I would like to make public an ongoing case I have with sportsbet.io which I have tried to resolve with them directly but their refusal to co-operate has left me no choice and bitcoin talk has been recommended to me as the best place to write this.
I do not believe that sportsbet.io are outright scammers but I do believe I have been treated unfairly in this case. Up until the point I self excluded from their platform last year, they had been good to me but as a problem gambler I used their self exclusion process to take myself away from being able to use their platform.
Back in May I went through a bad patch and was able to open a new account on sportsbet.io despite being self excluded and over the course of a weekend, lose around 16 BTC.. consisting of multiple deposits, withdrawals and re-deposits. Wagering without a doubt over a million in fiat value. With just a username, never have they asked me for anything more than an email & username.
I raised a complaint with their support team who basically just concluded it was my own fault and that they are not responsible if I manage to open a new account and lose money.
I had tried to open an account with them a few months prior to this, in which they immediately detected was me and refunded the deposit I had made. Which I was very grateful for. I don’t want to gamble, it’s just an addiction which I can’t always control. Why didn’t they detect my account this time?
I imagine they use a series of IP detection / blockchain analysis software to link player accounts, but for whatever reason they chose not to close my account this time where I proceeded to lose a lot of money.
It put me in a bad position and a few weeks later I again opened another account in the hope of chasing my losses and getting my bitcoin back. Obviously I lost even more because that’s what problem gamblers do. I ended up depositing everything I had, converting all the fiat money I had to bitcoin and also depositing that. Losing around another 20 BTC and leaving me with nothing. Losing everything I own to sportsbet.io.
Whilst I feel partly responsible for this, I also feel that sportsbet.io do not take reasonable measures to protect their players. They told me that they under their license they don’t need to protect players??
Both times I managed to open an account, I reported to their support team so that they could close my account. I have highlighted a section from their own Responsible Gambling Terms and Conditions to them, the following section in which I believe has not been fairly honoured in my case:
“This is a voluntary agreement, therefore if you proceed to breach the terms within, in the first instance only, any wagering that has taken place will stand, losses will not be refunded. However, multiple breaches of the terms within, all wagering will be void and dealt with at Sportsbet.io, Bitcasino.io and Livecasino.io’s discretion. Also, if we have suspicions or further investigation provides evidence that you have actively attempted to disguise the source of your account or accounts; which affects our ability to block your account or accounts promptly, this will also be dealt with at Sportsbet.io, Bitcasino.io and Livecasino.io’s discretion.”
Having breached my self exclusion multiple times, I believe they should be voiding my wagering as per their terms and conditions and of course return my funds to me, although it states “at their discretion”!!. They have tried to explain that the terms and conditions mean something else but it’s very clear to me how they are worded. I believe that due to the size of the claim, they are using that “discretion” and choosing to not honour it.
Regardless of the above terms, the ethical response of this would be to return my funds. I asked them for help, I self excluded from their platform to offer me protection, because I needed it. I believe their attempts at blocking my accounts have not been sufficient and that they are just as responsible as me for me losing everything I have.
It’s so crazy that a company can allow me to lose so much money without even asking me to KYC once, having proper KYC in place would have protected me and prevented me from being in such a bad situation.
I submitted a complaint to AskGamblers, in which it was denied because AskGamblers do not take complaints which involve the company breaking their terms and conditions and referred me to the regulator.
I have indeed submitted this to Curaçao eGaming but it’s been a month with no response from them and I have done lots of research and it seems they pretty much never reply to complaints so I am not holding out much hope through that avenue.
Sportsbet.io preach that they take player protection seriously, but this is clear they have no care for the welfare of their players.
I appreciate that Sportsbet.io would have incurred costs from this incident such as commissions to their game providers and I would be willing to accept some of the responsibility and have a reduced sum returned to me. I hope Sportsbet will eventually come to the right decision as at the moment I feel this has been handled very badly and unfairly. I have been completely truthful with sportsbet.io throughout and I have not attempted to defraud them at any point, all I ask is that I am treated fairly.
I hope everyone reading this sees this case from both sides. This is not a simple case of I lost and I want my money back, if that was the case I would not be pursuing this. It is much more complicated than that.
I do not give permission to sportsbet to reveal any of my details, including my username on a public forum. I wish to remain anonymous in public. (Should sportsbet need details from me please PM me, but I am sure you will be able to find this case very easily).