When a casino confiscates funds, who actually gets the money?

[Fiatless]

The decision whether the casino can keep the money for themselves or not always varies depending on the region where the casino is licensed and also depending on the licensing policy of the casino too. The casino might report such confiscated fund to the licensing authorities which determines whether they can keep it or not but I think if a customer break ToS, the casino would want to keep the money since it's their ToS and also their casino.

Some of these licensors don't have control over these casinos. They are more interested in the money they make from issuing licences. Anyway, you might be correct that these situations might be covered in the license agreement. But my observation is that if the government is involved in the investigation, seized funds might be sent to government coffers. Internal finance issues would be handled within the casino. If a gambler's account was frozen because of bonus abuse, the casino would recover all or part of the money he had cheated them out of. So the casino would take custody of the money in his account.

[Davidvictorson]

When a casino freezes an account for a TOS violation and decides to confiscate the funds, what really happens to that money? Does the casino keep it as part of their income, or are they required to remit it to their regulator or some authority?

I am no expert on this but I think the casino would do what most other businesses do with seized money- donate it to charity or put it in some type of funds to help people. I may also guess that , if a casino has a corporate social responsibility, such types of funds goes into projects like those.

[uneng]

The casino is only going to transfer money to regulators in case there is a lawsuit against the casino which forces them making the transaction. Otherwise, they will simply keep the seized funds for themselves, what I guess to be the most common hypothesis in this kind of situation involving gambler's confiscated funds.

[MiF]

When a casino freezes an account for a TOS violation and decides to confiscate the funds, what really happens to that money? Does the casino keep it as part of their income, or are they required to remit it to their regulator or some authority?

I am no expert on this but I think the casino would do what most other businesses do with seized money- donate it to charity or put it in some type of funds to help people. I may also guess that , if a casino has a corporate social responsibility, such types of funds goes into projects like those.

In the majority, the money that is confiscated is not given to charity or any other external organization. In case a casino freezes an account due to a TOS violation, the money is typically retained by the casino as retained revenue. Regulators are concerned more with the justification of the confiscation, rather than the redistribution of the money. The authorities would only intervene and take the money in instances of criminal activity or through legal seizure.

[YOSHIE]

Casinos often say “funds are forfeited,” but they rarely explain where it goes after that. If it just stays with the casino, that raises obvious questions about incentives and abuse.

If you have ever gambled and lost a bet, of course you don't need to worry about funds being confiscated by the casino, money lost from users, confiscated money is the same, it goes to the casino owner.

Remember, casinos are a business, every business that is developed wants to have big profits, remember any funds taken from users all go to the casino and its owners.

[nimogsm]

When a casino freezes an account for a TOS violation and decides to confiscate the funds, what really happens to that money? Does the casino keep it as part of their income, or are they required to remit it to their regulator or some authority?

I am no expert on this but I think the casino would do what most other businesses do with seized money- donate it to charity or put it in some type of funds to help people. I may also guess that , if a casino has a corporate social responsibility, such types of funds goes into projects like those.

It is highly unlikely that they will donate the confiscated money to charity. The money will most likely remain in the retained earnings fund or be spent on website maintenance, etc. Users are unlikely to sue the casino if they themselves have violated the rules, and website owners are well aware that their legal team will be stronger. So the player has very little chance of getting their money back.

[junder]

So this is in relation to my first topic created.

When a casino freezes an account for a TOS violation and decides to confiscate the funds, what really happens to that money? Does the casino keep it as part of their income, or are they required to remit it to their regulator or some authority?

Casinos often say “funds are forfeited,” but they rarely explain where it goes after that. If it just stays with the casino, that raises obvious questions about incentives and abuse.

Anyone here know how this works in practice, or have experience with licensed casinos explaining this clearly?

I think it goes into the casino's profits, although I don't know for sure, but that's what I think. I think the funds that are confiscated are almost the same as not being paid out, but on the other hand, confiscation should still allow the winning players to be paid, so maybe it's the same as withheld funds. It's just that if it's true that the players aren't paid, I think it goes into the casino's profits.

[Ziskinberg]

I think it goes into the casino's profits, although I don't know for sure, but that's what I think. I think the funds that are confiscated are almost the same as not being paid out, but on the other hand, confiscation should still allow the winning players to be paid, so maybe it's the same as withheld funds. It's just that if it's true that the players aren't paid, I think it goes into the casino's profits.

It’s not really a win for gamblers, even if the bet technically wins, if the funds just end up confiscated anyway. In that situation, it’s more of a win for the casino, since what should’ve been a loss for them turns into a gain. You could even argue it becomes a different kind of income, not the usual one coming from normal bets without issues.

That said, whether they should keep it or not really depends on how the violation is defined.
If it’s just a minor or usual violation, then there’s really no reason for the casino to remit the funds elsewhere.

[Fortify]

So this is in relation to my first topic created.

When a casino freezes an account for a TOS violation and decides to confiscate the funds, what really happens to that money? Does the casino keep it as part of their income, or are they required to remit it to their regulator or some authority?

Casinos often say “funds are forfeited,” but they rarely explain where it goes after that. If it just stays with the casino, that raises obvious questions about incentives and abuse.

Anyone here know how this works in practice, or have experience with licensed casinos explaining this clearly?

There is no single answer to this question, it can be handled in many different ways. The general answer should be the casino sends the money back to the wallet it came from if no agreement can be reached and there is a dispute. This could be problematic for the sender if it came from a shared exchange wallet, but it's not really a problem for the casino if they do it transparently. Most casinos would not want the liability of holding any "seized" funds because it could potentially lead to legal troubles and they'd have to spend money on lawyers, so they should give it back and then ban the player if they want no ongoing relationship for any reason. A player will forfeit any amount beyond their deposited funds if the claim is they have broken the terms of service or are engaged in some kind of abuse, that is a given.

[Eternad]

The casino is only going to transfer money to regulators in case there is a lawsuit against the casino which forces them making the transaction. Otherwise, they will simply keep the seized funds for themselves, what I guess to be the most common hypothesis in this kind of situation involving gambler's confiscated funds.

It’s not about a lawsuit against the casino rather if the authorities requested the funds that came from the specific user that committed money laundering.

KYC was required for that specific reason to identify the user and give it to the authorities once asked. Filing a lawsuit means the casino itself committed the crime which is not rather the user.

[TheUltraElite]

Common sense would say the casino kept the money for themselves. Reasoning can be "payment for troubles they had to go through"

Where else do you think the money would go? Charity? I doubt they ever give money out to charity unless the money trail is properly documented which I have rarely seen. Even if they went to charity, undocumented backdoor system to get the money back from the charity will always be there.

Such events are rare that the player has to forfeit the funds, casinos only try to protect themselves from tainted funds.

[bakasabo]

When I was working for insurance company we had such rule: if policy is interrupted, there are premium left and person did not take his money for 3 years (did not provide bank account or did not create another policy and use funds to pay it partly), then insurance company takes those money. During those 3 years, those money are retained earnings. I think casino has similar rules with frozen money.

[FirmWars]

Casinos often say “funds are forfeited,” but they rarely explain where it goes after that. If it just stays with the casino, that raises obvious questions about incentives and abuse.

The money either goes to the casino or to the authorities which is the casino are answerable to, because the casino have higher authorities that gave them the license to operate on and some of the terms that they apply on their customers is based on the terms of operation with the authority too but this is different from every casino and depends on the country. The forfeited funds that comes from money launders goes to the authorities, the casino can not keep it but if it's about this case you described, there's uncertainty about who keeps the money since it's based on country and licensing rules.

[Questat]

When I was working for insurance company we had such rule: if policy is interrupted, there are premium left and person did not take his money for 3 years (did not provide bank account or did not create another policy and use funds to pay it partly), then insurance company takes those money. During those 3 years, those money are retained earnings. I think casino has similar rules with frozen money.

I don’t think this is the same as gambling though. In gambling, there’s usually a specific violation that leads to confiscation of funds. What you’re describing sounds more like an unclaimed insurance case or something similar.

Can you clarify what you mean by “if the policy is interrupted”?
I’m not sure if I’m understanding that part correctly.

[shawonngp]

There are many methods of confiscation of money. For example, if you have violated rules and regulations at a casino site, maybe you have taken a bonus using multiple accounts, or taken any other advantage, your money will be confiscated by the casino, and they own this money. But when a casino site is accused of money laundering by the government and the government confiscates all its funds, those funds go into the government treasury. In the USA, France, and Germany, we are aware of BTC and other cryptocurrency confiscations in many other countries.

[Furious 7]

Casinos are gambling providers, so they manage the money coming in from player deposits and the money going out from player winnings. So, the casino has complete control over the gambling process, and the player is simply playing. Therefore, it makes sense that if the casino confiscates funds and doesn't release them to the player, the casino is the one who gets them. If this happens due to an error, it's probably due to the casino's rules. Unless the error lies with the casino, the confiscated funds can still be recovered.

I'm curious about what happens next when something like this happens. I've never experienced it myself, or perhaps I don't remember it. But I believe a reputable casino will provide comfort to its players, including resolving any issues that arise.

[sana54210]

This depends on if the casino is a legit and trusted or a shady scam casino. If it's a scam casino then they just pocket the money and consider it theirs and they just basically stole your money, nothing more than that.

But if it's a legit casino then they put it in a safe place and then they just let the situation be resolved, they do not touch it. I know at least one casino that has nearly 110 bitcoins that they never touch, it's people's money and they are not allowed to touch legally, so they keep it there until it gets resolved and even if it is not getting resolved they just do not touch it just in case. Players could sue and then judge will decide what will happen so the casino doesn't touch a single satoshi in there.

[Woodie]

For actions that have just started off it's easy to say that they keep the money when they hit you with some terms and conditions violation and I wouldn't blame anybody thinking in these lines as we are on the same boat   

But if it was a reputable casino, I think these funds go in some kind of suspense account as this doesn't form part of their capital and needs to be allocated in a special account to help balance their financial records..

[Localhostspeed]

So this is in relation to my first topic created.

When a casino freezes an account for a TOS violation and decides to confiscate the funds, what really happens to that money? Does the casino keep it as part of their income, or are they required to remit it to their regulator or some authority?

Casinos often say “funds are forfeited,” but they rarely explain where it goes after that. If it just stays with the casino, that raises obvious questions about incentives and abuse.

Anyone here know how this works in practice, or have experience with licensed casinos explaining this clearly?

I don't remember casino keeping funds on casino. What are shown are dummy data to replicate your balance as your deposit and withdraw. The only time you can see your money is if you are done and you want to withdraw your money from the casino, that's when the casino will send the money for you straight from their account. It can be from fiat and it can be from a crypto wallet since casino supports hoth fiat and crypto payments together.

If you violate any rule and the casino decided to keep your money with them, contact them for the release but if they refused  to allows you maybe the reason will be known but not all casino explain to you if they banned you from accessing your Casino. Though, not all casino do this, it's rare to see accounts banned for violations of terms and conditions. If all casino bans, I don't think there will be any one left again.

[terrific]

I know at least one casino that has nearly 110 bitcoins that they never touch, it's people's money and they are not allowed to touch legally, so they keep it there until it gets resolved and even if it is not getting resolved they just do not touch it just in case. Players could sue and then judge will decide what will happen so the casino doesn't touch a single satoshi in there.

But they can make a new rule of the platform that they can do whatever they can once those accounts and Bitcoins have been dormant.
And that's for specific period of time, maybe a year or three or whatever they prefer. But usually it goes from 2-3 years of being untouched.
If there is no activity that's being done to the account, they can do whatever they can with it. Although it's a good gesture that they have left it untouched.