– It’s not fair, says the distraught woman
A lucky player from Norway was stripped of her million big win! The woman was stripped of her winnings at Unibet. A Norwegian woman thought she had the luck of her life when, within a few hours, she gambled her way up from NOK 9,000 to 1.8 million on odds games and casino at Unibet.
The woman initially had the withdrawal approved, but a few days later she was told that the money had been confiscated and that the Unibet account had been suspended.
“You would have had the withdrawal a long time ago, if you hadn’t started nagging,“
-Unibet Customer Support
The gambling company instead returned her deposits.
– For eight years I have fought to win. I may have lost a lot in my life. Finally I won, so I don’t get the money. It is not fair, says the woman.
Unibet stands its ground and says it reserves the right to close accounts based on questions about gambling responsibility, as well as gambling activities that violate their rules and conditions.
The gambling company says they will not comment on individual cases, but Casinowithdrawal.info have seen the documentation showing that the Norwegian woman’s million winnings were confiscated.
The Norwegian Lottery Authority believes this is yet another proof of how frivolously foreign gambling companies operate.
We’ve seen documentation that supports the woman’s story.
Director of the Norwegian Lottery Authority Atle Hamar believes this case shows how frivolous foreign gambling companies operate.
Started with odds games
It was on Thursday 19th of January this year (2023) that the woman, made a deposit of NOK 9,000 with the betting company Unibet.
She says that she started to build up the odds with bets on tennis matches and went “all in” every time she bet on the winner of a set.
Every time she placed a new bet, she risked losing everything she had on her Unibet account, but she was lucky enough to end up with NOK 200,000, she says.
After participating in tennis games, the woman, who is open about her gambling addiction, gets the urge to bet on ice hockey matches. She then notices that the betting company has limited her bet to NOK 172 ($/€17,2) per coupon.
– I thought “Damn it, what a sleazy gaming company”. If you lose, it’s okay to bet as much as you want. When you win, it’s over, says the woman.
Won at tennis, slots and roulette
The Norwegian player earned good money playing tennis on 19 January. The player won big at roulette when Unibet limits the stakes on her odds games, she starts resorting to the online casino roulette on the betting company’s website.
She plays roulette and bets NOK 50,000 and NOK 100,000 at a time on red or black.
– I thought either I hit or I don’t. I got up to a million. Then I bet 200,000 NOK on roulette and won 400,000 NOK, says the woman.
Incredibly, her luck continues and after staying up all night she has NOK 1.8 million in her Unibet account.
Big profit – a great session
The woman had lucked out when she played at Unibet’s casino. In the end, she had NOK 1.6 million in her account.
It has become Friday and the woman wants to withdraw the money. She sends all the documents that Unibet requires in order to make a withdrawal, but then comes the urge to gamble.
– I quickly became addicted to gambling. On Saturday, I wanted to cancel quite a bit of the withdrawal – at least 200,000 NOK, so I could enjoy myself a bit, the player says.
Unibet refuses the request to cancel the withdrawal, so she deposits a new amount so she can play more. After all, 1.8 million NOK is on its way to the bank account, well that’s at least what she thinks.
She contacts Unibet every day the money doesn’t arrive and contacts them in the customer service chat on the gaming cabinet’s website. After a lot of back and forth with chats, emails and uploading documents, a congratulatory email finally arrives – the money is on its way.
– Along with the congratulatory email came some questions about what I’m working with etc.
Congratulations email
Unibet congratulated the woman on her win and followed up with some questions about her relationship with gambling and her work situation.
On Thursday 26 January, a week after she deposited NOK 9,000 into her account, the woman receives an email informing her that the withdrawal process is finished at the money is on its way to her.
She will be happy, but impatient and wants the money as soon as possible. This is when things go wrong.
– Later that day, I go to the chat and talk to a customer service representative. I told her to speed up the withdrawal because I have been waiting a long time. I wrote that I had big plans this weekend and that I didn’t have money for the big plan I have. As soon as I typed that word, I got an email saying that my account was temporarily blocked.
– What do you mean by “that word”?
– As soon as I wrote that I didn’t have money for the party I’m planning. “Disturbing comment, I’m worried about you,” she wrote. Why are they worried about me? There is no reason for that. I am a lucky punter, who has won NOK 1.6 million. She dug into my privacy and was very rude, so I thought “that’s enough now”. It was disgusting.
After the weekend, the woman goes on the Unibet chat again. In the evening and at night there are English customer handlers – not Swedish as during the day. The player does not speak English well, but uses a translation program to communicate with the agent.
– He wrote to me that I could thank myself for being so upset about my withdrawal that I have been reported for disturbing comments. “You would have had the outlet long before, if you hadn’t started nagging,” he wrote, the woman says.
On Wednesday 1 February 2023 she gets a new email. It says that her winnings have been confiscated and that she will get back the two deposits of NOK 9,000 and NOK 110,000.
– They sent some paragraphs about whether I should have broken a rule. Then they wished me a good day ahead.
Unibet later sent the player an email claiming that her account was used by someone else and/or that she acted on someone else’s behalf. The woman strongly rejects this.
Unibet responds
Unibet’s terms and conditions state that the company reserves the right to suspend an existing account without any explanation whatsoever.
It also states that the company reserves the right to confiscate money available on Unibet accounts in the event of a direct or indirect breach of Unibet’s regulations.
Unibet was contacted to respond to why the woman’s winnings have been confiscated.
The answer comes in Swedish from Maria Angell-Dupont, external communications manager at Kindred Group, which manages gaming companies such as Unibet, Maria Casino and 32Red.
– We do not comment on cases about individual customers. We reserve the right to close accounts based on questions about gambling responsibility, as well as gambling activities that violate our rules and conditions, she writes in an email.
There are questions about whether one can feel safe as a customer at Unibet, when the betting company reserves the right to confiscate winnings.
Angell-Dupont gives the same answer as above and answers “no” to questions about whether Unibet will get rid of players who win.
The Norwegian Lottery Authority: – Shows how unserious they are
The Norwegian Lottery Authority’s director Atle Hamar was himself contacted by the player in connection with this case. He is not surprised by what has happened.
– Unibet is a company that for many years has offered and brokered games illegally in Norway. As the woman explains it, her money is gone from her gaming account. I think it is another proof of how unserious these players are when they treat their customers in this way, says Hamar.
Unibet does not have a license in Norway, and thus the Norwegian Lottery Authority does not have the authority to follow up on the case.
– What do you have to do when the terms state that Unibet reserves the right to suspend the account without explanation and confiscate money in case of breach of the regulations?
– If you have a license in a country where they offer this game legally, then I am quite sure that under those conditions they cannot behave towards customers in such a way that they close and withdraw money from a game account. I cannot believe that it is in accordance with any regulations.
Hamar believes Unibet’s explanation to the woman that she “nagged” so much to get the money that they thought it was worrying does not measure up.
It is not illegal for Norwegian citizens to play with foreign gaming companies, but it is forbidden to mediate and offer games in Norway.
– Just as well, she has a profit that she does not get. I can never believe that it is in accordance with the license, that they deduct the profit. Casinowithdrawal.info have checked Unibet’s license, and they are licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority: The official number and date of issue of the license is MGA/B2C/106/2000 issued on 1st August 2018 valid until 17th July 2028.Trannel International Ltd is licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA). This public regulatory body is responsible for the governance of all forms of gaming based in Malta. Find out more about the MGA at www.mga.org.mt. (Source; seen at the footer at the Unibet website.)