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An online gambling site confiscated more than $700,000 from a player, was it justified?
A month ago, an interesting post appeared on the twoplustwo forum from a user who claims that an online poker room where you can "party and poker" has blocked his account and confiscated a huge amount of money.
Let's take a closer look at the whole case
On this forum, normally people complain about how they have been wronged, but most of the time it is found that the player in question was at fault. This case is more interesting though.
A user with the handle "Exodus944" told the story of how he managed to hit a $1,000,000 jackpot on a $100 Spin game, and later had $707,000 confiscated by the casino on the grounds that he had violated the terms and conditions related to the submission of allegedly forged documents.
"Exodus944" stated that he had provided documentation to the casino confirming his residency in a permitted country, but later discovered that the documents were deemed invalid by the casino. Despite repeated requests for evidence and clarification, he alleges that the gaming establishment failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for their actions.
One commenter noted that while the use of a false document puts a player in a difficult position, it is unfair for an online gaming establishment to initially accept it, benefit from his deposits, and then question its validity after winning a large sum.
Thefour-month wait and eventual confiscation
"Exodus944" further stated that he was originally from Romania but had moved to Ireland. In July 2021, he was asked by the gambling house to produce documents confirming his move to a new address. He did send these documents but is said to have inadvertently submitted an electricity bill from his friend's premises, albeit in his own name. However, despite the dubious nature of the document, the online gaming company accepted it.
On October 5, 2022, the player managed to hit the said jackpot. After that date, he played poker less and gradually started withdrawing money from his account at the online poker room. By February 2023, he had successfully withdrawn $300,000 and still had approximately $707,000 left in his account. However, on February 14, 2023, he discovered that his account was blocked. He immediately contacted the online gaming site and all of its companies, but no answers came.
After four months of waiting, he received a reply, in which the gaming company told him that they would release the funds if he submitted new documents for confirmation. He sent them immediately, but the gambling house did not keep its promise. The player even claims that the casino offered him a deal in which they would pay him the balance, but $100,000 less. Although reluctantly, he eventually supposedly agreed to this deal. However, he claims that the gaming company later rescinded that deal as well.
Forum members, however, said that the gaming company was within its rights to confiscate the funds from him since he had sent them the wrong documents in the first place. However, cases of confiscation of winnings are nothing new. In the past, for example, Gordon Vayo had $692,000 in winnings confiscated after winning the 2017 SCOOP title after it was discovered that he had used a VPN to conceal his location.
Want to own an online casino?
The aforementioned online gaming store, is currently up for sale. It is owned by Entain, for whom the poker room is not currently a core asset, despite the fact that it was once the largest online poker room in the US. Unfortunately, it has been going downhill for years all over the world. The sale price is said to be around £150 million, which is considerably less than when it was one of the leaders. At the time, in 2005, it was valued at around £4.6 billion.
In your view, was the gambling house entitled to confiscate this player's winnings? Let us know in the comments on our social media.
Source - pokerfuse.com, news.sky.com