Crypto stuck in sports betting site, now they want KYC

[acroman08]

But it seems OP still wants to comply with it, regardless of what will happen. Safe to assume OP still want that amount to be withdrawn whether it's huge or not in his own view.

To be clear, not all US citizens are considering that amount as small. They are not what you think that doesn't hurt to lose that kind of amount.

Any update from OP for us not to have any more speculations on what he should do?

I don't think he is. I was reading the first page and stumbled on his post(check the quoted post below). OP's last sentence on his post(which is also his current last post) indicates that he gave up and would just let this issue go since like he said "too much of a hassle".

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

[Milly8890]

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.

Haven't logged-in since last week, will read through all the posts. Thanks for all the replies and advice.

I believe the site to be one of the largest and for sure reputable on this site. I've always wanted to place sports bets but it is illegal in my state. Almost every website recommended this site for US betters while using VPN. And in fact I logged in using different countries for almost two months, and they never gave me any issues, so I thought it was kind of a "look the other" way type of thing.

I did talk to customer service and they said there is absolutely nothing they can do until I submit KYC> They said no one has the ability to unlock my account except the security team, and they cannot talk directly with the customer. 

I kind of made peace with the winnings stuck in there, and no plan at the moment to try and retrieve it via a mule.

[ethereumhunter]

Haven't logged-in since last week, will read through all the posts. Thanks for all the replies and advice.

I believe the site to be one of the largest and for sure reputable on this site. I've always wanted to place sports bets but it is illegal in my state. Almost every website recommended this site for US betters while using VPN. And in fact I logged in using different countries for almost two months, and they never gave me any issues, so I thought it was kind of a "look the other" way type of thing.

I did talk to customer service and they said there is absolutely nothing they can do until I submit KYC> They said no one has the ability to unlock my account except the security team, and they cannot talk directly with the customer. 

I kind of made peace with the winnings stuck in there, and no plan at the moment to try and retrieve it via a mule.

Maybe you can leave the win there because there's really nothing you can do about it. If you do KYC, you still run the risk of seeing your account blocked or banned by them so it's better not to try KYC.

It is a tough decision because you have already won there but there is nothing you can do with that because you do not have another option and in the end, you will most likely not be able to make a withdrawal on that site.

[jostorres]

Sometimes, we tend to break the TOS just to enjoy gambling despite the restrictions but as we take the risk, we should also keep in mind that our funds aren't in a safe place. 1500 is still a huge amount but to be honest, it would be hard for you to recover it. VPNs aren't that safe these days.

There are safer ways to gamble but its our nature to choose what is more risky because the experience that we can feel there is in a different level and finally you are in a situation that you are expecting. It is now time for you to pay the price or to face your consequences. Our funds is already in danger when we gamble and how much more if we gamble in a much riskier place or in a riskier way? 1.5k can be huge for you but maybe it is not that big for him.

It is hard to recover it on his own, that is why he is here asking for advises if he can do something to get the cash. VPNs are safe as long as its from a trusted brand but i think what is not safe is when you use it on a restricted site.

[Saint-loup]

Haven't logged-in since last week, will read through all the posts. Thanks for all the replies and advice.

I believe the site to be one of the largest and for sure reputable on this site. I've always wanted to place sports bets but it is illegal in my state. Almost every website recommended this site for US betters while using VPN. And in fact I logged in using different countries for almost two months, and they never gave me any issues, so I thought it was kind of a "look the other" way type of thing.

I did talk to customer service and they said there is absolutely nothing they can do until I submit KYC> They said no one has the ability to unlock my account except the security team, and they cannot talk directly with the customer.  

I kind of made peace with the winnings stuck in there, and no plan at the moment to try and retrieve it via a mule.

I don't understand how it can be one of the most reputable crypto casinos here if they are doing shady things like that. Gambling there from a state restricted by their own TOS is not cheating, then they have no legitimacy to keep your funds. This is theft. They can exclude you for having breached their TOS but they mustn't keep your funds if they are honest.
How did you get this phone number BTW? You are able to receive text messages on it?

[milewilda]

Haven't logged-in since last week, will read through all the posts. Thanks for all the replies and advice.

I believe the site to be one of the largest and for sure reputable on this site. I've always wanted to place sports bets but it is illegal in my state. Almost every website recommended this site for US betters while using VPN. And in fact I logged in using different countries for almost two months, and they never gave me any issues, so I thought it was kind of a "look the other" way type of thing.

I did talk to customer service and they said there is absolutely nothing they can do until I submit KYC> They said no one has the ability to unlock my account except the security team, and they cannot talk directly with the customer.  

I kind of made peace with the winnings stuck in there, and no plan at the moment to try and retrieve it via a mule.

I don't understand how it can be one of the most reputable crypto casinos here if they are doing shady things like that. Gambling there from a state restricted by their own TOS is not cheating, then they have no legitimacy to keep your funds. This is theft. They can exclude you for having breached their TOS but they mustn't keep your funds if they are honest.
How did you get this phone number BTW? You are able to receive text messages on it?

This had been always the common case eh? Once you do breached or violate their site terms then expect or anticipate already that they would be locking up your funds and you wouldnt get anything
there might be some platforms which might give out some reconsideration but primarily they would really be asking that KYC verification which isnt something new and it do happens
actually on this market.It might not be sounding ethical but there's someone who do violates the terms and conditions which they are experiencing some pain in the ass situation.

[Silberman]

Haven't logged-in since last week, will read through all the posts. Thanks for all the replies and advice.

I believe the site to be one of the largest and for sure reputable on this site. I've always wanted to place sports bets but it is illegal in my state. Almost every website recommended this site for US betters while using VPN. And in fact I logged in using different countries for almost two months, and they never gave me any issues, so I thought it was kind of a "look the other" way type of thing.

I did talk to customer service and they said there is absolutely nothing they can do until I submit KYC> They said no one has the ability to unlock my account except the security team, and they cannot talk directly with the customer. 

I kind of made peace with the winnings stuck in there, and no plan at the moment to try and retrieve it via a mule.

Cryptocurrency casinos tend to be very forgiving and would do everything they can to support their clients, or at least that is the truth for those that have a good reputation, however they have limits, after reading your story I think that even if you went through KYC it will be difficult for you to recover the money you have in that account as you have violated their terms of service way too many times for them to turn a blind eye to all of this.

[7788bitcoin]

~
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.

It is your choice whether to kYC with the friends you know online who could gamble and they might even try to register an account and since it is verified it is difficult for them to play as well. The best situation here is to find an escort who does not gamble give her some extra change and ask her to verify her identify in a gambling website and make sure she is not from US, i am not telling you should do that but the chances of them gambling is highly unlikely.

[LUCKMCFLY]

What I would do is comply with KYC, with all the requirements, once done, I would request the withdrawal of funds, and if there is any problem, what you have to do is put your case in support, although you already gave a false number, you would have to put in support the truth, and that at some point you used VPN, I think 1200usd is worth it, also that serves as a lesson for you the next time you register on a site that has restrictions with the countries, sometimes these sites do it to be able to obtain their licenses, and many of them request not to be from those countries. I hope they can make an exception for you and you can withdraw your winnings.

[xSkylarx]

~
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.

It is your choice whether to kYC with the friends you know online who could gamble and they might even try to register an account and since it is verified it is difficult for them to play as well. The best situation here is to find an escort who does not gamble give her some extra change and ask her to verify her identify in a gambling website and make sure she is not from US, i am not telling you should do that but the chances of them gambling is highly unlikely.

Yeah, it's a good idea because you can get ID online or from someone you know and trust who isn't from the area, but the problem with it is that you pay them less than the actual money in the account, which makes it difficult to trust people these days because they can see such a large sum of money. Another question is whether or not this is effective. Due to the fact that KYC and when you register is your name or someone else's name, and if you have someone to do KYC, then the information doesn't match with that account, but if they are not strict about it, then there is nothing to be concerned about

[Saisher]

I did talk to customer service and they said there is absolutely nothing they can do until I submit KYC> They said no one has the ability to unlock my account except the security team, and they cannot talk directly with the customer. 

I kind of made peace with the winnings stuck in there, and no plan at the moment to try and retrieve it via a mule.

$1200 is such a huge amount for people living in the third world and for poor people even in your country if you have no plan of withdrawing it you can just donate it to a friend who can try to retrieve it or continue playing until you lose it, you can enjoy playing that amount knowing that there's no way to withdraw it, but if I'm on your position I will try to withdraw it, if there's a will, there's always a way.

[mindrust]

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.

I hate KYC but this is your own fault. Why did you play on that casino if they clearly stated that they don't want you as a customer? You knew the risks, you still wanted to play and now you lost your money. If the money is not going to harm you in anyway, $1200 is a nice amount for a lesson like that. Now you know why you should care about the rules and if you don't, there will be consequences.

[traderethereum]

I did talk to customer service and they said there is absolutely nothing they can do until I submit KYC> They said no one has the ability to unlock my account except the security team, and they cannot talk directly with the customer. 

I kind of made peace with the winnings stuck in there, and no plan at the moment to try and retrieve it via a mule.

$1200 is such a huge amount for people living in the third world and for poor people even in your country if you have no plan of withdrawing it you can just donate it to a friend who can try to retrieve it or continue playing until you lose it, you can enjoy playing that amount knowing that there's no way to withdraw it, but if I'm on your position I will try to withdraw it, if there's a will, there's always a way.

He couldn't do anything because he had made a mistake without him realizing it from the start.
All he can do is leave the site and don't try to do anything, let alone do KYC because that would be the same as giving his important documents to the casino.
Before he can withdraw his money, he needs to do KYC but the casino will still do something and the worst thing is that the casino can block his account without approving his KYC.
I hope he learns a lesson here and always makes sure to read the TOS of the casino and try not to violate them.

[Quidat]

I did talk to customer service and they said there is absolutely nothing they can do until I submit KYC> They said no one has the ability to unlock my account except the security team, and they cannot talk directly with the customer. 

I kind of made peace with the winnings stuck in there, and no plan at the moment to try and retrieve it via a mule.

$1200 is such a huge amount for people living in the third world and for poor people even in your country if you have no plan of withdrawing it you can just donate it to a friend who can try to retrieve it or continue playing until you lose it, you can enjoy playing that amount knowing that there's no way to withdraw it, but if I'm on your position I will try to withdraw it, if there's a will, there's always a way.

He couldn't do anything because he had made a mistake without him realizing it from the start.
All he can do is leave the site and don't try to do anything, let alone do KYC because that would be the same as giving his important documents to the casino.
Before he can withdraw his money, he needs to do KYC but the casino will still do something and the worst thing is that the casino can block his account without approving his KYC.
I hope he learns a lesson here and always makes sure to read the TOS of the casino and try not to violate them.

People do only learn when its already done and realize that they had done something.Its neither they would be complying on whats been asked or just simply moved on because
he/she couldnt afford to expose or give out some documents for some verification.So its a matter of choice whether you do deal with it or not.
This is the important on having that time on reading site terms before making out some action.

[Questat]

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.

I hate KYC but this is your own fault. Why did you play on that casino if they clearly stated that they don't want you as a customer? You knew the risks, you still wanted to play and now you lost your money. If the money is not going to harm you in anyway, $1200 is a nice amount for a lesson like that. Now you know why you should care about the rules and if you don't, there will be consequences.

We should know the risk of using VPN, it's only acceptable if you use it for privacy but if you are using it to bypass some restriction, then you have to pay the price and you have no right to complain as in the first place you know yourself have violated the TOS.

[fiulpro]

Did they ask for the KYC when you were depositing funds ? No right most of the times this happens and problem is that you used a VPN ofcourse which will end up against their rules and regulations causing your winnings and everything to go, they won't be allowing you to withdraw anymore as well since this would be against their policies. What you can do is ask some friend of yours from other country where the crypto is legal to do that and this can actually work only if they don't suspect it but then again be would be making the bets on your behalf much like a third party which is again scary to trust regarding so much money.

[Japinat]

Did they ask for the KYC when you were depositing funds ? No right most of the times this happens and problem is that you used a VPN ofcourse which will end up against their rules and regulations causing your winnings and everything to go, they won't be allowing you to withdraw anymore as well since this would be against their policies. What you can do is ask some friend of yours from other country where the crypto is legal to do that and this can actually work only if they don't suspect it but then again be would be making the bets on your behalf much like a third party which is again scary to trust regarding so much money.

They have a very flexible rule which is always in their favor.

Actually, they would not care if you are losing, but if they notice that you are making a huge money and that will trigger them to use their TOS to prevent you from winning, it's a kind of cheating on their part but it's not against the law because the gambler is the one who broke rules in the first place.

[Cookdata]

Sometimes, we tend to break the TOS just to enjoy gambling despite the restrictions but as we take the risk, we should also keep in mind that our funds aren't in a safe place. 1500 is still a huge amount but to be honest, it would be hard for you to recover it. VPNs aren't that safe these days.

Maybe it's just a penny he was playing around with, you never can tell. He knew the risk of gambling in a non-jurisdiction area but he still went ahead, that's even gambling for taking such a risk. 
VPNs are safe, depending on what type you are using, some VPNs are not strong enough to cover your tracks on some websites.

Did they ask for the KYC when you were depositing funds ? No right most of the times this happens and problem is that you used a VPN ofcourse which will end up against their rules and regulations causing your winnings and everything to go, they won't be allowing you to withdraw anymore as well since this would be against their policies. What you can do is ask some friend of yours from other country where the crypto is legal to do that and this can actually work only if they don't suspect it but then again be would be making the bets on your behalf much like a third party which is again scary to trust regarding so much money.

You forgot the part where OP says he has chosen Hongkong as his location and that's another area where crypto betting is not allowed. He has done a big mistake that he just had to let's go as a loss and win for the casino.

[AmoreJaz]

Sometimes, we tend to break the TOS just to enjoy gambling despite the restrictions but as we take the risk, we should also keep in mind that our funds aren't in a safe place. 1500 is still a huge amount but to be honest, it would be hard for you to recover it. VPNs aren't that safe these days.

Maybe it's just a penny he was playing around with, you never can tell. He knew the risk of gambling in a non-jurisdiction area but he still went ahead, that's even gambling for taking such a risk. 
VPNs are safe, depending on what type you are using, some VPNs are not strong enough to cover your tracks on some websites.

Did they ask for the KYC when you were depositing funds ? No right most of the times this happens and problem is that you used a VPN ofcourse which will end up against their rules and regulations causing your winnings and everything to go, they won't be allowing you to withdraw anymore as well since this would be against their policies. What you can do is ask some friend of yours from other country where the crypto is legal to do that and this can actually work only if they don't suspect it but then again be would be making the bets on your behalf much like a third party which is again scary to trust regarding so much money.

You forgot the part where OP says he has chosen Hongkong as his location and that's another area where crypto betting is not allowed. He has done a big mistake that he just had to let's go as a loss and win for the casino.

so are we going to hear from the OP what is his final decision on this situation of his? but whatever the outcome will be, i guess he should be prepared to accept the verdict from the site. curious how things will turn out on this case. another reminder that we should check and review the ToS of the site, even if we say they allow us to play.

[paxmao]

I know how you feel, it happens not only on betting sites, but across the whole crypto scene. The offer or the ICO or the product is usually unclear, then you do some research that does not really convince but you give it a go. Then, once they got your money or crypto they start setting conditions after the fact. It is in my view unethical and sites that use that marketing technique should be publicly shamed and end in obvlivion.