The player from Switzerland had raised a complaint regarding Playfina casino's lack of player protection tools. After substantial losses, the player had requested account closure due to a severe gambling addiction but the request was not immediately granted, resulting in further losses. We found that the player's initial request did not explicitly mention gambling addiction, and the casino had closed the account within a reasonable time after the player clarified the issue. As such, refunds for deposits made before the clarification were not possible. The player had deposited funds after the initial request, but any deposits made within 48 hours of the request were also not eligible for refund. We concluded that the casino had acted within its terms and conditions, hence the complaint was rejected. We had advised the player to always specify the reason when requesting account closure or self-exclusion.
Playfina Casino - Player unable to self-exclude from gambling account.
Amount: €1,500
Playfina Casino
Safety Index:HighUnjustified complaint
REJECTED
Case summary
To whom it may concern
I want to file for a complaint about the unfair business practices of the online casino Playfina. I signed up on this website on January 16th 2024 and proceeded to lose 2’650 Euros. On January 20th, after losing an additional 400 Euros, I desperately searched the whole website for player protections tools to self-exclude, but they seemingly don’t offer any of those. They just tell you to send an e-mail regarding that issue. So I quickly hopped on to the live chat for support. There I was told, it’s not technically possible for him to close my account, but a manager would get in touch with me. On January 22nd, I get this e-mail in question, asking me for the reason of this decision and if there was anything to change my mind. Now my account still has not been closed but I just sent an e-mail, clearly stating that I have a severe gambling addiction and that I don’t have any control as soon as I start gambling, so they please close my account forever.
Since January 22nd, I’ve lost another 1’500 Euros. It’s not okay that they don’t give me any easy and quick option to self-exclude or take break as soon as I get a clear moment and want to stop immediately. I’ve lost all this money on credit card debt and have no idea how to recover from that. I’m not sure about the legal aspect but isn’t it even illegal to not offer any quick help in situations like that? This is just not acceptable. Thank you very much for your time and help.
Greetings
Hello vinnievinnie,
Thank you very much for submitting your complaint and I'm really sorry to hear about your issue with Playfina 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? When exactly did you forward them your self-exclusion request? Did you ever receive any respond to that e-mail? Can you please forward the exact same e-mail to nikolas.b@casino.guru for further review?
Looking forward to your answer.
Regards,
Nick
Hi Nick
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your quick help. I‘ve sent you an e-mail! ❤
Hello vinnievinnie,
Thank you for the e-mails provided. Unfortunately, there is no mention of gambling addiction in your initial request and you first mentioned it on 26.1. to which the casino closed your account within a reasonable time frame. As the problem was not specified, there is basically no way to refund any deposits made before 26.1. and even after, the casino has a 48 hours time frame to process your request.
Can you please advise if you did deposit anything after 48 hours of your request?
Hi Nick!
I really didn‘t think the words "I want to self-eclude" need to be specified as I didn‘t ask for a closure but a self-exclusion. Shouldn‘t this simple sentence be enough?
I‘ve deposited 48 hours after the initial request but would have to check how much exactly. But I don‘t think it does matter anymore. Thanks for your help.
Hello vinnievinnie,
Player's sometimes mistake those 2 terms and they just want to get some advantage over the casino by getting bonuses for example. Unless the gambling addiction is mentioned anywhere, the casino may even offer you some special bonuses or to ask you to keep play and it is completely fair.
Self-exclusion serves to prevent gambling addiction and until it is mentioned, the casino may assume that you want to simply block your account.
As the casino closed your account in accordance with terms and conditions and within a reasonable time frame, we will be now forced to reject the complaint.
Please be sure to always mention the reason of requesting either a block or self-exclusion to prevent such situations occurring in the future.
Best regards,
Nick
