Sherbet Casino - Player's account is closed due to jurisdiction issues.

Hello,

The founder reached out to me via Telegram, looking for new VIPs. After a brief conversation and several weeks of consideration, I decided to try Sherbet again on September 19th. He created a group with his team, including a VIP host.

I deposited $32,496.80 and lost it quickly. After receiving a lossback, I decided to deposit another $10,001.60 and managed to increase my balance to $50,000. Then, I was asked to complete KYC (Know Your Customer). I submitted all the required documents via email, and during this time, I continued to play, eventually reaching a balance of $125,105.50. However, my account was subsequently frozen/locked pending KYC verification.

On September 20th, I received a response from the compliance team informing me that they had identified I was residing in Malta, which is a restricted jurisdiction for Sherbet, as well as other Curacao-based casinos.

As a result, my account has been suspended indefinitely, and my withdrawal request has been denied.

Sherbet did not provide any prior notification about Malta being a restricted jurisdiction or inform me that I could be blocked from signing in or signing up, unlike other countries that are explicitly listed as forbidden.

Under the "forbidden countries" section on sherbet.com/licenses, Malta is included. However, Sherbet.com is currently operating without a valid license, as Gaming Curacao, the licensing body, ceased its operations on August 18th, 2024. Therefore, the license is no longer valid, meaning any terms or conditions tied to that license are not enforceable.

The founder encouraged me to play on Sherbet, created a group with others, and after depositing $40,000 and increasing my balance to $125,000, they decided to close my account, not to mention my lifetime P&L of -$91,336.63.

I spoke in the Telegram group with the founder and co-founder, but suddenly, they were unable to assist with this issue or expedite the process, claiming it was handled by a different department.

Even Casino.Guru states that Sherbet.com accepts players from Malta, and the majority of casino streamers are advertising and playing on Curacao-based casinos online.

I hope this matter is resolved quickly and that I am paid the balance I am owed.

Dear leo123456,

Thank you very much for submitting your complaint. I’m sorry to hear about your problem. Please allow me to ask you a few questions, so I can understand the whole situation completely. 

• Did you fill in your country of residence during registration?
• Did you tell anyone where you are from?
• Did you use a VPN?
• Have you received refunds for your casino deposits?

I hope we will be able to help you to resolve this issue as soon as possible. Thank you very much in advance for your reply.

Best regards,

Dominika

Hello Dominika,

It's been a while since I registered, but as far as I know, I did not have to provide my country of residence during registration.

I have not disclosed where I am from.

I did not use a VPN; I simply signed in from Malta and played.

I have not received any refund from my deposits. I demand at least the total of my P&L to be refunded or the full amount.

I want to clarify that I have played in the past as well, and in total, I have already deposited $91,336.63.

They offered to refund only two of my recent deposits instead of all of them, which is not enough.

I would like to ask how they can operate with an expired license. Aren't they obligated to update it? I also demand a refund of at least the remaining $48,838.23 I'm still in the negative on the site, if not the full amount.

sherbet.com, claims to be operating under the expired Gaming Curacao license (365/JAZ). Since the Curacao license expired on August 18, 2024, any claims of licensing under that system are now considered fraudulent. The fact that Sherbet continues to assert it holds this license is misleading, as all licenses issued under 365/JAZ are no longer valid as of that date.

Thank you very much, leo123456, for providing the necessary information. I will now transfer your complaint to my colleague Michal (michal.k@casino.guru) who will be at your service. I wish you the best of luck and hope the problem will be resolved to your satisfaction in the near future.

Hello leo123456,

I'm Michal, and I have taken over your complaint. I have reviewed this case, and while I concur that if players from a specific country are prohibited from accessing the casino, this restriction should ideally be implemented at the software level to prevent registration, it is important to note that different casinos utilize various software platforms, making this enforcement not yet an industry standard. Ultimately, it remains the players' duty to review the casino's terms and conditions, particularly if their country of residence is not listed among the restricted locations. Additionally, it is worth mentioning that in most instances, the identification of a player from a restricted country occurs only after the Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) processes are initiated, typically triggered when a player requests a withdrawal that surpasses a certain limit. I have updated the restricted countries list in our system as well.

I will contact the casino to see if I can be of any help.

We would like to invite Sherbet Casino to join the conversation.

Dear Sherbet Casino,

Could you please provide clarification regarding the situation that permitted the player to register and participate in games despite being from a restricted country?

Hello Michal,

Thank you. I’ve already received $42,498.40 back; however, this is clearly not enough. I demand a refund of at least my full P&L, or preferably, a payout of my winnings.

They have now updated their website, blocking Maltese people from signing up (which they didn’t do previously, as I was able to lose my money on the site).

They keep making excuses, but it’s clear they can’t pay out the full amount. They even sent $20k to Kraken, likely to cover other withdrawals from my previous deposits.

I also played from Malta in the past, so they should at least refund the entire amount. I’m still down $50k on the site, and don't forget that my account had a balance of $125k.

Additionally, they’ve adjusted their https://sherbet.com/licenses page and removed their expired sublicense.

I hope you can help me recover the remaining amount from this casino site. It seems they’re bankrupt and are just trying to make excuses to avoid paying me.

I’m happy to share more Telegram chat logs from the owner. What he wrote to me is just ridiculous. 🙂

I appreciate your patience as we carefully reviewed the details of this case. We want to provide a full clarification of the situation and the steps we have taken to resolve this matter.

Firstly, regarding the player residing in a restricted country, Sherbet.com has always taken steps to prevent players from restricted jurisdictions from registering and playing on our platform. While Malta has been restricted for our operations, the player was able to register due to their specific Maltese IP range not being correctly blocked, which has since been rectified. However, it's important to note that, as outlined in our Terms of Service, players are explicitly responsible for ensuring compliance with their local laws and restrictions. Regardless of gaps in our systems, players must review the applicable terms and ensure they are legally permitted to create an account and play. We want to reiterate our commitment to compliance and assure you that we take our responsibilities seriously.

Regarding the player's lifetime activity, we acknowledge that the player was active on Sherbet.com for a limited period of around a year ago without triggering KYC or compliance steps. The player returned recently, and upon their large deposits and wager activity, our system flagged the account for further review. This flag led to our compliance team identifying the player's residence in a restricted jurisdiction, and in line with regulatory requirements, we froze the account and initiated compliance procedures.

This player was reactivated/contacted privately via our VIP outreach program, and our VIP team offered bonuses under the assumption he was legitimately accessing the website based on his previous play and ability to create an account. We have added location filters to future outreach to prevent cases like this from occurring again.

In terms of deposits and refund requests, we have already refunded the two most recent deposits, totalling $42,498.40, which the player made after their return to the platform. We believe this is a fair and reasonable resolution. The player's request for a full refund of all their lifetime deposits totalling over $91,000 is unfounded. We have carefully considered the circumstances and believe our resolution is just and fair.

Regarding the Curacao license, it is essential to clarify that all of the player's activity during 2023 occurred while Sherbet.com was operating under a Curacao license. Although this type of license has since expired, all of the player's deposits and gameplay occurred while the license was active and in good standing. The expiration of this license does not affect the validity of those transactions. We are currently transitioning to an Anjouan license. While we await the final seal, our responsibility to adhere to jurisdictional restrictions, such as those in Malta, remains unchanged.

In conclusion, we have acted in line with our legal obligations and transparency throughout this process. We have already refunded the two most recent deposits and consider this matter resolved. The request for a refund of all lifetime deposits or a payout of winnings is not valid, as most gameplay occurred under a valid license, and the player was subject to the same Terms of Service as all other users. We believe our resolution is more than fair and in compliance with both industry standards and our obligations. We want to assure you that our resolution is fair and transparent, as we have provided a detailed explanation of the situation and our actions, and we remain committed to upholding industry standards.

Should you require any additional information or clarification, we are more than happy to provide it.

Thank you for the response and explanation, Sherbet Team.

Dear leo123456,

I trust the response from Sherbet Team has brought more clarity to the situation. Although I can acknowledge the situation that occurred is far from ideal and as I mentioned ideally any restriction should be implemented at the software level it is not always possible. Additionally, even the most reliable systems can occasionally experience bugs or glitches, which may inadvertently allow players from restricted countries to register, as appears to be the case here.

The VIP manager and other staff members at the casino routinely reach out to customers to present new offers, which is a common marketing strategy. However, they do not possess information regarding the country of residence of each player; it remains the responsibility of the players to verify their eligibility to participate in the casino or any promotions.

In cases where players participated in a casino from a restricted country, most if not all casinos have rules in place like Sherbet casino. Unfortunately, if these regulations are breached, players are typically ineligible for any winnings. I understand that this response may not align with your expectations, but we believe that returning recent deposits is the most appropriate course of action.

Please feel free to send me the Telegram conversations you had with the casino team at michal.k@casino.guru, so I can review whether any information provided might offer a different perspective on the situation.

Hello,

This wasn’t a glitch or a bug. They deliberately didn’t ban Malta until now. They’re bankrupt, desperate for investors, and they had no choice but to scam me just to keep their business afloat.

But that’s not even the worst of it. They should refund all of my deposits, not just the last two. I didn’t just make two recent deposits—I made three! But does it even matter at this point? I deserve a full refund for everything they’ve taken from me. They’ve already pocketed $45k of my money like it’s nothing.

I’ve sent you the Telegram chat logs via email. This needs to be handled immediately.

Dear leo123456,

I have responded to your email. While I acknowledge your dissatisfaction with the whole situation, I respectfully request that you avoid making unfounded accusations against the casino. I am in ongoing discussions with the casino team and have requested that they thoroughly review your recent deposit history to verify the amounts you deposited and the refunds you have received. Regarding the matter of your account creation, I believe the casino team and I have already provided adequate clarification, and I do not see the need to reiterate it. I hope to provide you with an update about the deposit/refund discrepancy soon.

Hello,

I have re-sent the chat logs. I am not making unfounded accusations; it’s quite clear that they can’t maintain their business with whales. I’m not the only victim—just recently, someone else was also scammed by Sherbet.com.

I hope we can fight against them in every possible way to stop this scam.

Dear leo123456,

I once again understand your dissatisfaction with the whole situation, but as I mentioned above, I respectfully request that you avoid making unfounded accusations against the casino. The more popular the casino gets, the more "unsatisfied" players there will be. As I mentioned, no system is flawless. Even the best casinos in the market or companies like Apple, Google, etc. have unhappy customers. This is a normal occurrence. Based on our experience, Sherbet Casino has consistently honored all legitimate winnings for its players. I must emphasize that the only option available at this time is the return of your deposits. The Sherbet team has confirmed that they will double-check the amount of your recent deposits and process the return of any still outstanding amount, which is the appropriate course of action.

Dear leo123456,

I would like to inform you that I have received confirmation from the casino team about the return of all your remaining deposits that have not yet been returned to you. This has now been sorted, and as mentioned, we believe this is the correct course of action in this situation. I will now proceed to close your complaint. I appreciate the casino team's reasonable handling of this issue, especially in light of your recent actions that seem to have purposefully negatively impacted the casino's reputation. Should you wish to pursue your complaint with the licensing authority, you are welcome to do so. However, given that the casino team has acted in accordance with the established rules you agreed to upon registering your account, I would be surprised if the outcome would differ. Please keep me informed of their decision at michal.k@casino.guru. 

I regret that I cannot assist you further at this time, but please feel free to reach out to us in the future if you encounter any issues with this or any other casino, and we will do our utmost to assist you.

Best regards, 

Michal

Casino Guru