Betway - Withheld winnings

Ruling

Found for the Casino - Betway casino have enforced their discretionary right to limit the maximum win amount with their welcome bonus to 6x the deposit. There's nothing unethical about this.

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Player's Complaint

I signed up to Betway casino with their 100% welcome bonus, depositing £250 and receiving the £250 bonus. I had, previous to depositing, checked out their terms and conditions, to ensure that I would be playing according to their bonus rules. I did note one clause in their terms, specifically:

7. Where a New Customer Offer has been granted to you, once all stipulated wagering requirements have been met, you will be limited to a maximum withdrawal value of 6 times your first deposit amount and any remaining balance will be forfeited. This clause will only be applied at the discretion of Betway management. Note: Progressive Jackpot wins are exempt from this clause.

I took this clause to mean that Betway would only limit withdrawal to six times the deposit amount if the management suspected some kind of dubious betting system or false/duplicate account, which would not describe my entertainment activity.

After fulfilling the wagering requirements, completely within the guidelines set out in the terms and conditions, my balance was £7707, which as you can imagine, I was ecstatic about. I attempted withdrawal, only to have £1500 enter my account a few days later.

I then complained and was told that it was company procedure to limit withdrawal to 6 times deposit when the welcome bonus has been accepted. However, I have now been told several different stories regarding this by different members of the Betway team, insinuating that this is not standard procedure and that prejudice was taken against my account.

My main issue with this is the wording of term 7 itself which suggests that the clause will only be applied at the discretion of Betway management. If, as has been suggested my some parties within Betway, that the term is always applied when a bonus is in play, their is no need to include the wording:

"This clause will only be applied at the discretion of Betway management."

...as it is clear in the term itself that the clause is referring to a New Customer Offer.

Therefore, we can only conclude that I have been misled by Betway staff in alluding to that reason for my winnings being withheld. I can therefore also conclude that I have been given no reason at all as to why my winnings have been withheld.

I feel the clause is designed to mislead new customers and give the casino a huge advantage, on top of their usual house edge and wagering requirements, over new customers.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated as my next step is Small Claims Court..

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