Stake Casino - Player unable to withdraw due to restrictive bonus terms.

I recently opened an account using the following promo ADESANYA302 with this email.

I deposited 500 and was given 1000 in bonuses; however, I was not able to place bets. I was soon told that I could only place 1% of my initial deposit (5 dollars) per bet, and I would have to bet my deposit and bonuses *40 before I could bet anymore or withdraw, completing rollover.

That would mean I would have to make 12,000 individual max bets before I could ever withdraw money.

Upon learning this, I requested my money to be returned or that the promo be canceled before playing, since 12,000 is an unrealistically amount of bets to place (an amount I will never be able to do unless I become a fulltime degenerate gameabler). I was told this would not be possible as I agreed to this in the fine print of a popup upon depositing.

I would like to report this promo as I believe it is not clear, I believe is an oversight, and is fraudulent in nature. If it was made clear that you can only bet 1% of your original deposit and that you would have to bet 40x your total deposit + bonuses, no one would agree to this term. In either case, there is no real way for me to collect my original deposit or winnings without placing 12,000 bets, which is not feasible. The result, I am forced to lose all my money or I am forced to place 12,000 bets before ever seeing any money again. I do not want the 500 dollars I earned working hard being held hostage under false pretenses.

I want to give Stake the benefit of the doubt, that this is an oversight, but this promotion is unclear, fraudulent in nature, and is a scam where customers are not able to ever collect their initial deposit without subject themselves to 12,000 bets.

I have included the support chat.

Please either work with me to return my deposit, remove the promotion, remove the conditions, or escalate this to someone who can.

Best,

Zach T*******

Dear zachtitizian,

Thank you very much for submitting your complaint. I’m sorry to hear about the issue you have experienced with the online casino.

To help us investigate your case more thoroughly, could you please provide the following information:

• The exact date and time when you opened your account and made the deposit.
• Any screenshots or documents that detail the promo ADESANYA302 and its terms.
• Confirmation if you have played any bets since receiving the bonus or if you refrained from betting after realizing the terms.

If you have any relevant communication or additional documents, please forward them 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

Dear zachtitizian,

We are extending the timer by 7 days. Please, be aware that in case you fail to respond in the given time frame or don’t require any further assistance, we will reject the complaint.

I opened the account the day of posting this. Because I had to wager $60,000 / 12,000 5-dollar bets to be able to withdraw, and after speaking to three stake agents who refused to return my deposit before betting and said ti would be impossible to bet, I did not refrain from betting.

Mathematically, I saw that the only way I would ever be able to make 12,000 5-dollars bets is by playing on their casino (which I had no intention of doing before my account was restricted in the way it was).

I ended up playing the slots and pachinko in the hopes that I might somehow be able to place 12,000 bets before losing the balance, I was not able to do this, and I lost the balance.

Honestly, the way they advertised this promo, and then implemented these hidden restrictions where you are forced to play 12,000 5-dollar bets before withdrawing, it forces you to play until you lose all your money or win a jackpot and play until you lose that too.

Hi zachtitizian,

I'm truly sorry to hear that you lost all your funds. In situations like these, we strongly advise all players to stop playing and contact us immediately. Once your balance is depleted, there's little we can do to restore it. I understand that you were trying to complete the wagering requirements by betting on slots, but please understand that by making that choice, any possibility of a refund became impossible.

I wish I could be of more help. I’m sorry we couldn’t help you to resolve this case, but please do not hesitate to contact us if you run into any issues with any other casino in the future. For the abovementioned reasons, I will now reject this complaint. Thank you for your understanding.