For the most part, playing at a trusted online casino will always see you able to receive your winnings. From eCOGRA-certified casinos to those properly licensed and regulated, it is rare not to receive your winnings or at least a satisfactory explanation of why.
In fact, in many cases, any delay with your withdrawal will come down to something you haven’t done (or have done), and this can be easily remedied.
Sometimes, though, there are those cases where no matter what you do, your casino doesn’t seem to want to pay out. Most of the time, it’s because you’ve picked a bad casino. Are you totally devoid of options, though? Not entirely. In today’s blog,
I’m going to share with you my experience and tips on what to do if a casino just flat-out refuses to cough up your winnings.
Step #1: Don’t Play at Untrustworthy Sites
The first thing you should do occurs long before you try to withdraw your winnings. It is sort of Rule 101 – don’t sign up to dodgy casinos in the first place.
This can be avoided by paying attention to what others have said about the site, reading lists of casinos to avoid here, and checking out our recommended casino reviews to ensure that you only sign up for trustworthy venues.
If you genuinely believe that you’re playing at a top casino and you’re not receiving your winnings, we can move on to step two.
Step #2: First, Check That the Issue Isn’t on Your End
Before we start torching the casino on social media in other channels and engaging in a slanging match with customer support, we need to ensure that we’ve fulfilled all our obligations on our end.
This means checking that three simple things aren’t causing the issue. In most cases (and I do mean most), the issue will stem from one of these three things, which are easily rectifiable:
Outstanding Wagering Requirements
Have you cleared any wagering requirements associated with your casino account? If you’ve claimed sizable bonuses and not fulfilled the playthrough rates and rollover obligations, then it is understandable that your withdrawal isn’t going smoothly.
Check with customer support to see what wagering requirements remain, and then clear them by betting. It’s that simple.
Breaching Withdrawal Limits
Have you attempted to withdraw more than you’re allowed to? Each casino has its own daily, weekly, and monthly withdrawal limits. Moreover, each payment method will also have minimum and maximum caps in place.
Ensure that you have enough mileage left in the tank to withdraw the sum that you’re trying to and double-check that you aren’t trying to withdraw too little. If there’s an issue, try withdrawing smaller (or larger) sums. Also, bear in mind that some casinos require you to use the same payment provider for both deposits and withdrawals. This may also be worth considering.
The KYC Process Is Incomplete
Have you been through the necessary KYC process? It’s rare these days to find an online casino that doesn’t have some sort of KYC step in place. You’ll likely need to verify your account by providing identity, residence and sometimes even proof of payment documentation to customer support.
It can take 24-48 hours for them to approve that, too. Contact customer support and check that you’ve been through this step. In many cases, this is the most common cause for delays with your winnings.
Step #3: Contact Customer Support
Assuming that the issue isn’t on your end (via the three points above), you should now begin to contact customer support and enquire why your withdrawal hasn’t cleared. Here are some things to remember when doing so:
- Be courteous. Being impolite may see support not expend much effort to assist you, and if you’re really rude, they could block your account.
- Ask about the three things above, and make sure you let them know that on your end, everything is fine.
- If they ask for details, be sure to provide them as quickly as possible. Don’t let them drag things out.
- Ask customer support about the transaction times and pending periods. They may be able to tell you “where” your withdrawal is and in which state it is in right now.
- If you suspect that customer support isn’t being reasonable, don’t panic. Tell them that you’ll consider other avenues to get your winnings. If they still don’t comply, then leave the conversation cordially, but don’t log out of your account.
Before You Do Anything Else, Document Everything
Do not log out of your account during the support process. In fact, you should attempt to document as much as you can. Take screenshots of your banking history, win history, and withdrawal attempts, and get a copy of the chat conversation you have with customer support. Document anything you think is relevant – there’s no such thing as too much evidence.
Step #4: Use The Casino’s Dispute Resolution Mechanism
Most UK, MGA-licensed casinos and top-rated Curacao casino sites will have internal dispute mechanisms. They use these services to try and resolve issues with players to avoid escalation outside their control.
If your site has such a mechanism, reach out to it and explain the situation to them. They are trained to handle these types of casinos more so than customer support. Showcase some of the evidence you have and see what they say. Casino dispute resolution mechanisms are an effective way to resolve these issues.
Step #5: Escalate the Issue to Casino Review Authorities
If you are unable to solve your withdrawal dispute via the mechanism above, or your casino doesn’t have one, and customer support isn’t budging, then it’s time to escalate the issue. To do this, you can reach out to casino monitors, auditing, and review sites.
These keep active blacklists of dodgy casinos, and many will reach out to the casino to try and mediate for you. You’ll need to showcase all your evidence, explain your situation, and then sit back and see what they can do for you.
Another option is to torch the site on their social media channels, review pages, and other platforms. Just remember, once you do so, you are taking action against the casino. They may decide to give in and pay out to avoid embarrassment, but they may also choose to stand firm and fight you on this and in public.
Step #6: Contact the Licensing Authorities
If nothing else has worked, and you’re completely confident that you’re in the right, then you can take your issue to casino regulatory bodies. You can try to write to authorities such as the UK Gambling Commission or any of the certificate-issuing regulators and explain your case.
Showcase everything you have. You have nothing to lose at this point. There is no guarantee that they can do anything, but since a casino’s very existence depends on them adhering to rules and regulations set forth by the licensing bodies, it’s worth a shot.
In almost all cases, the issues will be resolved long before you get to steps five and six. However, it is rare for a casino to get away without any repercussions at all if they diddle you. You do have options, and the casino knows this.
Of course, the simplest thing to do is to take evasive action in the first place and only play at highly recommended casinos such as those found on this page or other top-rated casinos online which have a proven track record for safety, security, fairness and paying out winnings to players.
