Mr. Vegas Casino - Player’s requesting all deposits to be refunded due to existing registration with Gamstop.

I registered an account with MrVegas in October 2021, the account was not approved. I also registered an account with Videoslots in January 2022 the account was also not approved both from the same email address. In February I received an email from MrVegas and logged into the account and was able to deposit 700 - I have a self-exclusion in place with Videoslots due to a gambling Addiction and I am registered with Gamstop. All personal details were correct. Mr.Vegas is claiming that because the country was Ireland it did not pick up self-exclusion. After receiving an SAR - the IP recorded by MrVegas when I logged in was a UK ip address - no checks where completed before allowing deposits - I think it is strange the MrVegas and VideoSlots accounts were not approved and all of sudden in February I was able to deposit and despite using a UK card and access the website from a UK ip address the operator is claiming the registered country is Ireland - casinos do not allow you to register a country that is different from the IP address country you are accessing. I have requested a refund as I do not think reasonable steps were taken to prevent me gambling despite a self-exclusion in place. In fact I believe the casino may have deliberately changed the country in Feb to allow me to gamble knowing full well if I won they would not pay winnings and if I lost they would profit. In addition to this MrVegas continued to send personal emails continuing sensitive information to a shared email address after I requested them not too . This is not the actions of a trustworthy casino.

Dear Karen,

Thank you very much for submitting your complaint. I’m sorry to hear about your problem. We will contact the casino and ask for their cooperation, but, before we do that, please could you forward any relevant communication along with your Gamstop registration? My email address is petronela.k@casino.guru.

We will do our best to help you to resolve this issue as soon as possible. Thank you in advance for your reply.

Best regards,

Petronela

Thank you for your reply. I have sent two emails one with Gamstop Registration sent to MrVegas by Gamstop. The second email contains attachments sent by MrVegas as part of the SAR. The documents included evidence the account was opened in October 2021 from UK IP address and originally was not approved and all of a sudden in February deposits were accepted with no ID checks completed. All details entered match details on Gamstop apart from email address - having a different email address would still enable a block to happen from Gamstop. However, Mr Vegas is claiming that Gamstop did not work because the registered country was Ireland yet the IP address and country clearly states GB on their own data sent to me. Maybe I could understand if deposits were made straight away but the fact the account was not approved and open for 4 months without checks does suggest the gambling business deliberately set out to profit from Gambling Harm. If this was an error or an accident - they would have refunded the deposits without question.  

Thank you for your help

Karen

Thank you, Karen1, for your emails. Do I understand correctly that your Gamstop registration has been in effect since the 12th of August 2019?

Could you please advise if your casino account is still accessible?

Hello, I have been registered from August 2018 and updated details with Gamstop in 2019. As far as I am aware the account with MrVegas has been self-excluded. Mr Vegas agrees the details registered with Gamstop match the details registered on the account apart from email address. They are stating the country was registered as Ireland which meant details were not checked with Gamstop.

I did out of curiosity over the weekend open another account with Mr Vegas under a different email address and using the country Ireland to see if this would actually work- I registered a UK address and postcode and from a UK IP address, I was allowed to deposit £10.00 in sterling with no ID checks or phone number verification. I self-excluded the account straight away.

This is a loophole in MrVegas that enables them to profit from Gambling Harm and could encourage underage gambling - I have never come across a gambling business that allows the registered country to be different from IP address. At best there internal systems need need improved to prevent profiting from gambling harm and to discourage underage gambling at worst Mr Vegas is aware of the failings and does nothing as they want to profit from Gambling Harm and Underage Gambling.

Thank you very much, Karen1, for providing all the necessary information. I will now transfer your complaint to my colleague Jozef (jozef.k@casino.guru) who will be at your assistance. I wish you best of luck and hope to see your problem being resolved to your satisfaction in the near future.  

Thank you

Hello Karen1.

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

We are extending the timer by 7 days. If the casino fails to respond in the set time frame, we will close the complaint as ‘unresolved’.

I contacted MrVegas to encourage them to respond the complaint I raised and received the following email from Video slots their sister casino. I find it usual videoslots respond to complaints and MrVegas do not. In addition, security measures at VideoSlots seem to differ from MrVegas. Just thought I would share.

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May 1, 2022, 9:17 GMT+2

This is a follow-up to your previous request #3141757 "From Mr Vegas"

[EXTERNAL]

Please find attached a screen shot of the first page on March Bank statement. This is the same account as the January Bank Statement provided.

I have logged a complaint with Guru Casino, it would be appreciated if the gambling business responded. In addition, the UKGC have confirmed the account opened with MrVegas myself, which should not have accepted deposits without completing verification checks does fall under the UKGC due too the IP address being a UK IP address and therefore the gambling business has breached its licence condition. I would like the gambling business to do the right thing and refund all deposits.

Kind regards

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Maria (Videoslots)

May 3, 2022, 19:16 GMT+2

Hi #####, 

I hope you are well. 

In regards to your dispute of the complaint, kindly note that you have already been given a final decision and we reached the end of our internal complaint procedure, it won't be discussed again, please contact the respective ADR that can be found in our T&C in the Complaints Section. 

In regards of the bank statement, your previous email did not hold any document attached. 

Please send it again so that we can proceed with your manual withdrawal of the funds remaining in the account. 

Kind regards,

Team Videoslots

Hello Karen.

Since the casino team has not reacted, are you interested in contacting an ADR? I will gladly guide you through the whole process.

We are extending the timer by 7 days. Please, be aware that in case you fail to respond in the given time frame, we will reject your complaint.

Thank you. The ADR do not accept complaints regarding responsible Gambling

Karen, have you tried to reach GAMSTOP directly?

Yes but MrVegas had admitted they did not check gamstop had details been checked with gamstop the account would have been blocked. MrVegas did not even request ID they have confirmed the account was registered with a UK IP address. They are totally in the wrong but are refusing to take responsibility and unfortunately they know there is not alot I can do and we'll they profit from gambling harm and the lack of measures they have in place encourage underage gambling. At least I have raised awareness of it. It is confusing that mrvegas refused to engage with complaints yet videoslots do and both share the same licence. Thank you for your help

Dear Karen.

Thank you very much for your part in this case. Unfortunately, since the casino team is unresponsive, we’re not able to proceed with further investigation, and we are forced to close this case as 'unresolved'.

I recommend you to try further discussion with GAMSTOP, they still may help you out since the casino actively advertise their services.

Let me know if you have any questions, or if there is any new information about the case.

Best regards, Jozef

jozef.k@casino.guru