Complaining and problems

If you find yourself dissatisfied with the treatment or experience you’ve received from an online casino, you may wish to make a complaint. If you’ve never done this before, you might be confused as to how to raise a complaint and what to do if you don’t get the response you’re looking for.  Over the last decade, online gambling sites have become increasingly regulated, which is great for you, the consumer, as it gives your many more rights and protections. 

In this guide, we’re going to cover the types of complaint you might have and the correct way to raise these with a casino. We’ll also cover where you can go if you want to escalate your complaint further. Before we get into this any further, it is worth noting that you should only be using licensed and reputable online casinos. If you are using an unlicensed casino and have a complaint, you are unlikely to be able to pursue it through any regulatory or legal channels. 

Common complaints

Most complaining and problems that online casinos receive, usually fall into a few categories.

Game errors and faults

If you believe there has been an error in the game you are playing, or it has frozen, you might believe that you are owed money. Generally, the terms and conditions of casinos will state that they are not responsible for any error or connection issue in this case. If this happens to you, try and take a screenshot of the game to back up your complaint. 

Terms and conditions disputes

You should always read the terms and conditions of any offer carefully. If you’ve failed to do this and just ‘assumed’, then you won’t have a valid complaint. If you’re in any doubt, contact customer support before continuing. 

If however, you believe that the casino has violated its own terms and conditions, or failed to make them sufficiently clear, then your complaint may have merit. The most common issues with terms and conditions include: 

• Wagering requirements on bonus and deposit amounts
• Maximum bets amounts 
• Withdrawal restrictions
• Maximum winning limits

After a lot of scrutinies a few years back, online casinos have tightened up their terms and conditions quite a bit, and make them more visible alongside offers. 

Casinos have rules around who can open accounts and who can receive offers and bonuses. You are only allowed one account with a casino. If you try to open a second, it is likely that you will forfeit any winnings. 

This can also apply to people who live in the same household as you. Some casinos will only allow offers and bonuses on one account per address or IP address. So if your partner of housemate already has an account, it’s worth checking in advance if this will affect you. 

Withdrawals

There is a huge difference in how long it takes to withdraw and receive your money. Some casinos process it instantly, others can take days. Take this into account before your play. If the casino has made its policies clear, then your complaint likely won’t go very far. 

Other common complaints involve withdrawals being recorded on your account but not reaching your bank account. In this instance, you will need proof from your bank (usually in the form of an itemised statement) that the money was never received. 

Know your customer

Part of the regulatory requirements means online casinos to verify a number of details about their customers. This is done to prevent fraud, money laundering, underage gambling and problem gambling.  You could be asked to provide quite a lot of information, including ID, bank statements and proof of how you are funding your gambling. 

If you believe that you have provided the relevant information but the casino is refusing to payout, then you have a case for a complaint. 

Responsible gambling 

The industry is always under pressure to identify and prevent players from developing gambling issues. This is done through a number of channels including responsible gambling tools. These tools let you set deposit limits to control your spending. There should also be the option to self-exclude from the site. This blocks your access to the site for a specified period of time. 

These tools are very important, and if you have set a deposit limit or a self-exclusion, but the casino allows you to play, then you have cause for complaint. 

How to register your complaint

If you want to go forward with a complaint against a casino, then you must follow procedures about how and when to escalate your complaint.

It is good practice to keep records of all of your communication with the casino. 

In most instances this will be: 

Contacting customer support

Your first port of call should be the customer support function on the site. This is usually a live chat support agent, web form or email address. State your complaint as clearly as you can, giving any evidence that you might have. 

In many instances, they will be able to remedy your problem or give you further information. 

Lodge a formal complaint with the casino

If you fail to get a satisfactory response from your initial contact with the support, inform them that you wish to make a formal complaint. The casino will then follow it’s own internal complaints procedure. If you can’t find any details of this online, ask them to provide it. It should explain how long they can take to investigate and respond yo your complaint. 

Third-party dispute resolution

Once the internal complaints process has been completed, your complaint might be rejected or not resolved to your satisfaction. 

In this instance, you can take it to an Alternate Dispute Resolution body (ADR). Each casino must use an ADR from an approved list set out by the Gambling Commission. The most commonly used ADRs are:

• eCORGA – e-commerce and online gaming regulation and assurance
• IBAS – independent betting adjudication service

Reporting the casino to outside agencies

Depending on the nature of your complaining and problems, there are external bodies that you can potentially escalate your complaint to:

UK Gambling Commission

Although the UK Gambling Commission cannot adjudicate an individual complaint, you can still report a casino that you feel is violating any of its obligations. 

Advertising Standards Agency (ASA)

If you believe that the casino has produced misleading or irresponsible advertising. Then you can report them to the Advertising Standards Agency. This can be online, TV, printed or radio. 

Contact the media

Casinos don’t like bad PR. You can consider using social media to bring your complaint to the attention of the public and the casino.  There are always journalists looking for good stories too, so get in touch with a few.  As part of their story, they will often reach out to the casino for comment which could trigger them to re-look at your complaint. 

If you go down this route, be certain that you are using the facts as you know them, be direct but courteous. 

Tips on communicating with casinos

When lodging a complaint, it is a good idea to keep the following things in mind. 

• Keep evidence of everything – screenshots, withdrawals, live chat conversations
• Remain courteous – dealing with customer support can be frustrating, don’t lose your cool or be abusive
• Give them time to respond – internal complaints procedures aren’t always quick, ask them what their timescales are so that you have an idea of how long to give them