WestCasino - Player’s withdrawal is delayed due to repeated verification requests.

My account at west casino has been verified since July 2023.

I requested a withdrawal first week of may. It pended for almost 10 days. They then cancelled it and asked for me to verify my account?

I provided them all proof my account was verified for over a year, with many deposits and withdrawals. I DID provide an updated proof of address however as the last one I had sent was a year old.

I believe an agent made a mistake however they claimed I needed to send in my passport picture again? This made no sense as it was verified a year ago and has not expired? (I forwarded the email with the passport once more anyway. But heard nothing back).

I have not heard back and my withdrawal is still pending.

I would like casinoguru to help with this and could west answer the following:

• They stated in email 'We understand your concern, but please note that as per the Implementing Procedures – enforced by our regulator - all player accounts must be periodically updated. Therefore, we kindly ask you to provide the following:

• ID - a copy of your valid photo ID such as national ID (front & back side), passport or residence permit.' Where does it state in MGA guidelines an operator is required to request updated pictures of an identification document, when said identification is still in date? Please point to the specific guideline.

• If they are now ignoring/rejecting my passport, why was it acceptable in July 2023 to verify my account (as I have simply forwarded the same pictures as are not out of date so do not need to be 'UPDATED'....?

Dear audreysalisbury,

Thank you very much for submitting this complaint. I'm sorry to hear about your problem. Please understand that a casino may request additional verification if necessary. It is justified to request an update of your identity documents after a year of playing.

As you can read in the KYC policy of WestCasino:

By agreeing to the Terms, you authorize us to undertake verification checks as we may require ourselves or may be required by third parties (including, regulatory bodies) to confirm your identity and contact details and to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing and in order to verify if you are subject to a sanctions regime (the "Checks").

WestCasino reserves the right to request documents to verify your Account (Age and Identity Verification). These include, but are not limited to: valid ID containing the place of birth and nationality (national ID, passport, driving license), proof of address not older than three months (e.g. utility bill such as electricity, water bill, or bank statement attesting your residential address), bank cards, proof of online deposit method, bank statements, source of funds, source of wealth etc. This procedure is mandatory in order to confirm and verify the age and identity, as well as the residential address of the Account Holder. The verification procedure will occur upon your first withdrawal request or at the latest when your Account has cumulative deposits and withdrawals of, but not limited to, two thousand Euro (€2,000). When any documents are requested, in order to avoid the account being restricted, the Account Holder must provide such documentation following the Website’s instructions, via e-mail to finance@westcasino.com within the next 30 Days. If the Account Holder fails to provide the requesting documents within three (3) days of the verification documents request, any pending withdrawals will be cancelled. Once the verification is complete, the Account Holder may request a new withdrawal. In the event that, for any reason, an Account Holder denies or is unable to satisfy the Website’s requirements for further verification of the Account Holder’s identity within thirty (30) days from when the request was made, the Website may take any action required to take to ensure compliance with legal and regulatory obligations. Consequently, We reserve the right to limit and/or restrict access to your account including, without being limited to restricting access to the amounts deposited into the account.

I advise you to provide a new photograph of your passport, not send the one from last year.

Could you please specify if all your other requested documents have been approved by the casino?

Could you please advise which documents you have already provided and when exactly did you send the last one? Have you provided all the required documents as soon as possible and in the correct format? 

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

Why would I provide a picture of my passport again when it was approved last year and still in date? I’m not doing that. It is completely absurd and is not detailed by the regulator as a requirement. Unless west casino can prove otherwise.

Your questions are answered by my original post and supporting evidence.

All my documents were provided last year and approved. Multiple deposits and withdrawals.

I provided a new proof of address as my other one from last year had expired. To my knowledge that has now been approved. But west have not responded to my last email sent 6 days ago.

As per my OP, it would be helpful if west could respond to my questions above.

Hello audreysalisbury & Veronika,

Greetings from WestCasino!

As you well know the verification process is a regulatory requirement and therefore our Finance team may ask you to provide a variety of documents for this. Account verification isn't permanent and you may be asked for additional or updated documents at any time.

For further information you review the accepted terms and conditions of the casino, more specifically the articles in section 5 - VERIFICATION OF YOUR IDENTITY; MONEY LAUNDERING CHECKS.

In your case the following is required for verification:

• a new high resolution photo of your passport, clearly showing all four corners of the document and with all the details clearly visible and in focus. you will need to provide the original photo taken by your camera or smartphone, without any modification or resizes.

All the best,

Eduard

Dear Eduard,

Thank you very much for reaching out and providing a detailed explanation of the document the player should upload.

Dear audreysalisbury,

Please resend your passport photo to the casino, ensuring it meets all requirements.

Eduard's position makes no logical sense.

My passport is still in date and was verified last year, thus verifying the account.

Below is section 5, which Eduard refers to. Please tell me where this states account verification 'isn't permanent' and where it states a player must upload a new passport image even if said passport is still in date and has been used for previous verification...?

5.5. The Website reserves the right to request documents to verify your Account (Age and Identity Verification). These include, but are not limited to: valid Government Issued ID containing the place of birth and nationality (national ID, passport, driving license), proof of address not older than three months (e.g. utility bill such as electricity, water bill, or bank statement showing your residential address), bank cards, proof of online deposit method, bank statements, source of funds, source of wealth etc. This process is necessary in order to ascertain and verify the age and identity, as well as the residential address of the Account Holder. The verification process will occur upon your first withdrawal request or at the latest when your Account has cumulative deposits and withdrawals of, but not limited to, two thousand Euro (€2,000). When any documents are requested, in order to avoid the account being restricted, the Account Holder must provide such documentation following the Website’s instructions, via e-mail to finance@westcasino.com within the next 30 Days. If the Account Holder fails to provide the requesting documents within three (3) days of the verification documents request, any pending withdrawals will be cancelled. Once the verification is complete, the Account Holder may request a new withdrawal. In the event that, for any reason, an Account Holder refuses or is unable to satisfy the Website’s requirements for further verification of the Account Holder’s identity within thirty (30) days from when the request was made, the Website may take any action required to take to ensure compliance with legal and regulatory obligations. Consequently, We may limit and/or restrict access to your account including, without being limited to restricting access to the amounts deposited into the account.

5.6. In certain circumstances, we may ask you to provide further information to us directly in order to complete relevant checks on your Account and we may request any documentation from you periodically for such reasons as: awareness and prevention of fraudulent activities, detect/establish your source of wealth or source of funds, financial standing, occupation, investigation of suspicious activity connected to anti-money laundering or terrorism financing. As an integrated part of this procedure, you may be requested to provide financial documents to attest your source of wealth or source of funds. Such requests shall not be made with a prior notice and may involve customer due diligence, verification, investigation and/or on-going monitoring. If such investigation raises concerns, We reserve the right to limit and/or restrict your account, including, without being limited to restricting the amount you may deposit into the account, suspend or permanently close your Account and terminate the Agreement until you have provided us with such information.

Based on the amount of complaints currently open against West Casino I am very very very suspicious of sending any new passport pictures.

I have also contacted the MGA based on Wests statement here, as it is not detailed in the MGA requirements as far as I can tell and is therefore a lie.

Please also explain why the previous picture of the passport and selfie was used to verify the account but is now no longer valid? It makes no sense.

If you do not wish to cooperate, we will reject your complaint. It is standard procedure to request documents for updated verification after a certain period of playing in an online casino. Please inform me if you are willing to provide a new picture of your passport as requested, or if you would like us to close this complaint. Thank you for your understanding.

Excuse me?

Please be professional and show some understanding of this complaint.

All documentation was provided a year ago and I was verified. I then supplied an updated proof of address a week ago, which was approved.

I am asking for supporting evidence to back up West Casinos claims. They have also claimed the regulator backs up their claims. However I emailed MGA regarding this and they have confirmed they do not have any stipulations that state an operator is required to request the same documentation after a year, if it has previously been verified and said documentation is still in date, as my passport is (see MGA reply attached).

West Casino have to date, provided no supportive legislation either in their own terms or MGA guidelines to justify their requests and you have done nothing to push for this.

Regardless I have sent three new passport pictures today via my iphone 10 minutes ago.

However, due to your ineffectiveness to handle this complaint I request a different complaint handler with immediate effect or will be leaving you a bad review, closing this complaint and proceeding to a more professional complaints service.

Thank you for your message and for providing detailed information regarding your complaint. I appreciate your patience and understand the frustration this situation has caused.

I acknowledge that you have previously submitted all necessary documentation. Nevertheless, it is important to note that casinos may request additional verification documents at random intervals to ensure ongoing compliance with regulatory requirements and to maintain the security of their operations. A one-year timeframe is considered reasonable for requesting updated verification documents, as it helps to protect both the players and the casino without being overly burdensome. This procedure ensures that your information remains current and secure.

I apologize for any inconvenience this has caused and appreciate your cooperation in providing the new passport pictures. Could you kindly advise if the casino has checked and approved them?

I supplied 3 new pictures 4 days ago. They have not responded...

The withdrawal has been pending for 10 days.

There is nothing in their Ts and Cs or MGA guidelines that state a player needs to provide updated passports if they are still in date... So they lied.

Hello audreysalisbury,

Thank you for your reply!

The timeframe in which documents are verified is up to 3 business days, which means that you should have an answer for the new photos provided by the end of tomorrow.

All the best,

Eduard

Dear audzsalisbury,

Have you received any response from the casino regarding your verification? Please let me know.

Hello Veronika,

Thank you for your reply!

The documents the player sent were accepted and the withdrawal was processed and paid on 11/06/2024 14:18 (GMT Time).

All the best,

Eduard

Dear audreysalisbury,

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.

It appears that this issue may have been resolved, but without confirmation from the player we are forced to reject this complaint.

The player can reopen this complaint anytime.