There are many reasons why online casinos won’t pay, most of which involve fraud. If they are seen to pay out to a minor, to a false identity, to players outside their jurisdiction… they could be fined millions.
Reasons why a casino won’t pay out include:
- You broke the terms and conditions of their website
- You are gambling illegally (under a different name or with a credit card not matching your name)
- Your identity record doesn’t match up with what you gave when you signed up
- You are committing bonus fraud
- You didn’t clear the bonus wagering
- You have duplicate accounts at the casino
- You are under-age
- The casino is a scam
Sometimes, it could be a simple misunderstanding that can be cleared quickly, and other times all you need is to prove your identity.
If you are having problems getting your wins out of online casinos, there are solutions. We list the most common reasons and what you can do to resolve them.
How to get a casino to pay out your winning
You’ll notice that not all the solutions will be to your liking. Unfortunately, if you try and play the system, sometimes the system wins.
But, for the most part, if you are an honest gambler who has made a genuine mistake, talking to the online casino customer service staff is the best way to resolve the issue.
If that doesn’t work, you can find a conflict resolution website specifically for the casino industry or contact the Gambling Authority under which the casino operates directly.
1. False information on your account, or you have duplicate accounts
Again, this falls under fraud. Everyone can sign up for one casino account once, with their current email and address to match their proof of identity.
If you write a different home address or purposely use a second email address to sign up twice and get two bonuses, your winnings are null and void.
They need to prove you are who you say you are, and this is not identity theft.
What can I do? At a minimum, you should be able to get your deposit back from the casino and close the account. You will not be getting your winnings unless you can prove it was a genuine mistake (i.e. two accounts 10 years apart).
2. You did not send your verification documents
Guess what? It’s our best friend, Fraud Prevention. Be grateful this is here, even though giving so much information to an online casino can seem intrusive.
But a photo of you with your passport to prove you are who you say you are, and (sometimes) proof of earnings is the best way to protect everyone – including problem gamblers.
It’s basic responsible gambling rules.
It’s not a foolproof system, but your details will be fully encrypted and safe as long as you play on a trusted online casino.
What can I do? This is a requirement by most online Gambling Authorities, from the UK to Sweden to Malta. You have to give the casinos the paperwork to get your winnings, or you can close the account and walk away.
3. You didn’t read the bonus terms and conditions correctly or fully
If we had a penny for every time a gambler complains about the bonus terms and conditions… well, we wouldn’t need to play on the Mega Moolah jackpot slots anymore, that’s for sure.
Look, all casino bonuses will have terms and conditions. These terms may not be to your liking. In which case, don’t take the bonus, or don’t play at that casino.
The most common issues are:
- You have violated the bonus terms and conditions: This could be as simple as you bet higher than what was allowed to clear the wagering, to you signing up with 5 different email addresses to get 5 different no deposit casino bonuses.
- You haven’t cleared the wagering requirements: If you are not sure how many bets it will take to clear the wagering, use our casino bonus wagering calculator.
- There was a max cashout amount: This one is sneaky and is usually tied in with a free spin bonus. You’ll win big on a free spin and find out that the max amount you can cashout is only £€$100.
What can I do? Absolutely nothing. You agreed to the T&Cs when you signed up and took the offer. It may seem unfair, but it’s a fact of casino life.
Maybe better research next time? Choose a fair bonus play casino like Rizk Casino – the free spins have no wagering requirements, and you can withdraw any winnings from a deposit before you use up the bonus money.
4. You have gambled illegally
This is a safe space. We offer no judgment.
That is unless you have “borrowed” someone else’s credit card to gamble with and are now trying to withdraw the amount into a bank account with a different name, as that’s just plain illegal.
Now we are judging big time, and so will the online casino.
The same will happen if you use a VPN to gamble on a website that doesn’t accept your country of residence. There are laws that casinos have to follow; for example, a Swedish player can only play in a casino with a Swedish license.
If you pretend to be from the UK to circumnavigate that, you’ve technically gambled illegally.
Finally, age or identity. If you were a minor when you gambled and pretended to be someone else, you would not receive your winnings.
What can I do? Nothing. The casino will do the hard work for you and close your account instantly. You’ll be lucky to get your money back and no one will take your case.
5. The casino is unreliable or a fraud
We’ve left this one till last because, for the most part, as long as you play on safe and licensed online casinos, this is very rare.
But if the reasons the casino won’t payout make no sense and match none of the reasons above, then you might just have a case.
Sometimes, you may be dealing with an inexperienced customer service representative and need to escalate the issue.
What can I do? This is more complicated, but you have options.
- Make an official complaint at the online casino – literally, send the issue higher up.
- Speak up in casino forums – have other gamblers had the same problem? The biggest is easily CasinoMeister.com
- Contact a Resolution website – websites like Casino.Org have direct contact with thousands of casinos who can mediate between you and tell you if you have a genuine case.
- Contact the Gambling Authority – a licensed casino should have the gambling authority and license number on its footer. You can even ask customer services for the details.
If the casino you played at is unlicensed, has been blacklisted, or is a genuine scam, you may be out of options.
Only play at trusted online casino sites and reviews
That’s where websites like LuckyMobileSlots.com come into play.
We’ve been playing, writing, and inspecting the casino industry for almost 10 years, and we know which websites to trust and which casino will payout winnings quickly.
We’ve got a long list of some of the very best casinos we’ve gambled at ourselves, tested and written full casino reviews, warts, and all.
No casino is perfect, but it should be safe, pay on time, and be fair. That’s what you’ll find at our recommended casinos.