Online casino problems

You can play with confidence at the casinos listed at Hundred Percent Gambling. In the unlikely even you DO encounter a problem, drop me an email at admin @ hundredpercentgambling.com and I'll try to help. If I cannot, I'll put you in touch with someone who can.

Alternatively, if you want to go about the search for assistance off your own bat, or you play at casinos not listed here, there follows an explanation of the approximate "procedure" for tackling an online casino issue, and the various avenues of assistance available.

First step: work with the casino

Before doing anything else, ensure that you've exhausted all avenues with the casino first. You may have got stuck with an unhelpful, misinformed or just plain ignorant customer support representative. Try to speak to someone else - there will hopefully be more than one email address listed on the casino website. If at all possible, try to get hold of the manager.

Mediation

If you end up drawing a complete blank with the casino, it's time to start looking for outside assistance.

Do you remember how you discovered the casino in the first place? From a website? From a promotional email? Contact the webmaster of the site in question - they'll have a business relationship of sorts with the casino and may be able to assist. If you clicked through from one of the links on the site, the webmaster will be able to identify you as one of "his" players and will have a better negotiating position.

If you can make no headway with the webmaster from whose site you first accessed the casino, there are a number of independent sites dedicated to player-assistance.

Casinomeister

Bryan Bailey, the "Casinomeister", has been in business since 1998 and has a reputation second to none in the industry. He's collected tens of thousands of dollars of players' contested cashouts over the years, and a cursory email from him to a casino is frequently enough to resolve a dispute.

Sign up for his newsletter and register with the forum - both required to be entitled to contact him about an dispute - then file your complaint in the Pitch a bitch section.

However, if the casino is a member of Ecogra, or if it's an RTG casino, Bryan requests that you contact their own dispute services as the first step.

Ecogra

Ecogra was set up in 2003, as a joint initiative between software providers Microgaming and Cassava, for the purposes of being a "regulatory" voice in an almost completely unregulated industry.

Casinos that meet their generally accepted practices are awarded the "Ecogra: play it safe" seal of approval and are entitled to display it on their websites.

The person to contact is the "fair gaming advocate" - fill out the player dispute form and submit it. If for any reason they are unable to help to your satisfaction, go ahead and contact Bryan Bailey.

Playtech: a very recent disputes initiative

Playtech have scored low on the backup they provide the players on behalf of their licensees for a very long time. However, this has taken a recent turn for the better with the setting up of a dispute service similar to the RTG equivalent. Fill in the complaint form which you can find from the home page under "contact us" and then "player enquiries".

This is such a new initiative that to the best of my knowledge nobody has tested it yet. Hopefully, it bodes well for the future.

Complaining on the online casino message board forums

This is almost always the first port of call for disgruntled players, as it combines a request for help with getting things off your chest. However, it's frequently not the best way to go: if you make public accusations against a casino you may very well end up antagonising them and potentially damaging your chances of a favourable outcome. However, in the unfortunate event that all other avenues fail, this is the only remaining way to go.

The most influential forums are Casinomeister - already discussed at length - and WinnerOnLine. Both forums require that you sign up before posting. WinnerOnLine isn't overseen by an official mediator in the way Casinomeister is, but it's one of the oldest and most highly-regarded forums on the net, with the eyes of the industry on it, and posts there get noticed and responded to. There have been many legendary casino disputes played out on the Best and Worst online casinos board.

The GPWA "Players' Corner" forum"

The GPWA - Gambling Portal And Webmasters' Association - introduced a forum called The Players' Corner in 2005, where player complaints can be posted and webmaster assistance sought. The GPWA has many members, and there's a good chance one of them will have contact with someone at the problem casino.

Posting about an issue

Be factual. The more you can make a casino complaint post sound like a newspaper article the better. Don't insult anyone, however tempting it may be. Give all relevant details and be precise and unemotional: "F***ing b***ard casino robbed me" will get you nowhere; "Casino A: winnings withheld because of XYX" will do nicely. If someone gives a response you don't like, don't insult them - counter the argument. If you're in the right, people will come to your side; if you're in the right but come across as obnoxious and belligerent, you may still fail to engender sympathy.

Checklist of affiliates and their sites

Bryan Bailey: Casinomeister
Cynthia Carley: GPWA and Videopokerjunkie
"CPA": Casino Players' Advocate and message board This Casino Sucks
Michael Shakleford: Wizard Of Odds

The above affiliates all have a public presence of one kind or another, so if you download from their sites they should be able to assist.

♠ Hundred Percent Gambling ♠