BitStarz Casino Withdrawal Refusal and lost ID / were they hacked?

[globalgamer]

Hello fellow online gamblers. I will try to keep this as short and to the point as possible, but I am sorry to say it may end up quite long regardless

I have been playing at BitStarz.com for 4 years, since early 2016. And overall have lost quite a bit of money. That is par for the course, so no issue with that. I always use Bitcoin to deposit and withdraw. In 2016 they verified me, and I had no issues with deposits and withdrawals since then. However for the last few weeks I have always lost everything I deposit, until yesterday finally I had a few small wins that resulted in around $1200 USD that I was able to withdraw, which is less than I deposited over the last few weeks. So basically I was getting my money back through some rare good luck at this casino. Well when I submitted the withdrawal I was quite shocked that they insisted I had never verified myself and that they would not allow me to withdraw my winnings until I verified myself. I argued that I did this in 2016 and why would I need to do it again after 30-40 withdrawals (I am estimating) over the last 4 years, now suddenly I have a small win and they want to verify me again. They insisted I look in their website at the "documents" section and I would see that there are no documents there which they claim proves I was never verified. I explained to them that does not prove I was never verified, I know that I was, and I will spend a few days going through email back ups to prove to them I was. However what I mentioned to them that does prove is that somehow they are missing my identification documents which means perhaps they were hacked, or something happened that resulted in my personal private data being gone/potentially compromised//etc. In any case the other issue is their support said I could upload my drivers license which would be sufficient since it includes my address so I did so and they said within 12 hours they would pay me. I waited 18 hours with no response so I contacted support and they said they cannot accept a drivers license as proof of address so I need to give them another document. Since they were already past the 12 hours I am glad I checked since they did not tell me anything until a few hours after I asked I received an email. So I just uploaded my vehicle registration. 

Now the issue is in my country (Philippines) we have bad mail service so all of my ID has one house address, but my primary address is an address where I dont get mail (I have two residences). The address BitStarz has is my house with no mail service (rural area) and the address on my ID is another address (where we do have mail service). Both residences are about a 20 minute drive from each other. Based on how they have handled this so far, I am quite sure they will hassle me as long as possible as it seems clear they do not intend to pay, or if they do they will delay it as long as possible. 

My primary concern more than having them refuse to give my withdrawal involves online gaming and the fact that you can loose tens of thousands of dollars and then when you want to withdraw $1000 for example, they hassle you and make it almost impossible to get the money out. So the question is why risk spending $5000 or $10,000 USD or more (equivalent in bitcoin) when they may not even pay you if you win? It seems it is at their discretion to pay you or not. Of course they will not refund the money you lost, but they may refuse to pay the money you won. Imagine if you won a $50,000 USD equivalent jackpot how hard they would make it to get your money if they make it this hard for $1200 USD. 

Keep in mind all deposits I make are in BTC and all withdrawals in BTC, so this should be quick and easy process.

I am curious if anyone else had this issue with BitStarz or if its only me they are hassling. I did post something negative about them a few years ago when they had a system glitch that resulted in a huge win using bonus money that they would not pay (several thousands dollars they cancelled since their free spins worked on a game that apparently it should not have worked on so the several thousand dollar win I had in bonus money that I was working on earning through playthrough and very close to reaching that point where I could withdraw it) they cancelled the funds suddenly without telling me and they said it was due to the bonus being used on a game that it should not have worked on (which I had no way to know, since it said it worked on that game in the bonus options and it worked on that game). 

Thanks for reading my long message, hoping for some feedback. I will feel a dispute as well with the license authority since I am also concerned perhaps they were hacked or how else would they loose my ID documents I gave before and also why would they let me withdraw for 4 years with no issues even larger amounts and suddenly now they refuse my withdrawals. Very concerning in my opinion. 

[globalgamer]

Quick updated. I uploaded proof of address document about an hour ago (vehicle registration from the government) which clearly lists my name and address (same address as on my drivers license) and they rejected that also. So it seems they are determined not to pay. 

[globalgamer]

Sorry I keep replying to my own thread but I am getting more frustrated by the minute. I have now uploaded my credit card statement since apparently they dont accept government issued vehicle registration. However the credit card statement goes to my business address not my home address so I assume they will reject that also. Even though its the same country and 10 minutes drive from my house. And now they have all of my personal information including full name, birthdate, full credit card number, and credit limit, billing address for credit card, etc. Seems its getting a bit scary as far as potential identify theft if their systems are hacked or mis handled etc. And still they refuse to pay me. Does anyone know if these online casinos such as bitstarz use industry leading security measures and best practices as far as ID protection or is it a group of people in a basement somewhere running all of this with access to all of this information in some unknown country?

Update: They rejected the credit card statement since it has my business address instead of home address LOL

 

Update: I was able to confirm their regulatory authority in Curacao, made it clear I would be filing all disputes etc. Then I was able to find another bank statement (I spent around 4 hours today on this trying to get them everything again and again). And they have just accepted the bank statement and processed the withdrawal. I have attached a list of what I upload so you can see what I was dealing with. 

In the end, by fighting for it, by being fortunate to have documents that should not even be required after years of successful withdrawals, especially with a bitcoin deposit and no bonus funds, they gave me my money. 

It is now very clear that if I did not have those documents, I would have lost all of my money. 

Given this, I would never bet big and hope for big wins since I am now certain they would try very hard to avoid paying it. I am lucky I did not win big. That would have been a huge loss as getting paid would have likely been impossible. 

I live in a country where it is not easy to get all of these documents, I am sure in some countries its even harder than here. So I am lucky. If not for all of this, I would have lost it all. Miserable customer service experience. 24 hours of stress. That is "the joy of winning" and this was not even a true win I just got my money back from the last 10 days. 

 

 

[pinnit2015]

They don’t strike me as a clipjoint casino but tbh I can’t play there. 

Maybe flag @OlleBitStarz the rep to give assurances/answer any questions; seems a decent chap

[pinnit2015]

Not saying this is the case here but Guts (GIG Group) asked me (and others) to re-verify a few years ago - why? When i asked them the old line of 'We need to do this periodically' was trotted out. They switched platform systems at the time apparently and i don't think you need to be a genius to surmise that data was lost in the migration possibly. A person i know, call him deep throat, is adamant that their systems were (being diplomatic) 'compromised' which would tie into how some unique email addressed (only to that casino), suddenly made themselves onto various spam sites. Just anecdotal and nothing to say this was the case here.

In terms of protection - they're as bound by Data Protection Law as my company or yours. I'm not sure if there is an agreed upon security standard across casinos (other than things like PCI compliance) - you do see some state they are ISO27K accredited etc but they are mandated to report breaches should there be one under GDPR. Curacao or no Curacao. 

Videoslots are a casino that will ask you to re-verify when your ID expires. 

[ValDes]

Hey there @globalgamer and welcome to AskGamblers Forum. 

Tagging @OlleBitStarz, pretty sure they have reasonable grounds enough to act this way. 

[globalgamer]

1 hour ago, pinnit2015 said:

Not saying this is the case here but Guts (GIG Group) asked me (and others) to re-verify a few years ago - why? When i asked them the old line of 'We need to do this periodically' was trotted out. They switched platform systems at the time apparently and i don't think you need to be a genius to surmise that data was Lost in the migration possibly. A person i know, call him deep throat, is adamant that their systems were (being diplomatic) 'compromised' which would tie into how some unique email addressed (only to that casino), suddenly made themselves onto various spam sites. Just anecdotal and nothing to say this was the case here.

In terms of protection - they're as bound by Data Protection Law as my company or yours. I'm not sure if there is an agreed upon security standard across casinos (other than things like PCI compliance) - you do see some state they are ISO27K accredited etc but they are mandated to report breaches should there be one under GDPR. Curacao or no Curacao. 

Video Slots are a casino that will ask you to re-verify when your ID expires. 

Thank you, great info. ISO27K is reassuring. Its just strange how even with crypto currency the verification process requires so much personal information that we are trusting with entities that we know very little about. I was really uncomfortable providing credit card number, DOB, billing address, credit limit, etc. They did finally pay me but I had to really fight to get the money, took the fun out of the win. 

[globalgamer]

21 minutes ago, ValDes said:

Hey there @globalgamer and welcome to AskGamblers Forum. 

Tagging @OlleBitStarz, pretty sure they have reasonable grounds enough to act this way. 

Thanks for the feedback but in my humble opinion its very unreasonable. Having played there for 4 years with countless withdrawals including bigger ones, it was quite disturbing. That plus the "not caring attitude" of support, basically it seemed as if I would be lucky to get paid. The risk of loosing on bets plus the risk of them not paying even when you win, really combines to make it a horrible risk. At least in land based casino when I win I get paid instantly without having to give them copies of my vehicle registration, credit card statements with all info someone would need to perform effective identity theft, etc. etc. These casinos are certainly not banks and not run or regulated as banks, so when paying with bitcoin its a shocker after thousands and thousands of bets at this casino and no deposit issues to suddenly be hassled. I am just curious if someone didn't have the needed docs, do they just keep their winnings as well as their deposits? I am sure they don't refund the deposit, so if the casino manages to find someone without complete documents (proof of address and positive ID) they win in keeping both the deposits and the winnings.

Anyway after this I am spending more time at land based casino for now, I won an $8000 USD jackpot a few days ago with no issues not even the need to show ID at land based. But to take $1000 out of bitstarz was a nightmare. And what really is unfair is why they don't get you to verify FIRST. I mean what they should have done as an above board ethical practice would be to tell me when I made a deposit, or even prior with a mass email to all customers, that even though they have been letting me/them withdraw for years that they/I will need to verify before they will approve future withdrawals. Then I would have verified first, and not been upset (as well as others that may experience this). However the unscrupulous way to handle (as I feel they did) is don't tell anyone, let them deposit and loose, and when they finally win and try to withdraw then nail them with the verification requirements. I hope you can see my point, good business would have been to let everyone know they must re-verify or verify even though they never had to before after years of successful (and bigger) withdrawals. Then you don't create angry customers. I spend around $10,000 a month gambling and was getting tired of brick and mortar and giving online another run but after this I am likely back to brick and mortar (land based) casinos. 

Bottom line is I really don't like being treated like a criminal, and as a long term customer, I expected better treatment not just in terms of telling me first about verifying but also the service I experience after the fact. Short vague  sentences lacking clarity, denied documents without clear explanations why they were denied until I pressed and pressed, etc. (vehicle registration is not approved I was told, then I have to ask why two times before getting clarity that it was due to it being dated 6 months and 2 weeks ago but must be dated within 6 months). 

Anyway thanks for your feedback. 

[pinnit2015]

To be fair, if companies like LinkedIn, MyFitnessPal and many many more aren’t immune...probably seen but you can have an insight https://haveibeenpwned.com/

Ideally all companies would be fully compliant with the NIS Standards

[globalgamer]

3 hours ago, pinnit2015 said:

They don’t strike me as a clipjoint casino but tbh I can’t play there. 

Maybe flag @OlleBitStarz the rep to give assurances/answer any questions; seems a decent chap

I agree they don't seem like a clip joint casino. But I think they should mass email all costumers who have withdrawn with no issues before (example customer for 1 year or greater with multiple successful withdrawals) to let them know they will need to verify before withdrawing again. That way you know before you deposit and before you spend time loosing money rather than not knowing until (and if) you actually win anything. Otherwise it leaves the customer feeling deceived. Nothing makes a person more upset than not letting them get their own money back, especially when they have done it before many times. Just my opinion but if they told me first either before I deposited or once I deposited, I would have been ok with this. Rather than waiting until I deposit 4-5 times and loose all of the money each time and finally deposit again and win a little and try to withdraw. The main point being if I never won they never would have told me this. 

I agree they have had a great reputation, not a clip joint, but for me they went from a rating of 9.9 to a rating of 2 in 24 hours. 

[globalgamer]

21 hours ago, pinnit2015 said:

To be fair, if companies like LinkedIn, MyFitnessPal and many many more aren’t immune...probably seen but you can have an insight https://haveibeenpwned.com/

Ideally all companies would be fully compliant with the NIS Standards

True. Everyone gets hacked it seems. Yahoo. Uber. etc. but also I never gave them as much information as I gave to the casino - that is what I would usually only give to a bank. And even they get hacked sometimes. But at least they are insured. 

[pinnit2015]

9 hours ago, globalgamer said:

True. Everyone gets hacked it seems. Yahoo. Uber. etc. but also I never game them as much information as I gave to the casino - that is what I would usually only give to a bank. And even they get hacked sometimes. But at least they are insured. 

Yeah, it's a good point and one I've said a few times - you get a guy coming to your door to sell stuff, you pass someone at the supermarket asking for bank details to 'give to sick kids', we're programmed to balk at the idea...but with casino's we're expected, no, TOLD (via the UKGC's regulations etc), that we essentially have to hand over ID/Address/Bank details to a company that, due to most of them being based abroad, we have very little knowledge of and hope? they handle it properly. 

Need to check when I've time but can't remember seeing minimum security accreditations being mentioned in licensing conditions other than 'adhere to data protection laws'

[pinnit2015]

12 hours ago, globalgamer said:

Thank you, great info. ISO27K is reassuring. Its just strange how even with crypto currency the verification process requires so much personal information that we are trusting with entities that we know very little about. I was really uncomfortable providing credit card number, DOB, billing address, credit limit, etc. They did finally pay me but I had to really fight to get the money, took the fun out of the win. 

Yeah it is a bit of an oxymoron - oh anonymity..great...er, no, we need ur age/DOB/Address 

[globalgamer]

10 hours ago, pinnit2015 said:

Yeah it is a bit of an oxymoron - oh anonymity..great...er, no, we need ur age/DOB/Address 

Yeah its a bit crazy. It used to be that with Bitcoin based casinos you didn't have to go through as much unless you deposited in fiat currency (if I remember the term correctly, meaning real money like Euros or Dollars etc). But it looks like the trend is now even with bitcoin as you said you must give all. They even have my VIN number on my car, registration, home address, credit limit, billing address and zip code, full name, photo ID,  bank account balance and account number, wow. Definitely enough for a fake passport or fake ID or whatever a hacker would hope for. 

[pinnit2015]

18 minutes ago, globalgamer said:

Yeah its a bit crazy. It used to be that with Bitcoin based casinos you didn't have to go through as much unless you deposited in fiat currency (if I remember the term correctly, meaning real money like Euros or Dollars etc). But it looks like the trend is now even with bitcoin as you said you must give all. They even have my VIN number on my car, registration, home address, credit limit, billing address and zip code, full name, photo ID,  bank account balance and account number, wow. Definitely enough for a fake passport or fake ID or whatever a hacker would hope for. 

Might be partly due to the fact that the 5th AML Directive began to introduce a definition of 'Virtual Currency' and basically said to exchange platforms/wallet providers that they must have x,y,z in place to combat financial crime and, critically, have customer due diligence. 

On a broader level - often been said that between social media platforms and the like, they have more data on individuals than the CIA could hope for - in fact, pretty sure FB's facial recognition is on a par with the FBI's 

[OlleBitStarz]

Hi guys!

Sorry for the slow reply here. I just wanted to acknowledge that I've seen the thread now and will read through this : ) 

Olle 

[OlleBitStarz]

Hi there,

Cool, I've had a look here.

So, first things first, you haven't had a verified account with us here at BitStarz, at least not the one that you're referring to. Could it be the case
that you're confusing that account with another brand? Or could it be the case that you have more than one account with us?

I think that also addresses the question of a hack as well, as we cannot delete the documents you've uploaded. Even if you delete them on your
end, we can still retrieve the deleted documents, and there weren't any other ones that would result in a verified account. Also, I'm not sure
if a hacker would go about deleting documents from players if he/she had the chance to do so, and again, they couldn't delete the documents
either if they wanted to. So long story short, no we were not hacked : )

I can see your account got fully verified in the end and you managed to cashout some funds yesterday, and yeah, you haven't been verified in the
past so I believe this might be a misunderstanding. 

Would be great to hear your thoughts.

Olle

 

[globalgamer]

6 hours ago, OlleBitStarz said:

Hi there,

Cool, I've had a look here.

So, first things first, you haven't had a verified account with us here at BitStarz, at least not the one that you're referring to. Could it be the case
that you're confusing that account with another brand? Or could it be the case that you have more than one account with us?

I think that also addresses the question of a hack as well, as we cannot delete the documents you've uploaded. Even if you delete them on your
end, we can still retrieve the deleted documents, and there weren't any other ones that would result in a verified account. Also, I'm not sure
if a hacker would go about deleting documents from players if he/she had the chance to do so, and again, they couldn't delete the documents
either if they wanted to. So long story short, no we were not hacked : )

I can see your account got fully verified in the end and you managed to cashout some funds yesterday, and yeah, you haven't been verified in the
past so I believe this might be a misunderstanding. 

Would be great to hear your thoughts.

Olle

 

Thanks for the reply. I noticed your location is "the Malaysian Jungle." Not far from my current location

I do appreciate your response, quite meaningful.

I only have one account with BitStarz, so I am not violating the multiple account rule. Also, definitely not mixing up online casinos, since you are the only online casino I have played at for the last few years. I spend most time at land based. 

My final closing question is simply this. How can it be that after 4 years (since 2016) of so many successful withdrawals from your casino, larger withdrawals as well, that suddenly I am required to verify myself - with no advance notice? It would have been ideal to receive an email saying verification will be required, or a message of some sort, rather than not finding out until making a withdrawal after I have made countless withdrawals from your casino for 4 years with no issues. That is the shocker, the frustration, and the way it was handled by support IMO wasn't ideal. Is this SOP, or is something else behind this, since I feel this is the underlying challenge that is being dismissed but in my opinion is central to my complaint. If someone plays at one casino for 4 years, makes a large number or withrdrawals (and deposits) over the years, nothing changes, same deposit method (BTC), same withdrawal method, then suddenly withdrawal denied and documents denied and more documents denied and luckily I was able to find what was needed (barely) to get verified. In my country it is not easy to come up with these documents quickly, so it was quite a hassle (had to run around the city for hours and lost a day doing this, which all seemed quite pointless since after all of this I was verified so it was in the end an unnecessary rat race for a 4 year loyal customer to experience. 

The real killer is that I was about to park more BTC in your casino, around $10,000 USD worth, and play it there and leave it there, then take out when ready to, etc., and I am sure glad I didn't do that. It just makes me worried to put money in, knowing I may not be able to take it out. When people cant take their own money out, it is VERY frustrating. And I am not a new player, broken record here, but 4 YEARS withdrawing from your casino with no issues - isn't this a bit ridiculous? No disrespect intended but seriously I feel this is quite unfair and anti-best practices. 

I was very certain I was verified by your casino 4 years ago. If not, how would you have allowed me to withdraw countless times for 4 years, and larger amounts than this time? If my memory is wrong such is life, but I am really sure I had to do that years and years ago and if not, why would you let me withdraw all this time (and more than this time) with no issues until now?

Regarding being hacked, that is good to know and I will trust your assurance. However at the same time, if Yahoo, Uber, and major banks as well as governments are hacked I am pretty sure the same can happen to an online casino. Sometimes it could be an inside job, other times externally, etc. But I will trust your assurance on this, which is at least good to hear. Not sure how your backend software works as far as people gaining access to your files but giving you my vehicle registration, photo ID, DOB, credit limit, credit card number, home address, picture, drivers license, bank account number, etc., is a bit intensive and usually a bank would not even ask for that much third party information (they just need a drivers license or a passport, not a document with proof of address even though the drivers license already has the address. etc.). 

Anyway, I see that the relationship is quite close with this forum and your casino, and almost instantly after you posted this comment they rejected my complaint, without even asking me any follow up questions first, so your record remains perfect, and while I did receive my money back from your casino, I am quite worried to put money in again since who knows what will happen next time. 

Thanks for your time, no hard feelings, enjoy the Malaysian Jungle, and best wishes. 

 

[pinnit2015]

'Park more BTC in your casino, around $10,000 USD worth, and play it there and leave it there, then take out when ready to, etc'

Would that be a good idea?....- even the best run casino's can go belly up and you can kiss that goodbye if something happens (unless UK and you have the highest protection for funds available), plus I think it might draw the attention of some casinos' compliance teams eyes when they normally have something in their terms about using the casino as a quasi financial institution. 

[globalgamer]

14 hours ago, pinnit2015 said:

'Park more BTC in your casino, around $10,000 USD worth, and play it there and leave it there, then take out when ready to, etc'

Would that be a good idea?....- even the best run casino's can go belly up and you can Kiss that goodbye if something happens (unless UK and you have the highest protection for funds available), plus I think it might draw the attention of some casinos' compliance teams eyes when they normally have something in their terms about using the casino as a quasi financial institution. 

good points, won't be doing that...

[pinnit2015]

1 hour ago, globalgamer said:

good points, won't be doing that...

Tis the same for holding cash in web wallets - not covered, certainly in the UK, under the financial compensation schemes. My pal used to hold huge amounts in them which i thought was madness.

Yeah, unless casino's hold the highest level of segregation of funds (which is rare) your money's getting dolled out between their creditors 

[pinnit2015]

Is Olle from London originally? Must be some change going from the concrete Jungle of London to the Malaysian one - certainly in Scotland a temperature of 19 degrees and humidity of 45% normally see's off half the population, so lord knows how we cope there 

[Mimi 72]

So far, Bitstarz is by far, the fastest withwral and the most honest casino i have played. 
 

[shahrukh88]

On 1/6/2020 at 9:40 AM, globalgamer said:

Quick updated. I uploaded proof of address document about an hour ago (vehicle registration from the government) which clearly lists my name and address (same address as on my drivers license) and they rejected that also. So it seems they are determined not to pay. 

Thanks for your feed back on time i have to move another casino.

[OlleBitStarz]

On 1/7/2020 at 10:42 PM, globalgamer said:

Thanks for the reply. I noticed your location is "the Malaysian Jungle." Not far from my current location

I do appreciate your response, quite meaningful.

I only have one account with BitStarz, so I am not violating the multiple account rule. Also, definitely not mixing up online casinos, since you are the only online casino I have played at for the last few years. I spend most time at land based. 

My final closing question is simply this. How can it be that after 4 years (since 2016) of so many successful withdrawals from your casino, larger withdrawals as well, that suddenly I am required to verify myself - with no advance notice? It would have been ideal to receive an email saying verification will be required, or a message of some sort, rather than not finding out until making a withdrawal after I have made countless withdrawals from your casino for 4 years with no issues. That is the shocker, the frustration, and the way it was handled by support IMO wasn't ideal. Is this SOP, or is something else behind this, since I feel this is the underlying challenge that is being dismissed but in my opinion is central to my complaint. If someone plays at One Casino for 4 years, makes a large number or withrdrawals (and deposits) over the years, nothing changes, same deposit method (BTC), same withdrawal method, then suddenly withdrawal denied and documents denied and more documents denied and luckily I was able to find what was needed (barely) to get verified. In my country it is not easy to come up with these documents quickly, so it was quite a hassle (had to run around the city for hours and Lost a day doing this, which all seemed quite pointless since after all of this I was verified so it was in the end an unnecessary rat race for a 4 year loyal customer to experience. 

The real killer is that I was about to park more BTC in your casino, around $10,000 USD worth, and play it there and leave it there, then take out when ready to, etc., and I am sure glad I didn't do that. It just makes me worried to put money in, knowing I may not be able to take it out. When people cant take their own money out, it is VERY frustrating. And I am not a new player, broken record here, but 4 YEARS withdrawing from your casino with no issues - isn't this a bit ridiculous? No disrespect intended but seriously I feel this is quite unfair and anti-best practices. 

I was very certain I was verified by your casino 4 years ago. If not, how would you have allowed me to withdraw countless times for 4 years, and larger amounts than this time? If my memory is wrong such is life, but I am really sure I had to do that years and years ago and if not, why would you Let me withdraw all this time (and more than this time) with no issues until now?

Regarding being hacked, that is good to know and I will trust your assurance. However at the same time, if Yahoo, Uber, and major banks as well as governments are hacked I am pretty sure the same can happen to an online casino. Sometimes it could be an inside job, other times externally, etc. But I will trust your assurance on this, which is at least good to hear. Not sure how your backend software works as far as people gaining access to your files but giving you my vehicle registration, photo ID, DOB, credit limit, credit card number, home address, picture, drivers license, bank account number, etc., is a bit intensive and usually a bank would not even ask for that much third party information (they just need a drivers license or a passport, not a document with proof of address even though the drivers license already has the address. etc.). 

Anyway, I see that the relationship is quite close with this forum and your casino, and almost instantly after you posted this comment they rejected my complaint, without even asking me any follow up questions first, so your record remains perfect, and while I did receive my money back from your casino, I am quite worried to put money in again since who knows what will happen next time. 

Thanks for your time, no hard feelings, enjoy the Malaysian Jungle, and best wishes. 

 

Hi there,

Awesome! So we're neighbors: ) 

I absolutely hear what you're saying, and it could be the case that you've had some withdrawals in the past and now, support has asked for some extra documents so to speak. It's not super uncommon but as a casino operator, there could always be scenarios where we have to ask for some additional verification from the player. We'd only ask for something that would be extremely relevant to the KYC and it could be for a variety of reasons, and we do try to make this as smooth as possible and it's not our intention to just make life hard on our players and prevent them from withdrawing. I always tell players that I'm happy to suspend the account and they can send me the requested docs if they're afraid they'll play away the funds pending verification. I think that's fair.

With that said, I know it's an inconvenience and depending on the country sometimes, we need extra time to verify that the document is valid as we're not super familiar with all IDs from all countries in the world : ) I thank you for your patience here and I'm happy that it all worked out in the end. 

As your account is completely verified now, you have my guarantee that everything is OK for cashouts going forward. The only way this could change would be if you use a new payment method that would require additional verification as per the standard KYC. Also, if you win 10 million dollars, I might have to fly over to you and shake your hand. With that said, I totally understand if you're skeptical after this, but as I mentioned, your account is completely verified now. If you choose to play at BitStarz, I'd, of course, be very happy, but I respect your decision if you wish to play somewhere else too. Do whatever you feel most comfortable with : )

Any further questions, feel free to reach out to me directly, and I wish you the best of luck at the games, wherever it may be  

Olle