One of the most relaxing ways that you can engage in while making some money is on an online casino. All is fun until something comes up and you can’t enjoy your favourite slot anymore.

However, you can take advantage of the many freebies and bonuses offered by online casinos without any risk.

Why not check out the latest in the world of slots with the 20 No Deposit spins from BetAmo. Or the 900 Free spins offered by 21.com casino as part of their warm welcome. FezBet is a good place to hunt for more freebies, and you will be satisfied with their Bonus offer of 15 NO Deposit Spins (Queen of Gold) & 500 EUR, plus up to 200 Free Spins.

As the old adage says, there are no guarantees in life and once in a while, we all come across some unexpected happenings like having your online casino account blocked. This can be a frustrating experience and below, we have put up a little guide that you can follow should you find yourself in such a situation:

If You Suspect Your Account Is Blocked! Don’t Panic

Imagine this, you have had a great day enjoying some slots on your favourite online casino and after calling it a day, you successfully log out and you look forward to another day of slots. Unfortunately, the next time you try to log in to your account, it is totally blocked and worse, with your hard-earned winnings.

At this stage, most players will panic and become overly anxious even to the extent of opening Live Chat with the aim of venting anger to the customer care desk. Such an action could just complicate things for you or cause a delay in resolving the issue at hand. Start off by looking at these few issues:

Main Casino Account Handling Issues

There are obvious reasons why an online casino can block your account. And the most common ones are:

Failed login attempts

This is the number one reason why online casinos block punters’ accounts. It is also the easiest to get reversed but how do you do it? Well, the reason this happens is that you have entered the wrong username or password too many times. At this moment, the casino is no longer sure whether it is the real owner trying to access the account or an unauthorised person.

Verification issues

The other common reason behind having your online casino account blocked is the failure to send in the proper verification documents. For example, you may have requested a withdrawal but you haven’t submitted the verification document. According to a casino’s terms of service, this could see your account blocked. On the other hand, failure to pass the verification could also spell doom to your account.

Violation of terms and conditions

To prevent this from happening, ensure you read the casino’s terms of service. Check out the terms attached to the bonus before you make any deposit. Derek Bok, former President of Harvard University once said, “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance”!

Casino detected a duplicate account

This is also a common occurrence and with most casinos, a punter is only allowed one account. If you try to beat the casino by opening more than one account, you run the risk of having your account blocked.  Most casinos can be able to detect this, especially during the withdrawal process.  There are some casinos who will also detect the IP address and if you share the IP address with another player who happens to have an account with the same casino, you risk having your account blocked.

Fraudulent activity

If you have supplied fraudulent information to the casino, this will cause your account to become blocked. Likewise, if the casino detects fraudulent activity on your account, they will also block it

Gambling while Underage

Another reason why an online casino is most likely to block your account is signing up when you have not reached the allowed legal age of gambling in your jurisdiction.

The above list is not conclusive but those are the common reasons why an online casino may end up blocking your account.  However, online betting accounts differ and there could be other underlying reasons for that to happen.

Steps you Can Follow to Unlock Your Casino Account

If you find yourself in this scenario, it is important to learn how to unblock it if the reason is not a major one. It is normal to want to panic and especially if there is some money in there but tries and be as patient as possible as you figure out how to get out of the mess;

Calmly Contact customer support

This is the soundest step and it is even better if the casino in question has a live chat facility. This will give you an immediate reason as to why your account was blocked and well as a quick and easy way to get the account unlocked.

Most reputable online casinos have very well informed customer care personnel who will be able to tell you why your account is blocked. If it is a small issue like a wrong pin or password, they can also be able to unblock it.

For a more detailed reason like a verification issue, they may ask you to email additional documents that will be used to verify your identity. If all the details are correct, they will get your account back again.

However, for a more serious issue like a violation of the casino’s terms and conditions, you might not be as lucky as most casinos take this breach very seriously and rarely unlock such an account.

Submit a complaint through complaints service

In some instances, you may encounter a stubborn casino that is not willing to listen to your case and this is where online gambling dispute arises. If you have tried all avenues and you think the casino is fairly blocking you, then you can always look for assistance somewhere else.

There are a number of online platforms that act as a mediator between a punter and the casino in question. As a punter, it is fair for a casino to treat you right considering that you chose them and they never chose you. You also deserve a fair game and if you do a simple Google search, you will get some idea on the most suitable platforms where you can air your grievances.

These reputable complaints board act as a mediator between you and the online casino with the hope of resolving the issue in the fairest and quickest way. In most cases, these online mediators give both you and the casino in question 96 hours to respond after which the complaint is closed.

However, before you result to use the services of the online mediation platforms, you should check their “Complaint Guidelines’. Additionally, most of these platforms require as much information as possible raging the pending complain. Information should also be accompanied by supporting evidence which goes a long way in speeding your complaint.

Account blocking by online casinos is one of the most common complaints among online punters and you should not feel ashamed to seek help.

If all the above steps seem futile, then you may result in contacting the online casino's licensing agency.  

Why an online casino may fail to pay

There are many reasons why a casino may decide not to release the money to you. If you have made a withdrawal and the funds fail to hit your end, then you may need to be a little patient as some casinos send a customer support letter.

However, if this takes longer than usual, then you need to write a letter to the customer support team of the casino in question explaining the situation. The common causes of such a delay could be:

Pay-outs limits

In this industry, you will always come across a maximum payment.  If you have bet winnings that spill over the casino’s payment cap, then they have every right not to pay you (the amount above their cap). 

Actually, most online casinos do not allow bets with a stake that is more than their limit but it is common for punters to take this for granted.

Self-exclusion

Just like other industries, there are rules that apply to bet as well. For example, if you self-exclude yourself from a website (this could be as part of responsible betting/ gambling), you need to first check whether you have any live bets because the casino will not pay you even after you win. However, with most casinos, you will be able to get your stake back and not the winnings.

Offer abuse

Most online casinos and online betting platforms offer very many incentives for both new and older users. However, these offers can be overly exciting to most punters who end up abusing them.

Some of the areas of concern that you should look keenly on while using the free offers include exploiting weak lines, matched betting, misusing bonus funds, and duplicating accounts. If a casino finds out you engaged in one or more of such, you risk being banned or forfeiting your winnings.

Remember, most of these offers are run at a huge cost and the casinos are looking for ways of winning more punters to their platform. They also know every trick in the book and they will not allow you to walk away with their money easily.

Conclusion

Betting on online casinos is fun. However, to find success in the industry, you need to be highly disciplined in areas of finance and look at it as a long term investment and not a get-rich-quick scheme.