Unibet - Multiple accounts

[em74]

I identified last year that I have a problem with gambling. At this stage, I either self excluded (where it was one button, rather than spending 5-10 minutes contacting support) or set a deposit limit to lower than the minimum deposit.

 

This was the case with Unibet, where I set up a £1 maximum daily deposit.

 

In the past week, I have hit a speedbump and signed up for a couple of accounts to play online at sites that I haven't registered with before. One of these accounts was at Maria Casino, where I deposited (and subsequently lost) over £8,000.

 

After I lost the money, I contacted support to see if there was any way I could get some of the money back, in a bonus. There was no bonus available on my account, so I started digging through the FAQs and terms and conditions to understand why.

 

While looking at the terms and conditions (which are almost exactly the same as Unibet), I noticed that Maria Casino was part of the Unibet group and that, by the terms and conditions, I had actually registered for a Unibet account on Maria Casino Upon checking the terms and conditions further, I found this:

3.4 An individual applying to become an Account Holder furthermore warrants and represents:

...

3.4.j not to be holding an active account with another legal entity which is part of the same group as Unibet, meaning other entities directly or indirectly controlled by Unibet Group Plc;

 

So, I am now left confused about a few things:

- If I should only have one account within the Unibet group, should I have been able to set up another account?
I signed up with exactly the same information - username, email, name, date of birth, address (and even password). After speaking with Unibet support, they suggest that it is normal to have multiple accounts within the Unibet group, and that "hundreds of thousands" of their customers do so. However, this contradicts the terms and conditions, and I'm sure that if I had been registering multiple accounts to take advantage of bonus offers, my winnings would rightfully be removed and the account closed. Should this be the case with the deposits that I made too?

 

- If I have set up a deposit limit on my original Unibet account, this clearly shows that I have an issue controlling my spending on their site, so should any deposits over £1 be null and void, even on a new 'illegitimate' account?

 

- I have read cases where people who have self excluded have been able to register again and deposit money, within the same group or site, and were entitled to a refund. Is setting a deposit limit under 'Responsible Gaming' in the same classification as self exclusion (i.e. identification that a spending problem exists)?

 

I set up the limits on my account as I acknowledged that I have a problem controlling my spending and I would have expected to not have been allowed to sign up for another account within their group, as stated in their terms and conditions.

 

This is a by far the most challenging problem I have had to overcome in my life. I have gone almost a year without playing online and all it takes is a bump in the road to throw you off course. I would appreciate any input or thoughts on the above and whether I stand a chance of recovering the money that I have deposited in this duplicate account.

 

Thank you.

[cocopop3011]

It is normal to be able to have an account with both of these casinos. However I refer back to your very first statement

 

 

I identified last year that I have a problem with gambling. At this stage, I either self excluded (where it was one button, rather than spending 5-10 minutes contacting support) or set a deposit limit to lower than the minimum deposit.

 

 

You go on to say you set deposit limit, so just to clarify is this definitely what you did as opposed to self excluding? Thing is if you added a deposit limit on Unibet then your Maria account wouldn't automatically have this deposit limit on there.

 

Now if you did self exclude then it's a whole different ball game, could you please clarify which action you took before we are able to offer some advice? (Sorry to probe more questions, it's just better that we have all the info we need to try and help)

[em74]

Now if you did self exclude then it's a whole different ball game, could you please clarify which action you took before we are able to offer some advice? (Sorry to probe more questions, it's just better that we have all the info we need to try and help)

 

I only set a deposit limit of £1 on the account. 

 

I had that many accounts that I was going through, that if I couldn't find a quick way to self exclude, I just set a deposit limit below the minimum deposit, which stopped me depositing.

[...]

Usually the deposit limit is upheld on all Sister sites too. I don't understand why yours was not. You should look into that as I have never played a site with a deposit limit in place where it has not came into effect on all connected sites. Read the terms about this as it's unusual.

[em74]

Usually the deposit limit is upheld on all Sister sites too. I don't understand why yours was not. You should look into that as I have never played a site with a deposit limit in place where it has not came into effect on all connected sites. Read the terms about this as it's unusual.

That was my understanding too. It has been the case previously, where I have signed up for an account on a site connected to another (from memory, I think it was Caesars Casino after setting a limit on Jackpot Joy) and the deposit limits carried over.

[pinnit2015]

The UKGC has been struggling with the self-exclusion issue across sister sites - as i understand, and it may be wrong, this is very much a grey area. Eg. there's nothing to say when the company should be checking if the player has 2 accounts across sister sites: so it could be at the start, middle or end of player deposits - basically it's a mess.

 

Note - i think all complaints of SE need to be referred to the UKGC directly

 

Interesting that Maria's t's and c's stated the Unibet group: previously it was just 'the casino' - when i won with Maria i went on to check i'd get paid as I'd an account with Unibet. These new t's and c's (if that) would seem to suggest only one account.

 

I think MT Securetrade allow you to SE on one casino without affecting the others

[em74]

In my case, I didn't self exclude.

 

My concern is that I set a deposit limit of £1 on Unibet. So, if their terms had been upheld - as Maria Casino is also a Unibet account - I should either not have been able to open another account or been limited to a deposit of £1. Either way, this should have prevented me depositing over £8,000.

[pinnit2015]

sorry my bad...

 

I have different deposit limits across platforms - I would find it weird that deposit limits are applied across the same platforms: you'd probably have a stronger case if it was SE as that's deemed to be the default position for determining problem gamblers, not setting limits. But no harm in having a go

[cocopop3011]

Well my bad too since I've never set a deposit limit I was unaware they carry over. 

 

However, what isn't clear is what exactly support have done to help you with this? Have you spoke to support at Maria Casino and asked why the deposit limit wasn't in place?

[em74]

However, what isn't clear is what exactly support have done to help you with this? Have you spoke to support at Maria Casino and asked why the deposit limit wasn't in place?

After looking through the terms and conditions, I contacted Unibet who were able to close both accounts instantly and simultaneously. The agent said that she would forward my concerns on to the Responsible Gaming team and they would come back to me.

 

I received this reply from them today:

 

...

You mentioned that you feel you may be spending too much on gambling and/ or lost control with your betting behaviour.  Therefore,  we have taken the decision to close this account and your Maria Casino one on a permanent basis, and will not be looking to reopen them.  Please do bear in mind, that this is not a self exclusion. 

 

We, are also unable to return any deposits to yourself,  as Paula advised you last night, a deposit limit needs to be set on all different accounts within the Unibet Group.

...

 

I then called and asked to self exclude both of the accounts, which they refused to do. I asked if this meant that I could go ahead and open a new account and the agent told me that I would be able to with a different email address, but "why would I do that" if the accounts were closed. This doesn't fill me with confidence that they're totally committed to responsible gaming.

 

I set the deposit limit to £1 (rendering me unable to deposit) as I was having trouble controlling spending due to this problem. It is included as a possible solution under their Responsible Gaming page and it was faster than going through the Self Exclusion process, which I wish I had done now!

[cocopop3011]

After looking through the terms and conditions, I contacted Unibet who were able to close both accounts instantly and simultaneously. The agent said that she would forward my concerns on to the Responsible Gaming team and they would come back to me.

 

I received this reply from them today:

 

I then called and asked to self exclude both of the accounts, which they refused to do. I asked if this meant that I could go ahead and open a new account and the agent told me that I would be able to with a different email address, but "why would I do that" if the accounts were closed. This doesn't fill me with confidence that they're totally committed to responsible gaming.

 

I set the deposit limit to £1 (rendering me unable to deposit) as I was having trouble controlling spending due to this problem. It is included as a possible solution under their Responsible Gaming page and it was faster than going through the Self Exclusion process, which I wish I had done now!

 

Oh okay so the deposit limit did need to be set. Oh dear. We have some very useful guides that really can help you I would strongly suggest you give this particular one a read -  SOS, I am addicted to gambling - what to do?

 

And please remember that we are always here to chat whenever you need us, if you feel like you're going to make a deposit somewhere and can't find another way to take your mind off it, come here and we'll help you do that. I'm sorry on this occasion it wasn't a better outcome.

 

May I ask if you're registered anywhere else? Is there a risk of you playing elsewhere where can help you close your accounts so you don't?

[em74]

Oh okay so the deposit limit did need to be set. 

 

I can see that now. However, according to their terms and conditions, I shouldn't be allowed to have a second account. Therefore, if I was not able to create a second account, I would not have been able to deposit - surely this should be flagged like it would if I had self excluded previously? Similarly, if the superfluous account (the second one) was deleted and merged with my existing one, the £1 daily limit would take effect and I would not be able to deposit, as stated in their terms, below. 

 

3.11 An Account Holder can only hold one Unibet Account at a time. In the event that this rule is breached, Unibet reserves the right to block and/or delete the superfluous Unibet Account(s) held by the Account Holder in breach of this clause, and reallocate all the funds to a single Unibet Account. No bonus given to the superfluous Unibet Account(s) will be reallocated.

It seems like Unibet use the fact that the sites are part of the same group to their advantage when it suits. The deposit limit would not be applied to another account because they're "separate sites". However when I contacted about closing one account, they were instantly able to tell me that I had another Unibet account at Maria Casino that they would close too, because they're "part of the same group".

 

It also appears from the term above, 3.11, that if I had accepted the Maria Casino bonus and played with it, they could confiscate my winnings. What I am asking for is fairness and balance - if they are within their right to remove winnings from a bonus on superfluous account, then surely the player should be entitled to a refund on deposits on such account?

 

I thought that these Responsible Gaming tools were there to help players who have identified a problem. It appears that these operators can enforce or choose not to enforce them on a whim, which is totally unacceptable. I would not have set a deposit limit if I wasn't experiencing issues with my problem gambling - that's why these facilities exist after all!

[pinnit2015]

If that's the case I would be considering a complaint regarding them - their is an onus on them to put in place a system to stop this and simply signing up with a different email address would hardly be considered robust (but i'm sure they have other ways to pick this up). 

 

It is mad that, to help problem gamblers, the commission state that land based casinos MUST exclude SE those from their premises but not if online.

 

You can have software such as Gambloc, you can put deposit limits in place (once a problem gambler, no amount of limits will help), you can SE but IMO these are only temporary fixes - you'll always find somewhere, somehow to gamble. So they important thing is to tackle it head on, recognise that you aren't and nor ever will be in control and before you know it you'll have made up that 8k through not gambling. 

[pinnit2015]

The term is misleading - i actually just contacted them to make sure that my two accounts were OK, because they would suggest you can't. Strange.

 

That's what i mean when i say there's no strict rule to say when a casino has to check if two account - most only do it when you withdraw but others, like All British tell you at sign up. Hmmm 

[ValDes]

Hi there @em74 and welcome to AskGamblers.

 

Let me just try to answer the questions you raised without going into any useless discussions. So...

 

 

 

- If I should only have one account within the Unibet group, should I have been able to set up another account?

 

I believe this one has already been answered and it became crystal clear the relevant term was referring to multi-accounting with the relevant brand only and not the entire group of casinos. 

 

 

 

- If I have set up a deposit limit on my original Unibet account, this clearly shows that I have an issue controlling my spending on their site, so should any deposits over £1 be null and void, even on a new 'illegitimate' account?

 

What might seem "clearly" to you doesn't necessarily mean it's the same for others. I have seen and dealt with complainants over the years whose reasons to set a deposit limit for example has absolutely nothing to do with problem gambling issues. There are various Responsible Gaming tools you had at your disposal to use at any time and it's up to you only to decide which one if these prevention tools fits you best. You could have easily chosen 5 years SE for example and that would have been the end of your worries... 

 

 

 

- I have read cases where people who have self excluded have been able to register again and deposit money, within the same group or site, and were entitled to a refund. Is setting a deposit limit under 'Responsible Gaming' in the same classification as self exclusion (i.e. identification that a spending problem exists)?

 

Nope, these two are different and treated in a different way by casino representatives and the relevant terms as well. 

 

Honestly, you are chasing a dead cause here and you'd better make sure to read very carefully the terms and conditions as well as the relevant Responsible Gaming policy of the casino you intend to join to before you actually did that.  

[Abdul1186]

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