The player from Germany had accused the casino of withholding his winnings due to an alleged bonus purchase while an active bonus was in play. The player refuted this, stating that the game he played, Hotline, did not even offer a bonus purchase option. After the player had provided his betting history and verification details, we had contacted the casino for clarification. The casino maintained that the player had activated a bonus feature, which was against their rules when an active bonus was in play. Despite the player's denial, the evidence provided by the casino supported their claim. As a result, we found the casino's actions justified and the complaint had been rejected.
Merlin Casino - Player’s winnings have been cancelled by casino.
Amount: €1,378
Merlin Casino
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7.9
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Case closed
Our verdict
Unjustified complaint
REJECTED
Case summary
7 months ago
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8 months ago
Translation
The casino is cheating its customers.
They canceled my winnings accusing me of purchasing a bonus while an active bonus was in use.
I deposited 120€ and chose the 120% bonus.
I adhered to the wagering requirements and wagered everything with Hotline at 3.60€.
You cannot even buy a bonus in the Hotline game.
When I inquired, I was told:
"Regarding your concern, we found that you played Hotline, which is correct, but you played with the 'Triple Hotline Bonus Bet' feature, which we regret to inform you is considered as a bonus purchase.
Unfortunately, there is nothing else you can do in this situation."
In this game, you can only turn on 3 lights on the left, which allows you to choose the lines, but does not buy a feature.
I hope you can help me since the casino is clearly trying to find a reason to avoid payout.
I have taken screenshots if it helps.
Best regards, Pascal
Automatic translation:
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7 months ago
Hello Fregged8,
Thank you very much for submitting your complaint and I'm really sorry to hear about your issue with Merlin Casino. Please allow me to ask you a few more question before we would move forward.
Could you please advise if your account is already verified and if yes, since when exactly? Could you please forward your betting history to nikolas.b@casino.guru? When was the last time you spoke to the casino and what was it about?
Looking forward to your answer.
Regards,
Nick
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7 months ago
Translation
Hello, I'm forwarding the betting history. I took screenshots of everything.
I verified myself on March 29th after I wanted to pay out.
The last time I spoke to the casino was today and they wanted to sell me that I had bought a bonus.
Greetings Pascal
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7 months ago
Dear Fregged8,
Thank you for the information provided so far. As the case will require further investigation with the help of the casino, your complaint will be now forwarded to my colleague Peter (peter.c@casino.guru) who will be assisting you from now on.
Wish you best luck resolving it.
Regards,
Nick
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7 months ago
Hello there,
Thank you Fregged8 for providing us with all the information. I hope we'll be able to resolve this issue together.
I would now like to ask Merlin Casino for their help in resolving this complaint. We would like to know why were the player's winnings confiscated and what can we do to help resolve this issue.
Thank you!
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7 months ago
Dear Fregged8, I was in contact with the casino affiliate and was given an explanation to the situation. The affiliate raised an issue with the following rule:
7. It is not allowed to use bonus buy features with an active bonus. In case that bonus buy features are activated, the bonus and all winnings with it will be forfeited.
It was also noted that you only played that game in your game session, and activated that feature from the very beginning of your first round. Unfortunately, there is not much we can do In this case, the steps taken by the casino are justified and as your initial deposit was returned we deem the outcome fair. Let me know if I have missed something.
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7 months ago
Translation
But this is not a bonus purchase function.
Edited
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7 months ago
Thank you for the response but from the evidence provided by the casino it is pretty clear it was the bonus feature and that it was used during the whole bonus wagering. In the future I recommend asking the casino support about the games you want to play if you're not sure about the bonus feature. Due to the evidence provided by the casino, we believe the steps the casino has taken are justified and subsequently we will reject your complaint. Thank you for your understanding. I am sorry we could not be of more help on this occasion. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you run into any issues with this or any other casino in the future.
Kind regards,
Peter
