Winscore Casino - Player's account remains open despite closure request.

I have been contacting the casino several times since over half a year. I used the internal chat as well as wrote them 100s of mails. They either ignored me, or offered a bonus to keep me on their platform, or told me to contact another email address, which I did, but still then they continued to ignore my request. When they answered, it was because they wanted to know the reason for my request. This was just another cheap way of ignoring me, as I always mentioned in my emails that I suffer from gambling addiction and I need this account to be closed and never be able to reopen again. Every other online casino has so far immediately closed my account permanently and blocked me from creating new accounts. Only this casino has been refusing it until today. I have lost so much money since the day I asked them for the first time to close my account permanently... Maybe, I could have saved some money, if they did not mistreat their duty to ensure responsible gaming. I could not upload the documents because of the 5mb limit. I would be happy to provide the documents via email. I have 100s of emails available, where I contacted the casino's general support, customerassist, and customercare units. The 4500€ are just maybe 10% of the amount that I lost in the last 6 months since asking the casino first time to close my account permanently due to my gambling addiction.

Dear goku23,

Thank you very much for submitting your complaint. I’m sorry to hear about your negative experience with Winscore Casino.

Please allow me to ask you a few questions, so I can better understand the situation. 

• Is your player's account already closed?
• Have you requested a refund of your deposits already due to failed self-exclusion?
• When was the last time you deposited in the casino?
• Please note sending 100 emails is excessive. Instead, send me the key emails supporting your claims including the responses of the casino to my email at tomas@casino.guru
• If there are any screenshots, feel free to post them here.

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

Best regards,

Tomas

Hi Tomas,

E-Mail mit Screenshots ist raus.

• Ist Ihr Spielerkonto bereits geschlossen? - Seit Montag, den 04. November ist es nun geschlossen, nachdem ich auch damit gedroht habe, dass ich den Behörden melden werde.
• Haben Sie aufgrund eines fehlgeschlagenen Selbstausschlusses bereits eine Rückerstattung Ihrer Einzahlungen beantragt? - Habe ich, mehrmals, jedoch wurde nicht einmal darauf eingegangen und ich habe keine Antwort erhalten.
• Wann haben Sie das letzte Mal im Casino eingezahlt? - Letzte Woche Freitag erst.

Ich habe deutlich mehrere E-Mails noch, aber, ich denke, es sollte auch reichen, wenn ich nur von August bis heute schicke. Das Casino agiert skrupellos und nutzt die Sucht der Spieler aus. Zunächst bieten sie einen Bonus, dann nimmt man das Angebot an und spielt weiter. Dann aber, wenn man auch das Bonusangebot nicht annimmt, wird nach 1 Woche oder 2 Wochen gefragt, warum ich schließen will. Und das, obwohl ich mehrmals auch in den E-Mails erwähnt habe, dass es wegen Spielsucht ist. Einige Wochen später kommt dann wieder eine Antwort, wo man mich darauf hinweist, dass ich eine andere E-Mail-Adresse anschreiben muss, da diese Abteilung dafür verantwortlich ist. Dies habe ich bereits seit über 6 Monaten mehrmals getan, jedoch kommt dann gar keine Antwort mehr. Ausserdem ist es auch sehr dubios, dass solche wichtige Anfragen nicht intern weitergeleitet werden. Es wird dem Spieler fast unmöglich gemacht, das Konto dauerhaft zu schließen. Nach einer Weile bieten sie eine Self-Exclusion an für 30 Tage, die man aber sofort innerhalb von 2 Minuten im Chat wieder rückgängig machen kann. Ich hoffe, dass ich nur einen Bruchteil von dem, was ich dort verloren habe, wieder zurückbekomme. Die 4500€ sind nicht einmal 10% meiner Verluste seitdem ich das Casino darauf hingewiesen habe, dass ich unter Spielsucht leide.

Thank you very much, goku23, for providing the necessary information. I will now transfer your complaint to my colleague Kubo (jakub.m@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.  

Dear goku23,

I'm Kubo, and I will be taking care of your complaint from now on. If there have been any new updates regarding this case since the last information provided, please let me know.

I would like to invite the Winscore Casino's representatives to join this discussion and provide any available information to help resolve this issue.

Dear Winscore Casino,

Could you kindly provide a detailed explanation of this case, including the reasons for the significant delay in processing the player's self-exclusion request? Additionally, how does the casino plan to resolve the situation with the player in light of this delay? Will any form of compensation be offered, and what steps are being taken to prevent similar delays from occurring in the future?

Thank you in advance for your response!

Best Regards,

Kubo

Dear Kubo, I wrote them two weeks ago and also my VIP manager Emma and asked them for compensation. Unfortunately, they didnt evrn react. Note, that I just sent you mails from September. I do also have over 50 mails going back to April and May. However, since a gambling company should at least close the account permanently within 1 week, I thought, it would be enough to show that they did not fulfil their duty to act as a responsible casino, when I also only send those mails from September... Also note that I have asked 3 other casinos to close my acxount due to my gambling addiction and all 3 have closed my accounts within a couple of hours...

Dear Kubo,

Please be advised that the player's self-exclusion request was on 01/11/2024. Our dedicated team reviewed it and his account was excluded on 05/11/2024 which is in accordance with out Terms & Conditions. It is worth mentioning that a technical time is required in order for his request to be processed. The player already received a confirmation as well.

Kind regards,

Winscore Casino

Dear Kubo,

I am not surprised about this atrocious answer of the casino... I sent your colleagues all the mails and answers of Winscore starting from mid August 2024 and yet they are still claiming they didnt act wrongly, in addition, they are pretending that I have never sent emails before... I uploaded some of the emails from August... I wrote to 3 different addresses, customercare, support, and customerassist. Also I was already a confirmed and verified customer, who had provided copy of passport, address verification, bank announcement before. I kindly request that you take out this casino from your promotion section and stop advertising them. They are clearly neglecting their duties of ensuring responsible gambling. Also, it looks like they are not willing to offer any compensation, let alone an excuse...

Dear Winscore Casino,

The player has provided multiple screenshots of his mailbox, which show emails sent as early as August 2024 requesting the closure of their account due to gambling issues. However, you have stated that the request was submitted in November.

Could you please clarify and explain this discrepancy?

Dear Kubo,

Please note that, as shown on the first screenshot provided by the player himself, he requested a Self-Exclusion due to gambling issues to the designated email address on 22/08/2024. Our relevant department responded to him on 26/08/2024 requesting some basic documents in order to proceed with his request, however the player refused to provide them, preventing us from moving forward and dealing with the request accordingly.

Additionally, as shown on the third screenshot provided by the player, in the email sent on 30/08/2024, he is mentioning that he is already a verified customer, which in this case is incorrect, as until that time, the player was not verified. As you are aware, it is standard practice to verify a player upon such requests since we need to be certain of the individual submitting the request, which is why we need documentation. 

Having said this, it is clear that we wanted to help and provide the needed assistance to the player, but due to the lack of cooperation, the whole process was delayed intentionally by him.

Kind regards,

Winscore Casino

Liebes Casino Guru Team,

ich hatte bereits meine Dokumente damals kurz nach der Eröffnung des Kontos auf der Webseite hochgeladen und mich verifizieren lassen. Nichtsdestotrotz, frage ich mich, warum das Casino von mir solche privaten Dokumente fordert, um mein Konto zu schließen... Dennoch, wie Sie anhand der Screenshots sehen können, habe ich letztlich auch 4mal an unterschiedliche E-Mail-Adressen eine Kartenbestätigung von meiner Bank geschickt. Dort war unter anderem ersichtlich: Meine Anschrift, Geburtsdatum, Name, IBAN, und die Kreditkarten, die auf dieses Konto laufen. Und dennoch hat das Casino dann nicht reagiert.

Ich habe mehrmals erwähnt, dass ich unter Spielsucht leide. Mehrmals wurde ich ignoriert oder aber zum Verbleiben überredet mit Freiwetten. Als Spielsüchtiger hat man das Spielen nicht unter Kontrolle. Es gibt Momente, wo man dann Freiwetten akzeptiert oder danach fragt, weil man den Drang hat zum Zocken. Dies war bei mir auch oft der Fall. Jedoch hätte das Casino sofort reagieren müssen, als ich das erste Mal um eine Schließung des Kontos gebeten hatte und das mit Spielsucht begründet habe. Das Casino lügt und handelt nicht verantwortungsvoll. Ich habe letzlich auch das Dokument dann an 4 verschiedene Adressen geschickt und dennoch hat sich nichts getan. Erst 2-3 Wochen, nachdem ich mich hier gemeldet habe, wurde das Konto geschlossen. Ich erwarte von Ihnen Konsequenzen. Andere Spieler sollten gewarnt werden vor diesem Casino und Sie sollten keine Werbung mehr hierfür machen. Ich werde auch dieses Casino bei der Glücksspielbehörde melden, wenn wir uns nicht einigen sollten.

Btw. I still receive promo mails, even though I have unsubscribed from the mail traffic and marked them as spam..

Dear Winscore Casino,

After extensive discussions with experts in responsible gambling, it has become evident that self-exclusion policies must be improved to prioritize player protection more effectively. While verifying a player’s identity is crucial for regulatory compliance and policy integrity, the primary focus should always remain on safeguarding players from harm.

Casinos not only have the right but also the responsibility to act when players exhibit signs of gambling-related struggles. If a player raises concerns about their gambling behavior, casinos should promptly limit their access - even if the verification process is not yet fully completed. The very purpose of self-exclusion is to protect vulnerable players and prevent further harm, and delaying action undermines this goal.

To achieve this, casinos should implement clear and efficient processes that prioritize swift action and robust support for at-risk players. This goes beyond regulatory box-checking - it’s about fostering a culture of responsibility and demonstrating a genuine commitment to player safety. By prioritizing protection over administrative formalities, self-exclusion policies can fulfill their intended purpose: providing meaningful support and creating a safer gambling environment for all.

In light of this, I kindly urge you to reconsider your approach and assess the player’s eligibility for a refund of deposits made between the date the casino acknowledged the player’s request to close his account due to gambling issues and the date of the actual account closure. Allowing the player to deposit and lose additional funds while insisting on verification does not align with the principles of player protection. Casinos have the ability to restrict a player’s access to transactions during the verification process, and taking such proactive measures would better demonstrate a commitment to responsible gambling.

Thank you for your attention to this matter, and I trust you will consider this request in the spirit of protecting players and fostering a safer gambling environment.

Dear Kubo, thank you very much for your support. I hope that the casino can compensate at least a bit of what I have lost. So far, nobody reached out to me. I have lost a fortune there and it would help me a lot cureently if I could get a compensation.

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.