Playtech Online Casinos Exposed In Progressive Payout Scam - 05-15-09

May 15 - A winning player at Joyland Casino was short changed by almost $2 million due to a limit in the casino's terms and conditions that restrict payout of winnings to a mediocre $9000 per month.

In summary, a Canadian player who goes by the alias of "SylvieP" won the Beach Life progressive jackpot at Joyland Casino for $4,188,719.98. At the time of the win, the casino was still privately owned and has since been sold to William Hill Online following a deal between Playtech and William Hill in February of this year.

Playtech and Joyland Casino widely publicized the win which is understandable. Progressive jackpot are the most powerful marketing tool an online casino possesses, and a big win is great story and a tool for attracting customers. 

The shocking news has now been revealed. The player received only around half of the jackpot won due to a clause in the Terms and Conditions of the casino which stipulates a maximum payout of $9,000, regardless of the amount won. This would mean it would take 39 years to receive the amount won. This is hardly fair and raises questions over the integrity of any online casino that markets progressive jackpots with such restrictive terms.

At this stage, it is assumed that Playtech paid the full jackpot amount to the then owners of the casino, company called "Six Digits Trading", which one source traced to a trust associated with Teddy Sagi, a major Playtech shareholder.

After much haggling, SylvieP realized that he had little chance of seeing all the money and was quoted saying: "Feeling like there was no way out of this I decided to go ahead and collect only $2,3 million (half the prize) plus bonus which was $61 000 in VIP points because I was not getting anywhere and I felt that the VIP manager was not honest because he was changing and using words one day and the next day there was always something else. So to collect most of my winnings and make sure I was getting it I did as per their request."

"I was forced to collect what they offered to a total sum of $2,3 million I was so upset that on our last conversation I requested a witness and also recorded the whole conversation when all the sums and terms were discussed with them in order to finalize the 2,3 mill. I made the VIP [casino rep] talk and asked him how much was my total winnings how much I had lost as per their requests and my bonus points? He summarized it and he stated at the end that he had erased my account balance, after which I tried to re log in and was unsuccessful. I guess they have blocked my account."

Since this incident took place, the casino has been taken over by William Hill Online, who seems to have washed their hands of the affair. Playtech has not been forthcoming when contacted by various webmasters including Casino Meister. The questions that remain unanswered are numerous, including:

1. If Playtech runs the progressive network, how can they leave licensees set their own payout terms, especially if Playtech actually retains the progressive jackpot funds until the jackpot is won. It is currently believed that Playtech underwrites the jackpot payout, so why can the licensee decide ho they pay out. The jackpot is a result of contributions from the entire network.
   
2. Have the previous owners retained the missing almost $2 million?
   

Whilst this is hopefully not the last we will hear of this incident, it once again raises the questions of fairness and integrity but most importantly, the need for a player to check the terms and conditions before playing. Setting terms and conditions is the prerogative of every online casino, and as soon as a player accepts them there is no going back. We accept this fact, but we also know that players often do not check the terms, especially those new to the online casino world. 

As a result of this incident, we can no longer recommend this casino to our visitors. We have revoked our certification of Joyland casino, and with it our $1000 deposit guarantee.

In the coming days we will keep an eye on the situation and revoke certification of any other Playtech casinos that have the same unfair terms.

Send To A Friend

Add This Gambling Article To:
Del.icio.us	Digg	Google	Spurl
Furl	Simpy	Y! MyWeb	OnlyWire
Redit	StumbleUpon	Technocrati