Resolving disputes and making complaints

Nobody wants a dispute, whether the player or the casino. They take up time, they cause frustration and they can cost money. But, from time to time, the odd dispute is unavoidable. 

With that in mind, we’ve created this guide to help you understand exactly what to do and how to do it, if you need to raise a dispute with a casino. By the time you’ve finished reading this guide, you’ll understand the complaints process, be crystal clear on your rights, and have an arsenal of organisations to contact if you want a little help. 

Player protection

There are two distinct options when dealing with a casino dispute and they depend entirely on whether the casino you’re playing at has a UKGC licence or not. 

The casino in question has a UKGC licence: 

The ideal situation (if there can be such a thing in the case of a dispute!) is to be playing at a UKGC-licensed casino. If you are, then you’ve already won half the battle. The UK Gambling Commission licence ensures that you are protected and gives a much greater chance of your problem being solved. For now, you can skip to part 2!

The casino in question does not have a UKGC licence: 

A whole different slot game. 

If you’re not playing at a UKGC-licensed site, then the waters are murky, at best. Your first port of call is customer support. Explain your problem. Sometimes the casino will right their wrong, other times, you’ll have to escalate. Before escalating, you need to find out who does govern the site. Consumer protections vary by country, and you may find there’s no effective support at all. 

There’s a very good reason we only recommend UKGC-licensed casinos.

First contact

Sometimes the simplest solution is the most effective. It’s always a good idea to contact the customer support team, explain your problem, and see if they can solve it. Sometimes this is as far as the dispute needs to go, saving you time (and a headache).

If customer support can’t solve your problem then don’t panic, just set about completing the next step.

Your rights

If you’re playing at a casino with a UKGC licence then you’re exceptionally well protected. Knowing about how you’re protected and being able to cite that clearly in your complaint is essential. Below is a guide to your rights as a consumer, both under the UKGC licence and UK consumer law.

Rights overview

As soon as you deposit real money at a slot site, you automatically have rights. As a transaction is taking place, you’re covered not just by the UKGC licence, but also consumer law. 

Knowing your rights is key to ensuring you’re getting a fair deal, and that you’re being treated with respect. But for most of us, rights aren't something that so much as cross our minds until something goes wrong.

So what rights can you expect as a player? And how can you ensure they’re upheld in a dispute?

Your rights as a consumer

The UK has crystal clear consumer law. As soon as you enter into a contract (that’s placing a wager through an online casino account), you’re protected by UK consumer rights law. And more specifically the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

Below are the rules that casinos must abide by, to ensure they don’t breach this act.

Clear terms and conditions

It’s no fun sifting through terms and conditions, but the Consumer Rights Act states that the terms and conditions of all casinos should be:

• Clear and easy to understand
• Use basic language
• Avoid legalese

In short, you should be able to read and understand the T&Cs. If you weren’t able to understand the terms and conditions as they did not fulfil one (or more) of the above criteria, then you may have recourse under consumer rights law.

Fair terms and conditions

As well as being clear, consumer contracts must also be fair. This applies to every individual clause of the T&Cs, meaning any terms or conditions, even if agreed to by the player but subsequently found to be unfair, go against consumer rights law. 

The biggest hurdle to overcome here is the definition of 'fair'. There is no knowing exactly which terms would be found to be fair or otherwise. But, if you strongly think there’s an unfair term, this could be another point for your case.

Fair treatment

As well as fair terms, the casino is bound by consumer law to treat every customer fairly. That means you can expect to be treated just as well as any other player. 

You can think of it like buying a car, paying for a haircut, or doing your weekly shop, if you’re not treated fairly, the provider is liable under the Consumer Rights Act. Casinos are no different. 

Your rights under the Gambling Commission (UKGC) licence 

As well as UK consumer law, you also have rights under the Gambling Commission licence. 

The UKGC is responsible for providing licences to casinos and to obtain that licence the casino must agree to adhere to a strict set of rules. If they don’t they risk losing their licence and their right to operate in the UK. The Gambling Commission can be pretty tough when it comes to punishing or dishing out fines to casinos who don’t follow the rules.

Below are some of the stipulations the UKGC makes for its licensees.

Random number generators: Casinos should use random number generators, so they can guarantee fairness for their games. Random number generators should be regularly audited to ensure they are still random. Ideally the audit should be conducted by an independent, external auditing service to guarantee transparency and fairness. 

Funds held in segregated accounts: Your funds must be held in a separate account to the money that funds the casino's running costs. This means in the event of insolvency (if your casino goes bust), you have total peace of mind of knowing that your deposits are held safely and separately in a segregated account.

Access to responsible gambling tools: You have the right to access responsible gambling tools through your casino. Casinos must make them available under the terms of their licence. This includes self-exclusion, deposit limits, time reminders and a variety of other tools as well. 

Complaint

You know your rights and you’re ready to start the complaints procedure, but where to begin? The first step is crucial – collect your evidence. 

Make sure you have the exact details of what went wrong and when. Make a note of what should have happened, and where the casino is at fault. Make sure to write this out in full, with dates, and to strengthen your case, reference the casino’s terms and conditions alongside law and UKGC guidelines. 

How to present your case

Customer support should always be your first port of call. They can often solve the problem without needing to make a formal complaint. Use the online chat service or email to raise your concerns, and ask someone to address your issue as soon as possible. Try to get a name.

Politely asking them to respond with a solution by a particular day/date can be a good way of ensuring things move at a reasonable pace. It will instil some degree of accountability.

What if customer support can’t help?

If customer support can’t help then the next step is to check out the complaints procedure. The UKGC makes it a requirement for slot sites to have an easy-to-find link to the complaints procedure on their site. 

By presenting a logical, reasoned argument you have the best chance of a quick resolution from the support team. If they can’t help, then this evidence still makes a strong basis for the escalation of your issue. Before submitting a formal complaint in writing, ask someone – friend or family member – to read through your complaint. Is it clear? Have you made the points succinctly? Does it read in a logical order?

Escalating your complaint

The support team can’t help with your complaint, so it’s time to escalate. All this means is your complaint is reviewed by somebody more senior. Sometimes issues don’t get resolved on the first try, but on the second, even without making any amendments to your original complaint, they’re seen by someone who understands the situation better and wants to help.

Once you’ve escalated from initial customer support, send your first email following this, and escalated once, you’ll probably have to move on to an external complaint. Again, try to get the name(s) of the people you’re communicating with.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

If you’re up against a slot site that can’t or won’t resolve your issue then it’s time to take it to a higher authority. This is known as Alternative Dispute Resolution and involves taking the matter to a recognised third-party dispute resolution body. 

Slot sites are required, by UKGC ruling, to nominate at least one ADR organisation. It’s a condition of their licence that there’s someone independent for you to turn to. You’ll usually find the ADR organisation in the casino’s footer.

Complaining to the ADR is free, but you may incur some costs if they need to do further investigating or collect more evidence down the line. That’s another reason to make sure your initial evidence collection is watertight. 

In terms of timescale, the ADR will usually resolve problems within 90 days. If it turns out you really have been given a raw deal then this step will almost always be the last. 

Remember: ADR isn’t just a rubber stamp in your favour – both sides present their case, and the outcome depends on the facts. That’s why it’s important to gather all your evidence and present it in a way that is easy to follow.

Key ADR providers

• IBAS (Independent Betting Adjudication Service) – www.ibas-uk.com One of the most widely used ADR providers for UK casinos.
• eCOGRA (eCommerce Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance) – www.ecogra.org Offers dispute resolution and fairness auditing for online casino platforms.

What if I don’t want to go down the ADR route?

Not everybody wants to go down the ADR route and sometimes there are other options. 

• Resolver is a platform that’s specifically designed to help resolve complaints between customer and provider.
• Contact us! We have connections with many UK casinos, so we might be able to reach the casino in a way that you haven’t been able to.

Going to court

This is the last step in the chain and it’s a big one. Your best bet is almost always to avoid going to court if you can. There’s absolutely no guarantee of success, it can be exceptionally expensive, and even if you do win it can be emotionally draining. Going to court really is a last resort and a course of action you really need to consider carefully.

While they do make the news from time to time, cases like the Paddy Power pay-out case are exceptionally rare. If you can avoid going to court then you should, but if you’re convinced you have a case, here is what to do.

Make sure you’re prepared

Revisit your complaint, making sure all of the evidence you have is watertight. Take screenshots of any correspondence between yourself and the casino. Find ways to prove your timeline and the complaint itself. The more time you spend on solidifying your argument, the better your chances.

Get your funding sorted

While it’s unusual for a player to win against a casino in court, it’s even more unusual for a player without a lawyer to win against a casino. You’re almost certainly going to need legal help for this battle, so prepare your funding, or consider a no win – no fee lawyer instead.

Prepare yourself emotionally

Court battles tend to be quite drawn out, so prepare yourself for a long and potentially draining process.

Court should always be your last resort. The process is long, costly, and stressful – and there’s no guarantee of success, even with strong evidence. If you can resolve your issue with the casino or through ADR, it’s almost always the better option.

Summary

One of the most important things to remember is that casinos want you to have a good time. Their whole business model is based around it! So, if you’ve got a complaint, they’ll often be keen to solve the problem quickly. Approaching the customer support team amicably, with a brief outline of your problem is the simplest and least stressful approach.

Sometimes things don’t work out this way and that’s where you need to be prepared to step things up. Gather your evidence, know your rights, and present your case professionally and confidently. 

And remember, there are a number of good reasons we recommend casinos with a UKGC licence. One of them is just how much easier it is to resolve disputes when you have the UKGC behind you! If you’re unsure whether the casino has a Gambling Commission licence you can check a gambling business licence.