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Refusing 1.15 BTC withdrawal claiming cashback bonus is a no deposit bonus, again


Bitstarz.com refuses to pay me my winnings of 1.155 btc stating that any winnings from the loyalty bonus that is given out every Friday is capped at 25 mBTC since it is not tied directly to a deposit, even though the loyalty bonus is based on the amount deposited throughout the week or from the previous cashout. They basically stole my 1.155 btc and replaced it with 0.1 btc stating that it was more than the maximum withdrawal amount that is associated with "free" bonuses because I was a "loyal" player and that if I was unsatisfied with this result then I have the option to opt out of the bonuses and play with my own money.

Even when attempting to withdraw the 0.1 btc I got an email saying:-

"As the maximum withdrawal amount from Friday loyalty bonus is 0.025 BTC, we cancelled your withdrawal and removed the excess money from your account. You can now make a new withdrawal. Good luck!"

I've read through their ToS several times prior to them taking my winnings, however, there is nothing that directly links the loyalty bonus to the ToS "free" bonus rules. I even have an email from one of their VIP Managers that explicitly states that their Friday loyalty bonus is a 15% cashback bonus given out every Friday, and since it's 15% of all my deposits for the week it is clearly not a free bonus. Bitstarz even admits that cashback bonuses are not held to the same terms as a free deposit bonus in a previous complaint by user J K here on AskGambler.

And in this thread for a previous mistake that was exactly the same for 4.4 btc :- https:­//w­ww.a­sk­gam­ble­rs.c­om­/ca­sin­o-c­omp­lai­nts­/bi­tst­arz­-co­m-s­tol­e-m­y-w­innings
(Earlier this month)

This was paid out in the end by Bitstarz Management and acknowledged was a mistake.

Any reasonable person would assume that the loyalty bonus isn't a free deposit bonus (as you need to deposit to earn it) and clearly Bitstarz is just using that section of their ToS to scam players out of legit winnings.

Based on the fact that the VIP Manager explicitly stated that the Loyalty Bonus I receive every Friday is a 15% cashback bonus instead of a free deposit bonus that they are currently claiming should be enough justification to show that they are trying to scam me of my legitimate winnings by selectively applying their ToS terms to a bonus that they have previously stated should not be subjected to those terms. I would like Bitstarz to actually pay me my legit winnings of 1.155 btc since I've met their wagering requirements and have not violated their bonus ToS.
Disputed Casino BitStarz Casino

Discussion

User name
AskGamblers Complaints Team consider the explanation provided on behalf BitStarz Casino management in regards of this complaint to be fair and justified enough and therefore, we confirm the decision taken by the casino to pay to player an amount which is less then the originally requested withdrawal amount to be in line with the relevant terms and conditions and namely: 

1a.The maximum winnings that will be paid out resulting from a free bonus or free spins without deposit (eg. the 20 free spins upon registration, Wednesday Free Spins Drops, Second Chance Spins, Friday Loyalty Bonus (exception VIP players who have specifically been set on a VIP Cashback Deal as part of their Friday Loyalty Bonus)) will be 100 EUR/USD/CAD/AUD, 1,000 SEK/NOK or 6 000 RUB. Max winnings for GBP is £50 (even if the amount of winnings accrued by you utilizing this bonus is in excess of this amount). In regards to BTC players, the maximum winnings that will be paid out resulting from a free bonus or free spins without deposit will be 25 mBTC. Any winnings exceeding this amount will be forfeited.

We would also like to clarify that if there is another case similar to this particular complaint then it must be this one here 
https:­//w­ww.a­sk­gam­ble­rs.c­om­/ca­sin­o-c­omp­lai­nts­/un­fai­r-a­nd-­unj­ust­-re­mov­al-­of-­cas­hed­-ou­t-w­innings
due to the identical situation where player is NOT considered to be a VIP BitStarz customer and therefore, not entitled to have their winnings derived from the Firday Loyalty bonus to be considered as an exception of the aforementioned bonus rule. 

In case of a disagreement with the decision taken by the AskGamblers Complaints Team, we reming player that further assistance on the matter could be requested from the relevant regulatory body.

The case is being officially closed now.
User name
Hi there,

Thank you for your reply.

Our terms have always stated the following:

"The maximum winnings that will be paid out resulting from a free bonus or free spins without deposit", which I believe is nothing that you're disputing. Hence this means exactly what it says, and includes the bonuses that are free bonus that are not related to a deposit. That's the bonus you received, hence the max cashout rule applied. "A" and "All" means exactly the same thing in this regard.

For the second part, you just answered your own question. It's exactly because that player was a VIP player that he got to keep his reward. He had a cashback deal that was communicated with yours truly, which means it's based on the deposits, and therefore our term of a max cashout did not apply. That's exactly what distinguishes your situation from his. We realized our mistake, apologized to the player and paid out in full, for the reason that I think that anyone who makes mistakes should own up to it and make amends.

In your case, this term does apply, as demonstrated in the previous messages here. You don't have a VIP deal, hence the bonus received falls in to the "bonus without deposit category" as it wasn't based on deposits, and that's exactly why the funds were deducted. Furthermore, we actually gave you 3x the maximum cashout amount on top as a goodwill, which in my opinion is a clear indication that despite enforcing the rule, we still made a huge exception and acted in good faith.

Kind Regards,

Olle Dickson
VIP Manager
User name loyalty-level-2
Hi Olle,

I can appreciate what you have said but there is a problem in the precedent you are trying to establish. Namely the specific wording in the examples you have given _clearly_ state:-

"ALL FORMS OF NO DEPOSIT BONUSES"

All forms, is all forms - there is clarity for players there.

In your communications however, you do not mention it specifically, nor include that any terms apply in your promotional email (which I note you do for other types of bonuses in other promotional material.)

I think a better precedent to reference is this one here from one of the other occurrences where you in fact DO pay the player the full amount:-

https:­//w­ww.a­sk­gam­ble­rs.c­om­/ca­sin­o-c­omp­lai­nts­/bi­tst­arz­-co­m-s­tol­e-m­y-w­innings

The reason this is important is the screenshot from it provided by the player clearly shows the *exact* same 'category' of bonus - with the *exact* same text as the bonus applied to my account.

Now before you again mention the VIP status for that players situation I want to point out to you that it is at this point plainly obvious Bitstarz has acted in 'Bad Faith' in my regards to my situation.

The requirement you are asserting [Explicit, direct offer of VIP player status] is quite obviously _choosing_ to not enforce a term for players that would benefit the casino if retained, or otherwise harm the casino if you challenged them (the way you are choosing to challenge me). The confusion it causes for your internal support staff is great evidence of this: They are not aware of the private email you use to hand select the players that you know fall into the category above.

So In summary:-
It is communicated the same way, with the same name, without accompanying terms or conditions, and without reference in the terms and conditions. It has precedent in favour of the player, with the only requirement being that you acknowledge losing the player affects your revenue and hand select them for this.

You have made an exceptional case for demonstrating Bitstarz acting in bad faith.

Please pay my 1.05 BTC of winnings.

Thanks Olle,
User name
Hi there,

Absolutely no problem, my goal is always to try to lay things out as objectively and straight forward as possible.

In terms of the Loyalty Bonus not being mentioned in the terms and conditions prior to this, it doesn’t mean that there’s no rules that come with it. At BitStarz, we have a lot of different bonuses that we spontaneously give out to our players, and it would be impossible to mention each and every one of them by name in our terms and conditions. Therefore, they have to be mentioned on a category basis, just as we mention that the term in question incorporates bonuses that come with no deposit.

For example, if we decide to give you 10 dollars in bonus money for Halloween as a spontaneous gift, that would fall into the category of a “No Deposit Bonus”. This term is widely used among casinos and includes all bonuses that are not related to you doing anything to specifically get it, I have included a couple of examples here:

Example from Grand Ivy Casino:

9. NO DEPOSIT BONUS
(i) The Grand Ivy Casino reserves the right to limit winnings and withdrawals from all forms of no deposit bonuses / free spins / free bets added to a customer’s account up to the value of £100.

Example from 21 Casino:

(IV) 21 CASINO RESERVES THE RIGHT TO LIMIT WITHDRAWALS FROM ALL FORMS OF NO DEPOSIT BONUSES / FREE SPINS / FREE BETS ADDED TO A CUSTOMER’S ACCOUNT UP TO THE VALUE OF $100.

Once more, for the bonus category in question, which is a no deposit bonus, that you received, it falls under the same term that we have. Stating that a bonus that was received without a deposit comes with a max cashout.

With all this being said, the term applied prior to us adding “Loyalty Bonus” to the term, we were simply trying to make it less confusing as there has been a lot of questions surrounding this bonus lately. Simplifying something doesn’t mean that the previous rules did not apply, it’s the same rules, written in an easier to understand fashion.

Kind Regards,

Olle Dickson
VIP Manager

BitStarz Casino Complaint Stats

Resolved 18 / 18
Avg. Amount $2,639
Avg. Complaint Duration 3 days
Avg. Response Time 1 day

BitStarz Casino Complaints

See all complaints for this casino
Original Deposit Not Returned After Failed Verification

Good day

I have an issue with BitStarz Bitcoin Online Casino.

On the 28th of December 2020 I requested a withdrawal after making 5 deposits into my BitStarz online casino account. In total it was 9.89678893 BTC.

Here is the Bitcoin Address I paid to and the Blockchain link showing the transactions.

Address: 37wzzF7M1NZVpVRhimXhS4pebXRiwRPyxp

https://www.blockchain.com/btc/address/37wzzF7M1NZVpVRhimXhS4pebXRiwRPyxp


During my gambling session, I won roughly 30 BTC. I made a withdrawal request and shortly after I received an email from Sean at from BitStarz Support (Ticket #W82TG) asking for Verification Documents.

I then sent what they requested.

- A copy of my passport.

- A photo of my face (selfie) with my government issued passport with a paper with the word Bitstarz and the date.

- My proof of address.

Doing that already made me uncomfortable because the whole reason for using Bitcoin is to stay anonymous. However, I did as they requested.

Later that day, I received a phone call from one of the Bitstarz support / finance department personal. I have spoken to him and he seemed satisfied.

Yes, after all of this, they reversed my withdrawal. I had over 40 BTC in my account. During some more gambling, I have lost and my remaining balance was +- 22 BTC.

After this, I received an email saying that they are blocking my account until they are satisfied with my verification. Which I've already sent to them.

As things stand now, my account is blocked. I cannot get access to the +- 12 BTC I've won, not even my own 9.89678893 BTC that I have deposited.

After numerous emails back and forth, I have requested that they return my original 9.89678893 BTC to the original address that I've sent it from. In turn, I received an email saying that they have seized the BTC.

In my layman understanding of this is that they are not satisfied with my verification and refuse to return my original BTC to the original address it was sent from. In other words, they literally stole 9.89678893 BTC from me. I have done what they asked and they still are not satisfied.

I humbly request that you assist me in this matter. 9.89678893 BTC is a lot of money that I cannot just write off. They said something in one of the emails about AML legislation etc which is absolutely ridiculous. All I ask is that they return my original 9.89678893 BTC to the addresses it was sent from then there is no AML issues at all. Yes, they refuse and by the looks of things they want to steel my 9.89678893 BTC and the winnings on top of that.

I really hope that you would be able to assist me in this matter.

Kind regards,

Petrus < surname removed >

Status rejected Rejected
BTC10
Unjustified duplicate account accusations and confiscated winnings
Hi, I write to you from Denmark with an issue with Bitstarz. They refuse to cooperate on this mattter.

A couple of days ago I signed up on 2 Direx N.V. casinos , Bitstarz (and Golden Star), where I deposited and played.
I actually checked on here that they accept players from Denmark, which they do.

On my second deposit of 100 EUR started to get some winnings, and made an withdrawal of EUR 2000 .
I got an email asking for the verification documents, which I provided instantly. (attached)
I later cancelled the withdrawal and ended up winning more, and withdrawed in total EUR 3800.
Now this is when the nightmare starts.

I got an email from support stating that I have played using 2 accounts, and have used the welcome bonus 2 times,
and gives me an email and an fake ID issued in the UK. (see comments) I thought I'd faint , as this is very serious.


Now, the fact is that I live in Denmark , it's not my email , and I have not registered an account in the UK that I play with.

Even though IF the fact were that I lived in the UK and in some way had an account, I still would not be able to play on BitStarz as stated in their T&C. 3.7

"If you are a player from Spain, Sweden, France, the UK, The Netherlands, Dutch West Indies and Curacao, US or any of its states, you won't be allowed to play real money wagering games including bitcoins."

I have asked them to send all the details for the supposed active second account, but they refuse to cooperate, and are threatening me, with that I should withdraw 100 EUR or I will loose them as well. (see comments in the conversation)

They falsely accuse me of playing on duplicate accounts using the same danish IP address, which I have asked for proof of, but they refuse to send this , and only (repetedly) ask me to withdraw 100 EUR so they can close my account. I have also asked for logs when "I" have been logged in on this other account, dates and times. They do not want to send anything I ask for, and I am in shock over the whole situation. This is a behaviour I have never encountered before.

I refer to their T&C 6.3
"In the event of any dispute, you agree that the records of the server shall act as the final authority in determining the outcome of any claim."

As they don't want to provide records of the duplicate account, the dispute is only looked at from their side.


If looking further at the T&C's it says that only one account per IP, household and PC is allowed. That is of course standard for any casino, - I am always aware of the casino TC's. But in this situation it doesn't add up , they do not wish to cooperate, and I am left frustrated and sad that people can be like this.

Thankful for any help.
Status rejected Rejected
€3,800
Inadequate assistance with a game glitch

Bitstar game "The Nutcracker kicker me out up in getting 5 x free spin symbols after putting several thousand dollars into the machines.

Issue occurred Friday 6 Sept 2019 @15:54pm. at the time I had 17 free games remaining an was already on a x 4 win multiplier with 17 games remaining. Butstarz strung me along telling me that I would receive an email and that the game would be fixed and finally telling me almost 3 days later that I could log in and culd resume my feature if I again removed all cookies and history and did a fresh log in or used another device. I dd this repeatedly for several more days loging in daily and advising again that the game would allow me back in:

Customer Service last message was on Mon, 09/09/19 12:14 pm saying that the game had been fixed.

I followed up imediately 10 minutes later o@ Mon, 09/09/19 12:25 pm advising that the game kept booting me despite the instructions I'd been given having been completed repeatedly. Supplying both error screen shots and asking for resolution.

I then follow up via the ticket lof and I believe via support aswell checking the game on a daily basis. Post Bitstarz last contact I have email message via the ticket on the following dates:

4 Days +6 hrs Tuesday, 10 September 2019 10:41:06 pm - My free games still hasn’t returned, I can log in to the game but no free spins, and

upon attempting to spin the reels I get the attached error message. Further screen shots attached showing the error messages received proving issue not resolved and asking for a url I might be able to access the game through manually.

"6 Days + 16 Hours after incident "Friday 13 September message saying that it is almost a week and I hadn;t heard from anyone since the

NO RESPONSE 2019, 2:08:22 am" previous Monday, just long enough for the deposits to clear from the CC then I didn't hear from them again in response to any of my message. Advised that isn't sorted by then i’ll lodge an official complaint with your licensing body, and report the to ask gamblers. I don’t want to take that route, But have no chouce as I;m not hearing from them. Still heard nothinig.

6 days + 19 hrs Emailed Nick Head of casino Who emailed me regarding a big winner so I responded syaing that I;ve been waiting over a week for a resolution and without any update to repeated inquiries at all for 5 days so instead of self promoting why don;t you service the customers issues. AGAIN NO Response now as of Moday september 16th haven't heard back from anyone since Mon, 09/09/19 12:14 pm, not a peep in over a week and since all the transactions cleared. Voted best casino??? What a joke.

I have all the screen shots from the game, all the communications about the issues and proof of issue game number just need an email address to send it.

Status rejected Rejected
Unjustified accusations and confiscation of deposit

BitStarz Casino,

20 Free Spins yielded a win. A maximum withdrawal amount of up to 0.3BCH after playthrough is met according to the Term Agreement. However the system would not allow me to submit a withdrawal request. The crypto address field is disabled and so I sought the assistance of a BitStarz support hero. Here comes Henry to save the day! Henry reviews the account for a minute and figured: “ To enable the withdrawal method you need to make deposit with it.” I asked how much, it was 0.14BCH (chat log attached in this email)

I made my deposit as instructed. As I waited for confirmations to complete, I realized I need to know what will happen to my deposit of 0.15BCH which was added to my post playthrough balance of .528BCH at the time. I opened chat again (spoke to Mark) and was advised to add my deposit on top of the 0.3BCH. I submitted the withdrawal in the amount of 0.45490560BCH. After the cashout confirmation email process, I received an email from Richard that said they found my account as duplicated and is a violation of BitStarz’s T&C. And all funds in my account has been seized in full, the account was also disabled and I can no longer login. I thought maybe there was a mistake and so I asked to be sent a copy or documentation of this alleged violation charged against me. BitStarz replied saying there is no charge. Claimed that multiple accounts were linked to my account and so a decision was made to confiscate the full balance. (Transcript of conversation attached with this email)

Now I’m really confused and frustrated. I have been accused of a violation but refused to provide evidence to substantiate the charge. Denied me access to my winnings and deposit monies. But no there is no charge against you. Are you serious? This is the best you can come up with? I wonder how many others experienced my situation.

Here’s another view of the scenario:

Status solved Resolved
Cannot get my winnings

I recently signed up and made several deposits using my credit cards totalling almost 1200$. I played and requested to withdraw 900. However, they wont pay me back to my credit card and only are giving me the instadebit and ecopayz options. I do not have either of those. My instadebit account was closed several years ago and cannot open another. And i dont have the ability to open an ecopayz. So they say they wont pay out my winnings. I physically cannot open those accounts/options so they told me I lost all money/deposits. I have the chat transcript where they told me this.

Andrew Thu, 04/25/19 08:33:58 pm America/Rankin_Inlet

Hello. How may I help you?

momo84 08:33:58 pm

Hi. I am from canada and trying to withdraw, but unfortunately my instadebit accont is blocked, and i cannot get access to my ecopayz..

Andrew 08:34:47 pm

you will need one of these unfortunately

momo84 08:35:05 pm

but i dont, so what do you expect me to do?

i cant force them to give me an account

Andrew 08:35:41 pm

you will need to gain access unfortunately

momo84 08:35:50 pm

they wont let me

what dont you understand

Andrew 08:35:59 pm

i understand

you need to please understand that these are your two options

so you will need to gain access

momo84 08:36:26 pm

and i cnnot gain access

so how do you expect me to

i have been in contact with them, and i cannot get access

Andrew 08:36:58 pm

you will need to use one of these methods or you cannot withdraw

momo84 08:37:08 pm

so i lose my money?

i need to speak to somone who can help me. i deposited in good faith with my credit csrd. now i want to withdraw and i cannot

that isnt fair

Andrew 08:37:56 pm

you will need to use one of the methods

i am best placed to help in this scenario

momo84 08:38:17 pm

oh my god. I CANNOT use those methods

Andrew 08:38:24 pm

then you cannot withdraw

momo84 08:38:26 pm

the company wont open my account!!!!!

Andrew 08:38:33 pm

then you cannot withdraw

momo84 08:38:38 pm

so i deposited and lost all mu money

Andrew 08:38:57 pm

unfortunately if they will not open the account yes

momo84 08:39:03 pm

wow

Andrew 08:39:19 pm

is there anything else i can help you with?

momo84 08:39:21 pm

you cannot just take peoples money

Andrew 08:39:36 pm

we did not, you are saying the two options we gave you will not work

we gave you those options and so you need to make them work otherwise you cannot withdraw

is there anything else i can help you with?

momo84 08:40:25 pm

i want to escalate this

this is not fiar

this was supposed to be a reputable casino

Andrew 08:40:52 pm

it is

unfortunately there is no escalating this

momo84 08:41:01 pm

and i deposited. its not my fault i cannot withdraw and im from canada so you wont put it back to my credit card

Andrew 08:41:19 pm

those are the two options

if there is nothing else to add i will need to close the chat unfortunately

momo84 08:41:40 pm

so i just lost 1200@

Andrew 08:41:55 pm

unless you get one of the methods yes unfortunately

Status rejected Rejected
$900