GGBet Casino - Player's account blocked and withdrawal refused.

I got an email that my account was blocked according to clause 10.1.4 of the rules which states :

" 10.1.4. taking part in any criminal activities including money laundering and any other activity with criminal consequences "

I've sent the necessary proof to GGBET that showa that all payment methods used on the plat form belongs to me.

The funny thing is that the withdrawal I made befroe this one was witheld till I passed the KYC, which I did and my funds was released, but the next one was blocked, and I didn't change any of my payment methods

Dear isikalujoshua01,

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

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

• Could you please advise how long were you a player of the casino and when exactly was your account blocked?
• What games did you play to accumulate your current balance in the casino? (slots, live games, betting on sports)
• Did you achieve your current balance with the help of bonuses?
• How much did you deposit in the casino altogether?

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

Hello Thomas,

was a plawer for a little over a month, January 12 2023

Roullete (Live)

No, I didn't use any bonuses.

Total deposit was 1,960 Euros

Thank you very much, isikalujoshua01, for providing the necessary information. I will now transfer your complaint to my colleague Branislav (branislav.b@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.  

Thanks Thomas.

Hello, isikalujoshua01,

From now on, I will assist you in resolving your issue.

Before I invite the casino to the thread, I would like to ask you a few questions to clarify the situation.

What payment method(s) did you use for deposits, and what payment method(s) did you use for withdrawal(s)?

Were your deposited funds fully put into play at the casino (in compliance with AML rules)?

What kind of bets did you make in Roulette games most? Is it possible that you made only low-risk bets in Live Roulette games to meet the mandatory wagering requirements for the deposit(s) and then requested withdrawal(s) immediately after such a play, while repeating this process?

Is there a chance that another user/account used the same internet connection/IP/device to access the casino? If yes, is it possible that a potentially linked account played the same games at the same time as you or that the casino could somehow link your disputed account with another player(s)/user(s)?

Please note that online casinos are also able to connect players by checking their payment methods/bank statements during the verification process - suspicious transactions between the owners of possible linked casino accounts in their bank statements.

Hello Branislav

local bank transfer for deposits, usdt for withdrawals

yes, you can't withdraw till you meet the wager requirements , otherwise you pay a fine

kinda (I play safe, i do withdraw after meeting the wagering requirements to take profit or minimize losses, before I go again, thats how i've always played, dosen't matter if the requirements is 2x or 10x)

no

that shouldn't be a problem.

Verification on their platform is only done when required, and after making multiple withdrawals, one of my withdrawals was held and I was told to submit documents for verification, which I did, my account was appproved and the withdrawal was released the next withdrawal after that was what was held, and I still played the same game the same way.

Alright, isikalujoshua01.

Thank you for additional details. However, please note it is extremely suspicious if you deposit by one payment method and withdraw by another, especially if we are talking about withdrawing to a crypto e-wallet.

If you played your deposits at minimum, just to meet the mandatory wagering requirements for the deposits, and then you immediately withdrew the winnings, several times, it indicates a breach of AML rules.

However, let's now ask the casino for details and an explanation.

Dear GGBet Casino Team,

Could you please provide us with an explanation of the player's situation in more detail? What steps should the player take to unblock the account and withdraw his winnings?

If we are talking about a breach of the casino's Terms and Conditions, is the casino able to substantiate its decision with relevant evidence? What did he commit?

Feel free to send the necessary evidence to my email address (branislav.b@casino.guru).

Thank you in advance for providing the information.

Hi everyone!

Dear Joshua,

Thank you for reaching out to us. We regret to inform you that your account was found to be involved in activities related to money laundering, which is a violation of our terms and conditions, specifically clause 10.1.4.

Upon thorough review, it was observed that a pattern of depositing funds, placing low-risk bets, and subsequently withdrawing funds was detected, which raised suspicions of fraudulent activity. This pattern was consistent with similar behavior observed from other users in Nigeria.

We take matters related to fraud and money laundering very seriously, and as a result, your account has been blocked in accordance with our policies. We have initiated an investigation into this matter, and all relevant evidence will be forwarded to branislav.b@casino.guru.

Dear isikalujoshua01,

Can you please confirm the above-stated?

Is the casino's explanation enough for you, so I can consider the matter closed, or should I wait for the relevant evidence from the casino?

The casino has not forwarded the promised evidence to my email yet. But, if the casino's statements above are correct and true, and the casino can support them with relevant evidence, is it worth devoting more time to the matter and waiting for that evidence?

Hello Branislav,

Trust you’ve been good.

No, the explanation is not good enough Branislav, I was waiting to see what they would provide as evidence before I replied.

The term low-risk bet to me is relative cause 50 euro on ODD/EVEN let’s not forget ZERO is not exactly low risk. But let’s forget that, the term here is "low-risk", GGBET would agree with me that there was a possibility of me losing my wager for every game no matter how small such a possibility was. So, my bets were valid.

On the matter of depositing, playing and withdrawing, that’s just how I play, it’s part of what I term my rules of engagement, it what I use to avoid losing it all, and I would like to point out that I don’t just play like this on GGBET, I could bring like four other casinos which I played on with the same rules each with way more money than GGBET, each account still valid. some with different games, but one the same game as GGBET same strategy, even has 10x wagering requirements compared to GGBETs 2x wagering requirement, and I have no issues with my accounts. If you require proof I’ll send screenshots.

On the pattern was consistent with similar behavior observed from other users in Nigeria, not sure what to call this, guilty by being from the same country? because you have to understand Branislav I doubt GGBET is in the list of top 30 bookies in my country, I found them by accident. Now I find it had to believe that out of all the games on GGBET, both the sport section and casino, that there where people from my country playing the same game I was the same way I was.

According to their statement the way I deposited and played wasn’t even the issue, the fact that I am from Nigeria is. That’s is just profiling.

 I’m not privy to their (GGBET) system, so I can’t confirm if what they (GGBET) are saying is true, but what is I’m a Cyber Security analyst in training, so I do understand that there has to be compliance to AML, but I also know that there are procedures to follow.

Last I checked its innocent until proven guilty, and that is where my problem lies with GGBET, if you suspect one of laundering money its well within your rights to block said persons account, but its also the persons right to defend his or herself, but they (GGBET) did not provide any room for such.

So what’s stopping them from just blocking peoples accounts and accusing them of money laundering when they (GGBET) want to turn a profit.

And here are the most confusing parts:

1.    While they (GGBET) can say they had a problem with my play style, its completely legal for me to play that way, there are no rules stating I can’t play "low-risk" games.
2.   Correct me if I’m wrong but money laundering last I checked is about where your money is coming from and where its going to, and they (GGBET) verified my deposit and withdrawal methods before approving the withdrawal I made before this one, so they know that the bank account and wallet I use belong to me, they (GGBET) can confirm this. So, if they (GGBET) know that my deposits and withdrawals were from and to me, why accuse me of laundering money?

Thank you, isikalujoshua01. I appreciate your appreciation.

Only one more note regarding such a way of play - for example, immediate withdrawing after meeting the deposit mandatory wagering requirements, and depositing new funds to your account repeatedly (especially from a different payment method than was used for withdrawals) despite having enough balance to continue playing indicate clear signs of AML rules violation, and means that such a player does not play for entertainment. If we are talking about AML rules violation, it does not have to be only with money laundering. There are several reasons why players play in such a way.

Unfortunately, I have not been provided with the requested evidence yet. So let's ask the casino for the details once again.

Dear GGBet Casino Team,

Can you please forward me the relevant evidence you mentioned above?

branislav.b@casino.guru

Hello,

I can confirm that all the relevant evidence has been forwarded to the provided email address. Please let us know if you need any further assistance or clarification regarding the information provided.

Hello Branislav,

I would like to be privy to the evidence provided, but if that’s not possible, no problem.

As for your example above, the cumulation of the 3 reasons above could lead to AML rules violations and you used such an example as a reference to my case because they are quite similar.

The first reason

"Immediate withdrawing after meeting the deposit mandatory wagering requirements "

 on its own is not an issue, as I explained that’s my personal rules of playing, but combined withe the next 2 reasons would make a case for AML rules violation.

The second reason

"Depositing new funds to your account repeatedly despite having enough balance to continue playing"

Does not apply to my case, as you’ll see from my attached screenshot I withdrew the funds in my account, before depositing again and going for another round when next I wanted to play.

As for the third reason

 "Depositing new funds to your account repeatedly especially from a different payment method than was used for withdrawals"

This is what I’m aware usually flags as AML rules violation, the fault lies with GG.BET, if you’re familiar with GG.BET’s system you’ll know that not every deposit method available on the deposit page is available as a withdrawal method on the withdrawal page.

I had a friend open an account for me so I could get these screenshots.

As of today, this is GG.BET’s deposit page

This is the withdrawal page 

You can see the difference. It has even gotten worse from when I was still active, at least back then Skrill, Neteller and Crypto were available for withdrawal. If I was to play on GG.BET’s site today, the viable deposit options would be one of the crypto options and for withdrawal would be Jeton wallet, which by the way has a 2% transaction fee and minimum withdrawal of 200 euros.

This is a screenshot of my transaction page from wild.io.

I played the same game, the same way as I played on GG.BET here, the amount of money I transacted here was ‘bout 3 times the amount I did on GG.BET, I actually even had profits from wild.io and that’s with their 10x wagering requirement, my account is still active till today as you can see, never had any issues with it, though I’ve since quit gambling.

And Branislav your case summary says "alleged breach of clause 10.1.4", but that’s the main issue here there was no allegation, I wasn’t given room for any sort of defence, I was just notified the of verdict, that their so called "team" which they pay, whose salary or bonuses probably hangs on how much funds they could get from flagging accounts, the same team which verified my KYC and source and destination of funds, that that same team said I was guilty of transferring money. Its’s been over a year an honestly speaking it still doesn’t make sense anytime I think ‘bout it, because I mean there has to be due process, what happened to hey Branislav our system flagged you for money laundering so we’ve blocked your account, we need you to provide proof that this fund is yours and that you’re the one receiving them.

I mean who launders 1,464 euros?

Greetings all,

I am sorry for the delay.

Dear isikalujoshua01,

Your game logs and transaction history from December 2022 shows partially all the signs you tried to clarify separately. However, it is still not clear what you could have gained by playing in such a way.

Therefore, I asked the casino for additional explanation/details, and possible solution.

Dear GGBet Casino,

Thank you very much for your email and the additional data.

Could you please look at my last email regarding the matter and answer my questions?

Hello everyone,

Dear Branislav, I have received your message and have already contacted our risk department to gather additional information regarding the matter. I will provide you with a response as soon as possible.

Thank you for the update.

Feel free to reply to my email once you have the necessary additional information.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Hi Branislav,

I sent additional information regarding your request a few days ago, please check your email. If you need anything else, feel free to contact me.

Dear isikalujoshua01,

After gathering all the necessary information and details from the casino, we decided to close this complaint as unjustified. There are reasonable grounds to believe that your account was engaging in suspicious activity and was not used for gaming purposes, or there are even signs of possible money laundering and multiple accounts use. The casino acted in accordance with its terms and conditions, and we accept its decision to cancel your withdrawal and block your casino account.

If you are not satisfied with the complaint solution, I recommend you consult the gambling authority that regulates the casino. In case of any questions, feel free to write to me at branislav.b@casino.guru.

Thank you very much, GGBet Casino Team, for providing information and for your cooperation.

Best regards,

Branislav, Casino.Guru