mr.play Casino - Player’s losses due to failed affordability checks.

I hope this message finds you well. I am writing to seek your professional assistance regarding a serious issue I have encountered with Aspire Global’s gambling practices, which have led to substantial financial losses.

I have spent £7577.25 on Aspire Global’s platforms (MrPlay and Playluck), with no proper affordability checks or interventions despite being a new customer. I am particularly concerned because:

Lack of Affordability Checks: Despite my substantial spending, Aspire Global did not perform any affordability checks, allowing me to gamble beyond my means. I am currently under a 5-year IVA, a fact that should have been detected through basic credit checks.

Signs of Gambling Disorder Ignored: My spending patterns and manic episodes at the end of each month were clear indicators of a gambling disorder, which Aspire Global failed to address.

Late and Inadequate Interventions: I was only contacted to set a limit after spending nearly £6000 in one month, which was too late to prevent significant financial damage.

Continued Gambling Despite Self-Exclusion: I lost around £5915 even after attempting to self-exclude via GamStop, with no relevant interventions or inquiries from Aspire Global.

Irresponsible Marketing Practices: After significant losses, I received promotional offers encouraging further gambling immediately after payday.

I have reported these issues to the Gambling Commission, who advised me to seek a refund for my losses and pointed me towards here.

Despite this, Aspire Global has not acknowledged their responsibility in enabling my excessive spending and failing to protect a vulnerable customer.

I am requesting your assistance in:

Investigating the failures of Aspire Global to conduct appropriate affordability checks.

Seeking a refund for the losses incurred due to their negligence.

Ensuring that Aspire Global implements stricter affordability checks and responsible gambling practices.

I have attached a detailed record of my gambling activities and relevant evidence. I believe Aspire Global's conduct may warrant legal action if they fail to address these concerns promptly. (Password is loohis! For zip files).

I am looking to explore all possible routes to resolve this matter and would appreciate your guidance on how to proceed.

Thank you for your time and assistance.

Dear Loohis,

Thank you for submitting your complaint, and I'm sorry to hear about the issue you're facing. In the past, we have handled GAMSTOP-related cases, but we have received guidance suggesting that it is best for players to directly contact GAMSTOP. Regrettably, we are not privy to the specific procedures and methods GAMSTOP employs to verify eligibility for refunds among registered users. While we have our own self-exclusion procedures, GAMSTOP operates independently and employs its own set of criteria, which we are not acquainted with. Consequently, it is beyond our ability to assess such cases.

If there are any further developments regarding your case in the future, please don't hesitate to contact me at petronela.k@casino.guru, and I will update this thread accordingly. Once again, I wish we could offer more assistance.

Kindly inform me of your preferred course of action.

Best regards,

Petronela

Hey Petronela,

Thanks for trying to help me. 

I sent this the CEO of Aspire Global a few months ago and exhausted their complaints policy. 

My complaint isn’t about GAMSTOP as such - it’s the fact they didn’t use Responsible Gambling. 

I wasn’t GAMSTOPPED at the time - my GAMSTOP ended, however usually when it ends you have to reactive your account (24 hours period) these guys didn’t but it isn’t a massive problem. 

The email is below, I would love Casino.Gurus to be able to help me with this, i have tried absolutely everything and the Gambling Commison have said i need to fight for my money back, but they can’t help. 

Dear Tsachi,

I hope this email finds you well. I am writing to express my deep concern and disappointment regarding the irresponsible gambling practices employed by your company, which have resulted in substantial financial losses on my part. I am particularly troubled by the fact that your staff failed to carry out proper affordability checks, allowing me to spend thousands of pounds within a single month without intervention.

Aspire Global, let me down with recent experiences have left me questioning the integrity and responsibility of your operations. Over the course of the past month, I have spent an exorbitant amount of money, totalling £7577.25 (minus any withdrawals, with Winners Magic totalling £1662.25) on your platform via MrPlay and Playluck. Despite the significant increase in my gambling activity(in comparison to Winners Magic which allowed me to spend £1662.25 in a month) and a new customer less than a month old at MrPlay and Playluck, I was never questioned or subjected to any affordability checks by your staff members.

As CEO you will be aware that many gambling companies have been fined recently for breaching licensing conditions and codes of practice. There is also a chance I might have a claim in law, e.g. if the defendant’s conduct falls short of the standard expected based on the resources available to them. As you will read later it is clear Aspire Global individually failed to achieve the standard expected under the circumstances and failed to meet their licensing conditions and codes of practice.

Following a subject access request, the following has become clear:

Despite being declared in a 5-year IVA, Aspire Global appeared not to pick this fact up, which can be gleaned from even the most basic credit checks. If the company did pick this up it would have been clear why I was using money i couldn't afford to lose or gamble, so why was I not stopped? I was gambling much more than I could afford, my whole salary in fact however, they did not know as they never enquired into my source of wealth.

It is clear, looking at my spending I tend to have a 'manic' episode at the end of the money, when the average person gets paid. A simple sign of a gambling disorder. I am currently on medication for 2 types of different mental health disorders and have been in and out of hospital because of this for the past 3 years, while trying to juggle a full-time job and a serve gambling addiction. 

Your staff eventually contacted me, surprisingly before payday to ask me if i wanted to set up a limit, obviously after I managed to spend just short of £6000.00 in one month. If you carried this out before, we wouldn't be having this conversation. 

I was allowed to lose approximately £5915.00 with Playluck and MrPlay. Some of the latter losses occurred after my gambling ban with GAMSTOP account was closed for social responsibility reasons. There were no relevant interventions by either company, including enquiries into where the money I used for gambling was coming from and WinnersMagic never asked me to re activate my account, with a 24-hour time period. 

I was spending all my free time, including at work and at night gambling until early hours in the morning, with many declined deposits. I was also depositing via Trustly, an open banking service that by passes my bank gambling block. 

Today I have received 3 promos from Playluck, MrPlay and CasinoLuck all asking me to deposit for FREE SPINS, just after pay day. This is a clear attempt to get me to gamble (lose) more.

The lack of adequate affordability checks is a serious concern, as it indicates a disregard for customer welfare and responsible gambling practices. As a reputable gambling company, it is your responsibility to ensure that your customers are not exposed to excessive financial risk. Proper affordability checks are a crucial measure to identify and intervene when individuals are gambling beyond their means.

By failing to carry out these checks, your company has not only enabled my excessive spending but also neglected its duty to protect vulnerable customers from the potential harm associated with problem gambling.

I am requesting a thorough investigation into this matter and a refund for the losses.

i have emailed the rest to you Petronela

Hi Loohis,

• Could you please let us know if you ever informed this specific casino about your gambling problem at any point?

Thank you.

Hey,

they would of knew as I was previously gamstopped.

usually when you sign up they have to give you 24 grace period I never had this.

thank you so much

Louis

Hi Loohis,

If you never informed the casino about your gambling problem, there's not much we can do to assist you. I understand that affordability checks and a grace period would have made a difference in your case, but that decision lies with the Licensing Authority. Since we haven't received any communication from you proving that the casino knew about your problem, we have no grounds to confront them. Additionally, you've confirmed that your GAMSTOP registration had already expired when you registered with the casino.

If you wish to raise an official complaint, please follow these steps and keep me updated on any further developments.

YOUR COMPLAINTS

11.1If you have a complaint, you can contact us at:support@mrplay.com. We will seek to resolve a reported matter promptly. Complaints will be escalated internally according to the urgency and nature of the complaint, and once a solution has been identified it will be made known to you as soon as reasonably possible.

11.2.If your complaint relates to the outcome of a gambling transaction and for some reason you are not satisfied with the resolution of your complaint by us within 8 weeks of us having received your complaint and where you have cooperated with us in relation to the complaints process in a timely manner, you may refer the dispute free of charge to the Independent Betting Adjudication Service (IBAS) Where you refer your claim to IBAS you should do so promptly. More information regarding IBAS's dispute resolution services can be found at: ibas-uk . For an adjudication form please send an email to: ibas-uk.com/consumers/claim-wizard/

11.3.Our complaints procedure does not stop you from filing a claim with the courts in accordance with Section ‎17 or from filing a complaint via the European Commission's Online Dispute Resolution Platform available at: europa.eu/consumers/odr

11.4.The complaints procedure will not affect any rights which you may have under applicable law.

Thank you.

I appreciate your response. However, I must emphasize that I have exhausted all the complaints routes available to me.

I have contacted the Gambling Commission, who advised me to seek a refund directly from Aspire Global. I have also approached IBAS, but they informed me that they only handle disputes related to bets, not slots.

While I have not utilized the EU dispute resolution platform, this communication represents my only chance to resolve this matter directly with Aspire Global.

Attached, you will find a photo of my GAMSTOP registration. Although my registration had expired when I signed up with the casino, I still believe that adequate affordability checks and a grace period would have significantly impacted my situation.

The casino did not allow me 24 hours period 🙁

Given the circumstances, I beg you to reconsider my case.

I am looking for a resolution that acknowledges the challenges I have faced and the steps I have taken to address this issue.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation

Hi Loohis,

I regret to inform you that without prior notification to this casino about your gambling issue or a request for self-exclusion due to gambling problems, there are limitations to what we can achieve. Any documentation or correspondence that could substantiate your claim would greatly assist us in supporting your case. Unfortunately, without sufficient evidence, we lack a solid basis to challenge the casino's stance. Moreover, your GAMSTOP registration was invalid during the relevant period.

I sincerely wish I could offer more assistance. I apologize that we were unable to facilitate a resolution in this matter. Should you encounter any issues with other casinos in the future, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. Based on the information provided, I must now reject this complaint.

Thank you for your understanding.