In the world of online gambling, Winpalace Casino is a shining beacon of how not to conduct business. Thanks to their shady dealings and obsession with cheating customers out of winnings, they’ve become something of a running joke among astute gamblers.
Founded in 2009, this casino is part of Winpalace Casino Group, which also includes Begado, Casino Titan, Golden Cherry, Jackpot Grand, Slots Jungle, and Slots of Fortune. All of these sites are owned by the Netad Management Company, a slippery outfit that uses multiple names (including Affactive) to keep potential victims guessing.
This article is intended to shine a much-deserved spotlight on their despicable behavior and hopefully discourage players from throwing away their money. Not only will we discuss their favorite tactics, but we’ll also present a number of real-life examples to serve as a cautionary tale.
The Kings of Payment Issues
When you play at Winpalace, you can rest assured that their combination of Realtime Gaming and Rival software is going to consistently give you a fair experience. Sadly, that’s where any form of reliability comes to a screeching halt.
A long time ago, they came up with a simple strategy that has served them well over the years. By taking in a customer’s money and avoiding paying any of it back, they’ve been able to grow their illicit empire into something that’s truly impressive. Sure, savvy players are going to catch on after a while, but there are always new suckers to prey upon.
Their most common method of swindling players is to draw out the time it takes to send a payment. By stringing the customer along, there’s the chance that they’ll either give up or give into temptation and gamble the money away.
If that doesn’t work, there’s always the option of quoting an obscure rule and denying the player their cash on those grounds. It doesn’t matter that the quoted guidelines are usually bogus; when you have the money, you can change the rules to suit your needs.
Examples of Winpalace Scams
Since they’ve almost become synonymous with fraud, Winpalace has managed to build up an impressive number of complaints over the years. In order to steer potential customers towards safer options, I’ve created a list with some of the most common customer issues.
December 2010 – The collection of sites under the Affactive banner were first recognized by Casinomeister as the “Worst Casino Group.” They achieved this dubious distinction by offering substandard customer service, vague licensing information, and conditions that allowed them to “trickle pay” customers. In case you’re unfamiliar with the term, this means giving players a small amount of money instead of the full sum they requested.
June 2011 – After meeting the $10,000 wagering requirement, a player managed to build up a profit of $1,500. When he requested a withdrawal, everything initially seemed okay. Seven days later, the player received an email telling him that the entire request was now considered void.
The casino explained that he had played Red Dog somewhere along the way, and that was not a game that counted towards the wagering requirements. In reality, the customer had still met the requirements, even excluding the $30 he risked on a few games of Red Dog.
December 2011 – While maintaining their devotion to poor customer service and slow payments, Affactive upped their game by launching a DDoS attack on the servers for TopGame. This allowed them to edge out the competition and once again capture the dubious award from Casinomeister.
January 2012 – Linda requested a withdrawal on December 2nd, and it was approved 10 days later. By the end of January, however, she had still not received her money. In addition, the casino contacted her and stated that she was no longer eligible for the comp points or bonuses that she had already accumulated. This was the final word from the site, and all other attempts at communication were met with evasion.
November 2012 – After being fooled into thinking that Winpalace was legitimate by a number of substandard review sites, a gambler signed up and deposited about $4,000. After a few months, their bankroll had swelled to $10,000, and they decided to make a withdrawal. That’s when the trouble started.
The approval process took about a week, and the player learned that the casino pays out winnings in increments ranging from $500 to $3000. The exact amount is determined at their discretion, although it almost always ends up being $500.
After receiving one check, the player was contacted by the finance department and informed that his account was being closed and a refund issued. After a series of frustrating phone conversations, the client was told that he had violated the site’s terms and conditions (this was untrue, of course).
The player got back the $4,000 he had deposited, but the $6,000 in winnings was going to be kept by Winpalace. Several days later, a check for $499 inexplicably arrived in the mail, but it bounced when the customer tried to cash it. This led to even more fruitless phone calls, and the customer finally relented when it became obvious that he had no recourse in the matter.
December 2013 – Casinomeister held their end-of-year awards, and this organization once again took home the award for “Worst Casino Group.” In addition to lengthy withdrawal times and a tendency to pay out small amounts, another obnoxious feature prohibited customers from playing while a withdrawal was being processed. I suppose the latter was meant to discourage clients from asking for their money.
March 2014 – A player reported a Winpalace scam after trying unsuccessfully to claim $1,000 in winnings. He was asked to send additional paperwork, which was approved by the live chat operators. The finance department, however, made him send the same documents repeatedly. After a month of sending the requested documents on multiple occasions, he was still no closer to getting his funds.
Avoid Like the Plague
There are crooked casinos, and then there’s Winpalace with its scams, rip-offs and complaints. Not only are they predatory in the extreme, but they approach their fraudulent behavior with a kind of self-assured gall that’s, well, galling.
If you’re ever foolish enough to deposit money into their site, expect friendly service and generous bonuses, at least until you try to get some of that money back. That’s when the claws come out, and their cheerful veneer is replaced with a series of confusing and often misleading messages. When all else fails, rogue Winpalace Casino can simply choose to ignore you.
The best strategy is to avoid this gaming establishment entirely. Since reputable and honest casinos actually exist, why waste your time with crooks looking to rip you off?
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