Sloterra Casino - Player's winnings are being confiscated due to account issues.

On 4th September 2024, I won $6602.50 with Sloterra. 

I submitted all the required documents, including:

- My passport.

- Proof of address.

- My Canadian driver's license and Work Visa as proof of residence.

Despite completing the verification process and providing all requested documents, the casino has refused to release my winnings, stating that I am a citizen of Ukraine, and according to their terms and conditions, citizens of Ukraine are not allowed to play. However at the time that I signed up, the casino's terms and conditions specifically mentioned that residents of Ukraine are prohibited, not citizens. This is a significant distinction, as I am not a resident of Ukraine, but a legal resident of Canada.

I currently live and work in Canada under a valid Canadian Work Visa. This visa allows me to legally reside and work in Canada, and as a result, I have access to financial services, including banking, in the country. I have provided proof of this residency through my Canadian driver’s license and Work Visa, which are both recognized by Canadian authorities. My residence and financial activities are fully compliant with Canadian law, and I am treated as a legal resident for all purposes.

The casino's email response stated that my work permit shows I am a temporary visitor and listed a Ukrainian address as my primary residence. Furthermore, they claimed that refugee or temporary protection visas are not valid under their Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and KYC policies. However, this contradicts my legal status in Canada, which permits me to reside, work, and use financial services in the country. The Ukrainian address they refer to is outdated and no longer relevant to my current living situation.

The casino has since modified their terms and conditions to include a prohibition on citizens of Ukraine, not just residents. This change was made after my win, making it clear that they are attempting to apply this revised rule retroactively to avoid paying out my winnings. I have a screenshot available of the original term relevant to my signup with them. 

It is clear that I have fully complied with the casino's verification process and provided documentation that proves my legal residence in Canada. Their decision to withhold my winnings based on citizenship rather than residency, as stated in their own terms and conditions, is an unfair and arbitrary interpretation of their own terms.

Dear mariiao,

Thank you very much for submitting this complaint. I'm sorry to hear about your problem. Please allow me to ask you a few questions to clarify the situation.

What country did you select in the registration form when you opened your account at the casino?

Did you create your casino account while already residing in Canada, or did you register it from Ukraine?

Have you ever accessed your casino account from Ukraine?

Could you kindly specify the address you provided in your casino profile when submitting your information?

Please forward all communication between you and the casino regarding the closure of your account based on your citizenship to veronika.l@casino.guru.

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

Best regards

Veronika

email chain forwarded to you as requested

Thank you for the email. Do I understand correctly that you are unable to provide the casino with a Canadian passport or a permanent residence permit?

Have you tried verifying the Canadian address you currently reside in?

Could you please forward me your entire communication with the casino regarding your verification and the subsequent account closure? Please include also the documents you sent to the casino when you tried verifying your account (veronika.l@casino.guru). Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.

I forwarded all emails to you. The documents are included

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

Hello, mariiao,

I am sorry to hear about your unpleasant experience and apologize for the delay. I will contact the casino and try my best to resolve the issue as soon as possible. However, in the meantime, while we will wait for the casino's response, can you please provide me with the following:

• Do you have the same screenshot with the previous version of the casino's rules as you provided to my colleague via email earlier, but with the date and time visible in the screenshot? Or, can you somehow prove when exactly the screenshot was made?
• A short video of you taken in front of your physical address in Canada (the building with its number/the door behind you), the address stated in your Driver's License, if possible

Please send the information/details and the recording, or information if there is any problem with providing the requested, to my email address (branislav.b@casino.guru), not here for now.

Now I would like to invite the casino representative to join this conversation and participate in resolving this complaint.

Dear Sloterra Casino team,

Could you please explain the player's situation in more detail? Why has the user's account been blocked/closed? Have the disputed winnings been confiscated or does the casino plan to pay them out?

The casino's customer support claimed to the player "However, your driver's license is not a proof of residency in another country." - What does her Canadian physical address on an official ID mean, please? In addition, although her work permit is temporary, it is valid until 1/2026.

Does the casino require information about players' citizenship during the registration? If not and the casino closes accounts due to it - why not?

Since it is easy for the casino to check it in its system - can you please confirm that the player accessed the casino website only from Canada (Canadian IP)? Or, is the casino able to prove that the user accessed it from a different country and/or used a VPN to hide her actual location?

When exactly did the player register at the casino, and what was the exact version of the applied rule at the time she registered and accepted the casino's Terms and Conditions? If the casino's rules were changed in the meantime, after the user's registration, how was she informed about the changes?

Why would the casino restrict any player from the casino based on their citizenship? It makes no sense, and I could not find it anywhere in the casino account profile at all.

What country should she have filled in if she currently lives in Canada?

If needed or if it suits you better, feel free to send the necessary details and supporting evidence to my email address (branislav.b@casino.guru).

We would like to ask the casino to reply to this complaint. 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’ which may negatively affect its rating.

Dear Casino Guru and Mariia,

Thank you for your message and for your patience while we investigated the matter.

We sincerely apologize for any confusion or frustration this may have caused.

Upon reviewing the situation, we noted that the player registered on 30.08.2024 from a Canadian IP address. During the account verification process, they submitted a Ukrainian passport alongside a Canadian work permit issued under the CUAET program, which listed a Ukrainian address as the primary residence.

As outlined in our Terms and Conditions, Ukraine is classified as a restricted country. While we understand that the player is temporarily residing in Canada, the primary residence remains in Ukraine, which is subject to our site’s restrictions.

As a result, the player's account was closed in accordance with our licensing requirements.

We assure you that our casino operates in full compliance with all legal obligations and does not discriminate against any player based on nationality or origin. We simply adhere to the policies set forth by our license, which include specific restrictions for certain jurisdictions.

To resolve this issue, we are happy to offer a refund of the player's deposit, amounting to 500 CAD, from which their winnings were derived. We kindly ask that the player provide their preferred payment details via Interac or Jeton Wallet to support@sloterra.net , and we will process this refund promptly.

Please note that the player's account will remain closed.

If you have any further questions or need clarification, we are more than happy to assist.

Thank you again for bringing this matter to our attention, and we look forward to your response.

Best regards,

Head of Customer Support

Thank you for your response and explanation, Sloterra Casino team.

However, some things are still not completely clear, and some of my questions have not been sufficiently answered yet.

Can you please check our external communication and reply there?

Thank you.

Dear Branislav,

We have responded to your questions through an external communication channel.

Kindly check, and please don't hesitate to let us know if you need any further information.

Sincerely, Sloterra

Thank you, Sloterra Team, for getting back to me outside the thread.

Feel free to check out external communication and comment on my last messages.

Thank you.