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The reports that I enjoy writing are those where Gambling Grumbles was able to mediate a mutually satisfactory agreement between the player and the casino. If that is not possible, then I at least like to be able to get to the bottom of the problem and let our readers know if the casino or the player was at fault.
When Konstantia R of Athens wrote to us about her grumble with Casino Titan, I didn't know that this would turn out to be the most frustrating type of report -- not only could I not help her reach an agreement with the casino but the waters are so muddy here that I can not say for certain who is at fault.
What I can say -- and I will explain this a bit more later -- is that this case underlines a major flaw in how most on line casinos work. They only check on players when they want to cash out, not when they first open accounts.
Let's start with the facts which both Konstantia and Casino Titan agree: Last October, Konstantia opened an account, deposited $200, was given a $400 bonus, played the slots, and wound up with $20,570 in her account. When she tried with withdraw it, Titan told her that she was a "bonus abuser", refunded her deposit, and locked her account -- and, along with it, all of her winnings.
Konstantia wrote to CIGA (Curacao International Gaming Association) asking for help. Anthony, Casino Titan's manager, told me that "This issue has been resolved with them". Konstantia says she never heard back from CIGA.
Konstantia then wrote to Casinomeister, a gambling forum with an excellent reputation, and, Anthony says that "this issue was resolved for the second time."
Konstantia says that Casinomeister, too, did not give her any details of why she was deemed a bonus abuser. In fact, she forwarded the letter Casinomeister sent her, saying, "I have heard back from the casino regarding your case. I see that their records show you as having been in violation of the Terms & Conditions on a number of counts.
"Since they have returned your deposit to you I support the casino in their decision against you."
When I wrote back to Anthony asking for details of what, exactly, Konstantia did that made her a bonus abuser, he replied by supplying some information but said "I would appreciate if the below info will not be disclosed and will not be posted on the forum.
"We rather not expose the methods by which we recognize bonus abusers and fraudsters, because then they will know how to improve their techniques and hurt the online gaming industry."
As I don't feel free to reveal anything that was told to me in confidence -- either by a casino or by a player -- I can not report what Anthony told me. All I can say is that it provided circumstantial evidence that Konstantia was in violation of their rules but not iron-clad proof.
So while I can not go as far as Casinomeister did and tell Konstantia that "I support the casino in their decision against you," I also can not say that Casino Titan was wrong. I simply do not know.
What I do know, however, is that there is something very wrong with a system (and this is almost industry-wide, not just restricted to Casino Titan), in which a player is investigated only when he wins.
It is actually very difficult, if not impossible, to cheat an on line casino during the actual play. As everything is electronic, you can't peek at the cards, slip an extra ace into your hand, or somehow rig the roulette wheel. Indeed, the only two times you can cheat a casino are before you play (such as signing up under another name to have a duplicate account in order to collect the initial bonus twice) or after you have lost (by charging back your deposit). Indeed, in most cases charge backs are also impossible as credit cards are not used.
This means that if you want to cheat a casino you have to do so before you make that first bet -- and that is when the casino should approve or disapprove you as a player. Why? Because,otherwise, players are put into a "you can lose, but you can't win" situation. If the casino feels that you go after bonuses at too many sites, that you have a dual account at its site, that you have charged back in the past, or simply that your identity documents are not sufficiently clear for it, it is liable to just return your deposit but refuse your winnings.
However, if Konstantia had lost her deposit, it is very doubtful that Casino Titan -- or any other casino -- would have determined that she was ineligible to play and return her deposit to her.
As I said, this boils down to "You can lose, but you can't win."
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