Spinfinity Casino - Player’s account and winnings cancelled after withdrawal attempt.

I've literally spent thousands of dollars at the Spinfinity casino. Way more than I should have considering what is currently happening. Upon initiating a bank transfer to withdraw my $621 winnings. They first ask me to verify the credit card and license and to send something to prove my address. I did all this. Then they came back and told me that I also need to verify 3 other credit cards 2 of which I don't even have anymore, and another address that that I don't live at anymore.

None of these credit cards were on the spinfinity account I won on, this was an old account I had on one of their sister sites SlotsNinja.

When I asked them how in the world I would verify addresses that I didn't live at and credit cards I don't have anymore? Their response was to go to the issuer and ask them to verify I had this card at one time. Since I already know this is impossible, I didn't even bother continuing on at that point. These guys are SCAM Artists. They are attempting to make it super hard to get my money in hopes I give up.

But what they did next is just downright criminal. They cancelled my account and my winnings. I was told by a representative there that my account and balance does not exist.

Unfortunately I have the entire email chain to prove I won that money and basically all the evidence of their negligence. Why does a company like this have a 9.4 rating? It seems awfully suspicious, I know I'm not the first person to have this issue.

They take zero risk paying out my winnings but act as though they are doing it for safety reasons. For whose safety? They have plenty of identification for proving I am who I say I am. They have my bank statement, my visa card used to pay on their website and my license. You'd think of the 6 or 7k I've spent on their site, getting $600 would be a lot easier. Not the case.

Dear jenwing116,

Thank you very much for submitting your complaint. I’m sorry to hear about your problem.

Please understand that KYC is a very important and essential process, during which the casino makes sure that the money is sent to the rightful owner. As they don't have the luxury of being able to physically see all of the players and check their identification and documents, this is the only way gambling establishments are able to complete the verification procedures. None of the serious and licensed casinos take KYC lightly, however, I believe that the casino shouldn't ask to verify non-existing credit cards that were not used in their casino, or old addresses.

Do I understand correctly that you provided the necessary documents to verify your current address and to verify the credit cards you used in this specific casino? Could you please clarify when exactly you created an account at this casino and if you have any email with confirmation that you did so?

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,

Kristina

I submitted my credit card used for the purchase leading to the win. I gave them a bank statement showing my address. I also gave them my license. They came back with 3 more credit cards for me to verify 2 of which I don't have anymore. These cards haven't been active in a long time and were never used on Spinfinity. They were used on a sister site slots ninja. When I asked how it would be possible to verify an address I haven't lived at in a year, and 2 credit cards I don't have anymore, their response was to go to the card issuers and have them write a letter saying I used to have those credit cards...This is over the top. It seriously feels like they don't want to give me the money. Then they cancelled my account. I got mouthy with them because right away I knew they were being shady which will probably be their reason for cancelling my account, still that's my money and I consider that theft. It's amazing to me that people remain in business with practices like this. Thank you for any help you can provide.

Thank you very much for your reply, jenwing116. Before we contact the casino, could you please forward all the relevant communication between you and the casino to kristina.s@casino.guru? Alternatively, you can post it here. Thank you in advance.

Actually I don't think it matters anymore. They were nice enough to credit my account for $200 which I find so interesting because they didn't need verification of old credit cards and old addresses to deposit this refund into my account? So this completely shows how shady they actually are. But whatever, now that they have refunded my deposits (leaving out the 74.00 deposit I also made- go figure) getting my money seems like a lost cause. It's crazy to me that they have this excellent rating but I'm assuming it's because they are writing fake reviews.

Do I understand correctly that you are no longer interested in proceeding with this complaint?

Well I'm drowning in administrative tasks as it is and all my data like credit card info and bank statement is in this information that has been passed back and forth to these casinos thru email (the most unsafe platform there is). So much for the "players safety" they love to use as their crutch.

I have contacted the Curacao gaming authority and unfortunately have another complaint to file. I will likely report this second incident as well. These are extremely unfair business practices and while I know nothing about the laws in other countries I do know that here in the U.S. we have certain protections when it comes to purchasing online. It would be interesting to find out how my bank would respond to this type of nefarious merchantry considering the evidence I have and the protections afforded Visa card holders.

Thank you for any help or guidance you can provide.

In short, no I don't want to give up on this. I just want someone to contact them and then when they start stating their side of the story and I need to back up my side, then i will produce whatever you need, but the administrative burden at this point is overwhelming, and quickly becoming not worth the effort. You have all the info you need to approach them and hear what they have to say. Can we start there?

I can and will provide all the emails you need to coincide or disagree with whatever they say. Every time you reach out to support it's someone different so all the emails will be out of order...and a little overwhelming to just send over...it's not all on one chain of course. The names and people are different every time. This is a common tactic of these casinos.

But you may want to start by asking them how they were able to refund some of my deposit money but not my winnings? Fair question right?

I have sent you some email chains, proof of my prize and I can send you all of the deposits I made in September. Will you need anything to pursue this? I fear the longer we wait the harder it will be.

Alright, so I assume that you want to receive the rest of your winnings even though you indicated previously that you were satisfied with the deposit refund. Is that correct?

This is correct

Thank you very much, jenwing116, for your cooperation. I will now transfer your complaint to my colleague Branislav (branislav.b@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, jenwing116,

I am sorry to hear about your unpleasant experience, and I apologize for the delay. I will contact the casino and try my best to resolve the issue as soon as possible. In the meantime, could you please clarify the disputed amount? You mentioned that something was refunded - what is the current disputed amount?

As for the address and payment methods used in another account in a sister casino - unfortunately, if the casino is in the same group or is operated by the same company, they have access to the sister casino's data. And, if they have a suspicion that their Terms and Conditions could have been breached before in the sister casino, it is understandable they would like to check it. The different physical address (it is very unlikely that the casino would have changed anything in your address in the sister casino account) or different payment methods used could indicate a violation or impossibility to pass the KYC. Therefore, they are trying to verify your data.

Now I would like to invite Spinfinity Casino's representative to join this conversation and participate in the resolution of this complaint.

Dear Spinfinity Casino team,

Could you please provide us with an explanation of the player's situation in more detail? Why have the winnings been confiscated? What steps should the player take to unblock the account and withdraw her winnings?

If we are talking about a breach of the casino's Terms and Conditions, is the casino able to substantiate its decision 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.

Hi Branislav and jenwing116, looks like a juicy one this one. Let me run through what I can see here.

Looking back to September 12th a withdrawal request was requested for $646.21. This was subsequently denied as there were missing verification documents which were required in order to proceed with the payout request. All fine no issues here.

Documents seemed to be received on both the 13th and the 14th, however there was a question why the surname on your account with Spinfinity was changed multiple times. This does raise red flags with any casino you visit.

After some communication with the player, or in the players own words she 'got mouthy' with us which was essentially the players downfall in this case. The player admitted that she had charged back thousands of dollars at another casino online that is not in our group, boasting about the chargeback and using that as her threat leverage. The players account was all but verified, it seemed we just needed one document and the cashout was ready for her. Unfortunately due to the following boast, our cashier department had to reflect on the threat given and reacted appropriately...

Player stated...

"I ended up having to chargeback thousands of dollars to Luckyland Casino. They were not happy but my bank loves to chargeback casinos who don't pay on winnings...So it's in your best interest to handle this or I'll simply charge back all the money I've spent to date at your casino in order to win that $600."

As we now see this player has previous for chargebacks and is quite clearly a high risk customer for any online casino. As a direct result of this, the decision was made to refund the players deposits and enforce the ban. This was not done to avoid paying out a small win, but for the security of the casino. Following this very clear threat, it was perceived that if the win of $646 was paid out, due to the players attitude and behaviour, it was clear to the caisno that the intent was there, which would see the deposits would be charged back regardless at a later date.

The differing details for the same player between the two accounts was the reason that the player was asked about the cards and addresses for verification between casinos. It's understandable that people move house or have expired credit cards, but as a matter of KYC we need to ensure that everything is in order as a responsibility to our customers.

Either way, this would be a lose lose situation for the casino, if we had paid out the win, we'd get notified of chargebacks down the line, so the player would walk away with their deposits over time ($2,065) AND the win amount ($646). So the justifyable decision was taken to refund the deposits only and close the players account due to the risk posed by this player, and for her love of charging back her deposits at online casinos.

Taking all the above into account, the decision of the casino will not change and there will be no further action on this complaint. The player states they have copies of the commincations, as do we. It's all recorded for both ours and players security should it every be called upon, as in this situation for example. The ban is in effect indefinitely across all our sister casinos no and in the future.

Okay well what you’re missing here is they asked me to verify cards I no longer have and an address I no longer live at. I gave them everything they needed and they kept coming with more credit cards to verify that weren’t even used at this casino. They had no intention of paying because each time I satisfied it they would need something else from me . It started out only needing to verify one credit card which then turned into 4. When I realized they had not intention of paying me that’s when I got mouthy. These casinos are all same- shady as hell.

There is no other business in the US that would deem it okay to not pay someone just because he/she got mouthy. Furthermore they had no problem refunding my deposits, so why were they making it so hard to verify to then turn around and deposit into my account. The fact that they did proves they were just giving me a hard time period. If all your going to do is bow down to all their shiftiness then this is a waste of time

The thing you're missing with this one is that you threatened to contact your bank and chargeback. This is the massive red flag here.

As a casino we were more than prepared to pay out your small win once your account was verified, but instead we refunded a larger amount to prevent you from making that chargeback after we paid out your win. Without verifying your account we're in a tricky situation. Other things were called into question as there were changes to your surname and differing address details, this is why we needed to verify all your activity, so we know which is correct. When you verify your account with us, it is applied to all casinos in the group, so you wouldn't have been asked to do it again in the future, should your account have remained open.

Unfortunately there is nothing more that can be done here. Deposits were refunded and the accounts were closed at all brands.

Thank you, Spinfinity Casino team, for your reply and clarification.

However, if the player mentioned chargebacks only regarding a situation when the casino would not pay out her winnings, it does not make sense to not pay them. On the other side, the casino's concerns about possible chargebacks and doubts about the player's "variable" personal data are in place.

But if the player could fully verify herself by providing the casino with the one mentioned missing document and the casino paid out the disputed confiscated winnings, there would be no reason to request a chargeback. In addition, if I am not wrong, a bank initiating a chargeback process should also investigate the matter and circumstances with the receiver of the payment(s). It means that in case of enough evidence from the receiver (confirmation about the player's remaining balance/successful withdrawal), the chargeback could be denied. Feel free to correct me if this is incorrect information.

As you mentioned, we are talking about a "juicy one" here. Therefore, I will also discuss the case internally with the team and will share the outcome of the discussion here as soon as possible.

Dear jenwing116,

Can you please provide us with an explanation for changes to your surname and physical address?

It would be acceptable if you moved and changed your address, not a problem at all, but the casino representative stated that your surname was changed multiple times in your account. How it was changed and why? How do you imagine your verification after these changes and inconsistencies?

If the casino would reconsider its decision and pay out your winnings, how could it be sure that after your threat about chargebacks and the information that you already did it in another casino (strictly prohibited in all online casinos, and it means a serious breach of the Terms and Conditions) you will not request a chargeback anyway?

Hi Branislav, the amount the player was chasing here was $621, the amount we've refunded is $2,065, more than the win amount. I think the player should be happy with that situation?

Banks tend not to question chargebacks with gambling sites, they're almost too easy for the player to do which is why we took the decision to cancel the win and refund the deposits after the players boasts about charging back at another brand.

The "variable personal data" was all smoothed out I believe. That is no longer an issue, but it was raising flags at the time.

Dear Spinfinity Casino team,

Thank you for the clarification and additional explanation.

I am sincerely sorry. Based on the information provided by the player in the thread (for example - "spent thousands of dollars at the Spinfinity casino" and the information about other payments received or non-received from the casino...) and the last several posts, it was not completely clear that all the deposits were fully refunded. Anyway, yes, I could have asked for clarification - my mistake.

If all the deposits have been refunded, I think there is nothing to solve anymore, and we do not have to drag it out.

Dear jenwing116,

I am sorry for the misunderstanding and further questions. They are probably irrelevant now.

Can you please confirm your issue was resolved (getting more than the disputed amount, refunded to your payment method), and we can consider it closed?

Did the part of your last post stating "they had no problem refunding my deposits" mean all your deposits were fully and successfully refunded?

You refunded my deposits totaling maybe $200. Which were the deposits that led up the $600. I think you have an extra zero in there. You did not refund my account for 2k. That is a lie. You actually think I like wasting my time chasing money filing complaints. Prove it. Let me see the transaction showing that you deposited 2k into my account and I will gladly drop this entire thing and I will remove all negative comments so your reputation stays squeaky clean. But until then, I will not drop this. Shady businesses need to be stopped.

And if Casino Gurus actually believes that out of the kindness of your heart you just dropped 2k into my account, then my response is you all are in bed together and this is a huge waste of my time.

I don't need Casino Gurus help to get my money back, I have plenty of resources to manage this myself. I figured I would try the proper channels first so I can say I did my due diligence and gave you an opportunity to do what's right and pay me my winnings, before turning it over to the authorities and notifying my bank. You are aware that this is the US and Visa chargebacks are real. Too many of them and you're out of business. Good luck!

Also I love the comment about this player is "high risk" Yep I'm high risk for exposing your shady business tactics...but also funny because obviously YOU'RE the one that's high risk. I gave you close to 5K and you are so greedy you couldn't part with $621. You're going to wish you just paid me the measly $600. But at this point it's not longer about the money, it's about making sure you don't rip off anymore innocent people. Good riddance!

Since a $200 refund by your establishment went directly into my bank account, after I was told that you had closed my account and took my winnings of $600, you proved to me and everyone else, that I had supplied sufficient verification. If perhaps I wasn't verified then you violated the KYC (KNOW YOUR CUSTOMER) regulations. So which one is it?

Dear jenwing116,

Thank you for your reply and opinion.

I am sorry, but after clarification provided by the casino representative and going through their posts once again, it made sense the way it was explained the last time since it was unclear and not specified in detail before. However, it would have been enough to reply 2x "No" to my questions and add only the first sentence from your last 4 posts. The rest is basically irrelevant or repeated.

We were informed that there was one missing document to pass the KYC - which means your verification was not completed. In addition, if you threatened the casino with chargebacks and informed it that you successfully made chargebacks in the past, this was likely the main reason why all the following events happened. Chargebacks mean a serious breach of the Terms and Conditions in all online casinos.

From our experience, online casinos do not like threats, and in many cases, it has exactly the opposite effect compared to the desired progress. Therefore, and also for the future, I would strongly recommend you change the way you communicate and solve problems. After making chargebacks, you can even face problems in other online casinos as many of them share the same databases of "high-risk" players.

"I don't need Casino Gurus help to get my money back, I have plenty of resources to manage this myself."

So, the most important question before possibly proceeding with the case:

Would you like me to continue resolving your complaint or not, and I can consider it closed?

You were asked the same question but in different wording by my colleague. Please note that also causes unnecessary dragging out of the process.

I'd just like to make a correct as to what the player seems to be stating that we've recently put $200 in her account, this isn't the case. All refunds on this account were processed on September 15th 2023.

Player account closed due to chargeback threat, deposits refunded, the player will not be getting the win amount also as a result and case closed.

Thank you, Spinfinity Casino team, for your response and additional clarification.

Let's wait for the complainant to respond because it does not make sense to further solve it without her confirmation. In addition, if I understood it correctly, she mentioned that she does not need our help anymore.

However, if she decides that she would like to proceed, she will be asked to provide supporting evidence for her claims.

Dear jenwing116,

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 reject the complaint.

Unfortunately, we are forced to reject this case because the player has not responded to our messages and questions. Therefore, we are not able to proceed with a further investigation or suggest possible solutions.

The player can reopen this complaint anytime.

Thank you very much, Spinfinity Casino team, for providing information and cooperation.

Best regards,

Branislav, Casino.Guru