So far this year we have seen over a dozen complaints come in. Unfortunately, the woes continue for a couple of sportsbooks. But the one that struck a nerve was on a casino.

A player sent in a complaint saying that he played through a free $20 chip at Superior Casino and they refused to pay, instead deleting his balance. So, as with any complaint, we checked immediately with Superior Casino. They got right back to us and explained that the promotion was for slots only. We checked the website and it does clearly state that this is a slot promotion and even lists the games that the promo is not eligible for. It also states in the rules that the max cash out for the promo is $50 – after a 20X rollover. The rules state, "any funds over the maximum cashable amount will be removed automaticlly on cashout."

Now this player did use the free chip to play blackjack with and then went over to slots and played through the required 20x. But, it is pretty clear that he did not follow the rules and thus, was not eligible to collect. However, the reason for the curiosity with this particular complaint is the rules and the promo itself. With today’s software, a player should not be able to use a free chip for games other than the ones that he can legitimately play and win.  In addition, this promo has such a low withdrawal limit, any play who runs up any type of balance playing slots with the free money will certainly become more than frustrated

Now this does not make Superior Casino a bad place? Absolutely Not. Far from it, they got right back to us and explained in detail that situation with this player. And they have the rules VERY clearly stated on the website. But, this case does lead us back to the very core of what we tell players who are looking into wagering on the Internet, caveat emptor – buyer beware. Read the rules before sending money, read the rules before playing though free money or chips and certainly read the rules, all of them, if you take a deposit bonus and expect to withdrawal your winnings. We checked about a dozen other casinos powered by Rival Gaming software and found that none of the dozen put a limit on winnings from the free chip offer. However, this may even be worse as many of the websites showed a free chip bonus and a download link – no rules at all. And, as with any bonus given when gambling online, there are stipulations that must be met before withdrawal.

We also received another complaint of slow pay from Gamblers Palace. Again, this is a player who is owed several thousand dollars. We have never heard from a guy who is only owed a couple of hundred bucks, but as we reported months ago, players who have run up significant balances are going to have to take smaller payments and wait to get paid all of their winnings. The latest player has received one payment of $800 and is now waiting on another installment towards is $4700 balance. 

We had one complaint that stemmed from an abusive customer. This player called clerks every name in the book, called the girls the C-word and so forth. The player claimed he was mistreated by the book. However, the book played the tapes and most of we heard made us embarrassed to be Americans. Though this player was not making a payout complaint, due to the fact that he has a giant black mark in his account and none of the girls want to talk to him anymore, we urged him to play elsewhere.

Here’s a word to the wise. Don’t call other countries and tell them that they live in the third world – never goes over very well. Don’t call and scream when something does not go your way. The abuse of clerks at offshore books never makes a situation any better. In fact it makes it more difficult to help a player. However, as one book told us previously, ‘just because a guy is a jerk doesn’t mean he shouldn’t get paid’.

Finally, some more good news out of the BetOnline camp. We had reported in last month’s Offshore Report that a new management team of top-notch executives had been put in place. They vowed to get rid of many of the ‘old bookie’ systems that had previously been in place. This week an email was sent to players letting them know that their re-up bonus rules have changed dramatically. Here, some players who had won big or made big withdrawals had a “make up” figure that they had to lose before they were eligible for bonuses! BetOnline is not alone with that tactic as many places limits on re-up bonuses for players who have made withdrawals. But, at BetOnline, that figure is now gone from every player’s account. As the email states, “no make up figure nonsense, come and enjoy our new bonuses.” We are glad to see this change and look forward to more positive news form BetOnline in the coming weeks.