But seriously what kind of predatory policy is that in the first place?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] 124 points 1 month ago (11 children)

My nephew fell for this trick. He's not a child, but he was gambling online on a European site as an American. He won big, tried to withdraw, they asked for a European passport. RIP his entire account.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 11 child comments
  • [–] 53 points 1 month ago (9 children)

    For any finincial anything always do a round trip with a $10 too see if it's possible.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 9 child comments
  • [–] 42 points 1 month ago (4 children)

    I've heard of scammers paying out small amounts deliberately to reel in more money so this still doesn't guarantee it's real.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
  • [–] 24 points 1 month ago (2 children)

    Even legitimate gambling websites do this, I was able to cash out £150 fine but a few weeks later when I tried to cash out at £700 I had to supply id. I was still able to deposit more money from the same card though, supplied my id, cashed it all out, told them to delete all of my details and account and never looked back

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 27 points 1 month ago (3 children)

    He was putting in thousands, about $5,000 USD. They were letting him withdraw a few hundred here and there. Then he won something like $10k that's when they did a Know Your Customer check. Which he failed, obviously. They kept his principal and his winnings, lol.

    Hopefully he took it as a lesson. Not much else he can do. They said on their terms of service Americans were explicitly forbidden. Not much recourse.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 3 child comments
  • [–] 7 points 1 month ago (2 children)

    That's not a trick, that's a legal requirement. They have to do KYC on a few grand and AML once it gets bigger. I had to go through this with Wise when I received a life insurance payout from another continent and I had to phone customer support to get it cleared.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 6 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 child)

    I'm not saying it was illegal or anything, just that they probably make a lot of money turning on the KYC after big wins. They'll never do one to a losing customer.

    In that sense, I do believe it's a bit tricky.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 8 points 1 month ago

    Hmm...

    I'd wager KYC applies either way (anyone placing a bet should be known, not just who ends up winning) and not paying out wins is a clear breach of contract.

    So very clearly doubly illegal. First they let any rando gamble, and then they don't pay out wins.

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 4 points 1 month ago

    Yup, this has been going on since the very early days of online casinos. A buddy of mine get screwed out of a few thousand playing one of those Caribbean poker sites because the Caribbean "bank" which handles the deposits didn't participate in the US banking system, and he'd checked a box which certified that he was a citizen of St Lucia or something. Whoops.

  • source
  • parent