House Of Pokies Casino - Player’s bonus winnings have been confiscated.

I deposited $100 into an online casino with a deposit match. I completed the turnover and attempted to withdraw 5k of my winnings. I then got an email saying my winnings have been voided due to breaching some obscure term and condition about a max slot bet, which I have never seen before in any online casino. The term is that the bet cannot be more than 20% of some part of the bonus amount, and I did bets that were over this percentage. Part of my complaint is this absurd rule, but the other part is that I was gambling after the turnover was completed. The max bet rule only applies to money linked with a bonus, so I feel like my winnings won after the turnover was completed (and the bonus was no longer active) shouldn't apply. I should at least get the winnings I won after the turnover was completed, and they should also take away this ridiculous rule.

Dear Jordan,

Thank you very much for submitting your complaint and forwarding the relevant communiaction. I fully understand how difficult the whole situation must be for you. I carefully checked the Bonus Terms on the website, and this is what I found:

„Players are allowed to place single bets lower than 20% of the total value of the Active Bonus credited and should not exceed 8 EUR, 8 USD, 8 AUD, 8 CAD, 8 NZD, 80 SEK, 80 NOK (as applicable). Therefore, placing a bet of 8 EUR while there's an Active Bonus of 100 EUR in effect is considered acceptable practice. VIP players are allowed to place single bets lower than 30% of the total value of the Active Bonus credited and should not exceed 15 EUR, 15 USD, 15 AUD, 15 CAD, 15 NZD, 150 SEK, 150 NOK (as applicable). Please note that your VIP level is defined by the casino's own discretion."

Unfortunately, if the casino shares all the relevant information on its website, there is not much I can do for you in this matter. I understand that it would be easier for the players if the maximum bets were controlled and enforced by the casino during the bonus play, but, unfortunately, that is not a common practice yet. It is not unusual for casinos, to put restrictions on the bonus play (restricted games, game providers, maximum bet etc.)

Are you aware of placing single bet higher than the maximum allowed? Please understand that until you place a request for a withdrawal your bonus is active; hence, all the bonus rules must be followed.

I hope we will be able to help you to resolve this issue as soon as possible. Thank you in advance for your reply.

Best regards,

Petronela

Hi Petronela,

Thank you for your response. It seems a little misleading that the casino would let you use a bonus without telling you this term, as they have a million other tiny rules you cannot break, allowing them to easily void anyone's winnings if you win big. It also seems ridiculous that you can even do a slot bet above their intended max -- again this seems a way for them to confiscate your winnings deceptively. In regards to the bonus itself, I kept gambling after the bonus was fully completed -- it was no longer active in my account. However the winnings I gained from this gambling were also confiscated, and yet this had nothing to do with the bonus or the max bet, as the bonus turnover was completed.

I have mainly accepted I will never see that money again, but HouseofPokies is clearly a deceptive website and I would never recommend anyone use it -- they will find a minuscule rule you may have violated and then use it as a justification to void all your winnings. Their terms and conditions are a dictionary of tiny rules you cannot violate, intended to catch you out in case you win big.

Sadly, there is not much we can do to support your case at this time. I would strongly recommend reading all the T&Cs carefully before you start playing, to avoid any misunderstandings in the future. Casinos try to design their bonuses to be as attractive as possible, but the rules must always be followed. Please understand that breaching the bonus terms led to confiscating the bonus winnings and it is an irreversible process.

I am sorry I couldn’t help you more in this case, but please do not hesitate to contact us if you run into any issues with any other casino in the future.

However, I'm forced to reject this complaint now. Thank you for your understanding.