Too harsh on customers?
I have wanted to do a lovely, exciting blog for a while about getting free money from online bingo sites, and which were the most generous, but I have received quite a bit of correspondence recently from readers that means I need to tell you about this a bit more seriously.
These players have had their online bingo accounts closed with Dragonfish sites that are run by Cassava Enterprises. Their only ‘crime’ seems to be using free money that is sent to them by the site and playing the free bingo games, or maybe depositing and receiving a bonus and then winning and requesting to make a withdrawal.
They are being accused of abusing the bonus and free bingo systems and not only have their accounts at the site they were using been blocked and closed, but at all Cassava owned or run sites.
Bingo Hollywood is an online bingo site that I like to play at and have always rated it as a top site, but seems to be the one that crops up most often in these complaints. I take advantage of free money they send out. I deposit occasionally and take advantage of their generous 75% reload bonus. If I win and want to withdraw they take back any unused bonus, and that alsways assumed that would be an end to it.
We have brought this issue to the attention of the site and it will be great to receive a response to the criticisms that have beenn voiced.
There are lots of generous bingo sites out there that woo our business with free money and if they all took this attitude I for one, given the job I do and how many bingo sites I need to be a member of, would be in dire straits for a decent game of bingo.
Tea and Bingo, Love Your Bingo, Jackpotjoy, Tombola, bet365 Bingo and many more all issue free money to customers from time to time and I love to get it. I was recently lucky enough to win £80 from Tea and Bingo from a free £3, I’ve had £50 from Bingo Chest a while ago from a free £5 they sent me and the list goes on.
There will, of course, be a few that do abuse the system, but surely there should be some sort of warning system and an appeals system so not everyone is assumed guilty.
I would like to address the matter concerning Bingo Hollywood. The issues concerning free play have been resolved. The players that were affected by the situation have been emailed and given an explanation concerning this matter. Bingo Hollywood prides itself on treating players fairly and handles each situation personally. We hope to see you in the rooms soon.
Operations Team at Bingo Hollywood
I too have been banned from every site Cassava own and told that I’m never to open an account with any of their sites. Their reason was I deposited and if I won I withdrew my winnings, then deposited to carry on playing? Isn’t that the point – to win. They went on to say I was a bonus abuser and I should expect to lose money; it’s turning out that I’m just one of hundreds, if not more.
hi i also was banned they say i abused bonus but bonus was still on lol im on other sites not very good like theres wish you luck xxxxxxxxxxxx
I have also had all my accounts with cassava blocked. I self excluded on wink, but continued playing other sites. whilst playing on 888 and winning with 30 free spins on the slots, all of a sudden my account gets blocked. No reason given as yet.
I too have been banned from all Cassava sites.
Night before I was offered a 100% bonus, went on and used it, that next day had email banning me for abusing the re load bonuses and told not to attempt
to open any new accounts
Shocking.
Basically, if you are taking out money they do not like it
Add me to the list too. I have exactly the same experience as David, however this time with city bingo, another of the many cassava sites.
Hello,
Can someone please let me know which ones are the Cassava sites…?..I’d appreciate it.
Same with me; banned from every Cassava site for allegedly abusing bonus system. As others did , I deposited and if I won I would withdraw and re-deposit – if I lost I would re-deposit. Some days I was depositing over £200 and losing it – they didn’t mind then, but then when I hit a winning streak I was banned with no warning at all.
they are withholding 2,500 of my money and i cant get it back like everyone else i was withdrawing and depositing and thought i was fine i really need my money can anyone give me any help
Jackie, you will have to persist with emailing them to get your money back. Look up Guernsey Gambling commissioner email contact and report it there if needs be.
I received my ‘bonus abuse’ email this morning and found all 15 of my cassava sites blocked with funds in each, so I have sent the following email picking apart their T&C’s and letter to me.
Dear Cassava security,
Please disregard my previous responses to the letter below, those were written prior to seeking further advice. Having received advice from a solicitor about this I am now in a position to respond in a more detailed and appropriate manner.
I will be referring to the Cheeky Bingo T&C’s throughout this email as that is the site detailed in your email to me.
“During this monitoring we note that the way you have used your account with us, leads us to believe that your reason for joining our site was to take advantage of the bonuses we provide.”
I have been a member of the majority of the Cassava sites for upward of 6 months and received a joining bonus for each one. If I had joined to take advantage of the joining bonus you would find that I would be nearing 180days of inactivity and my account would be due for closure. When I make a deposit I make a deposit of £5 so as not to receive bonus funds, therefore I would like a further explanation of how I have taken advantage of the bonus funds. When I have deposited more than £5 and I receive a bonus my money is spent on the instant games and the bonus is spent on bingo games or lost as allowed when making a withdrawal.
Your T&C’s state “All users of the Services shall be entitled only to one welcome bonus. Members who make their first deposit with the Company or any of its white label partners, and who have or previously had an account with any of the Sites owned or operated by the Company, including both In-House Brands and White Label Brands, shall not be entitled to an additional welcome bonus, unless the Company decides otherwise at its absolute discretion”
There is no option available to NOT take advantage of the bonus when joining one of the sister sites – nor at any time when making further deposits. This does not mean that I have abused the bonus system but that you have unfairly put your members at a disadvantage by ensuring that they breach this T&C and it is fair for the member to assume that the company has allowed the welcome bonus. Nowhere does it state that a person can only be a member of one Cashcade site just that they cannot receive more than one bonus except at the discretion of the company. This is a fault at your end as previously detailed.
In the event that the Company deems in its sole discretion that you have been taking unfair advantage of the Company’s welcome bonuses or have executed any other act in bad faith in relation to a bonus promotion offered on any of the Sites owned and/or operated by the Company, the Company shall have the right to block or terminate your accounts with the Company and in such circumstances, the Company shall be under no obligation to refund to you any funds that may be in your accounts other than your original deposit amounts.
The 2006 Alderney egambling regulations document contains all the relevant regulations, 334 (3), states as follows:
(It won’t print this)
The funds contained within my account are my funds from my bank account and winning funds from playing the free bingo games and 1p games on the varying sites and therefore cannot be withheld as detailed in your T&C’s. The reason for this is that I have not breached the T&C’s by abusing the bonus as accused by yourselves.
With regards to your account, this has been reviewed and the decision to permanently discontinue your membership still stands. This decision is final and has only been taken after careful consideration of all factors involved. The decision to permanently discontinue my membership still stands implies that I have previously been informed that Cassava are not content with the method I run my account. I have received no notification prior to the email received this morning. If you insist on maintaining that my accounts remain blocked I insist that you return all funds from all accounts as per the Alderney Gambling Regulations and the advice I have received today. My preference is to be able to continue playing bingo and the slots on all of my accounts but understand that I am generally not a profitable player and from the reviews that I have seen I am aware that you regularly close accounts with no notice locking in the funds of non profitable players.
In the event that we locate any accounts opened by you with Cheeky Bingo or with bingo sites which are operated by Cassava Enterprises (Gibraltar) then we shall immediately shut such accounts and we will retain the right to permanently withhold all monies in such accounts. You have already closed them down which did not allow me the option of retrieving my funds and is in fact now an issue of theft because I doubt that my pending withdrawals will be honoured and I am unable to access the funds less than the required withdrawal limit to withdraw them.
If you win in one of our free rooms you may redeem your winnings for cash by providing us with your debit/credit card details, provided you have a minimum amount of £30 in your account and have previously funded your account with a cash deposit of at least £5. The minimum £5 cash deposit can then be withdrawn along with any cash prize.
To help us combat fraud you must comply with our minimum withdrawal requirements before withdrawing any cash prize. If you have to make a cash deposit to meet these requirements you can then withdraw
this cash deposit with your cash prize
I deposit £5 at a time which does not attract a bonus amount due to the lack of option to refuse a bonus, if I can add funds to make a withdrawal I can add £5 at a time to slowly build my funds to allow a withdrawal, there is nothing in the T&C’s that disallows this. My bonus funds received on Cheeky were from the recent promotion.
Nowhere in the games terms and conditions does it say that I cannot hold cards in more than one room at a time, or on more than one site at a time if I choose to play that way.
I have in no way played fraudulently, or attempted to abuse your bonus system. All of my accounts were the same user name, registered to the same home address, and used the same bank card so I have not attempted to hide my identity.
If you are found to be cheating or attempting to defraud the Game, or if you make untrue and/or malicious comments with regard to the Company’s operation, the Company reserves the right to publicise your actions together with your identity and e-mail address, as well as to circulate this information to other Bingo and gaming companies, banks, credit card companies, and appropriate agencies.
I believe I have played in good faith and have spent a good deal of my own money over the months that I have been a member.
The minimum purchase on the site is £10. The denominations of the purchases are of £10 This T&C is inaccurate having previously highlighted it is £5.
The people that abuse the bonuses are the ones that make an initial deposit on the sites knowing that they are going to withdraw that initial deposit. This is a drawback of your own security options because you do not have a minimum wagering requirement prior to withdrawal on most sites. An example is Costa Bingo – Deposit £10 get access to first time depositors room – play for the 24 hour period. Withdraw all funds if £30 achieved, warning that this will cancel their bonus if they withdraw it which of course they have because they have the winnings and that is what they want. Same with Sing. There are loopholes on most of the sites.
I resolutely deny bonus abuse, I fund the way I can afford, play the way that works for me which at times is free bingo only and at other times includes paid games and instant games.
I require a full response to this at your earliest opportunity.
just keep sending emails bug em xx
Hi. I’ve had the same experience at Bingo Street ironically, so has my son. Both my son and myself joined, deposited. played, lost real funds and then the deposit bonus vanished. I had deposited £100 and my son had deposited £50. When we tried logging out and then back in it wouldn’t. Then we went to live help and was advised that the security team had closed the accounts. We then emiled the security department and sent proof of who we were and proof of our addresses by form of passports and utility bills, but neither of us has had a response. SO BE AWARE ALL.
When I first started playing online bingo cassava site were my favourite ones, 888 ladies bingo hollywood, and a few more but I started to spend a bit too much on one of the sites, so I went to live help and they asked me why I was closing this certain one down. I said “I find my self spending too much on this site and I get nothing back” so they said ok they will close it. I thought to myself I will close a few more later. A few days later I was playing Think Bingo and won on some free bingo, then went on to win more bingo and won on slots and ended up withdrawing £500. So I waited a few days, but time went by and it was still there, so I phoned Think Bingo and they said I’d been banned from all cassava sites. They were nice about it and said they will make sure I got the money. I ended up going through a few other people and I remember getting one phone call from a nasty woman from cassava saying if it happens again I won’t get any money and also when I sent emails to them about it, underneath the sender of the email bit it said fraud suspect!!!!! I was shocked and it was because I sent them an email asking why they had banned me from all the sites!! I didn’t want to be banned from them all. Anyway I got my £500 by cheque and in the end I gave up trying to find out why they had banned me from ever playing any cassava sites now and in the future!!! In the long run they did me a favour as it’s saved me a lot of money, it’s their loss!
When I see any cassava sites, which my sisters still play now and again, don’t really like them that much as they’re all the same!!!!!!!! I now love tombola and sites like Jackpotjoy and Heart Bingo and Sun Bingo and CAESARS Bingo and I think more of those types should be made!! I think cassava should be banned!!!!
I had the same problem. I removed Costa bingo permanently back in July. I thought it would be just for Costa bingo but it seems it wasn’t. Anyway I won 250 quid on City bingo last week and tried to withdraw it. 2 days later had email saying I been blocked and funds ain’t being released because of removing Costa bingo. Now they saying I have been abusing free bingo, so blocked me on posh, sing, 888, city bingo and costa. I got screenshots of my winnings – how do u get it back? They are not helpful on the phones.
I have been banned from all cassava bingo sites for abusing free games its happening to alot of people they have kept my winnings as well they should not be allowed to get away with this
I have been registered with city, costa, cheeky and posh bingo for over 2 yrs now and have depo over £3,000 with costa, but I won £110 on cheeky 3 wks ago. Winnings went missing. Cheeky sent a receipt as proof and found out they had deposited my winnings onto an old card which I hadn’t used for 6 mths so money was lying dormant in bank. Have now just received it back.
Went to log onto bingo site and got messages saying cantact security, so I emailed all sites to be told I had abused sites on bonuses! I only ever depo when am an email, so I complained to them saying they were quick enough to take my £3,000, but I rarely ever won in free let alone funded, and apparently I was playing free 24/7. I don’t see how as I shop, do housework and have kids to look after so only logged on when I had the time. So i asked Costa about the same winners all the time and a player named Carlingcaz, who is constantly winning in free and won £3,000 in Friday Freebie last month and next day they were winning in free again. I didn’t see them being banned. I can log into posh, moon, robin hood, but no point because if I win I will have to spend it on site as all sites have stopped my bank cards. I think it’s disgusting as I think they make their own rules up as they go along. They like to take your money, but don’t like it when you take theirs.
Reading all these comments has me scared as i have won £200 on Gossip bingo. The reason why I’m nervous is because I use my partners card to deposit. I have never taken any money out before so I doubt it’s going to give me the money. I put enough in and I will be very disappointed if I don’t get it as they are happy enough to accept my deposits. Also I am shocked at the complaints about cassava banning for playing free bingo? That’s absurd. Surely if there is a limit to free bingo they should stop you getting into the room when you have reached it. I’m really upset for some players about how much they are owed and I really hope you get this money from them-best wishes.
I have also been banned from all Cassava sites for simply withdrawing winnings. Does anyone know any non Cassava sites I can play on?
I deposited and played my money, I won £1000 and I was e-mailed for verification documents so I sent them my drivers licence and my bank card. I then get a reply saying that my documents could not be accepted and that I will not be getting my winnings! This is an ongoing problem with cassava sites. There are forums everywhere about how Cassava pick and choose who they are going to pay winnings to and the simple fact is if you win too much they don’t want your custom.
I just got banned for so called bonus abuse and they sent me a email intimating that I had a gambling problem which I take offence at.
How can they get away with this they still advertise on their websites play for free win for real also there should be an autoblock feature set to block people after a set amount of hours – users get instant banned without warning and they still owe me money.
I have been banned from Cassava just this week. The e-mail says for security reasons and i am not to try and join any other Cassava bingo sites.
I have been a member on their sites more or less from the beginning.
I may have been lucky on the bingo but as far as i know Cassava doesn’t register how much you lose on the Slot Machines, which i have lost a fair bit.
They advertise on their sites ‘Free No Deposit Bingo’ but fail to tell you they don’t like you to win.
I won £500 2nd Feb 2012 on the new guess the balls. I couldn’t believe my luck when it flashed up on the screen – congratualtions you won £500 – as I was so shocked I decided to take a screen shot of my win. One month and 17 days later I still have yet to receive this win from BH.
I messaged and messaged them asking about it, but I just get an automated message in return saying somebody will contact me in 48 hours. All this time later still no balance update nor any message. It seems that they have just decided to ignore the matter. Has anybody else had this problem? If so what did u do please? As I have emailed stating that if this matter is not dealt with I shall take it to a solicitor and trading standards.
I too am blocked from ebery single cassava site. Foxy, posh, costa, tasty etc etc.
i won the jp on redbus which was over 6,000 last year then i won it again but a smaller amount of £2500 in september. I did manage to withdraw but now every account is blocked and has been since christmas. its annoying because for all they know I might be a multi millionaire that just loves to play bingo and can afford to deposit. their loss!! i loved to play piggy payout and used to deposit hundreds a week on the differnt sites. its not good that they penalise me by blocking my accounts just because i do as they want, deposit loads and win little.
My mother recently won £10,000 on foxy bingo slots, fairly! When she tried to withdraw this money, her account was blocked and she has been banned from all associated gaming sites. Very luckily she took a computer screen shot as evidence she won (as her account balance was also put back to £0.00) and is now fighting for her money, with no luck so far. After research it appears there are 100′s of other cases like hers. Users need to be made aware that if they win a substantial amount of money with any cassava they WILL NOT RECIEVE IT.