more, concealing the MCC is a bit of a grey area. So far, no court has ruled on this, according to VISA it is apparently prohibited and Mastercard has not commented on this, only in the press.

I don't know who wrote it, but someone tried to contact Mastercard. Don't expect much, Mastercard doesn't communicate with cardholders, this is just a message they send out of politeness, you can wait forever for a reply. They don't comment on this.

It is better to put your energy into becoming free from gambling than to bother the ombudsman. Even if he has answered you, it is by no means a "good sign" - the ombudsman is doing his job. He has probably already dealt with 234 other cases related to gambling and is just waiting for the bank's answer, if it comes at all 😉

I am not attacking anyone with this post, I am just describing my point of view, based on my own experiences and research.

There are many false statements here.. I would try and avoid making statements like this unless you have done all of the necessary research across the various jurisdictions you're referring to.

In the UK credit card transactions used for gambling are banned. So the wrong MCC is vital in whether a transactions is let through or blocked. It's not the banks fault that it has been let through, however it is within their customer protection to raise a chargeback in this case and I urge people to go to the Ombudsman if their bank is refusing the chargeback.

As well as this, it is illegal for a casino operating without a UK-issued gambling license to accept UK players.

DRN-4400536 and DRN-4443965

Google them before making incorrect statement's.

The issue is banks are saying they won’t chargeback which is false, when chargeback is initiated then the chances of these companies coming back is very low.

Many UK banks are/were refusing to act and the ombudsman is telling them to act now or be liable themselves as per these decisions.

He is still helping me even after getting loads of them back as he wants me to get it all back so maybe just your luck who you get maybe ?

Without stepping on your toes, you always have a one-sided view, other laws come into consideration. You have tunnel vision without focusing on other facts. If there are many false statements, why does the ombudsman always decide against the player or the banks refuse a chargeback?

• If the gambling provider offers its services illegally, participation is also illegal, a possible violation of the law due to participation in illegal gambling. You may lose all rights due to your own illegal actions, whether knowingly or unconsciously.

• Money laundering: All payments, regardless of whether the code is obfuscated or not, are illegal. You may lose all rights through your own illegal actions, whether knowingly or not.

• Mastercard / VISA exclude chargebacks related to gambling regardless of whether the code was concealed or not. Payment received in return in the casino, funds were credited. Rejection even with incorrect code

• Observe the banks' terms and conditions; illegal purposes are usually prohibited, as are payments related to gambling. Money laundering is also prohibited.

• Observe applicable laws: Payment service provider law with reference to authorized payments, authorized payments are usually irrevocable payments by credit card and bank transfers, with the exception of card payments. Chargeback only in the case of obvious fraud, spying on card details, service not provided (very questionable in the case of gambling under false code)

• Credit cards serve as a substitute for cash; if payments could be repeated so easily, the whole payment system would be useless.

I am not defending the providers, but the providers continue to exist because we all pay them. Some do this even though they know it is illegal because they have had the experience before, others do it unknowingly.

And for some, it has become a national sport to gamble in the casino and then charge back payments with a modified code because they didn't win.

The bank told me the money was not even going to a company but one persons account ! its fake sites no chance of winning and if you do win big they do not pay out !

These illegal casinos are preying on people with issues. If lots of people on here didn't have issues in the first place they wouldn't have been depositing to these sites, because they would use UK based casinos, but obviously we have all used blocks to make sure we cannot deposit to these sites and these offshore casinos are just mopping up the problem gamblers by exploiting flaws in the finance system.

I'm sure 99% of people on here would admit they probably have/had an gambling issue, but they've tried to put measures in place to make sure that they cannot gamble...

My view is not one-sided as I have not put forth a view.

I merely stated you were making misleading false statements, which you were.

e.g. Ombudsman is not legally binding - yes here in the UK it is.

The bank said they were not going to q casino site but someones personal account its fake sites with rigged games and if you do win big they do not pay out only small wins to rope you in !

There are multiple considerations:

If the correct codes were used then either the gambling block or gambling ban in the case of a UK credit card would stop it.

Using incorrect code to bypass the UK laws is transaction laundering, the issue is two fold, bank refuses chargeback, ombudsman says you shouldn’t refuse to.

Next part chargeback started but then disputed by the merchant, this is where the ombudsman may say not my problem, but the key point missing is just to even get some banks to authorise the chargeback is the problem.

Also these are not gambling transactions as per the code so the point around Visa/mastercard saying cannot dispute gambling transactions is false, maybe if they used the correct code and you tried chargeback it would apply.

Wintermads have come back to me saying they need 2-3 weeks to investigate. Did others have to wait this long? I might just dispute with my bank.