Gambling Grumbles

Cleopatra's Palace
What are the Terms and Conditions?
by Steve Russo
November 2009


Dov B, of Israel, was very happy when he got an envelope offering him a $260 bonus, with no deposit required, if he used the enclosed CD to open a new account at Cleopatra's Palace.

He noted, however, that the offer said it was subject to "Terms and Conditions". These usually set a minimum amount that the player must bet and often restrict what games could be played.

"There was nothing in the envelope which told me what the terms and conditions were," Dov told Gambling Grumbles, so I went to the Cleopatra's Palace website and looked there. I found the T&Cs for a number of different bonus offers, but not for mine.

"I tried calling them and got a recording telling me to call back during normal working hours -- but there was no indication of when they were. In the end, I just played recklessly to use up the $260 because I knew I would never be able to know when I had played through enough to cash in. I think this was very unfair of the casino. Can you help me?"

This is one of the cases where Gambling Grumbles did not even contact the casino. There was no valid complaint about how Dov was treated.

Yes, we agree that casinos should always make the terms and conditions of their offers clear, but that is for the casino's benefit as much as it is to the player's. It avoids confusion, problems, and encourages the player to come back in the future.

That said, Dov was not promised anything by the casino nor was he asked to deposit any money. Moreover, if he had written to its Customer Support (support@cleopatraspalacecasino.com) it is very probable that they would have told him the exact requirements. Remember, among the rules for placing a grumble with us is, "Gambling Grumbles requires that you have contacted the casino yourself at least once." Making a phone call, and finding they were not in the office, does not really constitute contacting the casino.