Crypto stuck in sports betting site, now they want KYC

[uneng]

Since the beginning it was a bad idea, because cheated the terms and conditions of the platform, since US citizens aren't allowed there. Then you made things more complicated by entering a fake Hong Kong number and now you are probably going to complicate your situation even more by introducing someone else to the story in order to move your funds.

I think it's not a good idea, because it's a serious crime to pretend being a person you aren't.

Better to forget about it and to use only sites allowed for US citizens from now on.

[Tumanggor]

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why don't you mention the name of the gambling site? here no one will bother you as long as the complaint you submit is valid

if I were you, then I will continue to fight for $1200, I will comply with all the conditions required by the site (KYC), if I meet a dead end then asking a friend for help to withdraw the funds is the best last option, but you must also give him good money, appropriate as a thank you

[Jemzx00]

Can you share which casino you are talking about? Do they have official announcement thread or representative in this forum? If they have it, maybe you can post your issue in their thread and you may get better responses and solution for your issue. Although you have made a mistake by using VPN to bypass country restriction, but you are lucky enough that you have made a withdrawal without issue. Mostly, once a casino noticed that you came from restricted countries, the casino will block you and not asking you KYC.

I think it would be worst for him if he will try and post it on the Announcement thread of the said gambling platform, asking assistance regarding this matter as he already exposed himself violating their rules and regulations. Anyway, may be if he did that, he will have a clearer answer such as the gambling sites permanently banning his account. 

I suggest he take that chance of verifying his account using his friend identity and try to reason out why he was able to use a phone number on a restricted country. But still, your chance of recovering your funds is low on this occasion. You've already taken that risk when you gamble on a site where your country is restricted. Good luck to you OP.

[Fortify]

I'm from the states and have been using a betting website to do some light sports betting. They do not allow US citizens and so I used a VPN to gain access. They only require an email address to create an account, and no KYC unless you want to buy crypto directly from them. I will not name the site for various reasons.

Anyways, sometimes I try to login to the site before setting my VPN and it simply tells me I'm in a restricted area. Never had any issues though, I just flip on the VPN and all good. I've been using this site for about 2 months now. Today I logged in and and it was requesting I input my phone number to proceed. It said I can withdraw funds but services were restricted until I enter my phone number. So I created a fake number from Hong Kong, and entered it in. It sent me a code and I entered it. Little did I know Hong Kong  is also banned from this site (I know I know, I was just in a hurry to place a bet). Now my account is locked and they will not allow me access to even withdraw until I go through full KYC.

I have about $1,200 of BTC in there, nothing crazy. If I KYC myself they will simply say I broke their TOS and lock me out forever (I did the research on this already). KYC consists of ID, recent bills, and photo of yourself holding ID. The only piece of information this site has on me is an email address.

I have friends who have friends in other countries. Some of those friends of friends live in impoverished countries. What's stopping me from using them to KYC my account and then giving them a piece of the stuck funds? I would only need to gain access to retrieve the funds and would not continue to use the account or website.

Is this a good idea and do you think it will work? Worth the $1,200? My only hesitation at this point is asking the friend and they go through the hassle but then it goes sideways and still do not gain access to my account.

If what you're saying is all genuine, it may be worth naming the site here if you're not making any progress through the direct support channels. There is a small chance that a representative here, if they have one, will be willing to assist you. That being said, you should understand that you almost 100% broke the terms and conditions of usage for the site and they could potentially be within their rights to keep your money. KYC is a legal requirement for many different reasons and is hard for big operations to avoid, you're putting their licensing at risk. It will be gracious of them to allow you to withdraw the money, but you have made so many mistakes and doing things like submitting a Hong Kong phone number for verification just complicated the situation even further. Stop trying to skirt around the rules even more as it sounds like you're thinking of causing even more problems by introducing a "friend" to the situation.

[passwordnow]

Well, I believe my recommendation is to give it a shot or to contact customer service.

I would refrain giving it a try. If he do something like what he's planning and the casino finds it out then there's more trouble to his money. It's better for him to talk seriously with the customer service and be outright on what has happened.
Things can be done peacefully if it's being made through talks and I think that the casino will spare him as it is his fund and didn't came from nowhere. There's a chance that he'll be given consideration.

The chance of getting the funds back with sincere talks with the customer rep is better if the site is a known reputable casino here.
But if not, high likely that the site will freeze his funds because he is using the site from prohibited countries.
The OP should also check the terms of the site regarding the use of VPN on the casino.
If the site is allowing VPN, then he has good hope to get the funds back even using his own credentials.
Because the problem with asking from a friend is that, it will suddenly give a different IP, which is very different from his previous recorded IPs.
Which will give the site more suspicion about his account. So for me, it is better to talk with the site about the real status of his account.

Yeah, that's another thing. If it's a known casino and have been very reputable over the past years. They can be considerable to concerns that has been issued to them.
They're not always like they have been cold hearted people but they also can be kind if you have just told them what you want to say politely. Just explain the real explanation and that's the better chance that OP can get his fund back if he just want to withdraw and won't stay anymore on that casino.

[Yamifoud]

Anyways, sometimes I try to login to the site before setting my VPN and it simply tells me I'm in a restricted area. Never had any issues though, I just flip on the VPN and all good. I've been using this site for about 2 months now. Today I logged in and and it was requesting I input my phone number to proceed. It said I can withdraw funds but services were restricted until I enter my phone number. So I created a fake number from Hong Kong, and entered it in. It sent me a code and I entered it. Little did I know Hong Kong  is also banned from this site (I know I know, I was just in a hurry to place a bet). Now my account is locked and they will not allow me access to even withdraw until I go through full KYC.

That is really a crazy move you've made. But I think it was done and you help your account to get banned from accessing it. Your money will get stuck there and no way to get it. That is how important to read the TOS before making the registration and make it follow as this KYC could be imposed somehow. We'd better go check it first as once we make a deposit and make some account verification it somewhat leads to asking KYC later especially when they notice that you are using VPN.
That is a lesson to learn and sorry to hear that. $1,200 is huge money already...

[iv4n]

Worth the $1,200?  

Well, this is the main question, is it worth it?! If you think it is, then you should go for it, if it's not try to gamble and make more, and if you get to some amount worth the effort and hassle do it then!

I have a similar story from Orient Express casino (I know the name, they still give me free 5 euros from time, bonus with wager requirement)... I deposited around $50 and after an hour or two I had close to $200! I deposited BTC, they have that option, but when I wanted to withdraw they said only fiat (PayPal and some other similar services, or bank account), of course with full KYC! So I wasn't lazy and I have done KYC, but after that, they said I need at least one deposit from where I wish to withdraw!!!!! I was so mad, you can't imagine what I wrote to that poor support guy... I regret even trying, I gambled more and I just lost that money! Maybe if I won something big I would try more, but I didn't have luck and I never deposited again! They sent that promo email from time to time with 5 euros, I always play one slot, 5 spins for 1 euro... but until now I didn't have the luck to win anything big, sometimes I get to 20-30 euros, and then I lose all!

[crzy]

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why don't you mention the name of the gambling site? here no one will bother you as long as the complaint you submit is valid

if I were you, then I will continue to fight for $1200, I will comply with all the conditions required by the site (KYC), if I meet a dead end then asking a friend for help to withdraw the funds is the best last option, but you must also give him good money, appropriate as a thank you

That’s a lot of money in my country so I’ll definitely fight for it.
This is the risk of using VPN because you can’t know if your account will be ban or what, so better not to try to gamble if your living on a restricted country because you have no legal fight on that since its already stated on the terms and conditions. If your friend is willing to get expose, then why not, just keep trying.

[rhomelmabini]

Is this a good idea and do you think it will work? Worth the $1,200? My only hesitation at this point is asking the friend and they go through the hassle but then it goes sideways and still do not gain access to my account.

I think it's not worth it even if you do the KYC they'll still ignore your request at all considering you're from USA and their T&C wasn't allow such citizen. It's a worthless initiative I guess even if you pass a KYC. If somehow you can ask some friends that doesn't care on their privacy and information as well then I guess you'll still be in luck. That amount may not be huge for a US citizen I guess, it's your call if you want to do the necessary things.

[harizen]

Is this a good idea and do you think it will work? Worth the $1,200? My only hesitation at this point is asking the friend and they go through the hassle but then it goes sideways and still do not gain access to my account.

I think it's not worth it even if you do the KYC they'll still ignore your request at all considering you're from USA and their T&C wasn't allow such citizen. It's a worthless initiative I guess even if you pass a KYC. If somehow you can ask some friends that doesn't care on their privacy and information as well then I guess you'll still be in luck. That amount may not be huge for a US citizen I guess, it's your call if you want to do the necessary things.

If that happened in my case, I will comply with the KYC since I'm not really concerned about these identity-related issues if the involved site is somehow reputable. But since OP stated that even complying with KYC won't clear this mess, then it will change my view that why should I still submit if there will be no good outcome later on.

That being said, OP should now try everything if the eagerness to get the amount is really important. While at the same time, OP should now slowly accepts that the issue might not be resolved.

[chaser15]

Is this a good idea and do you think it will work? Worth the $1,200? My only hesitation at this point is asking the friend and they go through the hassle but then it goes sideways and still do not gain access to my account.

No one knows if it will work unless you will try.

Do everything to convince a friend and I'm sure they will listen to you if you just explain everything to them. The risk is, even submitting KYC we don't really know if that site you are referring to will clear things up. Up to you if you will move on and forget that $1,200 or aggressively do everything to get access to your account.

Since the creation of this thread, do you submit now? Please update us here.

[goinmerry]

If they asked for it, do it.
If there are other things they asked, do it.
If there are other more things they asked more, do it.

That is if you only want to get that $1200 on your account.

Now if you don't want to undergo those hassle requirements, forget that site and move on.

[agustina2]

Since the beginning it was a bad idea, because cheated the terms and conditions of the platform, since US citizens aren't allowed there. Then you made things more complicated by entering a fake Hong Kong number and now you are probably going to complicate your situation even more by introducing someone else to the story in order to move your funds.

I think it's not a good idea, because it's a serious crime to pretend being a person you aren't.

Better to forget about it and to use only sites allowed for US citizens from now on.

Complicated as it be, what done is done. If OP wants to solve this, following any instructions by the site is really necessary at that point. $1,200 is a big amount for me and I will do everything to withdraw it even going through a hassle process since there are no other things to do but to follow.

Leason learned now, always read teams to prevent the same problem in the near future.

It's frustrating to see that your money is floating in the air with few chances to withdraw it.

[ralle14]

You're lucky if you'd still get your winnings after KYC because afaik some casinos usually confiscate the winnings and only return the amount you deposited whenever you violate their TOS so sometimes if the remaining balance came from your winnings then there's a possibility or chance that you won't get the remaining money from the account (unless there's a clarification from the support). If i'm in that position i'd probably just move on to another sportsbook unless you're guaranteed to receive the money after KYC.

[rodskee]

Looks like OP had already made His way to get the funds because he got Online in February 13 but never posted anything here meaning he does not interested in the later advise but had decided for His funds.

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But i think the best act here is to take those offers from other country to take  KYC for you so the funds will be delivered easily without hassle , just choose the people you will trust because 1200 dollars is decent amount .

[Wexnident]

Ha, didn't know the other person is called a "mule." But yes, I was thinking about this. Technically I can come up with some clever rebuttal I can feed to my mule counter to all their accusations and there is no way for them to disprove it. But in the end I think they will simply give me some BS automated reply saying I broke ToS.

Also, can't I simply get KYC docs from my mule and submit them myself? My mule would not even need access to the account. But the mule must have trust in me to be dealing with their personal info, and a promise to receive payment.

Anyway, it all seems like too much of a hassle and the odds seemed stacked against me. Learned my lesson here.

Not really a hassle if your friend knows what he's gonna do, if he doesn't well then now it turns into a hassle. Though I do agree that they could give you a simple "Nope, i don't believe you and I don't give a damn if I don't have proof, your account is disabled" message of the sorts. There have been instances like that afaik, if you're fine with letting that amount of money go then I'd really suggest just letting it go and setting up a new account.

Looks like OP had already made His way to get the funds because he got Online in February 13 but never posted anything here meaning he does not interested in the later advise but had decided for His funds.

Op himself decided against getting the funds from the account back mainly cause it was a hassle it seems.

[Peanutswar]

It depends on the agreement I guess the idea to contact them because in the first place is you already know the terms and agreement and there's a rule on it but try to make a reason out with their support if you are holding a large amount and already played a lot to their platform so I guess still have the privilege to make a request but again there's no assurance on it.

[Issa56]

Am still suprise why you should have make this kind of mistake, you know your country is not allowed to access the site but you still forcefully access the site. I believe when you where registering you should believe your account is at risk and anything can happen, you should be prepared for what's happening currently, your friend is having a friend so you thinking of using his kyc, if you think it will work no problem but you know another person is already having access to your account so the account is no longer safe again, and what's the probability that the person is a reliable person. Seriously you can just give it a trial but you should blame yourself for what's happening currently.

[maydna]

If they asked for it, do it.
If there are other things they asked, do it.
If there are other more things they asked more, do it.

That is if you only want to get that $1200 on your account.

Now if you don't want to undergo those hassle requirements, forget that site and move on.

The casino will know that he already used a fake telephone number to get the first verification.
Not to mention if he wants to use his friend's identity and if the casino finds out, his account will most likely be blocked, and he can't make any withdrawals at all. It seemed like this was a dilemma for him, and it wasn't easy to find a solution. But in any case, he could try to verify his account with the original documents.

[btc78]

It depends on the agreement I guess the idea to contact them because in the first place is you already know the terms and agreement and there's a rule on it but try to make a reason out with their support if you are holding a large amount and already played a lot to their platform so I guess still have the privilege to make a request but again there's no assurance on it.

Yeah , In the beginning he Knew that he is breaking the agreement as he lives in States in which prohibited of the said site yet he continues.

I read in the past that there is also issue in which the Player tries to ask the gambling site if he can still play using VPN as His country is prohibited , and come to agreement , but when the player wins big amount and wanted to withdraw there is the issue comes and  the site accused him of violating TOS.

the thing here is Never risk playing in sites that is not allowed your country if you don't wanna face problem in future.