What Do You Do If An Online Casino Wont Pay - The Best Casino Guides Blog

We received a question here at http://www.thebestcasinoguide.com/ recently from a concerned member who wanted to know what to do if a casino refuses to pay him. This is a major concern for many online gamblers and while there are no absolute guarantees, there are several steps you can take if you have an issue over payment from an online casino.

It is important to preface the answer with a quick review of some of the basic concepts of online gambling safety. Only gamble at online casinos that you have fully researched using the http://www.thebestcasinoguide.com/ 14 point checklist to evaluate the casino. Also check our website for a capsule review of any casino you are considering and check to see if we have done an in depth review on the particular casino. You can also check the rogue casino lists and the online casino blacklists by doing a Google search for "rogue casinos", rogue online casinos", "blacklisted casinos" or "blacklisted online casinos." Be sure to check for user comments on your favorite casino forums for any online casino you may be considering. User feedback is one of our best tools to determine who is playing by the rules and who is not to be trusted in the online gambling world. Do your research and only gamble at online casinos that have good reviews, satisfy the 14 points on our checklist, have positive user feedback and that are not on any rogue casino lists or online casino blacklists.

It is also very important that you keep detailed documentation of all your transactions with any online casino. Use well known and widely accepted payment methods like a major credit card, bank wire transfer or Neteller. Be sure you read all the terms and payment regulations of any online casino with whom you are planning to deposit your money. Be clear about the terms in advance and if you have any questions, clear them up with the casino’s customer support before you send in your money. Also, be aware of how long it will take to receive your payment for the method of deposit you used. There are widely different time limits for different payment methods that range from instant for some credit cards to 2 business weeks for some bank wire transfers.

The same goes for bonuses. There is not a single online casino that does not have play requirements, conditions and payment terms for their bonus programs. Make sure you understand these terms and conditions clearly because bonus payments can cause issues with even the best online casinos. Many online gamblers have unwittingly voided a bonus because they were not fully aware of the terms and conditions of the bonus. Again, we stress that if any of the bonus terms or conditions are unclear, call customer support for clarification before you send your money.

Ok, so now you have found a great place to gamble online, checked it out and read all the details. You send in your money and win a nice sum and you just can not get paid. What do you do? Well, step one is to gather all your documentation and make copies of it in case they insist on having you mail copies to them. Frankly, we don’t play at casinos that won’t accept documents by fax. In the year 2010, it is just inexcusable not to accept faxes. But just in case, make copies. Never but never send your originals of any documentation! Then contact support at the casino by phone or live chat and speak to customer service. Go over the issue in detail and ask them for an explanation. If they are not being helpful, ask to speak to a customer service manager. Keep notes and even make screen captures of the chats if you can. If you have the computer skills to log the chat, do it. Avoid using only email for support on money issues. You want to speak to a live person but send an email also to have a back up record of the complaint. Do not get angry or make threats. It isn’t helpful and is usually counter productive. Try to stay calm and clearly state your case. Avoid the big no no in the online casino world and resist the temptation to scream "I’m gonna charge back this Visa charge!" Online casinos tend to go nuts over that threat and may try to get you blacklisted with their affiliated casinos and payment processors. If you ever need to consider a charge back, do it with your payment processor or bank’s advice and only if they feel there is no other recourse. Discuss your banking plans and decisions with your banker, not with customer support at the casino.

If rational discussions with the online casino’s customer support do not resolve your issue, your next step can be one of four choices. The first choice is to contact the casino’s licensing jurisdiction and file a complaint with them. While this is officially proper, some jurisdictions are better than others and most are slow as molasses when it comes to processing complaints. In any case, you will want to give them a heads up about the problem but our other suggested steps may resolve your issue faster. When it is all said and done, if you feel an online casino acted improperly with your funds, you will want to let their licensing jurisdiction know about it, even if it is just to go on the record to try to protect future gamblers.

Our second and third steps work together. The second step is to start posting your problem to the various casino forums and let other gamblers know what happened. They will usually have feedback for you and often have helpful suggestions. After you have made some posts to the forums and gotten feedback, the third step is to go to a casino advocate website that offers to help with legitimate issues. There are several casino websites on the internet that will help gamblers who feel they have been ripped off by an online casino. They will ask that you think carefully about the complaint, make sure it is really an issue of financially impropriety and make a detailed statement. Once they accept your complaint, let them handle it for you. Be patient and wait till they let you know what is going on. Once they take on your problem, let them handle all contact with the casino until it is resolved or they tell you they can’t get the casino to pay up. Be sure to make follow up posts to the forums on the results of their assistance.

If none of the steps we have suggested so far resolve the problem, your fourth step will be to contact your bank, credit card company or eWallet provider. You safest way to pay into a casino is probably a major credit card like Visa or Mastercard that has been issued by a bank with whom you actually do business. They will usually be strongly on the customers side and they may suggest a charge back if all else has failed. Again, charge backs are a big deal in the online gambling world so only use them as a last resort. Make sure you have all you documentation available for your payment processor or bank and tell them what happened. Let them do their best to apply pressure on the online casino. The vast majority of online casinos would rather return your money than risk losing a payment processor so they can often help you.

We should make one point of clarification about contacting your bank, credit card company or eWallet provider. When we refer to them them as the fourth step, what we saying is that they are basically the last step in trying to resolve a financial issue with an online casino. However, if an issue arises, let your bank, credit card company or eWallet provider know there is a problem right away but tell them you are still pursuing resolution with the online casino. Inform them that you will get back to them if you are unable to resolve it yourself. Only ask your bank, credit card company or eWallet provider to actually take over your claim if all else fails but be sure they are aware of the problem right from the start. Of course, how you handle a money issue with an online casino is up to you but it is probably a good idea to try to keep the heavy hitters like your bank or credit card company as a final resort, especially if you intend to continue gambling at online casinos. Right or wrong, people have been refused accounts at online casinos because they made charge backs at another online casino and it got on their financial record. While we certainly support your right to ask for a charge back, we suggest trying to negotiate with the casino first at the very least.

We have outlined for you the basics steps of resolving a financial dispute with an online casino. We must complement people like Bryan Bailey, the Casinomeister, for the job they have done to help gamblers who have had money disputes with online casinos. These casino advocates are one of our strongest voices for our protection and they deserve our thanks. We would like to hear from any of our readers who have or have had, issues about payments with an online casino. We would like to hear how your issue turned out and if it was resolved in your favor, what steps you took. We are also interested in any comments from users about claims with specific payment processors such as Credit Cards, eWallets or Paypal. Post your comments after this article. As always, gamble for fun and within your limits. May all your bets be winners.