Betfair Casino made the biggest party foul an online casino could make. If you’re a member of Betfair, you probably received an e-mail a couple weeks ago inviting you to participate in their Casino Happy Hour Special. Even if you didn’t get it, the promotion was open to members who opted in.
The offer was unlimited 50% reload bonuses on Saturday night, and only a 10x play through requirement. Sounds like a good deal, right? There’s even a way to make a risk-free profit with roulette using that promotion (mentioned in the overused Hitler parody video below). No matter what, you had a good chance of making a profit, which is why most online casinos require much higher play through requirements.
Well, members started profiting on the promotion in droves, and eventually Betfair started suspending accounts Sunday and Monday night. Customers received e-mails saying their accounts were being temporarily locked pending further investigation. Some people had their accounts opened to retrieve their winnings, but many had their winnings confiscated with no refunds.
Not only that, Betfair later tried to force winning players to return their stake. Those winning players had their account set to negative amounts equaling their cash out. It was basically a threat from Betfair to pay the negative amount by Nov. 26, or the online casino would take further steps to ensure payment. The online gambling world is currently in an uproar over this and that’s where we currently stand.
The lesson here is that some bonuses are too good to be true because a mistake is made by the casino. It usually results in a “bait and switch,” where the bonus is removed before anyone plays it. But, these players followed the original terms and conditions of the bonus and their winnings were confiscated, which is borderline theft. Basically, Betfair should own up to their mistake. If Betfair doesn’t do the right thing here by retracting the e-mails requesting payment and apologize, they stand to lose a lot more than what they bargained for when creating this promotion.