Question about Gambling websites with Curaçao license using incorrect Merchant Category code (strana 448)

What I am now thinking is that the game providers should be getting it in the neck as well, your Pragmatic Play, PlayNGo etc as they are allowing this shit to happen. They should be formally advised of what these companies are doing allowing people in jurisdictions where its illegal to bypass geolocking that they supply and openly encouraging VPN usage.

If anyone has any insider information on Falcora finance, please could you let me know. I’m in a complaint with their holding bank.

ClearBank? Are you getting anywhere with them? They have fobbed me off completely when I emailed a detailed complaint a few weeks ago.

ive been waiting for 2 months for refunds from betfoxx!!!

no info I’m afraid but transferred to them using Revolut.. what a mistake! Keen for updates

Oh absolutely. Thanks for jogging my memory about this as I was going to complain to Evolution Gaming and PlayTech (the tens of thousands I lost were on their various respective Live Casino games as opposed to Slots or other categories like Sports). They absolutely should not be profiting from these kinds of unregulated sites as they profit enough from the regulated ones and you would think they would be keen to protect their reputations as such large gaming providers but instead they’re complicit in this horror, just like the payment processors and banks.

Check out this article from a few months ago, apparently the UKGC are investigating their license over this (Evolution Gaming): https://igamingbusiness.com/offshore-gaming/evolution-uk-gambling-commission-review/

Evolution - asrealasitgets@evolution.com

Push Gaming - info@pushgaming.com

Hacksaw - info@hacksawgaming.com

No Limit City - info@nolimitcity.com

Playtech - info@playtech.com

Here are a few - going to email them all again. Have done this before with Mystake and Push temporarily pulled their games.

Thank you, I will amend the template I’ve been using. Interesting that you mention them being pulled as when I had my regrettable gambling binge last month on the Santeda sites Evolution games would not load correctly much of the time and they even changed the URL address, perhaps in an attempt to bypass the blackout if Evolution Gaming were blocking their access?

Yes for all it would cost them to buy a garage company in the UK and use it to hide behind it would be peanuts to them ! I got a £4700 refund off them and chargebacks and never heard anything from them as its small potatoes plus not worth their while or the hassle to chase up they will be raking in millions !

I guess it’s like all those fake barber shops people are always posting about on social media that keep popping up in the UK and how they’re a front for money laundering supposedly.

I guess it’s similar to the fake barber shops people keep talking about on social media which are allegedly a front for money laundering activities.

Evening All!

Just wanted to say Hi, share my journey and most importantly thank everyone who's posted useful information in this thread. It's been a massive help and has kept my spirits up reading everyones experiences.

I'll redact some information as I don't want to doxx myself or jeapordise any ongoing disputes.

I started gambling doing matched betting back in about 2017. Obviously this escalated and has ebbed and flowed since. Quite possibly the worst time of my life, and I lived through the reign of Thatcher! I dread to think how much money I lost at UK casinos. I suspect it's 6 figures but regardless, that's all in the past now. I hit a rough patch and signed up to Gamstop 2 or so years ago.

Then I discovered the dubious pleasures of offshore casinos. At first it went ok, I found one that paid out winnings, didn't have ridiculous terms and had responsive customer service staff. I won't name who it was but they up and closed my account one day in early 2024. So I emailed them and pointed out they shouldn't have accepted my business as they weren't licensed in the UK. I don't think they'd do it now, but they refunded my net deposits. Probably about £9k all told.

So what did idiot muggins here do? I stayed clean from gambling for a good 6 or months or so, then I let my guard down and thought... a little flutter won't hurt, will it?

So here we are, £13k down now and pretty much sh1t outta luck.

One of my banks (Big uk based one owned} refused my chargebacks, waited until I had desposited a significant amount in to my account then pulled the credit they'd given me from my account with no notice. Then had the audacity to send me a deadlock letter for a complaint I'd never made and closed my account. Currently going through the proper complaints FOS process with this one. It's a Visa account so I should win this one hopefully.

I had better success with another of my accounts. It's a business account from a challenger bank. I had to hassle them to the ends of the earth as they pulled the whole 'Mastercard, no chargebacks for gambling' until I pointed out that it was a business account and therefore blocked all gambling transactions automatically. About £1600 back from that one.

Finally, my other account with another challenger bank. This has just been picked up by the FOS as they also "Mastercarded" me and denied my chargebacks. I suspect I will win this one as well as I asked them to process it as 'goods not received', provided plenty of evidence and had a gambling block on my card. They even admitted in chat that these were somehow schroedingers transactions. They obviously weren't gambling merchants, but as I had mentioned gambling transactions etc etc etc. This will be about £10k I think. So fingers crossed. There are other mitigating circumstances and behaviours from the bank that should also help back my complaint.

I had a bit of luck getting refunds from of the usual suspects; Wintermads, Cannapay and KYCoin but that was back before they started to get wise to being charged back. Now they just seem to ignore everyone. I think they are just of the opinion that if they ignore it, a lot of people will give up as chargeback acceptance by the bank appears to be the biggest hurdle. Then if they do get a chargeback notification, they just refund so they don't end up on Mastercards QMAP or being blacklisted completely.

Finally, a word of caution..... I got a bunch of refunds from a couple of UK companies that were involved with this. I won't name names but it was sketchy as all hell. One of them started sending me threatening emails, along with copies of my photo ID that they had obviously obtained from the casino in question. The other one actually phoned me up, the mad scottish barm claiming I had tried to buy something from his webshop and that he 'knew where I lived' etc. Fortunately, I'd moved a long way away since that address on my ID was valid so not too worrying, but still.

TLDR;

Don't gamble

IF you get it back, don't do it again, third and fourth chances are rare as hens teeth.

Be careful, these are criminals. And some of them have your photo ID!

Big Love

Just had a phone call from a casino called bet blast anyone ever heard of them ? Don't know how they got my number as this is a new number they asked if my email was still my registered email .I asked who are they and why are they calling me .They said they wanted to offer me a exciting join up offer .I obviously told them to jog on and if they phone me again I will report them for Harrassment and targeting problem gamblers. But how did they get my number??

I would guess from the Curacao-based casinos, do they have your new number? I get a lot of spam/scam casinos-related emails from (presumably unlicensed) casinos I’ve never heard of which started around the time I began to sign up for these awful sites. I also now get more nuisance calls than I ever have but I can’t even recall if I gave the Curacao casinos a contact number ever.

Yeah and the fact he has also had many companies that have liquidated… it’s very clear they are involved in this.

So get this make this make sense 🙄

My bank have awarded me two out of 10 transactions all raised for the same reasons but I don't have rights for 8 of the higher transactions they paid me for two and decided the rest were no chargeback rights 🤦🏻‍♀️has anyone else had this happen I feel like I'm going crazy with dumbness here but it makes zero sense!!

I'm trying to post but it's up for review.

^ Same here. Hopefully they’re not going to start overzealously modding this thread because of casino threats. 🙄

How can they raise 2 out of 10 transactions and say 8 have no rights when they are all the same situation.

I'm pretty sure they won't or they would of removed it by now. 😄