Warning: OlyBet ignored my gambling problem and let me lose thousands

[Detru]

Hello everyone,

I’m sharing my case as a warning about how OlyBet – and the Estonian regulatory system – failed to protect a player who explicitly asked for help.

In June 2022, I set a two-year self-exclusion on my account (18.06.2022–18.06.2024).
While that exclusion was active, on November 4, 2022, I contacted OlyBet support, explained that I have a gambling problem, and requested a permanent closure of my account.

Their response?
A generic template: “Log in and do it yourself.”

This was impossible, because:

• My account was already excluded and inaccessible.
• Even if I could log in, the only option would have been to extend the exclusion, not request a permanent closure.
• As their own support (chat with Līga) later confirmed, a permanent closure requires manual action from their Responsible Gaming team – something a player cannot do alone.

My request should have been escalated immediately. Instead, it was ignored.

When the exclusion expired in June 2024, OlyBet reopened my account, despite knowing about my gambling problem and my request for closure.
I resumed playing and, according to their own data, lost €8,283.67.

I tried to seek justice:

• EMTA (Estonian regulator) admitted that if a player asks to close their account due to gambling problems, they expect the operator to close it across all sites – but the exact method is up to the operator.
  When I showed that their method had failed, EMTA refused to re-investigate.

• Chancellor of Justice said EMTA has broad discretion and told me to go to court.

• ADR's rejected the complaint, misunderstanding that I had already self-excluded and was asking for a stronger, permanent block.

• OlyBet’s final defence: “No permanent closure exists under Estonian law.”
  Yet their own support admits they do have an internal process for permanent blocks.

Eventually, OlyBet even wrote:

“We genuinely regret that the process did not provide the level of protection you expected or that we aim to offer today.”

But their final decision?

“No compensation or goodwill gesture can be granted for this matter.”

---

Bottom line:
OlyBet ignored a direct plea for help, gave an impossible instruction, reopened my account, and hid behind legal technicalities.
And the regulators let them.

As a player, the only conclusion I can draw is this:
If you tell OlyBet you have a gambling problem, they will do practically nothing. Ethical responsibility doesn’t seem to weigh heavily on them.

Be careful out there.

[cocopop3011]

11 hours ago, Detru said:

When the exclusion expired in June 2024, OlyBet reopened my account, despite knowing about my gambling problem and my request for closure.

Hi and welcome to the forum. 

Do you have a screenshot of what their rules are once a self-exclusion ends please? So we can see whether or not they should have made contact or whether or not it is automatically opened. 

[Detru]

11 hours ago, cocopop3011 said:

Hi and welcome to the forum. 

Do you have a screenshot of what their rules are once a self-exclusion ends please? So we can see whether or not they should have made contact or whether or not it is automatically opened. 

Hi, and thanks for your reply. That is indeed the key question.

I have not yet received the exact Terms of Service document from 2022, but I have formally requested it from OlyBet support and will share it here as soon as I get it.

What OlyBet has already confirmed in writing is that their "standard process" was to allow gambling after the self-exclusion ended. In their final email to me, they wrote:
"...after the end of the self-exclusion you were allowed to gamble according to the standard process..."

This means the account was reopened automatically, exactly as I experienced.

The critical issue is not just automatic reopening, but that on November 4, 2022, while I was still in the 2-year self-exclusion, I contacted OlyBet explaining my gambling problem and asked for a permanent closure.

That request was ignored. It was never escalated to their Responsible Gaming department, which their support chat confirmed exists.

Instead, they let the temporary ban expire naturally, leading to my losses totaling €8,283.

I will update the thread with the 2022 document once I receive it.

Thanks again for your interest.

[cocopop3011]

5 minutes ago, Detru said:

This means the account was reopened automatically, exactly as I experienced.

The critical issue is not just automatic reopening, but that on November 4, 2022, while I was still in the 2-year self-exclusion, I contacted OlyBet explaining my gambling problem and asked for a permanent closure.

Aha, and this is vitally important, Do you have a copy of the email or live chat transcript from this?

[Detru]

6 minutes ago, cocopop3011 said:

Aha, and this is vitally important, Do you have a copy of the email or live chat transcript from this?

Yes, absolutely. I have the complete record.

I requested my entire data history from OlyBet via a formal GDPR request, so I have all associated emails, chat logs, and even internal notes related to my account.