In December 2022, I registered in the NRA register for persons addicted to gambling. Although all my online casino accounts were restricted and I couldn't deposit or bet, that was not the case with pokerstars. From the date of my registration to date, I have $3,600 worth of deposits. I have requested a refund but have yet to hear back. I am also attaching screenshots and tables

През Декември 2022 се регистрирах в регистъра на НАП за зависими към хазарта лица. Въпреки че всичките ми акаунти в онлайн казина бяха рестриктирани и не можех да депозирам или залагам, ситуацията с покерстарс не беше такава. От датата на вписването ми в регистъра до ден деншен имам депозити на стойност 3600 долара. Поисках възстановяване на сумата, но още нямам отговор. Прикачвам и скрийншоти и таблици

Dear Mvr96,

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

I checked the Responsible Gaming section of PokerStars Casino and this is what I found:

Self-shutdown

Bulgarian legislation provides for the creation of a national register for self-exclusion, which is not yet functioning at this stage. We will post information when the registry is available. Continue reading for more information on how to self-exclude from PokerStars.

We give you the ability to self-exclude from a game for various periods of time.

To do this, go to the main lobby in the PC software and select "More" > "Tools" > "Responsible Betting" > "Exclude me from a game" i. On a mobile device, go to "Account" > "Responsible Betting Settings". On the website, go to "Account" > "Responsible Betting".

Self-exclude your Stars account

Please note that all self-exclusions and suspensions are irreversible for the specified period. Additionally, all self-exclusion periods apply to all games. Your self-exclusion applies to your Stars account and applies to any of our products that require your username to play, including both real and virtual money play.

Could you please advise if you have ever informed the casino about your gambling problem?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Best regards

Veronika

Dear Mvr96,

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

I checked the Responsible Gaming section of PokerStars Casino and this is what I found:

Самоизключване

Българското законодателство предвижда създаването на национален регистър за самоизключване, който все още не функционира на този етап. Ще публикуваме информация, когато регистърът е налице. Продължете да четете за допълнителна информация как да се самоизключите в PokerStars.

Даваме ви възможността да се самоизключите от игра за различни периоди от време.

За тази цел отидете в главното лоби в софтуера за компютър и изберете ?Още" > ?Инструменти" > ?Отговорно залагане" > ?Изключи ме от игра" i. На мобилно устройство отидете на ?Сметка" > ?Настройки за отговорно залагане". На уебсайта влезте в ?Сметка" > ?Отговорно залагане".

Самоизключете сметката си Stars

Моля, обърнете внимание, че всички самоизключвания и временни прекъсвания са необратими за посочения период. Освен това всички периоди за самоизключване се отнасят за всички игри. Самоизключването ви се отнася за вашата сметка Stars и важи за всеки наш продукт, който изисква вашето потребителско име за игра, като това включва както игра с истински, така и с виртуални пари.

Could you please advise if you have ever informed the casino about your gambling problem?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Best regards

Veronika

I haven't informed them, however I see that in the quoted text it is mentioned that the registry isn't working, which isn't true. It was resumed in December 2022 and this is when I successfully signed up for it. As a result I have been banned from all other accounts in different casinos and I wasn't able to join a new one. So I believe the information quoted isn't up to date.

Here is a link from the NRA Bulgaria:

https://nra.bg/wps/portal/nra/gambling/responsible.gambling

From 12.12.2022, the maintenance and provision of access to a register of vulnerable persons has been resumed, according to Art. 10, para. 1 of the Gambling Act.

Any person who believes they have a gambling problem, as well as those whose social status and/or income level may make them more susceptible to gambling and developing a gambling addiction, can enter the "Register of vulnerable persons" (created on the basis of Article 10 of the Law on Gambling), with the aim of prohibiting or preventing them from participating in gambling games.

Thank you.

I haven't informed them, however I see that in the quoted text it is mentioned that the registry isn't working, which isn't true. It was resumed in December 2022 and this is when I successfully signed yup for it. In result I have been banned from all other accounts in different casinos and I wasn't able to join a new one. So I believe the information quoted isn't up to date.

Here is a link from the NRA Bulgaria:

https://nra.bg/wps/portal/nra/gambling/responsible.gambling

От 12.12.2022 г. е възобновено воденето и предоставянето на достъп до регистър на уязвими лица, съгласно чл. 10 г., ал. 1 от Закона за хазарта. 

Всяко лице, което смята, че има проблем с хазарта, както и лицата, чието социално положение и/или равнище на доходи може да ги направи по-податливи към участие в хазартни игри и развиване на хазартна зависимост, могат да се впишат в ?Регистър на уязвимите лица" (създаден на основание чл. 10г. от Закона за хазарта), с цел забрана или недопускането им до участие в хазартни игри.

Thank you.

Could you please verify if the personal data you provided for your casino account matches the information you used when registering with the NRA? Furthermore, kindly send me the document that serves as a confirmation of your registration with the NRA. My email address is [email protected]. Thank you very much.

I just sent the document and all personal details are the same. Only my address is different but this is because I used the address where I actually live in Pokerstars, not the one on my ID.

Thank you very much, Mvr96, for providing all the necessary information. I will now transfer your complaint to my colleague Branislav ([email protected]) who will assist you. I wish you the best of luck and hope to see your problem resolved to your satisfaction in the near future.

Thank you for your assitance Veronika. Branislav can you please advise what are the next steps? Thank you.

Hello,

Do you have any update?

Hello, is there any update? I still don't have a reply from Pokerstars

Hello, Mvr96,

I am sorry to hear about your unpleasant experience, and I am sorry for the delay. I will contact the casino and try my best to resolve the issue as soon as possible. Now I would like to invite PokerStars Casino's representative to join this conversation and participate in the resolution of this complaint.

Dear PokerStars Casino team,

Could you please provide us with an explanation of the player's situation in more detail? Will the casino refund the player's deposit(s)?

Thank you in advance for providing the information.

Just to note that they are late for more than 1 week and never give any update, and the customer service is under all criticism.

Само да отбележа, че над 1 седмица се бавят и никога не дават някакъв ъпдейт, а клиентското обслужване е под всякаква критика.

We would like to ask the casino to reply to this complaint. We are extending the timer by 7 days. If the casino fails to respond in the set time frame, we will close the complaint as ‘unresolved’ which may negatively affect its rating.

I want to give an update - I contacted Pokerstars on 16th of June and today is 6th of June. All of my attempts to recieve some sort of an update weren't succesful. Their team doesn't want to provide any appox. timeline for this to be resolved, which I think it's completely unprofessional. How does someone know what to do in their job and doesn't know how long it will take? Their chat agents don't help at all too and they close chats and they don't reply on emails either. I think that 3 weeks is a long time not to give any sort of an update.

Hello Mvr96,

Thanks for reaching out. We are sorry to hear this.

We can confirm that your request is under review by the responsible department. Once the review is finished, you will be contacted via email.

Thanks for your understanding and patience.

Kind regards

PokerStars Casino

I believe taking 1 month to review this case and still not sharing a descision or at least a timeline is unprofessional and ridicilous. If I don't recieve a solution soon, maybe I will need to take different actions, so the situation would be handled with priority.

Greetings all,

I am sorry for the delay.

Dear Mvr96,

Since we provided the casino with more time to review the situation and inform you about the outcome - have you already received any update from the casino's customer support? If yes, what information did you receive, and can you please share the communication with me?

This is my email address - [email protected].

In case you have not got any relevant information or details regarding the matter, are you please able to submit a complaint to the gaming authority the casino is regulated by?

We are talking about NRA, and it is possible to contact them via email ([email protected]).

Dear PokerStars Casino team,

Can you please provide us with an update? Has the complainant's situation been completely reviewed?

What is the outcome of the investigation?

Hello Branislav,

There is absolutely no resolution from Pokerstars. While I understand it takes time, I have asked them multiple times to share a timeline and they refused. I believe 1 month is more than enough to wait, so I will not only proceed with a complaint to NRA, but I will seek out legal support, as they seem not to take the matter seriosly. Pokerstars just keep sayinh that they are reviewing the situation, but I can't belive that for over 1 month a resolution isn't presented, which makes me think that they are waiting for me to drop this off. I have forwarded to your email my last communication with them.

An update - they asked me again for ID photos, which I provided no matter they already have them. However again they say more time is needed. So after over a month of waiting I submitted complaint to NRA and Commission for Consumer Right. Also I emailed MDA however they simply read and ignored my email for 2 weeks.

Hello Mvr96,

Thanks for reaching out again. We sincerely regret that the issue hasn't been resolved yet.

Our responsible team is currently working on a solution.

As soon as they receive new information about the situation, they will inform you by email.

Your patience is highly appreciated.

Kind regards

PokerStars Casino

Thank you both for your replies.

Dear Mvr96,

I confirm I received your emails.

Although there is still no progress, we can see that (after your identity verification via email) someone is already dealing with your issue, which is a good sign, and it could finally move somewhere.

Can you please confirm you have submitted a complaint to NRA? If yes, have you already received any updates?

Hello Branislav, hope all is well. I have submited a complaint to NRA today, so no reply yet. Yesterday I find out that Pokerstars forgot to ask for a proof of address and I sent it to them, but no updates yet.

Based on the provided information and the fact there is no progress for more than a month since we invited the casino to the thread, we are (temporarily) closing the complaint as unresolved with a note that we are waiting for the regulator's final decision. They have better options and tools for how to speed the process up, and the casino is obliged to cooperate with them. Unfortunately, it is currently not possible to do more on our side.

Once the final decision is made, any of the involved parties can request a reopening of the complaint and let us know about the results. If it is not done, we will reopen the case in a reasonable time and ask for an update.

Then, we will review the case once again considering provided updates.

If it suits you better, feel free to inform us about any news at [email protected].

Thank you for understanding. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Greetings all,

Based on the information received from the complainant, we updated the outcome and classification of the complaint.

"Hello,

I just wanted to give an update - Pokerstars finally initiated the refund, so the case can be closed."

Thank you, Mvr96, for confirmation and for using the Casino Guru complaint resolution centre. I am very glad you have received your funds. As the issue has been successfully resolved, I will now mark your complaint as 'resolved' in our system. Although I sincerely hope it will not happen, please do not hesitate to contact us in the future if you run into any issues with this or any other casino. We are here to help.

Best regards,

Branislav, www.kpvfaw.com