There must be absolutely nothing worse than seeing a jackpot of millions pop up onto the slot machine you’re using, only to be denied your money by the casino operators.
Every so often, betting and casino companies do actually refuse to make a pay out to customers who have won big. In 2015, for example, a woman from Portland, Oregon, took a trip to the Lucky Eagle Casino in Rochester, Washington. She watched her game on the Jurassic Riches slot machine reach a life-changing $8.5 million, but the casino refused to payout.
Lucky Eagle claimed that the jackpot was an ‘error’.
Why are casinos sometimes allowed to call the shots on payouts?
For starters, all casinos, bookmakers and betting sites are owned by private businesses who have the right to create their own terms on conditions on bets placed. Unless a gambler is prepared to really do the research and read every clause of every company’s policy, then there is always going to be a chance of falling foul to the rules.
Even so, casinos have to prove that their terms and conditions have been clearly violated by a player in order to refuse to pay their winnings. The terms must also be reasonable and visible to players in the first place – in other words, the rules must be fair.
Here are just a few instances where winnings can be refused to gamblers.
The casino makes a genuine error
All casinos and betting sites state in their terms that bets can be canceled if an obvious error is made on their part, either through human or machine error.
Online casinos manage hundreds of betting lines, so it is understandable that errors will happen every now and again.
For example, a strong horse racing favorite with unlikely odds at just one bookmaker is more than likely a mistake – if you place a bet and payment is refused, it shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Having said this, mistakes can still be disputed with the company and the UK Independent Betting Adjudication Service.
A player is exploiting weak lines for continuous wins
Although unlikely, it is possible for those who win more than usual to be banned from some casinos.
While casinos accept that gambling is a game of wins and losses, they have to make a profit in order to thrive. If players are purposely exposing weak lines to win and betting in specific ways that guarantee returns, then venues can ban them. Weak lines may be down to error or naturally inflated or deflated odds.
All online casinos have records of their players and bets, which makes it easy for them to flag suspicious activity. Land-based resorts are now starting to use facial recognition cameras and other tech features to pick up similar patterns on the gambling floor.
You don’t need to worry if you win fair and square, like the Britsh Colombia woman who recently won $1 million playing slots.
While some players are completely banned from gambling in some venues, others are simply limited to how much they can bet.
It should be noted that any bet winnings that have been won before a casino bans a player should still be paid out. There’s really no need to exploit casinos, really – if you need some tips on how to win big fairly, start by checking out the best-kept secrets about roulette wheels.
A player is illegally betting
An obvious rule is that players who are found to be underage will not be given their winnings.
Gambling underage or gambling from an area where betting is illegal will automatically rule out any chance of you collecting your funds.
The best thing to do is check whether online gambling is legal in your area before placing a bet on any website.
Winnings won’t be given to a family member, either – the company will keep it and most likely the stake, too.
The player has more than one account on a site
Players who have signed up to the same website more than once will be denied any winnings. This may have been to claim welcome bonuses twice or to stand a greater chance of winning and is going against the community guidelines of all betting sites.
This is more common than you’d think. According to Adrian Sireca from Online Casino Gems.
‘Accounts using the same IP address are often suspended, so if two adults both have accounts in the same household, then customer services will need to be made aware of that fact. If an online casino finds out that you hold more than one account before paying your winnings out, then the likelihood is that you will never receive the money.’
The player is on a self-exclusion list
If you self-exclude yourself from any casino or betting site then continue to gamble and win, then it is very likely that you will not be paid.
Those on self-exclusion lists can get their account balance back, but any bets moving forward are likely to be canceled.
Live bets that a player returns to months down the line are likely to be refused payment, too.
The player doesn’t have ID
If a player is unable to present a form of acceptable ID when collecting winnings at a casino (i.e. passport, driver’s license) then winnings can be refused. This doesn’t mean all is lost, though. The venue will simply hand over an unclaimed jackpot form. When the player returns with the correct ID at a later date, they will be able to claim their winnings.
The player’s name is on the Gambling Intercept system
The Gambling Intercept system came into play in some US states in 2011, but it is mainly used in Colorado. The system holds the name of all citizens who owe the government money. If a player wins a jackpot and upon claiming winnings it is discovered that their name matches in the system, then winnings will be paid to cover their fines, rather than be handed over to them personally.