Russian Gambler Waiting 2 Years For $3.1 Million Win At Betfair
August 11, 2011 6:13 amIn online gambling, many players have felt exploited in the past after noticing their deposit money is often taken from their accounts immediately whilst they usually have to wait an unnecessary amounts of time to receive withdrawn funds.
Obviously the gambling websites have an interest in keeping players spending money on their sites and waiting for funds means a greater chance players will use some of those funds during the ‘pending period,’ often around 10 days.
Other methods used to discourage withdrawals include such procedures as only allowing withdrawals one or two days a week and forfeited bonuses.
Recently, this uneven approach has been graphically highlighted by the plight of a Russian professional gambler, who is now facing a two year wait to receive $3.1 million from his online gambling Betfair account.
The Russian player requested his money back in February this year and so far has received just $600,000 over a 5 months period. However, in this instance Betfair Casino is claiming not to be the one at fault, instead levelling the blame on the payment processing company they are using.
According to Betfair they have already paid the $3.1 million in full, while the payment processor is also claiming no wrong-doing and that they are simply complying with unspecified payment restriction laws. As the processor explained:
“The current laws restrict transactions to up to $20 000 US a week. We have been paying $10 – $20 000 weekly via bank wire (we are trying to transfer larger increments soon) & in addition give him cash.”
In the meantime, the customer is not only left hanging around for his money but is also losing significant interest on his withheld funds.
All in all, it all makes for some pretty unsavoury conclusions. Namely that a big win at Betfair casino or another site using the same payment processor could leave the customer waiting years before their final payout is completed.