BetVictor closed my account and will not pay my $85,000 balance

SCAM ARTISTS: Read about how BetVictor illegally confiscated my balance of $85,000

I allowed BetVictor the opportunity and courtesy to deal with my issue in a timely fashion before going public because it's not my nature to trash a company online, but they have not responded to any of my emails or reasonable deadlines.

This company has screwed me out of $85,000. I deposited $700 or so and won a ridiculous amount playing live casino baccarat - all legitimately. After I request withdrawal, they ask for verification documents. All are provided. Even bank statement showing transfer from my own bank account - everything checks out. Then they close my account without providing any reason. I contact livechat and they just keep running in circles about emailing accountsecurity and that this is being reviewed. This was on Nov 9. They have closed my account and refused to pay out for no reason specified.

Eventually I got their head of customer service Stevie Palmer who wrote me one email saying they are "investigating" and haven't heard back. Granted he did say it would take until the 21st likely to hear back. But still he has not responded to any of my questions, provided reasons for the account closure or balance confiscation.

But it's been over 2 weeks since they closed my account. No issues of fraud, or multiple accounts. Any issues I could think I've raised and they continue to just say they're investigating. Deposit was made right from my own sole registered bank account. I cannot think of any issues and they aren't providing any. They are still "investigating" and doing whatever they can to find a way out of paying it. I have occasionally bet at my friend's house who also has a BV account, but we have completely separate houses, IP addresses, submitted individual verification documents, etc. We are romantic partners. We have each had our own accounts for months and they've taken deposits and paid withdrawals before without question. They closed his account for no reason provided. He asked for a reason 5 days ago and no response. Their customer service is a joke and doesn't even respond to emails. STAY AWAY.

Thankfully I'm in Ontario and have certain protections under Ontario law, but given the amount involved, it's very scary right now. I cannot believe what is going on. I even had to get a law firm involved and they are familiar with the Ontario laws and cannot believe what is going on. We have tried to arrange for a phone call, sent multiple emails requesting more information on the investigation, been completely transparent in showing that the deposit in question and winnings in question are all from ME: that there's no duplicate account. I have no actual reason given for account closure and balance confiscation but I can only suspect these issues given I used my friend's IP address - that is not prohibited in their rules. What's prohibited is an individual creating multiple accounts. We are separate individuals with separate addresses and separate IP addresses. We've provided all documentation to confirm this. 

I've previously deposited and won a bit and they've paid me. A couple months ago. So only NOW it's an issue because we're talking about $85,000. How sneaky of them to try find a technicality when they've already taken my action, paid out, established the legitimacy of my account, etc...

They are weasels; they will find any and every excuse under the sun not to pay you. Here, their indefinite "investigation" ongoing with no responses to ANY of my questions is not only really bad practice and acting in bad faith, but also leaves me completely in the dark as to the security of my funds. My lawyer and me have to infer what the issues are from and address them. Any and all issues have been addressed. The only things we could think of were the log-ins to the same IP and there was one $80 deposit (which was lost gambling) from months ago from a joint bank account which their terms do not prohibit. Their terms specify that all deposits must be from the account holder's bank account/credit card or winnings are voided. The account is in my name, just shared. But in any event, for the balance in my account now, the deposit was directly from my sole registered bank account, not any joint account. 100% of my balance is that deposit from my solely owned bank account and winnings that were legitimate - live casino - no cheating, no fraud, nothing. 

When you win big, legitimately, and with a regulated book, you should get paid out. End of story. Thankfully the Ontario laws provide that when they close your account, they have to pay out your balance. These morons can't get it through their heads that this is their obligation. We will sue and seek damages.

update: see posts below for what they said. Their final decision just said we’re taking the $86,000 and gave no reason as to why or what term was breached. Slimy company

It was definitely a good move to come here in order to submit an actual complaint.

Once the complaint is reviewed, be ready for an update.

Just a few details you obviously have never heard before. In case a lucky player wins quite a huge sum, it is common for the account to get close for a deep investigation. The casino will most likely investigate your gaming history in full to evaluate the winnings; maybe even the game provider itself will be asked for an investigation. This is usually the longest procedure, and the casino simply needs to wait for the final statement.

I perfectly understand what it seems like from the player's perspective. Keeping a lucky player completely uninformed should be considered a huge mistake. I hate to see it happening.

Please keep us posted here on the forum too, so we can be in touch or provide some level of support on top of the complaint itself.

Thanks for this. I didn’t realize that might be what’s holding it up. I have no concerns there. It was just a very lucky baccarat session.

In any event the lack of communication and keeping me in the dark are the worst parts. And they keep referencing "deep investigations" and "taking longer than expected" and it makes me more worried in light of the fact I didn’t do anything wrong. The only issue I see is the deposit and winnings from a shared/joint bank account and I’ve already offered to return that as a gesture of good faith to resolve this. But the balance of $85,000 is derived entirely of a deposit from my own name and winnings therefrom.

I’m freaked out they’re going to rely on one of their clauses that gives them the unilateral right to close my account and keep winnings. They have such broad power to do whatever they want. Like read these terms especially 17.3.

Look at section 17.3 - it literally provides them to discretion to close your account and void bets for any reason - note the word "including" is a qualifier and they use that so that they still retain the authority to void bets/confiscate winnings whenever they'd like for whatever reason. So they have given themselves the power to do whatever they want retroactively without any real evidence of cheating or collusion or anything illegal. Also note that the definitions of Prohibited Practices and Fraudulent Activities include any breach of the terms - so these terms are literally meaningless. They imply a higher level of misconduct but are defined to refer to any breach of their terms.

17.1 You may not use illegal funds for our services or carry out unlawful activities on it. By using our services, you confirm that the sources of funds used by you for gambling are not illegal and that you will not use our services in any way as a money transfer system. You must not use our services for any unlawful or Fraudulent Activity or Prohibited Practices (both as defined below) (including money laundering) under the laws of any jurisdiction that applies to you (in particular, the laws of Ontario). You should report to us immediately if you believe that any other person is undertaking any Prohibited Practices. If we request it, you must cooperate fully with us in relation to any investigation into any Prohibited Practices.

17.2 If we suspect you are engaging in unlawful activities, we may suspend your access or close your account. If we reasonably suspect that you are engaging in or have engaged in Fraudulent Activity, Prohibited Practices or any other unlawful or improper activity (including but not limited to money laundering), or conduct otherwise in material violation of the terms and conditions, we may terminate your access immediately and/or block your account. In such an event:

(a) we are not obliged to return any funds that may be in your account and we reserve right to withhold and/or retain any and all amounts which would otherwise have been paid or payable to you (including without limitation any winning or bonus amounts). If we close or suspend your account, the balance of your funds will be non-refundable (including any winnings or bonus funds) and they will be deemed to be forfeited by you to the extent of any claim that we may have against you as at the date of such closure. In addition to terminating your access to the services and/or blocking or closing your account, we reserve the right to prevent you from accessing our apps, website or servers, or accessing any other services we offer; and

(b) we may report you to the authorities. We may seek criminal or contractual sanctions against you and are entitled to inform relevant authorities, other online service providers and banks, credit card companies, electronic payment providers or other financial institutions of your identity and of any suspected Fraudulent Activity, Prohibited Practices or any other unlawful or improper activity and you will cooperate fully with us in order to investigate any such activity. If the game play on your account indicates that you are using such betting techniques, we will immediately block the account and retain any funds in said account.

17.3 We may end your contract at any time, including if we suspect that you break these terms. We may restrict your access to BetVictor, temporarily suspend or permanently terminate your account, withdraw your offers for bets, void any bets that have been settled on your account, cancel and void any outstanding bets in our absolute discretion without cause at any time for any reason, including but not limited to if: …

Radka please see my responses below. What is your relationship like with betvictor? I worry that they don’t take this seriously or see that they have an obligation to pay. They’ve been very unclear about what they’re investigating. It is worrying that they are taking so long and have already missed the promised deadline of nov 21.

Radka and all. I’m really freaking out. I have bad anxiety as it is and given what’s going on and being left in the dark I’m very worried. Any suggestions? I feel I’ve done everything I can. I’ve tried in good faith to be patient with betvictor but also filed complaints here and with the Ontario regulator to get some help. It’s been over 2 weeks now.

I feel your pain. I am going through a similar situation with jazz casino with over 30K on blackjack. They are claiming it was an accounting error and I was getting double payments on my winning and when I lost they were not deducting it from my balance which is a lie. The only time I got paid double was when I doubled down or split and they also deducted ever loss, I hope you get paid out.

There a law unto themselves casinos they all ways put that clause in about closing your account without due reason Its in their terms and conditions and when you join you agree to abide by their rules as unjust as they seem. You can complain to the gambling commission but in my experience they are worse than useless and are in corhoots with the casinos so your stuck

How long did it take you to win the 85K ?

I never really played baccarat. I know you can bet on yourself or the dealer to get to 9

In such a case, as already mentioned, you will have to be patient even though it is certainly not pleasant. If the casino gave you a deadline and didn't meet it, I assume that the investigation is still ongoing and the casino probably has nothing to tell you yet. I absolutely understand how you feel and everyone in your shoes would like to know more about what's going on and how it's going to turn out in the end, but obviously more information is needed. 

Anyway, you still have a complaint, so our team will try to help you and hopefully everything will turn out well in the end. I suppose it will still take some time. Could you update us when you hear something new ? 

It took about 3-4 hours. No cheating or anything. I started with $700 and just got on a hot streak and doubled it. Won 4-5 times in a row and then just kept playing. I didn’t take advantage of anything or do anything wrong - just got lucky. It was with one of their live baccarat providers - they can see the entire log of my plays. It’s all legitimate. The limits are high - like $10k per hand. So once you get the balance up it’s not hard to get to $85k from say $20k or $30k.

Thanks Jaro. I appreciate whatever your team can do. I will definitely keep you posted. I was told id hear back on nov 21 but the investigation is delayed and I will hear back end of this week. When you win fair and square and then you get pushed around and left in the dark after a big win, it’s a horrible feeling. It’s not right. I’m trying to be patient but betvictor has been completely non transparent and non communicative. They haven’t answered one of my questions which are basic inquiries as to what they are looking into, why, etc.

I know. No gambling site of any reputation should be able to have a term that lets them do whatever they want for not justified reason. I’m in Ontario and there are laws around preventing them from doing that and their obligation to pay me is very clear. The Ontario laws are new. Maybe only a year old. And I don’t know how much teeth the regulator here has. Hopefully it works out.

I hope for you do get your cash 85K is a lot of cash

Mine took 3 days I got hot, Cooled down quit when I started to lose, and came back got hot cooled off quit. I was doubling down on every 11 and placed the side bets on every hand. Playing 3 hands against the dealer, splitting 10s and not busting. Like if i got 15 i would stay and wait for the dealer to bust. That won me alot of hands.

Ya your situation sucks. I’m sorry. I do hope you get paid properly as well.

Same to you bro. Either way congratulations 85K is amazing!

I sympathize with you because it's definitely not a situation I would want to get into either. If the casino doesn't communicate I think it has nothing to say yet, but on the other hand I also understand that without an answer you are just nervous because you don't know where you stand. You have my praise for always trying to be patient, because with this amount of money, a lot of people wouldn't be able to stand it, and you have my admiration. 

However, as I mentioned before, our team will try to do as much as possible to make everything fair. I'll keep my fingers crossed for now and wait for further developments and your update. Take care. ☘️🤞

Thanks Jaro. I really do feel in my gut they just aren’t going to pay out. This is so unfair.

In that case, I hope your gut feeling will be bad in this situation and you will get your money in the end. Good luck.