How To File A Complaint Against An Online Casino

Online casinos have become more popular in recent years, especially due to their wide range of games and generous promotions. However, some websites ruin them for the rest of us by withholding winnings or promoting unfair practices.

If you find an online casino displaying unethical behaviour, you may want to file a complaint against them. Find out all you need to know about this process below from Betkiwi.

How to Identify Unethical Behaviour

Before you consider filing a complaint against an online casino, you must ensure they promote unethical practices. Luckily, there are a few ways you can identify these:

Promotions That Seem Too Good To Be True

The first thing you look at when signing up for an online casino is the bonuses and promotions they offer. So, of course, you’ll want to go for one that provides a NZ$1,000 no deposit bonus. Unfortunately, this is often a sign of a shady online casino, and the promotion is too good to be true.

Delayed Payment or No Payment at All

The whole point of playing at an online casino is to try and win as much as possible. Therefore, you want to cash out on your winnings when you add money to your bankroll from a winning spin on a slot or a good poker game. Unreliable online casinos tend to have consistent payment delays or refuse to pay you.

Unresponsive Customer Support

When you want some help regarding payments or if the games appear to be rigged, the first thing you’ll do is reach out to customer support. Unfortunately, unethical online casinos don’t care about answering your query, so you might struggle to get a response compared to reliable platforms.

Buried Terms and Conditions

You may not want to go through pages of terms and conditions to see if an online casino is legitimate. However, it is sometimes the best way to do so. Unreliable websites hide unfavourable terms and conditions in the fine print, making it hard for you to claim back your winnings or know how to activate a bonus properly.

No Licence or Regulations

One thing you must always check before registering for an account with an online casino is to check if they have a reputable licence. These will come from authorities such as MGA and UKGC, and it ensures that the platform follows strict rules and regulations. Those without a licence tend to operate without any oversight.

Doesn’t Use A Random Number Generator

Reliable online casinos use random number generators (RNGs) in each game to ensure that the outcome is fair. This prevents the site from rigging the game, so you permanently lose or allow players to guess a pattern and determine the best time to place their biggest bets.

Did you know? Unethical casinos are typically known as ‘rogue casinos’

How to Report Unethical Behaviour

If you find an online casino displaying any of the warning signs above, you should report them for unethical behaviour. You can do this in a few simple steps:

1. Before you consider making a report, you must ensure you have reliable evidence proving the online casino is displaying unethical behaviour. This can be anything from screenshots to emails.
2. If the online casino has a licence, look up the complaints procedure in that jurisdiction and submit a formal complaint. If the online casino lacks a licence, you should contact consumer protection agencies and notify player advocacy groups.
3. Suppose you deposited money into the unethical casino or haven’t received any of your winnings. In that case, you might want to contact your payment provider, as they might be able to provide you with a chargeback.
4. Wait to hear back from the authority you made the complaint to. In the rare case that nothing comes from it, you should seek legal action, especially if you have suffered significantly from its fraudulent activities.

What to Include In Your Complaint

The information you include can vary depending on the authority you file your complaint with. However, you will typically have to include the following details:

• Provide relevant contact information, such as your name, email address, and phone number.
• Describe a specific incident you experienced with the online casino, and try to be as accurate as possible.
• Attach as much evidence as possible that proves the fraudulent behaviour, whether it’s a screenshot of a chat log or an email refusing payment.
• Describe the incident in as much detail as possible, such as how it happened and how it has impacted you or other players. Also, mention if there were any other parties involved in the unethical behaviour.
• State the desired outcome of your complaint, whether receiving delayed winnings or having the website closed down entirely.

How to Follow Up on Your Complaint

Most licensing authorities or consumer protection agencies will have an average response time stated on their website. Therefore, you should wait the duration of this time before expecting any feedback on your complaint. However, sometimes you might not hear anything past this timeframe, and therefore you might want to follow up to ensure they have received it and it’s being handled.

The best thing to do first is to send a follow-up email inquiring about the status of your complaint. You can always attach the complaint with the email to ensure the authority has it, in case they didn’t receive it initially. There might also be other customer support options, such as a live chat or phone number, so if you don’t hear back via email, you might want to consider using one of those alternatives.

Did you know? Various blacklists and player advocacy groups are dedicated to exposing and warning players about unethical casinos.

What to Do if You Don’t Receive a Response

If you send a follow-up email and try to contact the authority via other contact methods and still don’t hear anything regarding your complaint, you might feel a bit hopeless. However, there are still some further actions you can take. Of course, you can send another email, but the likelihood of being ignored again is relatively high. Therefore, you may want to consider contacting a higher authority.

Do some research and see if there is a higher authority within the organisation that you reported the issue to. If you can contact them, you should explain that you filed a formal complaint, followed up, and still have not received a response. They could help move the process along.

If you cannot find a higher authority to contact, seek assistance from player advocacy groups. They will have had experience with these sorts of issues, so they can provide you with the best solution that works for them. Similarly, you can also report the problem on social media and see if you get any feedback.

How to Avoid Unethical Online Casinos

If filing a complaint seems lengthy and stressful to you, then the best thing is to avoid playing at an unethical online casino in the first place. Obviously, you can look out for the warning signs, but sometimes it is too late by the time you notice them. Therefore, you can consider following some of these tips:

• Research the casino’s reputation before registering for an account, such as looking at reviews from players and affiliate sites.
• Ensure the online casino has a valid licence from a reputable authority such as the MGA and UKGC.
• Review the terms and conditions provided on the website and check for anything that might appear suspect.
• Look for secure payment methods that use SSL encryption technology to protect your financial information.
• Be wary of unrealistic bonuses and promotions that seem too good to be true.
• If the website seems a bit ‘off’ while navigating through it, just trust your instincts!

Conclusion About Complaints

While most online casinos are licensed and follow fair gaming practices, a few out there try to take advantage of players. In this case, there are various complaint procedures to follow. Therefore, if you ever experience any unethical or unfair behaviour from one of these sites, make sure you follow the tips we have provided you.