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Luck3 Casino
Paid in Time for Christmas
by Steve Russo
December 2009
Despite mistakes made by both sides, Marina M. of Kaunas, Lithuania, received her refund from Luck3 Casino in time to buy her 2 1/2 year old daughter a very special book for Christmas.
Marina's problem was the kind that was easiest for Gambling Grumbles to handle -- both sides, from the beginning, agreed on the facts of the dispute and neither had any intention of cheating the other. All Gambling Grumbles had to do was to get both to see the other's side.
Marina, in fact, already understood part of Luck3's position before contacting Gambling Grumbles. She was willing to give up the winnings she had gotten on a bonus coupon which she had used improperly. What she did not agree to -- and Gambling Grumbles agreed with her -- was sacrificing the deposit she made when the casino requested it.
The problem began when Marina sent a "no deposit coupon" which she had gotten on line to Luck3. Unfortunately, this was the second such coupon she had used and she failed to read the casino's terms and conditions for the coupon -- which limited them to one per player.
Marina was not trying to fool the casino. She did not open a second account or try to hide her identity. She played with the first coupon, lost, and then submitted the second coupon and won $112.45. If, when she went to cash out, Luck3 had simply refused to pay her, Gambling Grumbles would not have gotten involved.
We plainly state on our website that "Different casinos have different rules, especially in regards to bonuses, and it is your responsibility to read what they have posted on their websites. You are obliged to follow the posted terms and conditions of the bonus."
In short, we will not go to bat to help someone collect winnings earned from a violation of the casino's posted terms and conditions.
However, Luck3 did not refuse to pay Marina. Instead, they told her she must first make a deposit and then she would be able to withdraw both the deposit and her winnings. This may not sound sensible to a player but it is not at all unusual -- it helps the casino to know who it is really dealing with and avoids having duplicate accounts.
When Marina tried making the withdrawal, she was refused -- not only was she not allowed to take out her winnings but the casino also told her she could not get her deposit back:
"Your activity at Luck3 Network has been considered as violating our Terms & Conditions. As your account is blocked, no transfers can be performed from your account," the casino told her.
This is where we feel that the casino had made a mistake. It should never have told her to make the deposit and, if it did, it certainly should have returned it to her, even if her account was blocked.
Marina was willing to accept that she would not get the winnings and told that to Luck3. Still, it would not return her deposit. Then she contacted Gambling Grumbles.
Gambling Grumbles, of course, has no enforcement power. We are not a court and have no way to require a casino to do what we consider to be the right thing. What we do have, however, is a good enough reputation to have our inquiries sent "upstairs" at a casino to someone who has the authority to make a decision outside of its SOP. That is exactly what happened here, and despite the fact that the account was blocked, Luck3 wrote back to us saying, it refunded Marina's deposit "as we find this as the best way to keep both of sides satisfied, and solve this issue without harming any of sides.
"We really appreciate your initiative on such matters like this, as this is very helpful towards both sides. We never cheat our players and we always do our best to act correctly. Therefore we do hope that you understand our position in meaning of withdrawal of winnings to this player - we can't pay the winning that was earned with violation of our rules.
"Your understanding on all this situation is very appreciated and we hope that this case can be marked as solved now."
Now, how much was this deposit? $10.
That might not seem like very much to someone sitting in the States or Western Europe and is used to paying three or four times that much for a dinner, but in Lithuania it translates to 24.21 Litas and can buy a young girl a nice doll, a good jigsaw puzzle, or in the case of Marina's daughter, a beautiful book complete with magnets and a clock -- which is what she will be getting for Christmas.
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