What Happened:

I played on Housebets between February 28 and March 8, 2025. On February 28, I contacted their support to ask if I was allowed to use their platform from Portugal, and they confirmed that I could. However, eight days later, my account was restricted, and I was later fully banned from their platform. I was also banned from their Discord, Telegram, and live chat support, making it impossible to communicate with them. They have kept all my deposited funds, and I was never able to withdraw anything before my account was blocked.

Amount Scammed:

9228.37 USDC ERC20

Proof of Payment:

https://etherscan.io/address/0x137a737733647b43B029B2236D1c1660ba4e5d44

Payment Proof: https://i.ibb.co/GfC86qj8/Screenshot-2025-03-10-134109.png

Additional Notes:

PM/Chat Logs 1: https://i.ibb.co/pr1kT8sZ/Screenshot-2025-03-09-230446.png

PM/Chat Logs 2: https://i.ibb.co/SDY3dcDs/Screenshot-2025-03-09-231923.png

I want to share my experience with Housebets to warn others about their shady practices. I made multiple deposits between February 28 and March 8, totaling 9228.37, and I never made a single withdrawal. Suddenly, after reaching out to their support regarding legal concerns, my account was banned without explanation and my funds stolen.

Timeline of Events:

* Feb 28 - Before making any deposit I contacted Housebets support to ask if I was allowed to play from Portugal. They confirmed that I could. -> this evidence

* Feb 28 - Mar 8 - I continued depositing and playing as a regular user.

* Mar 8 - After reaching out to them again, my account was restricted, and I was banned from their Discord, Telegram, and live chat support.

* Mar 11 - I tried logging in and saw that my account was fully banned, with no way to access my funds or even communicate with them.

Conclusion:

This is a clear case of a scam. They allowed me to deposit for over a week while knowing my location, only to ban me and keep my funds when I questioned their legality. Their lack of response and refusal to refund my deposits proves they are not a trustworthy platform. If you value your funds, STAY AWAY from Housebets!

If anyone has advice on how to escalate this further, please let me know. I have already posted on Trustpilot and will continue reporting this fraud.

Housebets Official Response:

We take all claims seriously and strive to maintain transparency in our operations. However, in this case, the accusations made against Housebets are entirely misleading.

1. Player Responsibility: It is each player's responsibility to ensure they are legally allowed to use our platform based on their jurisdiction. We provide clear terms of service, and it is up to the user to verify their compliance before engaging in any gameplay.

2. No Funds Were Blocked: At no point did Housebets block or withhold any funds from this player. The user in question made deposits, placed bets, and ultimately lost their balance through regular gameplay. There were no available funds in the account at the time it was restricted. We have never not processed a fair withdrawal.

3. Attempted Exploitation of the Platform: The claim made here follows a known pattern of behavior where a user willingly participates in betting, and only after losing attempts to recover their funds by making accusations against the platform. This approach—expecting winnings to be honored while disputing losses—suggests an attempt to exploit the system rather than a genuine grievance.

4. Account Restriction Based on Jurisdiction: The account was restricted once the user disclosed their location, as per our compliance obligations. However, at that time, their balance was already $0, meaning there were no funds to withdraw or "steal." Housebets has always honored withdrawals and will continue to do so. We operate with integrity, ensuring all transactions are processed fairly. This is not a case of withheld funds, but rather an attempt to misrepresent the facts after a series of losing bets.

This is our final response on the matter. We will not engage in further discussions regarding a clear attempt to exploit our platform. We encourage all users to play responsibly and ensure they comply with jurisdictional requirements before engaging with our platform.

My Response to Housebets:

Housebets claim the account was restricted based on jurisdiction. However, this evidence clearly contradicts that claim. As shown in the screenshot, you were well aware of my location on February 28th. Despite this, my account remained active, and I was able to deposit and play until March 8th. It is convenient that you only restricted my account *after* I requested a withdrawal.

Unfortunatly it seems neither CasinoGuru neither AskGamblers have housebets.com casino on the list of casinos to create an official complaint.

Hey, I've read about your situation and I find it quite strange. According to what you say, you were banned based on your location. But the email said that Portugal is not on the list of banned countries, which is contradictory. 

On the other hand, the casino says that at the time you were banned you had no money there. Is that true or not? I'd say that's not a very good reason, but if you lost your money there and the casino closed your account afterwards, I don't know why they should give you a refund.

Besides, could you please provide me with the url of the casino so that we can do the review? 

Also, just because we don't have the casino in our database doesn't mean you can't file a complaint. If we don't have it, then choose another casino from the list and write in the text which one it is. This is for future reference. 

But I would like to clarify things first.

Hello,

The casino stated that my account was restricted "once the user disclosed their location," which is inaccurate.

Prior Communication: On February 28th, I contacted their support to confirm if playing from Portugal was permitted. They confirmed it was, as evidenced by this screenshot: https://i.ibb.co/SDY3dcDs/Screenshot-2025-03-09-231923.png

SRIJ Contact: On the same day (February 28th), I also contacted the Portuguese Gambling Regulatory Authority (SRIJ). I received a response days later informing me that the casino's license was invalid in Portugal.

Account Blockage: Despite the casino's initial confirmation and my inquiry with SRIJ, I continued to play, having open bets and a balance in my account. On March 8th, the casino blocked my account, stating I could not play from Portugal.

Refund Request: I am requesting a refund of my deposit amount, specifically for the period between February 28th, when the casino confirmed I could play, and March 8th, when they blocked my account. I am not requesting any potential winnings, only the deposited sum after they confirmed I could play.

Casino URL: https://housebets.com/

Balance Clarification: At the moment of the account closure I had a balance and open bets.

Regarding your question about my balance, I had a balance and open bets at the moment they closed my account. I do not have a precise number, but I had money in the account.

Furthermore, I believe that the exact amount of my balance at the time of closure is irrelevant. The casino was aware of my location on February 28th, as demonstrated by the attached screenshot. They were negligent in confirming that I could play from Portugal. Eight days later, they claimed they were unaware of my location and that it was prohibited. They are responsible for this oversight.

Thank you for your assistance in resolving this matter.

I am writing to share critical information regarding my case with Housebets casino and to reinforce my request for a full refund of my deposits.

Before depositing any funds, I contacted Housebets support to verify the legality of their operations in Portugal. I received the following response, dated February 28th:

https://i.ibb.co/SDY3dcDs/Screenshot-2025-03-09-231923.png

As you can see, Housebets explicitly stated, "Please note that Portugal is not on our list of restricted countries, and you may continue using our services without any restrictions." This clearly demonstrates that Housebets confirmed that playing from Portugal was permitted before I made any deposits.

Despite this confirmation, my account was blocked on March 8th, with the reason given that I was not allowed to play from Portugal. This contradiction is unacceptable and demonstrates clear negligence and bad faith on the part of Housebets.

-> https://i.ibb.co/pr1kT8sZ/Screenshot-2025-03-09-230446.png

I have attached the second email that I refer to.

Based on this evidence, I request a full refund of all deposits made between February 28th and March 8th. Housebets profited from my activity during this period, knowing or having reason to know they were not permitted to operate in Portugal.

I appreciate your attention and support in resolving this matter.

For this case, it would be good to know if you played only sports or also some casino games. 

As for the blocking, it makes no sense to me that they would tell you one thing and do another. 

However, did you also check the Terms and Conditions despite what they told you and therefore whether Portugal is restricted? Also, when you registered, was it possible to select Portugal as the country in the form? 

When I looked at the other email, it's a bit confusing because what they wrote, "Our platform does not actively target or advertise to players in Portugal" doesn't necessarily mean that Portugal is restricted, at least it doesn't seem like that to me. I checked those Terms and I didn't find Portugal as restricted, so I'm a bit worried if it was really blocked because of the restricted country.

Did you play from any other countries that might be on this list, or are you using a VPN?

For this case, it would be good to know if you played only sports or also some casino games. 

I played both, but mostly sports

As for the blocking, it makes no sense to me that they would tell you one thing and do another. 

However, did you also check the Terms and Conditions despite what they told you and therefore whether Portugal is restricted? Also, when you registered, was it possible to select Portugal as the country in the form? 

Me neither. In their Terms and Conditions they don't mention Portugal at all, thats why I contacted them before placing any deposit or bet. I didn't need to select the country on the signup.

When I looked at the other email, it's a bit confusing because what they wrote, "Our platform does not actively target or advertise to players in Portugal" doesn't necessarily mean that Portugal is restricted, at least it doesn't seem like that to me. I checked those Terms and I didn't find Portugal as restricted, so I'm a bit worried if it was really blocked because of the restricted country.

They are shady and yes, their email don't say it that BUT they said it here:

 4.   Account Restriction Based on Jurisdiction

The account was restricted once the user disclosed their location, as per our compliance obligations.

-> https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5534926.msg65160921#msg65160921

Did you play from any other countries that might be on this list, or are you using a VPN?

No, never, no need for that as they allowed everything from Portugal.

Can you contact casino or make a bad reputation for them at least? I can't create complaints anywhere about it but trustpilot. They ignore all the complaints and all the emails.

Thanks for your work

If you have played both then maybe it would be possible to help you somehow or our experts will deal with you. So try to file a complaint with us and we'll see how it goes. As I mentioned, select any casino and write in the text what casino it is and our team will transcribe it.

As for the casino decision, there is more and there are 4 points. It looks to me like they did it for something other than the location, since that should be fine.

So I would recommend to definitely try our complaint team and see if we can get somewhere further.

You up for it?

I didn't fillup the complaint yet because it wasn't listed - but now that you told me that I'll do it right now! thanks!

Edit: "Complaint submitted

Your complaint has been successfully submitted and will be reviewed by our Complaints specialists soon. We will send you an e-mail as soon as there are any updates about your complaint." Lets see if they will answer here... will you guys try to contact the casino?

Good on you for submitting the complaint. Our team will inform you about what can be done next. Please follow the complaints thread for more information.

no updates from no one : (

I can see that our team is still investigating, so hopefully soon we'll have some updates.

Hopefully yes... I dont understand how can housebets not be liable for it and keep targeting portuguese players on their platform... without updating their terms.

They should surely do it, as you say.

Lets hope your collegues think same way...

Our team will do everything possible, of course.

it doesnt seems that way sorry

I would still say it's too early to conclude, let's let the complaint come to an end and then we'll see.

Weeks have been passing and so far I'm seeing nothing. They didn't even contact the casino ??

Oh I'm sorry, I saw how it ended. Unfortunately, there are some things we can't help with because we don't have the capacity to deal with them. Or we don't have the authority to intervene, but I also noticed that Kristina recommended SRIJ where it might be useful to complain. ??

Have you thought about this possibility?

SRIJ do not deal with ilegal casinos. I have balance in my account so I believe yes you do have the capacity to help on it.