WinSpirit Casino - Player complains about casino ignoring self-exclusion request.

Hello Casino Guru,

I was able to reopen my account with Winspirit after previously requesting to be self excluded due to a gambling problem.

I had contacted Winspirit via email (screenshot attached) asking for a Block/blacklist/Self Exclusion from the site due to a gambling addiction as is evidently stated. I am quite happy to say my account was closed.

I was then able to reopen my account via email which their support/the sites support allowed to do after stating as such and the site did not act accordingly I believe with it's self exclusion procedure due to a gambling addiction being stated.

I was able to reopen my account after stating a gambling addiction and then able to continuously deposit on the site after asking already to be self excluded which was completed but then revoked and allowed my account to be opened again.

I am requesting the refund of funds due to a lack of responsible gambling towards the player totalling €1,120 as provided in evidence via emails/screenshots.

Please note: there are deposits before my account closure which I am not requesting the refund for as I did not state about gambling addiction before then and also did not have the account closed before then.

I have tried to talk to Winspirit about this which they claimed I emailed the wrong support email address about and included is a screenshot of that email also, even though the email address that they contacted me from didn't match the email address they said to contact. They are stating that this is the final say and they are not going to refund the funds plain and simple.

If you require any further information please don't hesitate to contact me,

Kind regards,

Shandy37

Dear Shandy37,

Thank you very much for submitting your complaint. I’m sorry to hear about your problem. I checked the responsible gambling section and I found this:

Taking a break from gambling

If you feel that gambling is becoming a disruptive force in your life, we suggest that you take a break from playing. This can be carried out by speaking with our Support team via Chat, or by sending an email to support@winspirit.com requesting to exclude yourself from play for a specific period of time. You may choose to block your account for 7, 14, 30, 90 days or even permanently.

If you feel you need to take a break from gambling, we suggest blocking your account for a period of 7 days. Our customer support team is available to help you through this process. When you are ready to come back, your account will be automatically reinstated.

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

• Do I understand correctly that you reopened the same account?
• Could you please advise if you currently have access to your casino account?
• When exactly was your account reopened?

Additionally, if there is any other relevant communication between you and the casino, please forward it to kristina.s@casino.guru. Alternatively, you can post it 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,

Kristina

Hello Kristina,

Thank you for the quick response.

Yes I was able to reopen the same account that I had asked to be self excluded due to a gambling addiction.

After emailing again once the deposits went through they then closed my account, so no I don't have access to this account at this moment and time and will not in future also.

The account was reopened on the 28/9/23

I have additionally two more bits of emails which I'll attach here.

If you require any further information please contact me,

Kind regards,

Shandy37

Dear Shandy37,

At the moment, your account is indeed blocked due to gambling addiction. However, your account was previously blocked for another reason.

On August 5, 2023, you indicated that a lack of bonuses and disloyal conditions for the project were the reasons for blocking. And your account was blocked.

On September 29, 2023, You asked us to unblock your account, and we unblocked it.

On May 2, 2024, your account was blocked due to gambling addiction and is still blocked.

Therefore, we see no reason why we should initiate a refund of your funds. If you have any clarifications or additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Hello Casino Guru and Winspirit,

That is correct:

On August 5, 2023, I indicated that a lack of bonuses and disloyal conditions for the project were the reasons for blocking. And my account was blocked.

On August 6, 2023, after my account was closed on August 5th 2023 due to the above reason, I then indicated through email about the permanent self exclusion of my account due to a gambling addiction, as per the screenshots attached to Casinoguru with the original opening of this case.

Kind regards,

Shandy37

Dear Shandy37,

As indicated on your screenshots, you were blocked due to gambling addiction in May 2024 and are still blocked. In August 2023, we blocked you at your request due to disloyal bonuses. And then your account was unblocked in September 2023 at your request.

Hello Casinoguru and Winspirit,

Yes all that information is correct as you stated above bar the one missing factor of the email that was sent after the first account closure due to "lack of loyalty" specifically the email with the subject heading "Self Exclusion - Gambling Addiction" and all my details to follow on that email.

The response I received from your site/support stated I emailed the wrong email address and that you didn't receive the email, then you further went on to state that you didn't receive my email after I corrected your support about the wrong email address they provided, highlighting this for them and also pointing out that the same email address they replied from was not the same email address they wanted me to send the emails too, all of which has been attached to Casinoguru at the start of this complaint.

All I am looking for is a refund of funds to the total amount of 1,120euro and to close this case and move on.

I followed the terms and conditions as per the agreement between both parties (myself and yourself).

I emailed the correct email address.

I gave every last piece of information I could over that email and stated the length of time I wanted to be self excluded for an the reason as to why.

The same account that I wanted to be self excluded from was allowed to reopen, regardless of myself stating I take responsibility of it, the account should not have been allowed to be reopened after the statement was made by myself.

As I have said time and time again to you, I sent the email and I don't know if it went to your spam folder because of my account being closed/blocked etc. but the email was sent from my end and was not completed/carried out from your end.

This could be a human error or a computer error or something along that lines and I understand that this sometimes happens but I followed everything on your terms and conditions in order to close my account permanently but this unfortunately was not completed, therefore these are the reasons I am asking for a refund of funds.

If you require any further information please contact me,

Kind regards,

Shandy37

Dear Shandy37,

Thank you for clarifying. However, the screenshots that you provided at the beginning of the complaint refer exclusively to the last time you closed your account due to a gambling addiction in May 2024.

Previously, you contacted our support team with a request to refund your funds due to the letter you sent about gambling addiction before the re-opening of your account in 2024. However, our managers checked in detail for the presence of such a letter on our part and did not find it, since most likely you indicated the wrong recipient address.

We clearly understand that technical errors can happen to everyone. And we always meet users halfway and often compensate for our mistakes. However, in your case, we see no reason to compensate the funds since we did not receive any letters from you.

If you still have a screenshot of the letter you sent us with information about gambling addiction, and where you can see the address of the recipient to whom you sent this letter, please share it. 

Hello Casinoguru and Winspirit,

Please find attached the emails from both myself in relation to the self exclusion request and also a return email from your support staffing stating I emailed the wrong address as well as highlighted email addresses both from your support email and also the email address which they stated that I should have sent the email too.

If you require any further information please contact me,

Kind regards,

Shandy37

Hello Casinoguru and Winspirit,

Just wondering if you have any update in regards to this case? The timer has went over so I'm just wondering?

Kind regards,

Shandy37

Dear Shandy37,

Thanks for staying in touch. We have studied your screenshot attached here in detail. As we see in your screenshot, the recipient's address is our mail, but if we look above under your nickname, we can see the address "Help". Please note that when you send a letter to our email address, it is not the word "Help" that appears, but the word "Support". Since you are contacting support team. Our messengers specifically tested this during the period when you contacted us.

As we mentioned earlier, we studied your case in detail and did not receive any letters from you about gambling addiction before re-opening your account.

We are sorry to hear about your experience, but we are unable to provide a refund. We recommend that you study the information about gambling addiction that was left at the beginning of this complaint.

Hello everyone,

Thank you both for your replies and cooperation.

Shandy37, I tried sending an email to the casino's email address and the casino representative's last message aligns with their statement. Could you please send the original message as an attachment to my email address (kristina.s@casino.guru)?

Dear Shandy37,

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.

Unfortunately, the player has not responded to our messages and questions. Consequently, we are unable to investigate further and have no choice but to reject this complaint.

The player can reopen this complaint at any time.