Closed Account , Confiscated Winnings £1,341
I opened an account with Thrills.com depositing £2,900. Within a few days my balance increased to £4,241 and I requested a withdrawal (having provided copies of my ID). A few days later I tried unsuccessfully to log into my account. I spoke with live chat who said:
"You have permanently self-excluded on our other brand Under and UKGC guidelines, if a customer self excludes on one of our sister sites, then we are bound to withdraw account facilities and void all gameplay after the date they have self excluded, as all our brands come under the same UKGC license … You can have account on each brand, but under UKGC guidelines, if a customer self excludes on one of our sister sites (in your case Superlenny), then we are bound to withdraw account facilities and void all gameplay after the date they have self excluded, as all our brands come under the same UKGC license."
Whilst it is correct that I held an account with Superlenny, which I closed on in July 2014, at no point did I reference a gambling problem or request that I be self-excluded.
The Gambling Commission define self-exclusion as:
“Self-exclusion is when you can ask a gambling company or operator to stop you from gambling with them for an amount of time. It usually lasts for at least six months. It is mainly used by people who think they have a problem with gambling and want help to stop.”
I did not declare a gambling problem, define a period of time that I wish to be excluded by, or request self-exclusion. To the best of my knowledge I did not know that I was self-excluded because I hadn't excluded myself!!!
In April 2016, I opened an account with Kaboo Casino (a sister site operating under the same UKGC license). I successfully deposited and operated the account without hindrance. I made several withdrawals and eventually closed the account on 22/04/16 stating that "I no longer wish to gamble." This does not mean or imply that I have a gambling problem. It is merely a polite way of closing the account. I had closed the account having made a few hundred pounds and had more important things to focus on.
My email does not reference problematic gambling or request self-exclusion. Kaboo did not question the reasons for closing the account further and did not inform me that I had been excluded.
When I opened the account with Thrills.com I didn’t realise that the site is related to Kaboo or Superlenny. Not that this was an issue because I had closed both of these accounts and as far as I understood was not self-excluded because I hadn’t taken the decision to exclude myself! I was able to open the account deposit and gamble without hindrance. It was only after requesting a large 4 figure withdrawal that I was informed that my account was closed and winnings confiscated because I had previously self-excluded from a sister site.
The live chat operator referenced my alleged self-exclusion from Superlenny. I vehemently deny this. Despite the alleged self-exclusion I was able to open and operate an account with Kaboo. If the reason for closing the account at Superlenny was incorrectly interpreted as I have a gambling problem then why was I able to subsequently bet at Kaboo. Why was I also able to open the account at Thrills.com?
If a player has not self-excluded or referenced a gambling problem or addiction then what right do Thrills.com have to confiscate my winnings.
After contacting the live chat support for further details I received an email from James, the Customer Support Supervisor, stating:
Having reviewed your case, I have concluded that we have acted entirely properly in closing your account and voiding all gameplay after the date your account with Kaboo was closed. Your statement in closing your Kaboo account ended with you saying "I no longer wish to gamble". Under UKGC guidelines, we would state this is an indicator of potential gambling problems and as a care of duty, we were entirely correct in self excluding the account and subsequently any other brand account which you opened afterwards.
This differs from what the live chat customer service operative told me. According to him I had self-excluded from Superlenny? James’ email fails to explain why I was able to open an account with Kaboo in the first instance having previously closed my account with Superlenny citing exactly the same reason. I responded to James via email (attached) and called him to discuss. He was unwilling to change his stance and insisted that I complain to the relevant authorities.
I would like to reiterate that at no point have I requested that I be self-excluded from Superlenny, Kaboo or Thrills.com casinos, neither have I reported a gambling problem or addiction. The casino group has not informed me that I have been excluded from betting and has even allowed me to open new accounts without restriction. The casino may have genuinely misinterpreted the email correspondence requesting that my accounts be closed but this is not my fault. Further clarification should have been sought and if appropriate I should have determined whether to be agree a period of self-exclusion and stipulate the period that this should apply. The casino group should have also taken much better preventative measures to stop me from opening accounts if they genuinely believed that I had a gambling problem and had self-excluded from their casinos.
There is a very similar case raised here, which you managed to resolve in the players favour: http://www.askgamblers.com/casino-complaints/declined-withdrawal-and-closure-of-account
Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated. Happy to share copies of emails and chat transcripts if helpful.
Thank you rich
Resolved
£1,341
