Dear Askgamblers,
I recently signed up to Casino.com and claimed a "£20 NO DEPOSIT BONUS'. After winning £200, a relatively small amount, I attempted to withdraw the money (bare in mind I had to play through a large wager before I could. Given that the bonus was free I expected it to be difficult to win any real money. However, when I did win, I did not expect it to be difficult to withdraw my winnings.
Having won, I attempted to withdraw the £200 from my account using the visa option. They then asked me to deposit money in order to withdraw. I thought this was very cheeky but understandable so I transferred the £20. They then told me the funds were pending.
Following this I received an email requesting I send documents for verification.
I sent a passport photo, a picture of my debit card which I used (front-back) as well as my tenancy agreement to prove my address. All of this is stated on their withdrawal policy so I obliged and sent the information.
I then however received and email requesting I send a notarised copy of my passport to a POBOX in Gibraltar. The only reason anyone would ever need a notarised copy is surely if they are applying for a bank loan or mortgage. I am from the United Kingdom so as you can imagine I have extreme reservations about sending important documents to a random POBOX in Gibraltar, regardless of the fact the company is supposedly based there. I am unaware of Gibraltar gambling laws so it strikes me that the company have given me no reassurance that my details will not be used by third parties.
I have sent them copious emails requesting they explain why a notarised copy of my passport is required as they have all the relevant information to make a transfer back to me (as I have already transferred money to them) but they are yet to give me an answer and are ignoring my emails. I have since spoke to a woman on the phone who said she was "surprised" that they were asking for a notarised passport from me and yet she still failed to give me a solution. She said she would pass it onto the relevant department.
The email I then got seemed extremely generic, as if they had not listened to anything I had written in my emails or said over the phone, explaining that I would need to send all the documents again.
This seems incredibly dodgy if you ask me and I extremely apprehensive about sending them any other information. I am in the process of contacting trading standards to see my position. It strikes me that they would need such stringent security measures for the withdrawal of £200 and I fail to believe the company's legitimacy.
I would very much appreciate someone's help and advice as to what I should do.
Thank you.
< name removed >
