MrVegas Questionable Ethics?

[Boogz360]

Hi all, some opinions/advice needed on this situation and if there is anything I can do about it.

I have had a dormant account with MrVegas for years, for whatever reason it says I'm unable to play/deposit when I log in and to contact customer support for further info. The exact message I got was:

You are currently being prevented from making any further deposits. Please contact our Support Team at support@mrvegas.com for more information.

I contact live chat to see what the issue is, show him the message I am getting when trying to deposit and he advises me that it is simply because I haven't set a loss limit on my account so I give him the limits and chat as follows...

(18:05:21) Neil: Thank you, I will set these for you now. Please bare with me
(18:07:05) Neil: Thank you for waiting
(18:07:14) Neil: I can confirm that your loss limits have been set
(18:07:26) Neil: I kindly ask you to logout, refresh your browser and try again
(18:07:39) : ok thankyou
(18:07:52) Neil: Anytime
(18:07:57) Neil: Can I help you with anything else?
(18:08:34) : still getting the same message after logging out and refreshing
(18:09:19) Neil: OK, please bare with me, let me check this further with our payments team. Please bare with me
(18:13:36) Neil: Thank you for waiting
(18:13:43) Neil: You should now be able to deposit
(18:14:08): all sorted tyhanks
(18:14:17) Neil: OK, great

Following this I am able to make a deposit, the instant it hits my account I am blocked from opening any game/depositing/withdrawing etc.

Now they are insisting my account needs verifying before I can access my money - essentially holding it hostage until I comply with what they want. 

I am aware that gambling sites require verification, that's nothing new - but since my account has been blocked for years (potentially) due to not being verified, surely they should be telling me this when I spoke to customer services (who even checked my account with payments team) when I ask what the issue with depositing is, yet they open my account allowing me to deposit and then instantly block my account once I have done so.

To me this seems extremely unethical and shady, not mentioning anything about verification and essentially forcing me into sending them all my personal documents if I want to see my money again. 

Are they within their rights to do something like this? Am I able to get my deposit back, or do I now have no choice but to comply with them or alternatively wave goodbye to that deposit?

[Original Jase]

Hey @Boogz360 If you're in the UK read this;

https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/licensees-and-businesses/guide/page/restrictions-on-withdrawing-deposit-and-deposit-winnings

Before I stopped gambling I had something similar done to me. You need to make a complaint and maybe even show that link stating they could of asked for verification before you deposited as stated by the UKGC, although the casino might say you depositing right away didn't give them time. Sad thing is this can be a lengthy process. They have so many days to deal with your complaint and then if they don't you have to follow it up with whoever the alternative dispute organisation is - usually IBAS for UK. This can take months. I would phone the UKGC for further advice if you're not clear and what to do. I quit gambling due things like this. Good luck!

[Boogz360]

Thanks for the response. I expected it to potentially be a lengthy process but will file a complaint anyway.

Fortunately the amount of money in question is fairly inconsequential, and for the same reason I don't want to spend hours writing emails/on the phone etc. However, out of principal I feel I  should be following this up as it seems insane to let these people get away with borderline scamming people!

[StallCation]

I hope you have more luck complaining than me @Boogz360.

Tried something a bit similar a couple of years ago, while Casumo was still active in Denmark. I hadn't been playing/depositing for a while and got an email asking me to "update personal information" (screenshot of credit card, ID, waterbill or other document stating my address).

I found it a bit over the top, but provided the documents Casumo asked for. I got an email confirming I was now "approved and able to deposit/withdraw". A couple of days later I put in 500 DKK and won around 2,000 DKK, on Extra Chilli as I recall it.

But when I tried to withdraw, I got another email telling be to update my ID, as Casumo suddenly wouldn't accept my valid driver's license (issued 1992). Instead they asked me to upload some more recent ID, like a newer driver's license (?) or passport. My passport had just ran out at this point and getting it renewed would cost around 750 DKK (and would take a lot of time, as it was in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic).

In an email to Casumo I referred to their initial message about me being "approved and able to deposit/withdraw", but that was apparently "a mistake" according to their very short and unapologetic reply. After that I spunked my balance (it did last a couple of months though) and never used my Casumo account again. The f.ckers even had the nerve to keep sending me promotional emails; they all ended up in my junk mail of course...     

Edited 21 April by StallCation

[Lordship]

Not great that, I would not play there again. 

[CGDL]

Hello! 

Mr. Vegas is not an affiliated operator of ours, but I have contacted a person I know who works on their team with a link to this thread. Hopefully, that'll speed things up, but I can't make any promises or guarantees. 

As for your question about this being within their rights, yes - they are. Typically, something in their system flagged your account because of hitting a threshold (accumulated sum of deposits/withdrawals), an expired ID, a different IP/location, etc. The way that they handled this, though, is completely idiotic. 

Contact them directly at support@mrvegas.com and give them no more than 24 hours before raising a complaint with their ADR. If you're playing under the MGA jurisdiction, their ADR is MaDRE. For the UK, you have to go through the UKGC. If you play via Sweden or Denmark, this is handled via the SI or the DGA (SpelInspektionen and Danish Gambling Authority). 

I've copied over their terms re. ADR as well. I hope you find it useful. 

 

Quote

8. COMPLAINTS

8.1. Mr Vegas takes Your complaints seriously and shall use its best endeavours to resolve Your complaint as soon as possible.

8.2. If You have a complaint to make regarding Mr Vegas’ services, contact us in one of the following ways:

Email: support@mrvegas.com

8.3. Mr Vegas encourages You to establish contact as soon as circumstances for a complaint arise and in no case later than 6 months of the occurrence thereof. Mr Vegas will acknowledge any complaint made by You immediately, or in any event, within 24 hours thereof. Your complaint will be escalated to the appropriate Mr Vegas personnel. If Your complaint remains unresolved after a period of or 10 days, Mr Vegas shall:

Write to You explaining the final decision;
Clarify that this is the end of the Mr Vegas internal complaints process;
At your own discretion, guide you on how to make a complaint to a free independent Alternative Dispute Resolution (“ADR”) body.
8.4. If an agreement cannot be reached after the internal complaints process has been exhausted between the Player and Mr Vegas, the Player can refer their claim to the relevant ADR provider as illustrated below:

8.5. (i) For Players residing in Malta or playing under Mr Vegas’ MGA licence:

You should contact the Maltese Alternative Dispute Resolution Entity (MADRE)

Website: https://madre-online.eu/

For disputes under €5,000.00, the decision of MADRE will be binding on Mr Vegas with your acceptance.

For disputes over €5,000.00, the decision of MADRE will not be binding unless Mr Vegas accepts the decision.

MADRE decisions do not take effect as an Arbitration award.

 

(ii)8.6. Alternative ADR option:

You may also use the European Commission’s online dispute resolution portal http://ec.europa.eu/odr to file the complaint.

 

8.7. If a Player residing in Malta, or playing under Mr Vegas’ MGA licence, remains unhappy with the outcome of a complaint, the Player may contact the MGA on:

Website: https://www.mga.org.mt/support/online-gaming-support/

Telephone Number: +356 25469000

Address: Malta Gaming Authority Building SCM 02-03, Level 4, SmartCity Malta, Ricasoli SCM 1001, Malta 

8.8. A Player is invited to email Mr Vegas on support@mrvegas.com to obtain a copy of Mr Vegas’ Complaints Policy.

 

[Boogz360]

Thanks very much CGDL, appreciate you taking the time to do that!

[Boogz360]

For anyone interested, I filed a complaint and got the following response:

We hope you are well.
 
We are contacting you in regards to your complaint raised with us.
 
We have thoroughly reviewed the situation in your account and can appreciate that there was a misunderstanding during the chats you held with us on Saturday, for which we offer our apology. We have made sure to liaise internally with the relevant team, and we can confirm that your account has been unrestricted.
 
We, however, always recommend that you still verify your account at your earliest convenience so that there are no further issues or delays in the future.
 
If you need anything else, please don't hesitate to let us know.
 
Best regards,
Team Mr. Vegas

 

4 days later and I'm still blocked and unable to do anything, after back and forth with support via email - them telling me to clear cookies etc etc I get this email:

 

Hope you are well.
 
Thank you for providing us with the link.
 
Having a look at your account, you are unfortunately not verified. In order to withdraw, you will need to verify your account, which can be filled out in the documents page. 
 
If you need further assistance regarding this, don't hesitate to reach out to us should you need it via email or through our live support chats.

 

Preety comical how incompetent these people are! 

[Original Jase]

Hey again @Boogz360 , what country do you play from?

[Boogz360]

I'm in the UK.

[Original Jase]

@Boogz360 i would send one last email quoting this from the UKGC website;

'players must not be asked for information at the point they request a withdrawal from their account if the operator could reasonably have asked for this information at an earlier time.' 

And see if they acknowledge it. Make sure you add that they have to email you a final response also. UKGC will advise you must have a final response before the alternative dispute organisation gets involved, which was IBAS unless now it's changed. From what you shared with their response email they've admitted they was at fault so IMO could of asked for verification before letting you deposit. Videoslots done something similar to me and when IBAS got involved they immediately gave me my withdrawal

[Boogz360]

Thanks Jase, very useful info!