Hi Everyone,
I am looking for some help to contact a BCGAME representative.
TLDR: About a week ago, my account with significant funds was "permanently closed" for "violations of our Terms of Service involving prohibited techniques." Live support directs me to email support, but email support replies with the same message to every inquiry. Account closed, funds withheld, support unresponsive.
Short story long, but first some numbers: I have been playing on BCGAME since November 2023. Since then, I have deposited over $30,000 and withdrawn over $20,000. I have received about $600 in bonuses, excluding lottery ticket vouchers and level-up spin crypto rewards, which were negligible. Unfortunately, I have been using the 'Vault Pro' to hold crypto assets recently, earning about $200 in interest so far. At the time of my account closure, I had over $70,000 in various crypto assets, most of it in the 'Vault Pro'.
Two weeks ago on Saturday, I tried to withdraw funds after a significant win (as I thought having $70k in a casino was a bit too excessive). I was unable to do so because my withdrawal rights were suspended. I contacted support and was informed that I must wait for a technical team inspection. On Monday, when I tried to log in, I received an "Account verification needed" error message. I contacted live support again, and they told me to reach out via email. So I did.
In their reply, I was informed that:
"... After conducting a thorough review of your account activity, we regret to inform you that there have been violations of our Terms of Service involving prohibited techniques. Such actions are strictly forbidden and undermine the integrity of our platform. As a consequence, your account has been permanently locked. This decision is final and is in accordance with our Terms of Service, to which all users agree upon registration. ..."
I believe I did not breach their ToS, so I asked for further information about what they mean by "prohibited techniques." I also asked about their intentions with the funds in my account.
In response, they sent me the same message again.
The following part of their ToS addresses prohibited techniques:
"2.1.13. You accept and acknowledge that we reserve the right to detect and prevent the use of prohibited techniques, including but not limited to fraudulent transaction detection, automated registration and signup, gameplay and screen capture techniques. These steps may include, but are not limited to, examination of players' device properties, detection of geo-location and IP masking, transactions and blockchain analysis."
I have not used any of these techniques. Recently, I did play in a somewhat unusual manner, involving playing the same game simultaneously with multiple different currencies. However, I believe this playstyle complies with their Terms of Service.
Nonetheless, their ToS also states the following:
"8. Breaches, Penalties and Termination
8.1. If you breach any provision of this User Agreement or we have a reasonable ground to suspect that you have breached them, we reserve the right to not open, to suspend, or to close your Member Account, or withhold payment of your winnings and apply such funds to any damages due by you.
8.2. You acknowledge that BC.GAME shall be the final decision-maker of whether you have violated BC.GAME’s rules, terms or conditions in a manner that results in your suspension or permanent barring from participation in our site."
So even if I was ToS compliant, they can close my account based on just suspecting I breached it. This is something I cannot argue with, it is in the ToS after all. (Side note: in my opinion, this clause, along with point 2.1.13, is essentially a ban-anyone wildcard, as "prohibited techniques" are not properly defined, nor is what they mean by "reasonable ground to suspect".)
In my next message, I acknowledged and accepted their decision, asked them to withdraw my funds from the Vault Pro, and send it to me. I also asked them to provide a detailed list of any damages and their associated costs if they decide to withhold any of my winnings to cover 'damages' I have caused, according to point 8.1 of their ToS.
And I got the same reply. Again.
So this is where I am right now: account closed, funds withheld, support not communicating. It would be nice to know why exactly my account was closed, although it would not change the fact that it is permanently banned. What I really want is for them to release my funds, as per their own ToS.
Finally, though the following is not directly relevant to this case, I'd like to express my disappointment with how BCGAME communicates, or more precisely, fails to communicate, issues. I was not informed about any sanctions against my account. I have no idea how long my account was in a withdrawal-restricted state. It could have been a day or two weeks, as that was the last time I visited that page. The same goes for blocking the account; if I had not tried to log in, I would still be unaware of its permanent ban. Over the years, I have played at countless casinos and have even been banned from some. Without exception, they informed me about it first, not just after I found out I was not allowed to log in. Their letters also included a reference to the exact point in their ToS by which they decided to close the account. (Almost always pointing to the wildcard clause, "we reserve the right to close an existing account without prior notice or justification," or equivalent.) My remaining balance was also paid out, and to my great surprise, always within two days, even in casinos where a withdrawal normally took a week. I find it also disappointing that BCGAME failed to address the issue of the remaining balance completely. They have provided no information about whether they intend to withhold it, pay it out fully, or pay it out partially. I suppose them avoiding the issue entirely means they intend to keep it all. Still, I cannot be 100% sure as they keep this info for themselves.
If anything, I have learned not to keep more money in a casino than I am comfortable losing at any time, even when not playing. I can only hope this lesson did not cost me $70k.
Any advice or ideas are appreciated.
