Casino robbed me

I deposited some money into a casino and they closed my account minutes later and are refusing to give me my money back that’s in the balance.

Any ideas what to do?

Initiate a chargeback if it’s on a debit card.

Have they given a reason?

2 Likes

A regulated casino?

If yes, I guess look on the gambling commission website for advice

1 Like

It’s possible, maybe, that the transaction is pending, and that they haven’t actually taken the money?

2 Likes

Could this be due to the gambling block and your self exclusion?

1 Like

I used to use my Monzo account as a matched betting account a few years back. A few casinos did block my account upon depositing. Monzo wouldnt do chargebacks for these payments. I actually saved the response I got from Monzo at the time.

My name is [redacted] and I’m part of the Disputes team here at Monzo.
Thanks for all the details you’ve provided in the chat. I’m really sorry about the trouble you’re having with Sky Casino. I’ve reviewed your case and I’m afraid we aren’t permitted to raise a chargeback here for you, under the Mastercard rules.
Let me explain: “chargebacks” are a scheme that Mastercard runs to arbitrate disputes. They set out rules for the way disputes are handled and under what conditions an issuer (Monzo) can raise a chargeback to dispute a payment.
We aren’t under any obligation to raise a chargeback but we try to do so in any cases we’re able to. In this case, Mastercard wouldn’t accept a dispute for this transaction because once the money has reached the merchant, they consider that the service has been provided. This is a specific rule that relates to the type of transaction you have made, because of the cash equivalence.
I appreciate this isn’t the outcome you were hoping for, but we don’t want to raise a chargeback we know will fail in a few weeks and delay you getting alternate advice and support.
I can only suggest trying to resolve this with Sky Casino directly and hopefully you will get this sorted shortly.
I’m really sorry we aren’t able to help further here. Please let us know if we can provide any additional transaction information to assist you going forward.

Was only £20 so didn’t bother pursuing it, and not sure I really had any options either. The only reason I tried with Monzo is because I got nowhere with Sky. I just marked it as a loss and moved on.

2 Likes

Could be, I created one with a new casino that’s just came out as I kept seeing advertisements and I’ve had a majorly depressing week but I deposited the money and played some games and during a hand it logged me out and said my account has been terminated and the support keeps telling me to press withdraw but I explained it’s impossible since it’s closed and I got told that basically the funds will have to stay in the account that has been terminated and the hand it logged me out on will not be refunded

Is the transaction pending or completed?

It’s not exactly the same nature as what you’re doing, but given that I was making use of a sign up bonus from a casino to nab some free cash, the transaction is likely to be the same if you were funding an account with a casino online, so I’d imagine you’ll be in the same boat as me and make no headway with the chargeback route!

Try to resolve it with the casino if you can and if you get nowhere, follow the advise from @o99, as that’s likely to be your best avenue of recourse!

I hope you get it resolved

Not all gambling businesses accept this, but you could try Resolver

1 Like

I wonder if the transaction has failed due to your gambling block and they don’t actually have the money?

As an FYI, Monzo consider match betting a business and therefore it’s not allowed with personal accounts

(or at least they did and I’ve not seen anything to say different recently)

House always wins

I think it’s the same thing as other areas - if you’re just doing it for yourself then it’s okay, if you’re doing it on behalf of others then it’s not :+1:t3:

5 Likes

I think the issue is fixed. I kinda kept persistent and as soon as the advisor said I can’t I ended the live chat / email and did it again - In the end they gave it back (apparently going to take 5 days) but they said I’ll lose a fiver due to management fees?

1 Like

If their terms and conditions say it then it’s probably fine.

But good to hear that it’s mostly sorted.

Hope you are doing better.

I mean I used my personal Monzo account for exactly this for about 18 months. Only stopped in March of last year actually due to all the cancelled sports events, which meant there was little to make and would require more effort on my part which I didn’t want to commit to.

I then began using Monzo as my main account when plus launched, and stuck around even after cancelling. I didn’t get caught up in the recent account closure emails and I would have thought my normal use of being the family money mule because legacy banks still make mobile payments hard, would have raised some flags.

In any case, this is all just a long winded way of saying I believe Monzo are just fine with folk using their account to dabble in matched betting for personal use. Reddit actually recommends Monzo as the ideal account to use for it too. :man_shrugging:

ETA: just read the full thing you linked to, and honestly I would have challenged Monzo’s opinion there and taken them to the ombudsman if they shut that down. Winnings from gambling is not considered income or profit for tax purposes and wouldn’t qualify as a business purpose. And even if it was, since when was using a personal bank for business purposes disallowed? I’m probably way off topic at this point so I’ll reign it in there.

That bit has been since forever. It’s against the terms you sign up to. Less than 100 words into the T&Cs it’s explicitly forbidden

See, I remember having this debate some time ago in a different thread. I was the only person in that thread who believed that was the case. People told me I was wrong and it was perfectly normal to use a personal account for your small business, and that in fact most sole traders do use personal current accounts for their business affairs.

Perhaps this is just a typical monzo being prickly situation.

1 Like

Closing upon OP request :lock: