Paul, I mean no disrespect, but given your strong stance against freerolling in the past, it’s hard to ignore how things have changed. I do understand the addiction side of this, it’s real, and it’s powerful, but you were someone who set the benchmark and helped others see the potential positives. That said, this whole situation also highlights just how easily these unlicensed casinos prey on vulnerable people, and why they need to be held accountable. The UKGC, government needs to take a firm grip on this issue.
You’re right though there’s always another site that pops up, easy to access and ready to exploit. But let this be a message to everyone, not just you: the only person who can truly overcome gambling addiction is yourself. Sometimes it takes some tough truths to break through. This isn’t just about you, Paul there are many others here who’ve slipped back into old habits or used the information on this thread to abuse the system. It only ends one way though.
And to those knowingly abusing the system, thinking you can fall back on a potential refund take a moment and have a good, hard look at yourself. I’m telling you now, it’s not worth it for a few hours kick of dopamine. This will destroy your life not just financially, but emotionally, and it will hurt the people who care about you too.
I learned my lesson with these unlawful sites the first time around. Late last year, I hit rock bottom in my personal life.. Sure, they were an escape from reality but I have not touched them since. They literally stole over £200k from me. I had won over £400k, but I didn’t see a penny of it. Withdrawals were rejected just to bait me into playing more and it worked. Now, I’m stuck trying to recover from the massive net losses.
Please, stay away from these sites. They’re fronts for much bigger scams designed to drain your money. This forum has been incredibly helpful, and I’ve tried to give back but once I’ve said my piece, I’m out too. These casinos are unlicensed for a reason.
Sometimes I think about flying to Cura?ao to confront the people behind all this, but I know the real way to hit them is by recovering what they’ve taken and helping others avoid the same trap. Learn from this, let it be a warning, not a repeated cycle.