Highroller Casino - Player was able to open an account.

Hi,

I'm a problem gambler who has been battling with their addiction for a long time. 

I previously sent out an email to various casinos including Highroller, asking kindly to block my access to their site because of my gambling problem.

I asked to close my account permanently if I have one and stop all marketing and provided them with my personal details (blurred in the screenshot).

I fell victim to my addiction and googled 'quick deposit casinos' and then tried to make a quick deposit to their website, which unfortunately went through. As a result of this, I gambled degenerately depositing 2850€ within a few hours and placing bets for nearly nearly 30000€. I also made a withdrawal of 1000€ which went through, and another 1000€ withdraw which I reversed while going on a gambling rampage. These have been sent to the casino also.

I was also in contact with the live chat a few times regarding withdrawals and possible bonuses, no one ever asked if I wanted to re-open my account, neither did I contact them or request this in anyway, more so providing me with bonuses and giving a request to send me an email regarding my account when asking for a bonus. This is the exact reason why I self-excluded, so I would not be able to deposit and lose all my money, clearly stating that I am a problem gambler.

Since I had requested to be permanently banned, which they had confirmed and I never requested to re-open my account, I am expecting them to resolve this issue by returning the funds which I lost (1850€).

I hope they take this case with the seriousness they describe on their website when it comes responsible gambling and the sickness of gambling addiction, as well as take better precautions for this not to happen to other people.

Dear problemgambler9611,

Thank you very much for submitting your complaint. I’m sorry to hear about your problem. Please allow me to ask you a few questions, so I can understand the whole situation completely. Do I understand correctly that you first requested self-exclusion and then created an account?

Could you please advise if you currently have access to your casino account?

Additionally, if there is any other relevant communication between you and the casino, please forward it to kristina.s@casino.guru. Alternatively, you can post it 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,

Kristina

Hi Kristina,

Thank you for your reply.

Do I understand correctly that you first requested self-exclusion and then created an account?

Yes that is correct, yesterday 31.7.2023 I was able to make quick deposits and gamble on HighRoller. I sent out mass emails in 2021 to 400+ casinos asking to self-exclude me permanently due to my gambling addiction and preventing any future sign-ups, which is something which was recommended to me when talking to a professional. This request was accepted and confirmed by Highroller as seen in the provided screenshot. This method has otherwise worked very well with other casinos of the same nature that allow you to do quick deposits by identifying with your bank-ID, not allowing the transactions to go through or banning the account shortly after the transaction and returning funds or withholding winnings. Even in cases where the request was originally sent to one of their "sister" casinos back in 2021. This is why I am pretty upset with the situation and that they allowed me to deposit multiple times like a degenerate, place huge bets and even withdraw some money, when I had specifically specified that I have a gambling problem and been accepted the request to be self-excluded now and in the future.

Could you please advise if you currently have access to your casino account?

I do not currently have access to my Highroller account, I contacted their live-chat saying basically the same information I provided in this complaint and they closed my account and said that they will investigate this further.

I also sent you the current communication between me and the casino by email.

Thank you very much for your help!

Hi Kristina!

I sent you the first communication on email, but I just received their reply to the situation which I find unacceptable. Here is their reply:

"Dear problemgambler9611 ,

I trust my email finds you well.

I am sending you this email in regards to the complaint you have raised. First of all, I want to point out how sorry I am to hear about your situation.

The screen shots you provided are from 2021 and you have registered your account with Highroller on the 31st of July 2023. Please allow me to clarify that there is no connection with the previously available highroller.com to the current one, hence no data was carried over from any previous activity to the new operator which operates from 2022.

I want to assure you that your HighRoller account with us is now closed following our responsible gambling policy. We recommend you to close any other gambling accounts you may have with other operators. We also strongly recommend you to sign up with HAMPI register (By registering you will block yourself from all games with an Estonian gaming license). Estonian citizens can visit https://www.emta.ee/eraklient/e teenused-maksutarkus/registrid-paringud/hasartmangu-piirangu-registreerimine and non residents can send an email to hasart@emta.ee asking to be registered with the Estonian national exclusion registry.

All the best,

X"

To which I replied:

"Hi X,

This is absolutely unacceptable in my opinion.

- I received the confirmation of me being self-exluded from the exact same email as you are emailing me: support@highroller.com. 

- I have self-excluded myself from your domain highroller.com, due to my gambling addiction. 

- How can you expect a consumer who visits the same URL with the same name and domain to firstly know that the operator of the site has changed and secondly how can the information of gambling addicts who have asked for self-exclusion not be carried over?

- To me this looks like a direct effort to allow problem gamblers back on the website to spend tons of money, as well as you not having the correct measures in place for situations like this.

I would appreciate you returning the requested funds and respected my self-exclusion and struggle with gambling addiction. This is not right on any level.

Best regards,

problemgambler9611"

I am absolutely infuriated with their reply. It is literally the same email as i self-excluded from, using the same name and website. To me this shows a lack of interest in responsible gambling practices and the serious illness of gambling addiction, even if they speak about it in beautiful words on their website. They say that the operator has changed, yet their website presents the same email address which confirmed my self-exclusion due to gambling addiction as the operators email address (support@highroller.com).

This feels very unfair, is there anything we could do about this?

What is stated on their website about responsible gambling does not really seem to align with the practices they have.

"Responsible Gambling

#PlayResponsibly.

At Highroller we take responsible gambling very seriously. For most players, gambling is about fun and excitement, but unfortunately for some, it can also have negative side effects. In medicine, pathological gambling has been recognised as a serious illness for many years. From day one, we have taken up the challenge and made this our priority, and so we try to help our players in the best possible way. Our Responsible Gaming section contains a number of tools that our site can use to help minimise the possibility of negative side effects. We also proactively try to prevent this from happening. The most important tools to combat the negative side effects of gambling are information and education about the risks of gambling, as well as supporting our players' self-control so that they do not suffer negative side effects. Through responsible gambling, we want to provide you with the most comfortable and safe gambling environment possible."

Here is also clearly stated the email address which to contact to exclude urself if you are a problem gambler, which is the same one that agreed to my request in 2021.

"No access

Sometimes you need a longer break from gambling, whether you just want to limit your gambling for a longer period of time or if your gambling has already started to have a negative impact and is something other than fun and entertainment. If you feel that gambling is having a negative impact on you, we urge you to take a longer break. We offer the option of a ban for 2, 3 or 6 months. Once your chosen period has elapsed, your account will automatically reopen and you can log back in. In addition, we also offer an indefinite ban, which means that you can close your account even without an automatic re-opening. Your account will remain closed for a minimum of 1 month and will only be re-opened if you request a re-opening by contacting our support team via Live Chat or by email at support@highroller.com. If you wish to place a ban on access to your account, please contact our Customer Service via Live Chat or by email at support@highroller.com. Please note that the request for closure sent by email will not be immediate, we will confirm the closure to you by email once it has been made. You will not be able to create a new account during the access ban. Any attempt to create a new account during a period of inactivity will violate our Terms of Use and may result in the permanent closure of your original account."

Sorry for any possible mistakes in the pull out o their responsible gambling section on their website, I translated it with an AI tool from my native language.

They just sent me promotional offers even after they stated to me a few hours earlier the following: "I want to assure you that your HighRoller account with us is now closed following our responsible gambling policy."

I just forwarded this to your email also Kristina. This is absolutely ridiculous and of bad taste and ethics.

I sent their newest reply to you Kristina through email. What can be done in this situation?

I think this is absolutely ridiculous from their side to neglect their responsibility in promoting responsible gambling, reason given that the operator behind HighRoller has changed. It was the same damn email address which confirmed my self-exclusion due to me being a problem gambler that they are emailing me from now!

This meaning a site like Stake could just change the operator behind it and welcome all players who have self-excluded back to their website? Absolute joke, which will unfortunately ruin many peoples lives.

Here is my latest reply to them regarding them once again denying to return my deposits due to the change of operator behind the casino:

"Hi X,

So you are telling me it is completely okay to let someone back on your website who has previously excluded themselves for being a gambling addict? I could not care less who the operator behind your casino is and it is not the concern of the consumer, it is the same exact name, same website and even the damn email address which confirmed my self-exclusion is the same as the one you are emailing me from now.

Taking all of these factors into consideration, why don't you at least have the data of self-excluded players from the previous operator? You look like the exact same casino. 

Do you even do any checks if someone is self-excluded or not and I would like to hear how you do this? Because I wasn't checked in anyway and added the same information to my account which is self-excluded from 500+ casinos (+their sister casinos and multiple payment providers), just happily accepting my money even if I have asked for a permanent self-exclusion 2 years ago.

I have a gambling problem which I'm very ashamed of and the individual always bares some own responsibility to their actions, but procedures and casinos like yours who let us play after permanent self-exclusion due to gambling addiction ruin lives. Even after I closed my account and you confirmed to me that my account is closed you sent me promotional emails 3 hours after that, don't you have any shame? I have told you I'm a gambling addict. You know that considering all of the factors the right thing to do is to return my deposits as any reputable actor in this space does.

I already sent a request to block myself from all Estonian licensed games, didn't know that was possible thank you for that. But I am not satisfied with what you are saying and I really hope you internally reconsider this situation and come back with a different solution or I will be asking help from other places to solve this matter."

Hi Kristina,

Have you had time to examine this case yet at all?

Thank you for your reply, problemgambler9611. Could you please forward me the original self-exclusion request to my email address kristina.s@casino.guru? 

Also, could you please confirm that all the personal information you listed in the self-exclusion request matched the personal information you entered during the registration?

Hi Kristina,

I just sent you the original self-exclusion request. I also signed up with the same information, since it is a quick deposit casino it brings my information automatically from my Bank ID.

Hi Kristina,

Have you received my email?

Thank you very much, problemgambler9611, for your cooperation. I will now transfer your complaint to my colleague Jozef (jozef.k@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.  

Dear problemgambler9611,

I absolutely appreciate that you shared your experiences with the Casino Guru team. We will now try to get in touch with the casino.

Thank you Jozef!

Dear problemgambler9611,

I am very sorry about the situation, but I can only confirm the casino statement. The Highroller Casino was indeed under different ownership and management in 2021. It was relaunched towards the end of 2022, which is why our site reflects the launch date as 2022. While it would be ideal for them to transfer the database, we acknowledge that it may not be feasible legislatively, and perhaps even impossible, considering the change in regulators. As a result, we cannot hold the new management accountable for the problem, nor can we force them to provide a refund.

Unfortunately, I must close the case as 'rejected'.

An alternative option is to file an official complaint with the licensing authority of the casino. I may assist you with this process, and you can reach me at the email address provided below. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or require further assistance.

Best regards, Jozef

jozef.k@casino.guru