The Hippodrome Online Casino - Player facing verification issues with withdrawal.

I submitted two withdrawal requests of £1800 on 4 Dec 2023 and £650 on 2 Jan 2024 but have yet to receive any payment as i am unable to provide the type of proof of ownership that the casino want for the debit cards.

Key Issues:

1. The casino requested bank documents that show the debit card long number for the two cards selected for withdrawal. However, the banks (both Lyods and Hsbc) advised that they do not provide bespoke document of this nature.
2. The original card from Lyods was lost and the replacement new card has a different card number. But i cant add the new card until i provide the proof of ownership for the old card. 
3. Typically, the proof of ownership for debit card can be done by providing pictures of the front and back of the physical cards, but the casino advised that they do not accept this. I am basically stuck at a dead end in this and i am wondering if all the customers of this casino who bank with Hsbc and Loyds will never be able to withdraw any winnings.

I plan to send pictures of my bank cards which shows my name and card number + statements which show my names, account number, sort code and transactions of deposit which match the deposit records of my casino online account as proof of ownership.

note:

The casino has confirmed that i am a fully verified member but cant provide the dates i was verified. I last contacted the customer service via live chat yesterday and they just keep giving me the same statement that an official documents from the bank is the only proof of ownership for the cards that they accept!

Dear wdukwduk,

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 and it might take a few working days to complete this thorough process.

• Do I understand correctly that verifying the payment method seems to be the only obstacle standing between you and your winnings?
• Have you provided all the other personal documents to verify your identity?

I hope we will be able to help you to resolve your problem as soon as possible. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,

Petronela

Hi Petronela,

Many thanks for your assistance in this matter.

Please find my responses to your questions below:

Q: Do I understand correctly that verifying the payment method seems to be the only obstacle standing between you and your winnings?

Yes. The only obstacle for me to receive my winnings is the casino insists that the only proof of ownership for the debit cards where the withdrawer funds will be issued, is an official letter from my bank that confirm the debit card with card number xxxx belongs to me. But this is just not going to happen because the banks of both the debit cards advised that they will not provide document of this nature. So i am hitting a dead end here. 

Please note that all other casinos that i have used in the past only require pictures of front and back of the card to verify ownership. Alternatively, bank statement that shows the deposit amounts are matching the account deposit records can also be used.

The casino and myself are both based in the Uk. The bank statement  in the Uk only shows the account number and sort code and not the card numbers. I am banking with two of the biggest high street banks in the UK, so how can the casino expects something that these banks or any bank in the UK will never provide? And does it mean all other members of the casino who also bank with these two banks will never be able to receive their winnings because their bank will not provide the document that the casino wants?

It is clear that the casino is intentionally delaying my cash out. And i expect an established casino to provide a smooth and hassle free deposit and withdrawal process. The casino should have worked out something that works and advise their customer accordingly when it comes to the withdrawal stage. not using ridiculous excuses like this to delay paying out. And if the proof of ownership is that important to the casino, the verification requirements should have been applied during the deposit stage, not only kick in during the withdrawal stage. 

Q: Have you provided all the other personal documents to verify your identity?

Yes. I have already provided all the relevant id and documents when i first made the withdrawal request few months back . The casino has confirmed in our recent communications that i am already a fully verified member of their casino. 

Thank you very much, wdukwduk, for providing all the necessary information. I will now transfer your complaint to my colleague Katarina (katarina.d@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.  

Dear wdukwduk, 

My name is Katarina, and I will be assisting you in solving this case. I am sorry for the situation you found yourself in. 

Now, I would like to invite The Hippodrome Online Casino representative to join this conversation. 

Dear The Hippodrome Online Casino, could you please provide more information about this case? 

Looking forward to your reply.

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 wdukwduk, 

I was in touch with a casino representative outside this thread. He confirmed he received all the necessary documentation for one of the cards that you provided and said he will now process your withdrawal request to this payment method.

Wdukwduk, please let us know whether you have received your funds.

Dear Katarina,

Unfortunately, i still have not received the fund. I received a letter from the casino (attached) asking me to update the verified bank card on the account. As mentioned previously, i have lost this card and the replacement card has a new card number. I have tried but i could not update the card credentials myself online, as the "update" button doesn't work and there is less than £1 balance in my account so there is nothing to withdraw. I tried to do this via "live chat" but it is almost impossible to achieve anything as the chat just closed by itself if i did not respond for over just 1 min. This is ridiculous and it was not like this before. I have another card on the account which i have used to deposit before. The casino was asking me to provide proof of ownership for this debit card as this card was one of the "approved" withdrawal method, but it is anymore.

Please can the casino just issue the withdrawal to the card that has already been verified in my account? And if this is not possible, please can the casino send me an email to clearly stating all the information required in order for them to issue my withdrawal money?

Dear wdukwduk, 

thank you for the update.

I will now contact The Hippodrome Online Casino outside this thread and ask them about the email. I will keep you updated.

Dear wdukwduk, 

according to casino representative, the attempted payment was rejected by your issuing bank. After searching for different alternatives, they stumbled upon a HSBC bank account ending with 7033. Can you please confirm whether it is ok to process the refund using this account?

Dear wdukwduk, 

thank your for all this information. I have conveyed your message to casino representative. Let's now wait what his response.

Dear Katarina,

I have noted in my casino online account that a new preferred withdrawal method via wire/swift/bank transfer to my Lloyds account ending 7360 has been added and a withdrawal payment of £650 has been issued to this account on 3 June 24.

However, i still have not received this fund in my account at the time of writing this. Also, the disputed amount is £1800 + £650, so the casino has missed the remaining £1800 that was meant to be paid as well. Please can the casino check and issue the remaining £1800 without further delay. Thank you.

Dear wdukwduk,

thanks for the update. Let's wait for couple of days to see whether the funds arrive to your account. It seems we are on the right track.

In the meantime I will ask the casino about the remaining funds.

Dear wdukwduk,

I just heard from the casino representative, your remaining funds of £1800 were already processed. Please keep an eye on your bank account and let us know once your winnings arrive.

Dear Katarina, i can confirm that i have received all my winnings of £2450 now. Many thanks for your assistance in this matter. I really appreciate the supports Casinoguru has provided.

Again, thank you!

Thank you, wdukwduk, for confirming and for using the Casino Guru complaint resolution center. I’m very glad you have received your funds. As the issue has been successfully resolved, we will now mark your complaint as 'resolved' in our system.

Please do not hesitate to contact us in the future if you run into any issues with this or any other casino. We are here to help.

As you know, we do not charge for our services, nor do we accept any gratuities. However, we would appreciate 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. 

Best regards,

Katarina