Smokace Casino - Player's account mistakenly identified as being from a restricted country and closed.

I hope you're doing well. I'm writing to tell you about a problem I'm having with my Smokace casino account.

My registration details and the document I've provided, including a Polish bank statement, show that I legally live and work in Poland.

Recently, my account was closed because of my supposed residency in Ukraine. Here is the email I received from the casino:

"Dear Kateryna V********,            

The Smokace Casino Risk Department has conducted a thorough review of your login PLAYER1357004.

Account PLAYER1357004 - did not pass the casino security check.

A detailed check of your account revealed a violation of the project rules, namely:

2.7. When it comes to gambling laws, they vary from country to country. Below is a list of countries where online gambling is prohibited and therefore you cannot create an account: UK, USA, France, Netherlands, Ukraine (including temporarily occupied territories), Curacao, Aruba, Sint Maarten, Bonaire, St. Eustatius, Saba. , Dutch West Indies, Statia, Singapore, Republic of Moldova.

Upon verification, it turned out that you are a resident of a prohibited country - Ukraine. Your country is on the restricted list and therefore we cannot accept or serve users from that region.

Due to a violation of the project rules, your balance has been canceled and your PLAYER1357004 account has been closed without the right to reopen.

The casino is not responsible for your opening a new account or any losses you may incur after opening a new account. We reserve the right to close an account created in violation of these rules at any time.

This decision is final and cannot be revised."

As you can see, Poland, the country I played from is NOT on the list of the prohibited countries. But, the casino people treat me as if I played from Ukraine, which is an absurd. Is it done in order not to pay my legitimate winnings?

My account balance is 914 EUR, which I won fairly through my gameplay. I've heard that my winnings might be taken away due to this residency mix-up.

I kindly request that you review my case and reopen my account. I believe it's important for Smokace casino to honor the terms and conditions I followed when I first joined. A quick and fair solution would mean a lot to me.

I understand there are rules to follow, but they should be based on accurate information. The documents I've provided prove that I'm living and playing from Poland.

If you need more information from me, please don't hesitate to ask. I'm looking forward to a quick response and a solution that's fair for both of us.

Dear verkhokat,

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.

• Can you kindly inform me about your country of permanent residence?
• Additionally, do you possess utility bills and supporting documentation confirming your permanent residence in Poland?
• Lastly, which country did you specify when creating your casino account?

If there’s any relevant communication, please forward it to petronela.k@casino.guru.

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

Best regards,

Petronela

Hello Petronella and thank you for reply.

Since the war in Ukraine began I leave in Poland, more then year and half.

As proof of address, I provided to casino my polish bank account statement where my polish address is clearly visible. All Ukrainian passport holders don't require to have additional documents for permanent stay in Poland as we all registered in government electronic data base called "mObywatel".

At the moment of registration I specified Poland as country of residence and I played from Poland.

Best regards.

Kateryna V********

Thank you very much, verkhokat, 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, verkhokat,

I am sorry to hear about your unpleasant experience. I will contact the casino and try my best to resolve the issue as soon as possible. Now I would like to invite Smokace Casino's representative to join this conversation and participate in the resolution of this complaint.

Dear Smokace Casino team,

Could you please provide us with an explanation of the player's situation in more detail? Why has the disputed account been closed and the balance confiscated? What steps should the player take to unblock the account and/or withdraw the balance?

In the explanation given by the casino above, it is stated that it turned out that the user is a resident of a prohibited country (UA) - however, according to the provided information, she is not a resident of Ukraine. She resides in Poland. She only has Ukrainian citizenship.

Did the complainant access the casino website and play at the casino from Ukraine? Do I understand correctly that the casino found the information about her citizenship only upon verification - from her documents?

Does the casino require information about citizenship during registration? Provided that she really resides in Poland, did she fill out everything correctly upon registration? Did she provide enough documents to verify her residence in Poland? If she is able to verify her identity and she played from Poland only, why should any of her winnings be confiscated?

If she tried to hide her current location or if any other rules were breached, is the casino able to substantiate it with relevant evidence?

It is possible to share the data directly here, with your reply, or by sending them to my email address (branislav.b@casino.guru).

Thank you in advance for providing the information.

Dear Branislav,

We provide information regarding your complaint.

When verifying the player's account PLAYER1357004, it was revealed that the player is a citizen of Ukraine, which in turn is prohibited from registration by the rules and conditions of our casino.

Countries that are prohibited from registration in our casino are not available for selection during registration. When registering, the player indicated an inappropriate country of which he is not a citizen, which is a violation of the casino registration rules:

- Upon registration, the player must complete all information requested and the player is responsible for ensuring that the information provided is complete and accurate.

The player's account was closed due to a violation of the rules and conditions of the casino, clause 2.7:

- When it comes to gambling laws, they vary from country to country. Below is a list of countries where online gambling is prohibited and therefore you cannot create an account: UK, USA, France, Netherlands, Ukraine (including temporarily occupied territories), Curacao, Aruba, Sint Maarten, Bonaire, St. Eustatius, Saba. , Dutch West Indies, Statia, Singapore, Republic of Moldova. Smokace has the right to block any account created by residents of these countries, as well as cancel deposits and bets.

Please note that the player’s current place of residence does not change the fact that the player is a citizen of a country prohibited from registering and playing in our casino.

According to the rules of the project, this player is prohibited from playing on this site. The casino is not responsible for the player opening a new account and any losses that he may incur after opening a new account. We reserve the right to close an account created in violation of these rules at any time.

Best wishes,

Smokace Casino Risk Department.

Dear Branislav,

Please, pay attention that the casino representative in his response mixes up (intentionally or not) 2 different words: citizen and resident. While the residents of Ukraine are indeed prohibited from playing at the casino - there is not a word in the Casino’s Terms about CITIZENS of Ukraine being prohibited too. And the difference between the words "citizen" and "resident" is HUGE. I am a citizen of Ukraine, but I am also a resident of Poland for a year and a half already. And the residents of Poland are allowed to play at the casino according to their own casino's Terms.

Regards

Yes, verkhokat, I noticed it. However, even if the casino had it literally stated in its Terms and Conditions (regarding citizenship), it would not make sense if the casino applied it or applied it despite not asking for this information from players upon registration.

Dear Smokace Casino team,

Although it does not happen often, in this case, I have to agree with the player.

If the player resides in Poland, what should she have filled in upon registration? What was filled in incorrectly that the casino allowed her to register, deposit, and play?

If she was allowed to play only based on her location, it would be fair to provide her with a chance to prove that she resides in Poland. The casino has a right to close any account at any time, without giving a reason, but if there is no justified reason to confiscate the winnings, we are able to accept such a decision only if the entire remaining balance is paid out completely. In addition, there is no word about citizenship in the casino's rules, and if you go through the stated rules carefully, if everything that the player claimed is true (nothing else has been proven by the casino yet), you could find out that basically none of those rules were broken.

There is a very nice example from one of my colleagues for this, and I would like to share it.

If I were a citizen of the Netherlands, where some types of drugs are allowed, it would not mean that I can use them in other countries only because I am from the Netherlands. According to the logic of applying the rules stated above by the casino, it would mean that I could enjoy prohibited substances in any country on Earth.

In case the player resides in Poland, she is subject to Polish laws. She played from Poland.

Unfortunately, I am afraid you have not answered several questions at all, so I would like to repeat them.

"What steps should the player take to unblock the account and/or withdraw the balance?

Did the complainant access the casino website and play at the casino from Ukraine?

Does the casino require information about citizenship during registration? Provided that she really resides in Poland, did she fill out everything correctly upon registration? Did she provide enough documents to verify her residence in Poland?

If she tried to hide her current location or if any other rules were breached, is the casino able to substantiate it with relevant evidence?

It is possible to share the data directly here, with your reply, or by sending them to my email address (branislav.b@casino.guru)."

Why does the player's current residence make no difference?

I tried it myself a while ago. The registration form even does not require filling in a country. It is automatically set to default value according to a player's current location. Also, the place to fill has no description.

If there is nothing that could prove that she played from a restricted country or hid her location, or that she filled in untrue or incorrect personal information in order to register and play in Smokace Casino, is the casino able to reconsider its decision and pay out the player's remaining balance?

Hello

Yes, I confirm that the above mentioned ETH address belongs to me

Thanks

Dear verkhokat,

Please be notified that the payment for your account has been successfully made. Please confirm receipt of the funds.

Best wishes,

Smokace Casino Risk Department.

Dear verkhokat,

Could you please confirm the payment has been credited to your payment method successfully? Can we consider the complaint resolved?

Dear verkhokat,

We are extending the timer by 7 days. Please, be aware that in case you fail to respond in the given time frame or do not require any further assistance, we will consider the complaint successfully resolved.

I received the money long time ago. Sorry for not informing you in time (the same with Windetta casino)

Thank you, verkhokat, for confirmation and for using the Casino Guru complaint resolution centre. I am very glad you have received your funds.

After successfully resolving the problem, we will mark the complaint as 'resolved' in our system. We appreciate your cooperation and confirmation, verkhokat, and if you encounter any issues with this or any other casino in the future, please do not hesitate to contact our Complaint Resolution Center. Our goal is to assist you.

As you know, we do not charge for our services, nor do we accept any gratuities. However, we would appreciate it if you could take a moment to share your experience with our services on Trustpilot https://www.trustpilot.com/evaluate/casino.guru. An honest review and any suggestions you may have to improve our complaint resolution and mediation process would be greatly appreciated. Your feedback could prove helpful to others who are considering contacting us about any online casino-related issues. Thank you in advance for your time. 

Thank you too, Smokace Casino Team, for your help and cooperation!

Best regards,

Branislav, Casino.guru