Reasons Online Casinos Might Refuse to Pay Your Winnings
One of the biggest fears that a Canadian online casino player can have is to find out that their withdrawal will not be processed and sent to them. While the first thing that most people think about in this situation is that the site is shady, that's not necessarily the case. Instead, there are several legitimate reasons why your payout could be refused. Here is an overview of some of the main ways it can happen, which we'll dive into further down below.
- It's possible that you broke some part of the terms surrounding your play, which covers a lot of specific areas like having previously self-excluded from this site or one in the same group.
- Various issues with payment methods can cause a payment to be held back, some of which are easily remedied and others not so much, like depositing with a method that wasn't actually yours.
- A lack of identity verification is a common problem that you can fix within just a few moments in many cases.
- There could simply be some type of technical error with the casino, connection or payment method that clears itself up after a few minutes.
- Payments can be stopped if you have found yourself going over the withdrawal limits for that day, week, or month.
Top 3 Reasons for Non-Payment at Real Money Casinos in 2024
1. You Haven't Met the Terms and Conditions
If you don't pay attention to the terms and conditions, then you can run into situations where you have breached them in pretty serious ways. With that said, it's difficult to do this on accident with the casino's general T&Cs, though sometimes it does happen. In what follows, we'll show you the three areas where players break these terms the most often and show you exactly what to focus on so that you don't do it by accident.
- Breach of Bonus Conditions - If you play restricted games or do other things that break the terms of a bonus offer, then it will usually land you in a position where you are unable to cash out your winnings. Pay attention to the play-through and game restrictions in particular and read more about "Payment Refusals Related To The Casino Bonus" section below.
- Underage Play - Due to regulatory requirements, if the site finds out you played while underage, even if you become of legal age in the process, then they can't allow you to receive your winnings because it would be illegal to do so. In many cases, your original deposit can be refunded, and your account will be closed as well.
- Self-Exclusion Issues - An important tool players have to regulate their own play is self-exclusion. When you request self-exclusion from a site, you can no longer play with them, but you can also no longer play with other brands that are a part of the same operating group. If they find out you had self-excluded at a sister brand, they won't allow you to cash out or keep playing.
2. Banking Related Problems
Issues on the banking side of things can sometimes be less serious. On the other time, sometimes they can be the end of your account. It really just depends on what has happened and what the details are on a case-by-case basis. Here we want to show you the most common situations that can happen on the banking side of things so that you go into playing with your eyes wide open and know what to avoid.
- Running Into Withdrawal Limits - Most online casinos Canada has to offer have limits on how much you can cash out on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. Along these lines, running into those limits simply means you'll need to wait enough time until you're past that limit. Note that this limit is frequently lifted for progressive jackpot payouts.
- Using a Card You Do Not Own - Some people who don't know any better may use a debit or credit card that belongs to someone else to make their deposit. This throws up red flags to real money casinos because they want to make sure that the funds weren't stolen. As a result, many sites do not allow you to use a method you don't completely own.
3. Problems with Your Player Account
Other problems can happen to your account in a more general sense. Sometimes this will happen because of the player intentionally engaging in shady behavior. However, in plenty of other cases, it's something innocent on the player's end that has a simple fix. Down below, we'll show you the most common example of each way this can go along with how to avoid running into these types of problems.
- Lack of Account Verification - Many players, especially when they are first starting out, don't realize how important it is to verify your account. In fact, many regulatory jurisdictions don't allow casinos to process withdrawals at all to unverified players. This is to help prevent money laundering and other issues, so it can't be avoided. Instead, verifying your identity as soon as possible helps to keep this from happening in the first place.
- Duplicate Account Issues - If you want to go after a no deposit bonus or some other type of promotion, it's critical that you don't create duplicate accounts to do it. While you shouldn't make multiple accounts at the same casino for any reason, those no deposit deals are the main reason that people do it. However, it's a complete waste of time. If you can't remember your previous account, the support team can help you to get into it instead of trying to create a new one.
Payment Refusal Related To The Casino Bonus
While all of the above issues should be taken seriously, the fact of the matter is that the majority of withdrawal rejections are a result of breaking terms and conditions for bonuses and other types of promotions. For better or worse, there are several ways that this can happen because many players simply don't know what all goes into these rules that surround these deals. We want to help you avoid any problems with the bonus offers you claim, so in the following, we'll show you the main things to look out for that could get your payout held up.
Bonus Expiry Lapsed - No Deposit Bonus Offers and Free Spins
Certain types of deals frequently have expiration dates on them. While this isn't as common for regular bonus offers, it does happen. However, it's more common for free spins and no deposit bonus deals. In fact, this is why when you get a combination offer of a bonus combined with free spins, you're frequently required to play the free spins out before you're allowed to play anything else.
It's absolutely critical that you take note of the expiration date on any bonus that you take advantage of. Otherwise, if you go even a day past that before finishing up with the wagering requirements, you will void the promotion. This means that you'll be unable to cash out any winnings that you received from that deal as well as any value from the offer itself. We want players to get the best experience possible from these types of specials and from their experience in general, which is why we think it's so important to pay attention to.
Wagering Requirements Not Met
The point of wagering requirements is to make sure that people who take advantage of a bonus offer actually play the games in the first place. Otherwise, without these protections in place, people will just come in and take the bonus without actually playing much. That actually happened a lot in the infancy of the online casino industry, and that's how we know what will happen because it did happen in the past.
Along these lines, you need to finish up your play-through requirements before you will be allowed to cash out. That's a major part of the terms and conditions that you agree to when you take on a bonus offer or other type of promotion like free spins or a no deposit free chip. For the sake of convenience, your current progress on your wagering requirements are usually listed in a simple and easy to understand format in the promotions or cashier tab of your given site.
Betting Limits Breached - Minimum Deposit Offers in Particular
Of all of the terms that players sometimes violate when it comes to promotional offers, we find that breaking the betting limits is what catches players by surprise the most often. Several types of deals have terms that don't allow you to wager over a certain amount in a single bet. This is another part of those protections that allows the sites to offer you particularly valuable deals, especially for players on a budget like with minimum deposit bonuses.
Going over the wagering limit works much like breaking any other part of the conditions that you agreed to when accepting the promotion. It voids the deal and prevents you from receiving your actual bonus along with any winnings that you got from using that offer. This often throws players off by surprise because so many people look for the play-through and game restrictions without looking at the max wager size, so make sure to look for it to avoid this mistake.
Playing Disallowed Games - Jackpot Online Slots
Many promos will come with terms that don't allow you to play certain titles. Along these lines, if you play those games that aren't allowed, then you can see the casino refuse your cash out as a result. Perhaps the most commonly used example is when someone plays disallowed table games when they have claimed an online slots bonus. However, in practice, that's not necessarily the one that has players slipping up the most often.
In our experience, the one that gets players is when they have a slots bonus and don't realize that they're not allowed to play progressive jackpot games with it. This typically happens when players skim over the restricted games section of their terms and conditions, see that table games aren't allowed and mistakenly assume that those were the only restricted titles. If you're a fan of the genre, we strongly recommend that you specifically clarify whether progressive jackpot slots are allowed before playing them if you're working on this type of promotion.
Why Real Money Casinos Cancel Bonuses
Sometimes promotions will simply be canceled from your account before you even get an opportunity to request a payout in the first place for reasons outside of what we looked at above. However, you really have to go out of your way to trigger a bonus cancellation for these reasons. Even with that being the case, we still want you to know what to look for so that you don't mistakenly get your bonus canceled for the following reasons.
- Suspicious Behavior - If you have a history of suspicious behavior, particularly with crossing the line on breaking various rules, you can find that your offer gets canceled for that reason. However, if you're playing normally, then this is not something that you need to worry about in terms of false positives.
- Using a VPN - A virtual private network, known as a VPN for short, is a piece of software that essentially allows you to make your connection look like it's coming from a different computer or location. VPN usage is not allowed at virtually any licensed online casino for regulatory reasons, and it can get your bonus removed (and even get your account closed).
- Irregular Playing Patterns - People who are trying to abuse promotions or make multiple accounts have particular playing patterns that virtually no one else uses. Along these lines, online casinos use these patterns in play to identify accounts that are up to shady activities and can simply revoke a bonus offer just for having these patterns over a long enough period of time.
How to Ensure You Keep Your Winnings
Our goal is to help make sure that you're able to keep your winnings and have the best overall experience possible. Down below, we cover some general tips and an overall process that you can think about to help prevent any type of situation where your payout is refused by a casino site.
- Pick a Reputable Casino - We offer full ratings and reviews of the most reputable sites to play with for Canadian players. By sticking to casinos with a good reputation like these, you avoid some of the shady dealings that lesser locations can put you through.
- Put In Your Information Correctly - Double and triple-check that you are putting in your personal details correctly when creating your account. A mistake here can cost you a lot of aggravation later when the casino can't figure out why they can't identify who you are, which can lead to delayed or denied withdrawals.
- Choose Your Bonuses Carefully - Pay close attention to the terms and conditions of any offer that you take advantage of. If you aren't confident that you'll be able to clear a wagering requirement or stick to a given set of game restrictions, then don't try to force it.
- Verify Your Identity Early - As soon as you make your first deposit, take a look at what you'll need to do in order to verify your identity before requesting a withdrawal. This will give the casino the time needed to process your information, which will keep you from running into unnecessary cash out delays.
- Be Mindful of Wagering Requirements - When you are working on a bonus, it's a good idea to check to see how far along you are with the play-through on a semi-regular basis. Doing so makes it a lot easier to avoid a situation where you request a payout that gets denied on the basis of unclear wagering requirements.
- Use Your Own Payment Methods - Both when depositing and when requesting a cash out, make sure that the payment methods you're using have your personal information attached to them, which should be the same information used with your casino account. This information needs to match up if you don't want to run into a payout refusal.
What to do When Your Cashout Request Has Been Refused
If your withdrawal is denied, then this doesn't mean that you can never get your money. In many cases, the situation is salvageable, and the casino just needs to verify some things or let you finish clearing a play-through requirement. No matter why it has happened, there are two things that you need to do in the following order.
- Contact the Customer Service Team - Get in touch with the support staff right away. This allows you to find out precisely why your cash out was denied and if there's anything that you can do to remedy the situation. In most cases, if there is something that you can do, they can let you know right away.
- Make a Formal Complaint - If you believe that your withdrawal is being denied for unfair reasons, then you have the right to make a formal complaint. This complaint can be made to the casino itself, which they will have a process for on their website. Additionally, you can file a formal complaint to their licensing body to potentially start an investigation.
FAQs About Payment Refusal and Casino Bonus Cancellation
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What is the best payment method to use to ensure payouts?
A variety of reputable banking options are available, but we recommend Interac for Canadian players. -
How do I know if a casino is trustworthy?
A trustworthy site will have a good reputation in the industry and a license from a reputable regulator. -
Can Canadian casinos cancel my bonus?
Yes, if you break your terms and conditions, your bonus can be canceled. -
Is there a minimum deposit I have to make?
All casinos have a minimum deposit requirement, but it can range from $1 to $20 depending on the site. -
How would a site know I've created multiple accounts?
Your IP address, MAC address and other information can give that away. -
Is it legal for casinos to cancel bonuses?
Yes, if you break the terms of the deal, it's completely legal. -
Why can't I use a VPN?
VPNs are frequently used to pretend to be in one location instead of another, which breaks their regulatory requirements. -
What happens if I cancel my bonus?
Your bonus and any winnings from the promotion are typically removed from your account. -
How hard is it to clear wagering requirements?
This depends on the bonus, but most are pretty reasonable to finish with typical play patterns. -
How long does it take for payment disputes to be resolved?
This can vary a bit depending on the nature of the dispute and the regulatory entity you're dealing with.
