I have mental health issues which cause erratic behaviour and this sometimes manifests itself in the form of excessive gambling when I'm ill. Due to this behaviour I joined Gamstop which I hoped would make it impossible for me to gamble online but unfortunately for me there are sites out there which still allow you to play even if you are Registered on Gamstop and the one I found was called MAGIC WIN. This 'casino' it transpires, do not identify themselves as an online casino when dealing with banks, they present as different retail groups. This means that your bank is unable to get your money back from them if you have a dispute. I had no idea that this was the case when I started using the casino.

I have just gambled over ￡7000 with them over the past week and have seen no return or big wins during this time.

This money was my ill health pension from work and I feel sick that I have allowed this to happen. I know I'll never see that money again but I want to stop anyone else falling for their scam/money laundering ways. PLEASE DON'T USE THIS CASINO. PLEASE JUST IGNORE THEM. YOU WILL LOSE EVERYTHING. I have asked them more than twice before to close my account but they just ignore the requests, knowing full well you'll be back.

Dear tootsiepoo73,

Thank you very much for submitting your complaint. I’m sorry to hear about your problem.

I’m sure that you are aware of the geolocation of GAMSTOP operation:

GAMSTOP lets you put controls in place to help restrict your online gambling activities.

Sign up for the service and you will be prevented from using gambling websites and apps run by companies licensed in Great Britain, for a period of your choosing.

Since you have chosen a casino with a Cura?ao license, it will be very difficult to resolve this case to your satisfaction. However, before we’ll contact the casino and ask for their standpoint, could you please forward emails or screenshots showing that you have informed the casino about your gambling problem? My email address is [email protected].

I hope we will be able to help you to resolve this issue as soon as possible. Thank you in advance for your reply.

Best regards,

Petronela

Hi Petronela. The issue isn't so much about them allowing me to gamble with them even though I am Gamstop registered but that they are not licensed in Cura?ao as a casino, nor do they identify as a casino when dealing with player's funds, either when players deposit with them or withdraw. They are identifying as department stores according to my bank. Obviously I was not aware of any of this and thought they were a genuine casino. I have not spoken with them about this issue because it only came to light yesterday.

I had asked my bank, Santander, to block any gambling transactions as I was worried I was becoming ill and wanted to protect my ill health pension money which was due to be paid into my Santander account. Santander put the block on my account but then paid all of the transactions out to Win Casino as they weren't showing as gambling transactions but department stores. I have tried everything to stop me being able to gamble, joining Gamstop for 5 years and bank putting gambling block on my account but it still hasn't stopped me losing all of my retirement money. I am devastated.

Thank you for explaining, tootsiepoo73. Unfortunately, without having previously informed the gambling establishment of your gambling problem, we cannot pursue this case any further. There is no leverage for negotiation.

I apologize for not being able to provide more assistance in resolving this case. Please feel free to reach out to us if you encounter any problems with other casinos in the future. However, due to the reasons mentioned above, I must reject this complaint. Thank you for your understanding.