LionSpin Casino - Player's withdrawal is delayed due to income source verification.

Hello.

I registered with this casino on September 20, 2023. I deposited 500 euros to start and claimed the High Roller bonus. I completed the wagering requirements for the High Roller bonus, initiated a withdrawal, and submitted the necessary documents for KYC verification. The documents passed the verification process.

I continued to play with both RAW cash and bonus funds. Additionally, I had two larger withdrawals that were approved, and I received the funds. Since my last withdrawal, I deposited 600 euros in RAW cash, then increased it to 800 euros and initiated another withdrawal. However, this withdrawal was rejected, and they asked for a selfie with my ID card and proof of the source of the deposited money because they do not believe it was obtained from legal activities.

I explained that I am a digital content creator who works as a freelancer. I do not have contracts with clients. I usually provide invoices to my clients, and they transfer the payment based on the invoice. I sent them an invoice for one of my clients and an official Revolut bank statement that confirms I received the money from my client. Therefore, my income is legal. I cannot provide any other documents. I pay taxes as an individual in my country, following the appropriate laws.

Furthermore, what they are asking from me seems surreal because I used the money I won in the casino to deposit and essentially played with that. Therefore, any illegal activity is out of the question.

This is nothing more than them trying to avoid paying me this amount because I am a smart player who has won more than lost, and they are citing arbitrary reasons to withhold the payment.

I would like to request the assistance of casino.guru. I have played at many casinos recommended by casino.guru, and none of them have treated me this way, accused me of cheating, or questioned the legality of my income.

I have attached screenshots of the money movements in my casino account.

Dear alterhun, 

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

Please understand that KYC is a very important and essential process, during which the casino makes sure that the money is sent to the rightful owner. As they don't have the luxury of being able to physically see all of the players and check their identification and documents, this is the only way gambling establishments are able to complete the verification procedures. None of the serious and licensed casinos take KYC lightly and it might take a few working days to complete this thorough process. Also, please bear in mind that the casinos are eligible to ask for additional verification documents if they consider it necessary.

Could you please advise if you described the nature of your work to the casino? Have you received any specifications about the documents they would accept as your source of wealth? How many invoices would they need? When exactly did you send the last verification documents to the casino?

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, 

Veronika

Hello Veronika,

Yes, I described the nature of my work to them. I'm a freelancer. They should look it up on Google if they don't understand what this occupation entails. I explained everything in detail. I wanted to request a chat conversation with the VIP manager, but he said it's not possible. I've attached a screenshot of this as well.

They asked me to provide an employee contract, which I can't provide since I'm a freelance digital content creator and I don't have contracts with anyone. As I mentioned, I sent an invoice to one of my clients, and I also sent an official bank statement that confirms I received payment from them. Why would I need to create a contract with a client who commissions a video? We issue an invoice at the end, which serves as their proof of payment for my work, and I use it to report my income to the tax authorities.

I last sent the requested documents yesterday, which they rejected. If it's necessary, I can provide these documents to casino.guru as well, but they contain sensitive information, including my client's data.

I was able to take a screenshot of the message.

It is simply incomprehensible to me why they do not understand that I cannot provide any further documentation.

Otherwise, it is clear discrimination against my person and my gaming activities. Just because I play smart, not foolishly, and I am lucky.

When I initially deposited the 500 euros, from which I then only won, why didn't they ask for this document? Since then, I have been playing with those winnings in the casino. If I were to say that I would be wagering 20-30-50-100k euros, then of course, they should ask where that money comes from, because that is indeed a large amount and could be suspicious.

The 500 euros that I deposited into the casino were actually winnings from another casino (RichPrize). I used the income from that to make the deposit, and I have already provided them with the bills for it, which they rejected.

It's simply disgusting!

Thank you very much, alterhun, for providing all the necessary information. I will now transfer your complaint to my colleague Natalia (natalia.b@casino.guru) who will be at your assistance. I wish you the best of luck and hope to see your problem being resolved to your satisfaction in the near future.

Thank you Veronika, I hope so!

Hi alterhun,

I've reviewed your case and am sorry that you came across such a problem with the verification of your source of income. I'll try my best to help you with the issue by contacting the casino and we'll see what can be done when they reply.

Dear LionSpin Casino, I'd like to invite you to participate in the resolution of this complaint. Can you please share more information regarding the case? Would you please specify what documents can serve as proof of income for self-employed freelancers? Would you accept a tax return, for example?

If you have any supporting evidence regarding the payment methods used by the player, please send it to my email address natalia.b@casino.guru.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Best regards,

Natalia

Hello Natalia,

Thank you for your help.

Dear alterhun,

We are really sorry that this situation has left you feeling this way, as from our side we are striving to improve our services and provide as good service as possible. We absolutely understand your frustration, however, please note that the verification process is ongoing and additional documents were requested by the Verification Department in accordance with our Terms and Conditions, specifically clause 5.1.:

"Know Your Customer is the procedure according to which we reserve the right to request additional documents, which include, but not limited to: passport or ID; Proof of Address (Passport address page, Utility bill, Bank or Payment institution statement), selfie with passport or ID; or other documents upon LionSpin Compliance Department discretion. Please note that Driving License cannot be accepted as ID and/or Proof of Address."

Please note that this procedure is being done solely for security purposes and money laundering prevention measures. Let us assure you that we are glad to withdraw your winnings and never intentionally delay them.

Dear CasinoGuru,

Regrettably, the provided invoice does not meet our verification requirements as we necessitate an official employment document or income statement. Nonetheless, a tax return may be utilized as an alternative proof of income.

Upon receiving the document from the Player's side and completing the necessary processing within the relevant department, we will be delighted to grant approval for the withdrawal request.

Thanks in advance for your cooperation.

Regards,

LionSpin Team

Dear Casino Guru and Dear Lionspin,

Okay, I have uploaded my tax returns from last year and the year before in PDF format to my Lionspin profile.

I'm looking forward to the inspection.

Alright, it's getting really annoying now, and it's not funny at all, this constant excuse-making. They rejected this document again.

Since I live in Hungary, the official tax document is available in Hungarian. I won't be able to send it in English.

"We have to inform you that your document (2153.pdf) was not approved for the following reason: Hello, The document provided by you has been rejected by the AML department. Kindly provide the tax report in English.."

This is truly disgusting. I would kindly ask the Casino.Guru team to take a stand on this matter. They cannot force me to translate an official document into English when I have no knowledge of it. The tax document is perfectly clear regarding income, etc. I am Hungarian, how can they expect an English tax document? It's surreal!

I would also ask Casino.Guru: should I contact the Curacao Gambling Authority, which provides the license for this casino? Which authority can I turn to? From this point on, it is abundantly clear that they really do not intend to pay out my winnings and will find any minor excuse to humiliate and discriminate against me at Lionspin Casino. I feel that the treatment I'm receiving from Lionspin Casino is slowly leaning towards racism. Unfortunately, this seems to be a common trend in Europe at the moment."

UPDATE: In the meantime, I contacted customer service. I received the response that I should officially translate it into English. Unfortunately, I am not able to do that, so they will have to accept the original translation.

Dear alterhun,

I'm very sorry that this case is getting more complicated for you, but we always advise players to fully cooperate with casinos when it comes to verification.

Unfortunately, LionSpin is not a Hungarian casino, and the website is also not translated into the Hungarian language so we can expect that an international online casino can require documents and communication in English. They are also not obliged to have Hungarian-speaking people in the team, who would be able to review the documents in your native language, that is why they ask for the translation. Ideally, this requirement should be outlined in the casino's terms and conditions. However, all players who possess non-English documents should be prepared for the potential need to have them translated upon request.

I'm sorry that you take this requirement as racist or discriminatory, though this is quite a normal practice among online casinos, that need to deal with verifying documents in different foreign languages.

I sent the documents to Lionspin in English yesterday. I'm waiting for a response.

Thank you for your reply, alterhun. I'm glad to hear you agree to cooperate.

Please, let us know as soon as there are any updates from the casino regarding the review of your document.

I'm still waiting for the results of the examination. Today is the fifth working day. Anyway, when they rejected the documents, it was done within a few hours. 🙂

It appears that the rules are one-sided: they only apply to the player, not the casino. :)

Thank you for the updates, alterhun.

Dear LionSpin Casino, could you please share a time frame during which the player can expect their documents to be checked since it's already been 5 business days after the player sent you the required document?

Dear Natalia. They've made their final decision: they won't pay out the money, and they've closed my account.

Dear alternhun, have you received any explanation for such a decision from the casino?

Yes, I received it. Can I send it to you privately? I don't want to publish any more sensitive information, I would only send it privately. They haven't paid out the last three deposits (600 EUR) even though my balance is 1000 EUR. I can no longer access my account.

Sure, you can resend any information to my email at natalia.b@casino.guru. Thank you.

Thank you. I sent an e-mail to you.

Dear alterhun, thank you for the email, I have received it.

We'd like to hear a more detailed explanation from the casino.

I'd also appreciate it if you could send me the bank statement that you provided to the casino, alterhun, (if you did so), where we can track your savings and your income from the freelance activities you used while you weren't employed. Additionally, please send us the invoices for your clients for the confirmation of the freelance activities you mentioned in your very first post. We'd like to check them with our team to analyze your income independently from the casino.

I'll repeat my email address natalia.b@casino.guru. Thank you very much for your cooperation in advance.

Regards,

Natalia

Hello Natalia,

I have sent the requested documents via email.

Thank you to Casino Guru for reviewing the invoices and statements I submitted. I asked the Lionspin Casino the same question regarding their behavior as if they were an authority.

I still believe that the 1000 euros confiscated from me rightfully belong to me, as I did not violate any rules. I'm not sure if Lionspin Casino will respond to Casino Guru's inquiries.

If this happens, will Casino Guru assist me in filing a complaint with the licensing authority (Curacao gaming)?

Dear CasinoGuru,

At LionSpin Casino, we take our responsibility to ensure compliance with Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations very seriously. As part of our commitment to maintaining a safe and secure gaming environment, we occasionally conduct source of funds checks on our Players.

Please note that the Player was allowed to deposit and withdraw funds before the source of income verification process was initiated. The decision to start the source of income verification process was based on our internal risk assessment and AML compliance procedures. Our primary objective is to ensure that the source of funds used for gaming is legitimate and complies with AML regulations. This process is necessary to prevent potential money laundering and maintain the integrity of our platform.

As we mentioned before, the income declared in the tax return varies significantly from the deposits placed on our platform, which goes against Anti-Money Laundering regulations. Let us inform you that LionSpin's verification department always acts in strict compliance with the license agreement and AML policy to ensure the safety and reliability of our services.

Taking into account all the withdrawals approved previously and the fact that the amount of withdrawals at the moment will exceed the amount of deposits by 3 times, the responsible department made a decision to restrict the gaming account permanently and void all the previous bets, and deduct all the entire balance.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Regards,

LionSpin Team

I still cannot accept the casino's response. It is entirely obvious that my account was locked because I had good luck and won too much. The casino continues to make excuses.

Casino Guru, independently of the casino, examined my deposits and withdrawals, as well as the documents regarding my income. The LionSpin casino deserves to have their Safety Index on the Casino.Guru website lowered from High to Low, or even be blacklisted because if they dare to do this in the 21st century, confiscating my winnings with fabricated reasons and a discriminatory process, despite me not breaking any rules, then I believe this casino has no place in the gambling market. Furthermore, other players could also suffer the same fate.

Quote from LionSpin: "Taking into account all the withdrawals approved previously and the fact that the amount of withdrawals at the moment will exceed the amount of deposits by 3 times, the responsible department made a decision to restrict the gaming account permanently and void all the previous bets, and deduct all the entire balance."

There is no such rule, and it does not exist in online gambling! With this statement, the LionSpin casino practically admitted that I won too much money. After all, this sentence also implies that I won't receive my money because my previous payouts exceeded my deposits

I still stand by my position: They must pay out my winnings; I did not violate any rules.

Dear alterhun,

Please be aware that our decision was based on our Terms & Conditions, specifically clause 5.1.:

"In case of refusal or evasion of the KYC/AML terms (provision of forged, edited documents, non-provision of documents etc.), LionSpin has the right to charge from suspended LionSpin Account monthly maintenance fee in an amount of 100 (one hundred) EUR, cancel wholly or partially the Client's bets, winnings and Bonuses on all LionSpin accounts, refuse to return the deposited funds, block the LionSpin Account, compensate all costs incurred from the balance of the Client . If Client’s LionSpin Account remains suspended for more than 365 (three hundred and sixty five) days and/or the balance is 0 (zero) EUR, no further charge will be incurred and we may close your LionSpin Account at our sole discretion."

Please understand the meaning of this decision correctly - "Taking into account all the withdrawals approved previously and the fact that the amount of withdrawals at the moment will exceed the amount of deposits by 3 times, the responsible department made a decision to restrict the gaming account permanently and void all the previous bets, and deduct all the entire balance." The responsible department made such a decision according to the fact that from your side weren't provided the required document and you haven't confirmed your income, which violates your agreement to our Terms & Conditions.

Let us inform you that we are required to comply with AML and CFT laws and standards, which require us to have stricter monitoring of financial transactions and Players. If we detect a discrepancy between your income and deposit amounts, it leads to suspicions of potential violations of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter Financing of Terrorism (CFT) standards.

We strongly advise all Players to thoroughly review our LionSpin casino’s Terms & Conditions which will help to prevent any potential delays and ensure a more enjoyable gaming experience.

Our decision was made in full compliance with the regulation and AML policy of our website.

If you have any additional questions, don’t hesitate to contact us at any time.

Regards,

LionSpin Team

I found another user here on the Casino.Guru website who has a similar issue with the casino as I do, except they asked for the origin of their cryptocurrency. It's ridiculous! :D

Furthermore, I demand that LionSpin immediately cease the defamation and false claims! The statement that I did not provide all the documents they requested is not true. I have sent every document, including my bank statement, transaction history, and an invoice that I recently issued to one of my clients. Interestingly, Casino.Guru, who received the same documents, found them acceptable and appropriate in this matter as an independent and objective party.

LionSpin, stop the lying and excuses. I will not let you take my money away from me. I will contact Curacao Gambling about this.

I await Casino Guru's response and verdict. I hope that Casino Guru also sees clearly that this casino follows the same player policy not only with me but with others as well. As a result, I trust that the casino will be blacklisted on this website.

Dear alterhun,

Please kindly note that the documents you previously provided do not match the official document or statement of employment required by our security department to confirm your income.

Also, let us assure you that our LionSpin casino takes the privacy and confidentiality of our Players seriously, and we do not engage in any false claims about our Players. Our aim is to ensure a secure and pleasurable gaming experience for all of our Players, as we operate as a licensed casino in Curacao, adhering to strict standards of fairness.

As it was previously mentioned, our decision was made in full compliance with the regulation and AML policy of our website.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us again.

Regards,

LionSpin Team

These responses are ridiculous. LionSpin Casino does make false claims about players, don't they? Of course they do. The entire conversation is traceable, where you claim that I didn't submit the documents. What is that if not a false statement?

The official PDF statement generated by Revolut didn't satisfy you. There is no more official statement than this! The invoice I issued for my client was generated by an invoicing program. You can't generate a more official invoice than that. These are all just excuses. From now on, it's entirely obvious to all existing and potential players that LionSpin Casino, acting like a regulatory authority, only accepts documents that are convenient for them.

I would respectfully await Casino.Guru's response on this matter because I am very annoyed by this dishonest casino's constant evasion. I would consider taking my complaint to the licensing authority, but I want to wait for Casino.Guru's verdict. I still hope that it was worth it for LionSpin Casino to tarnish its reputation in front of a large audience for €1000, and they get a Low Safety index or end up on the blacklist. As I mentioned earlier, I am not the only player going through this process, and they refuse to accept income confirmations. :)

Dear LionSpin Team, thank you for the explanations. However, we disagree with your approach in this particular case.

From the transaction history, we can see that the first withdrawal was processed the very next day the player registered his account and the amount of the withdrawal (1605 EUR) was 3x higher than the very first deposit (500 EUR, which is not really much). From this, we can come to the logical conclusion, that the player used the money he won at your casino to deposit to his account at your casino. Your reference to the fact that the total amount withdrawn was 3 times higher than deposits only confirms that the player simply used the money they won playing at LionSpin.

For some reason, it was suspicious to you and you requested proof of income, which the player provided, so it is not very honest of you to write "...according to the fact that from your side weren't provided the required document and you haven't confirmed your income...". Furthermore, we cannot agree that you make these accusations only based on the Tax Return 2022, since the player registered at your casino only at the end of September 2023, and the document for this year will be issued only in 2024.

And let's imagine some hypothetical situation: if anyone comes to play at your casino and makes a 1st deposit of 20 EUR and manages to win a jackpot, will you also block their account and confiscate the winnings because they were at least 3 times higher?

I'd like to point out, that you have a right to not have this particular person as your player, however, we consider it unfair that you withheld the player's balance by highlighting the fact the player already withdrew 3 times more than he deposited, when in reality this argument can be used solely by the player to prove where the money came from.

Regards,

Natalia

Dear CasinoGuru,

Thank you for your response.

Please note that each request is considered individually and our decision was made in full compliance with the regulation and AML policy of our website.

As previously stated, we must adhere to AML and CFT regulations and guidelines, necessitating a more rigorous oversight of financial transactions and Player activities. Any disparities identified between income and deposit figures raise concerns regarding potential breaches of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter Financing of Terrorism (CFT) regulations.

We want to assure you that we are committed to providing a fair and secure gaming experience. Our Lionspin Casino is fully licensed and regulated by the laws of Curacao to ensure the highest standards of integrity and Player protection.

To reach a satisfactory resolution from all of us, our security department kindly asks the Player to provide a tax return for 2023.

Dear alterhun,

We kindly ask you to provide a tax return for Q1, Q2, and Q3 2023 for additional investigation. As soon as your documents are checked, we will immediately contact you by email.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Regards,

LionSpin Team

(As Natalia already mentioned) I cannot submit the tax return for the first, second, and third quarters of 2023 as requested, as I will receive it in May 2024. In Hungary, tax returns are not divided into quarters; there is only one annual tax return deadline. In Hungary, this is the law, and the tax return anniversary and deadline are in May. I have previously sent you bank statements and an invoice issued to one of my clients. Please examine those OFFICIAL PDF statements.

Or, You can also ask Casino.Guru, to whom I have sent several (the same) invoices and statements. I give permission to forward them to you for further investigation. I grant permission to Casino.Guru to forward them to you for further investigation.

Thank you for the reply, LionSpin Casino. We'll need some time to discuss this case internally with other colleagues.

Dear alterhun, as far as we checked the information about Taxes in Hungary, it is indeed possible to apply for a Tax Return only on an annual basis - the application must be declared by the 5th month of the tax year in the tax return in Hungary for the previous year. But we'd like to ask you to send some more information: monthly bank statements for August and September 2023 and more invoices for this period. Thank you very much.

Regards,

Natalia

As requested, I have sent the documents to Natalia via email.

Dear LionSpin Casino, we have discussed this case internally with other colleagues from the Complaints Resolution Center, and after reviewing all the documents prepared by the player, we still do not see any attempts of money laundering or any other suspicious financial activity.

We can see that the player receives income from his freelance activities regularly, which allows him to make the first deposit. Then we can see that the player had luck and won more than his first deposit so the winnings were used to continue making deposits and playing at your casino.

Our position remains the same - there's no reason to confiscate the entire player's balance and the winnings should be returned to the player.

Regards,

Natalia

The case has been dragging on for two months now. I have sent all the necessary proof of my income. Thank you for the independent and objective investigation. I kindly request Lionspin to also verify the documents sent to Casino Guru and please be so kind as to pay out my 1000 euros in winnings. If this does not happen, I urge Casino Guru to make a verdict on the matter as soon as possible and blacklist the casino so that other Casino Guru users do not walk into this trap.

I'm a long-time Casino Guru member, but I've never experienced anything like this with any casino before.

Dear CasinoGuru,

Thank you for your thorough review of the case and for sharing your findings.

As previously stated, LionSpin Casino places a strong emphasis on safeguarding the privacy and confidentiality of our valued Players. Our primary objective is to guarantee a secure and enjoyable gaming experience for all individuals who engage with our platform.

Dear alterhun,

To achieve a solution that satisfies all parties involved, we respectfully request that you supply us with the same documents that were submitted to CasinoGuru (monthly bank statements for August and September 2023 and more invoices for this period).

Thank you for understanding.

Regards,

LionSpin Team

As requested, I have sent the documents to Lionspins (support@lionspin.com) via email.

Dear alterhun,

We would like to highlight that our Verification Department strictly adheres to the terms of our licensing agreement. It is important to note that our document requests are essential to meet regulatory obligations, safeguard our Player's interests, and prevent any potential instances of money laundering or other unlawful activities.

Please note that after a detailed review of the additional documents provided by you, we have decided to approve your withdrawal request. Kindly note that your account is open for now and you are welcome to withdraw your winnings.

If you have any additional questions, feel free to contact us at any time.

Regards,

LionSpin Team

Dear LionSpin team, thank you for your reply. We fully understand you must comply with the terms of your licensing agreement and are glad to hear about your decision after a more detailed review based on additional documents.

Dear alterhun, please, check if you're able to request a withdrawal now and let us know when you submit it.

Dear Casino Guru,

Your prestige has greatly increased in my eyes. I am glad to rely on your assistance and your independent, objective judgment. Thank you very much for Natalia's work on my case. I highly appreciate your activities and will remain a loyal user in the future. Thank you very much once again!

Dear LionSpin,

If you hadn't displayed the behavior towards me that you did from the beginning, we wouldn't have had to engage in this dispute forum for two months to argue about whether the winnings belong to me.

As soon as you requested that I submit the documents, I promptly complied with your request, but you immediately rejected them, claiming that they were not official documents, even though they were official extracts. I would have been willing to cooperate in every way, but you simply treated me like a criminal, and any documents I sent were not accepted. Among the invoices I sent now, I also included one, along with the bank statement for that transaction, but you did not accept them...

This ordeal was a great disappointment to me, as the casino held much promise for me. I understand that rules exist to prevent money laundering or other criminal activities. I always abide by the laws to the best of my knowledge, and my income comes 100% from legal sources, as confirmed by the positive outcome of this case.

In the future, I do not wish to play on this site, which I believe is entirely evident after what has transpired.

I have received my 1000 euros in winnings.

This case can be closed.

Dear alterhun, thank you for the confirmation, it is great to know about the outcome of your complaint. After successfully resolving the problem, we will mark the complaint as 'resolved' in our system. We appreciate your cooperation and confirmation, alterhun, and if you encounter any issues with this or any other casino in the future, please do not hesitate to contact our Complaint Resolution Center. Our goal is to assist you.

As you know, we do not charge for our services, nor do we accept any gratuities. However, we would appreciate if you could take a moment to share your experience with our services on Trustpilot https://www.trustpilot.com/evaluate/casino.guru. An honest review and any suggestions you may have to improve our complaint resolution and mediation process would be greatly appreciated. Your feedback could prove helpful to others who are considering contacting us about any online casino-related issues. Thank you in advance for your time. 

Best regards,

Natalia 

Casino.Guru