Goldenbet Casino - Casino ignores the player's request to close his account.

Unfortunately I am a gambling addict and have constantly struggled with binge gambling and chasing my losses.

Over the past week I have been feeling out of control and have deposited roughly 75,000 on golden bet.

After depositing and losing the first 50,000, I contacted the website to ask for a cash bonus or to block my account. They gave me a cash bonus but I then emailed them to ask that they pay out on a returned bet that I believed I should have won with that cash bonus, or failing them paying out I explicitly instructed them to block my account immediately.

They did not pay out the returned bet or block my account.

Since then I deposited another 25,840 and asked them to block my account again.

Yes I may have been difficult to deal with but they could clearly see I was out of control and asked them to block my account on three separate occasions via email, granted with certain conditions attached.

I believe they failed their responsibility to me and should have blocked my account on the first time of asking.

Therefore most of that money should be returned to me, ideally the 25,840 I deposited after they failed to meet my conditions and block my account.

thank you

Dear Rio1998,

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

First, I’d like to explain to you what the difference is between closing the account and self-exclusion:

Closing an account is simple and has almost no impact - the player can reopen the account anytime, and the casino has no obligation to the player.

On the other hand, self-exclusion does. If a player successfully makes a self-exclusion the casino agrees not to open this account or if yes only under particular circumstances

(after the cooling off period and this cannot be done for players who are addicted/with gambling problems).

• Could you please specify the reason for closing your account?
• Have you informed the casino about your struggle to control your gambling?
• Would you be so kind as to forward me the account closure requests that you sent to the casino?
• My email address is tomas@casino.guru

Thank you very much in advance.

Best regards,

Tomas

So the reason for closing my account was because I have lost so much money and felt out of control and that I couldn’t stop.

I felt the only option was for them to give me money back or close my account.

I didn’t explicitly say I was an out of control gambling addict but I feel they could have worked that out themselves seeing as I deposited so much in such a short space of time.

I believe in the first email I only asked them to ‘close’ my account however after receiving the cash bonus in my second email I asked them to ‘block’ my account. I don’t know if this should have an impact.

i will forward the email chain to you now

Hi there,

just wanted to make sure you have received my evidence.

I look forward to hearing back soon.

Thank you

Also a further update.

my account has since been blocked.

I am attempting to make a formal complaint with Curucao E gaming but GoldenBet are withholding my unique player ID number to prevent me from making this complaint.

Thanks for your patience.

I went over your email exchange with the casino.

Let me emphasize that if you don't mention any gambling problem to the casino, the casino is not obligated to act to protect you. A simple account closure is not a valid protection, if the account can later be reopened.

To condition your account closure with a request for a bonus is not enough of a reason for the casino to protect you and in our opinion, considering the presented evidence, there is no valid reason for us to assist you with a refund of your deposits.

We believe casinos should offer a mechanism of permanent self-exclusion to protect players once the player expresses they have a gambling problem.

Since your account has been closed, I can only recommend, first, that you request a self-exclusion due to a gambling problem in any online casino where you have previously opened an account, including Goldenbet Casino.

I would like to call your attention to our Self-Exclusion Assistance Tool https://casino.guru/global-self-exclusion-initiative/assistance-tool. 

This tool will make it easier for you to block your casino accounts across multiple gambling establishments simultaneously and is not affiliated with any specific casino. The Self-Exclusion Assistance Tool was designed to assist individuals who may be facing challenges with their gambling habits by helping them limit their access to gambling and reduce the potential for further harm.

Second, As a UK player, I would recommend you register on Gamstop if you haven't done so already. https://www.gamstop.co.uk/

Lastly, if gambling no longer brings you joy and is becoming a burden, it is highly advisable to seek professional assistance. I strongly recommend reaching out to centers in your country that specialize in addressing gambling problems. You can find some of these centers by referring to the following link (https://casino.guru/problem-gambling-help-centers#cnt_33=true)

• Please let me know if there are circumstances I haven't considered otherwise your complaint will be closed.

Dear Rio1998,

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.

Unfortunately, the player has not responded to our messages and questions. Consequently, we are unable to investigate further and have no choice but to reject this complaint.

The player can reopen this complaint at any time.