NoBonus - Huge lack of protection for vulnerable people

Hi honestdel - welcome to ThePOGG.com!

I'm afraid most of your complaint is missing as you've used the '&' symbol which we prohibit for security reasons (this is detailed on the complaints submission form).

I need you to provide the rest of the details of your complaint so I can better understand the issue.

Thanks,

ThePOGG

Hi, apologies I didn't notice I'd used that symbol as it was part of the company name. As there is so much information in my complaint I think the best thing to do is forward all the emails I've sent and the replies from [EDIT] of No Bonus Casino to you. I've sent this to [email protected] which should allow you to fully understand my complaint and the seriousness of the situation in regards to my son's health and wellbeing. Thanks, [EDIT]

Hi, please can you confirm you are looking into my complaint and have received my email with all forwarded emails so you can better understand the issue? Kind regards, [EDIT]

Hi ThePogg, Please can you get back to me with an update on my complaint? As you are aware the incident in question is causing my mentally ill son untold grief and anxiety so I am desperate to resolve this ASAP. Kind regards, [EDIT]

Hi honestdel,

We are looking into this and will respond to you when we have relevant information to communicate to you.

Thanks,

ThePOGG

Hi honestdel,

I've now had a chance to review this issue in detail with No Bonus Casino.

Unfortunately we are not able to support your claim in this instance.

A review of the account activity shows that reasonable Responsible Gambling based interventions and checks did in fact occur at appropriate junctures.

- At the point of registration electronic verification was conducted on the details the account was registered under. This is standard practice for UK licensees and in line with the registration verification requirements that were active at the time the account was registered.

- At point of registration "Reality Checks" were put in place. This is an automatic alert that triggers on a timed basis to ensure the user remains aware of how long they have been playing for. In this case the Reality Check alerts were set to occur after an hour of continuous play and as such were both triggered and dismissed by conformations multiple times over the various playing sessions in question.

- On the 18th of April an alert directing attention to the various Responsible gambling tools that are available to players was triggered due specific account activity thresholds having been met that reads as follows:

"Our casino prides itself on being proactive in supporting players to enjoy their gaming experience responsibly.

From the ‘Responsible Gaming’ section in your account you are able to set up various limits that help you to control how much time or money you are willing to spend. It also gives you the option to take a break from playing.

If you would like to know more about the various solutions we offer, please visit the Responsible Gaming section or contact us by phone, email, or live chat.

We would be happy to help you figure out the best plan for you!"

This alert was acknowledged and dismissed.

- On the 24th of April the above Responsible Gambling alert is again triggered due to differing account activity thresholds having been met. Again this alert is dismissed by the user.

- On the 24th of April the Responsible Gambling alert is triggered again due to other activity thresholds having been met. This alert is again dismissed by the user.

- Later on the 24th, the No Bonus Casino team acted on the above alerts by contacting on the provided email address to request verification documentation.

While I will not provide details of the specific policies this operator has in place with regard to their management of accounts and where and when various actions would be taken, I did discuss this at length with the operator. I also approached multiple other UKGC licensed operators who we know to have had their Responsible Gambling policies Audited by the regulator recently and whom have 'passed' said Audit. We found the policies and practices that are generally put in place by No Bonus Casino to broadly align with these other operators and that the trigger points that are specific to this case would have been reflected at the other licensees we approached.

I looked at the at the account game play activity to see if there were indicators beyond those discussed above that should have been acted on by the operator. The following would be my conclusions:

- Consistency in the time of play. While play does occur late at night this is consistent from the point of registration and formed an established pattern prior to the point of the more significant sessions that are being contested, i.e. no significant changes in the general pattern are observed that would suggest a loss of control.

- Consistency in deposit sizes. Deposits start off at £100 and reach a maximum of £250. There is no significant escalation in the sizes of deposits that is common to players experiencing control issues and who are 'chasing losses'.

- Bet Size Selections - The game play is split between live games and slots.

When playing Live games there are significant variations in bet size. Progressive betting systems appear to be employed where bets start low and are incrementally increases. However, where this is the case the increases are consistent - i.e. set patterns are commonly repeated through out gaming sessions - and are not correlated to either balance or results - i.e. the bets increase in the same manner regardless of balance size and mostly decreases occur regardless of whether or not a win is achieved with the final bet. This does not suggest a gambler engaged in emotional behaviour or out of control tendencies.

When playing slots games bet sizes are appropriately proportionately lower than the bets being placed on the live games, accounting for the increased game variance. While there is some escalation in the bet sizes being used, these increases do not appear to correlate with changes in balance with both increases and decreases in bet sizes occurring at both higher and lower balances. Again, these movements do not seem to indicate a player who is engaged in 'chasing losses'.

- Balance. On two separate occasions sessions are concluded (i.e. there is a substantial break in play) with significant balances remaining within the account which are left until the next playing session occurs. This is again inconsistent with high risk players who gravitate toward gambling until they either recover their losses or have lost their entire balance.

Based on the above I cannot conclude that there was sufficiently significant indications within the game play history to conclude that the operator should have acted to restrict the account on this basis.

Based on the above I cannot see grounds in this instance to conclude that No Bonus Casino's actions have been inconsistent with the standards expected by their regulator and as such can only suggest that if you are still dissatisfied with our conclusions you approach the UKGC directly with your complaint.

I would again stress that I am sorry to hear of your hardship and would also direct you to our free Responsible Gambling app BetBlocker that, once activated on a device, will prevent that device from being able to access over 6.7k gambling operator websites, including No Bonus Casino.

Sorry we cannot be of further help.

ThePOGG