For a business to build a reputation, it takes a lot of money and time to be invested to achieve this through marketing, brand awareness and all other activities.
But my question is why would they risk all they have invested to a few players by scamming them? I for one know the forum will side with the player that have been allegedly being scammed in most cases but how do casino's/bookies protect themselves if not terms and conditions?
If people buy reviews to paint a picture of a good standing business, what would stop the competition from buying people to tarnish a competitors reputation to have an advantage in the business?
I think there are two different reasons why this can happen. Firstly, the business was established for the sole purpose of disappearing sooner or later with the users' funds. If that was my intention as a company founder, I would do it the way you described. I would try to create a well-functioning, visually appealing online casino and then, as soon as I have a large number of users on my platform and a correspondingly large amount of capital on the wallets, I would pull off the scam.
The second reason is that the casino itself is totally legit but you were a victim of an criminal employee of that casino who somehow managed to steal your funds. In that case the casino should compensate you.
Of course there is also the possibility that the accusations are just faked by a competitor business.