No longer eligible for bonus

Hmmm, did you use a great number of no deposit bonuses? Or were you in for a big cashout on a bonus recently? Those could be some of the reasons why they bonus banned you.

It happens. I have been bonus banned at most Playtech casinos after winning on quite a few bonuses. But not at Cherry Red or others in that group, or any other RTG casinos for that matter. It sounds strange that they will not even give you an explanation, their service is usually very good.

Obviously I am second guessing them a bit here, but I am fairly certain they have you tagged as a "bonus abuser". I have said this many times before but that term is total and utter BS. If they offer the deals they can't complain when people take them up.

That quote actually tells me that it isn't fraud or software manipulation because if they thought you were doing either of those things they would have booted you from the casino completely. And "player abuse"? I don't even know what that is. Is that meant to be you abusing other players, or abusing the service reps, or the casino?

I suspect the reason they won't give you a straight answer is because they feel they have some super duper detection process which helps them "bust the baddies" and they don't want to give away any information on what exactly trips it. The sad thing is your decision to cancel your accounts probably makes them feel vindicated. They have kind of put you in a no-win situation. I think you did the right thing though.

I'll shoot them an email and see if I can find out what's going on, and if this is a widespread thing or just a one off.

Another question - have you ever been bonus banned from any other casinos related to Cherry Red? Maybe they were led astray by a bonus ban in another casino, and decided to mark you as a bonus abuser, even though you weren't using so many bonuses there as in some other places.

I agree with Ed, the only reason why they 'only' bonus banned you is because they think you're a potential abuser (a term which still remains undefined among casino reps themselves), they probably concluded that because you used a certain type of bonuses and cashed out on them a few times.

I am glad you pulled out of the sister casinos too. Especially if you are depositing there. What really irks me is they don't even give you a reasonable explanation. Sometimes casinos attitudes are more than pompous. As if they have the God given right not to have to explain a thing after you have soaked money in their casino...........sigh!

Usne

Ok I have a response from a manager at Cherry Red and it pretty much agrees with what we had assumed:

Still they could do better at communicating the issue with you Rodaaf282. Also I think a clear definition of what exactly they class as "bonus abuse" would be welcome. At least then there is a clear line in the sand which everybody understands.

So basically are they saying if you make a deposit and the bonus with it exceeds the amount of your deposit money one too many times then your heading for a ban? What exactly is "bonus money"? Is it bonus as in a free chip or deposit bonus they are referring to?

Again the area is grey. Keep it real, keep it simple so we can abide by the terms. In the end both parties can be happy. You will have a depositing player and we won't fret over having the rug pulled out from underneath us.

I will say i do appreciate taking the time to even reply.

Usne

They are talking all bonuses - deposit bonuses and freebies.

I have actually had a few emails back and forth with them over the last couple of days. I've suggested they come up with some specific rules so that everyone knows where they stand.

This is part of the last email I received:

But it is not easy. Lets say they did make a rule that you may be bonus banned if you redeemed more than double your deposits in bonuses (from the earlier email I posted). Well at Cherry Red the first deposit bonus is 400% so every player who claimed it would be over the limit straight away. So then there would have to be a time or number of deposits factor to take into account.

And lets not kid anyone ... if Rodaaf282 had not made a few cashouts there is no way they would be pulling out the ban hammer. That is the crux of the problem - they are happy to offer the bonuses until you have a few wins on them.

So I am hopeful, rather than expectant, that something may be done.

It is also important to note that they have not ripped anybody off here. Although I disagree with the way they went about this, they have paid Rodaaf282 before the bonus banning, which unfortunately they have every right to do.

It sucks but take it as a mark of pride Rodaaf282, you're clearly a disciplined gambler!

Casinos keep these bonus banning "rules" shady, because that gives them cover to do as they like. However, it's true that when you claim twice bigger amount in bonuses than the one you deposited, and you cashout every now and again, you're seriously in for a bonus ban. This doesn't mean they'll ban you as soon as you sign up and claim a big bonus, but if you've been playing for a while and claimed too many bonuses on top of your deposits, you can count on being banned any time now. To be quite frank, I've seen people getting banned for less than 2:1 bonus-deposit ratio. It sucks, because they were the ones who offered you the bonuses, but I guess they just feel like not enough of the bonus money they gave you is getting back to them. Still, it's their problem, right?

I think what every casino should do which really seems quite simple. When a player goes to redeem a deposit bonus simply deny it and state that the player is not eligible at this time. Just like they do when someone tries to cash a free chip two times in a row.

This way a player knows to cool down on using the deposit bonus for awhile. But here is something interesting..........

If you won a lot of cash on a casino and never take the bonuses, would they ban you for winning more than you are depositing? I think the answer is yes. So if they are asked to fix one problem it springs a leak somewhere else.

Bottom line........they hold the power and most casinos clearly state that an explanation is not required for banning a player!

Usne

Well the thing is they are private enterprises and you have no "constitutional right" to play there. They can pretty much lock you out for whatever they feel like - providing they pay you what you are owed of course.

Its the same as land casinos that ask card counters to leave. Card counting is not illegal nor is it cheating, but if they catch you doing it you will be asked to leave the blackjack tables and/or the casino.

oh dear ... sounds like the left hand doesn't know what the right one is doing.