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I can't say it often enough -- when playing at an on line casino, always read the Terms and Conditions both of the casino in general and of any particular bonus that you received.
If there is even the slightest question in your mind of what they mean, clarify it with the casino support before you place your first bet.
Wolf H of Manchester, England, did not do this and that first bet wound up costing him over $50,000.
Working under industry norms, the Slots Oasis did absolutely nothing wrong. That doesn't mean there is nothing wrong with those norms -- there is, and I will discuss that later in this report.
Wolf wrote to Gambling Grumbles several days ago saying, "My issue goes back to 23/Jul/'09. I accepted a blackjack and other games coupon with SlotsOasis casino. I played roulette (put my full balance on a single number) and won. Played the rest with blackjack then with slots, and got my balance from $250 to $9K on roulette, played blackjack, then got to over $51,635 (I think, may have been more) on slots".
"The casino cancelled my whole balance as they claimed I played a restricted game (roulette). The terms and conditions actually don't say anything of the sort. Their terms state and stated at the time too 'Bets placed in Roulette, Craps, Baccarat, Bingo and Paigow Poker do not fulfill players obligations towards wagering requirements'. They allow roulette to be played, but it just doesn't fulfill towards requirements".
When Gambling Grumbles contacted Slots Oasis, its representative, Louise, wrote back saying, "Unfortunately, this is a closed case and nothing further can be done for this player."
She also forwarded an e-mail which had been sent to Wolf, which recounted his playing record at the casino. In general, it agreed with what Wolf had said -- he made his first bet on roulette and won $9,000 with it. He then headed to blackjack, and played until he met the play through requirements and, finally, played the slots eventually hitting a $44,000 jackpot.
However, he failed to read all the T&Cs of the bonus carefully enough. They included "Wagering on restricted games does not count towards the fulfillment of the wagering requirements and winnings from rounds played on restricted games before meeting the wagering requirements will be removed at the time of a cash-out request.
"Wagering on restricted games may void all winnings won on this promotion."
You might think that meant that only the $9,000 Wolf won with his one roulette bet was voided but that is not the case. His roulette winnings were what allowed him to play blackjack at $250 per hand and eventually to move on to slots. As the roulette bet was his first one, he was, in effect, playing without money when he made the subsequent bets.
Slots Oasis offered to return his initial deposit or, if he preferred, to allow him to play with it and receive a new bonus (also with some games off limits) but it would not give him his winnings.
This gets us back to what I said in the beginning -- always make certain that you read and completely understand all of the Terms and Conditions before you play. Even the best On Line casinos, like insurance companies, review everything about your account before making any payouts, especially large ones, and the slightest violation of the T&Cs will mean that you will wind up with nothing.
Remember what I said about "this doesn't mean that there is nothing wrong with those norms"?
Here is what I meant: They establish a "You can lose, but you can't win" situation. I have never heard of a casino contacting a player who had lost to tell him, "your bets were in violation of our Terms and Conditions, so we are refunding your losses." I am 100% certain that if Wolf had picked the wrong number with that initial bet and lost everything, he would never have heard word about it from Slots Oasis (or from any other on line casino).
If you play at a land casino, be it in Vegas, Monte Carlo, or anywhere else, they also have their rules. They might, for example, set a $1000 table limit for roulette bets. If you try to bet more, the croupier will refuse the bet -- or else call the pit boss or even someone higher to get permission to accept it. Under any circumstances, however, if the casino accepts the bet it will pay off if you win.
On line, however, casinos accept the bets and only object if you win -- never if you lose.
This is an easy enough problem to fix. Each promotion has a code and it is entered when you accept the bonus. The software could be programmed to refuse any bet which is in violation of the promo. If that had happened, Wolf would not have been able to make that first roulette bet and he never would have had his grumble.
That is the way that on line casinos should work, but it is not the way they do work. So, unless and until this ever comes about, it is the player's responsibility to make certain he is betting completely within the T&Cs. If he is not, neither Gambling Grumbles nor any other mediator will be able to help him.
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