Originally posted on 01/03/2021:

I have referenced this issue in the past on this forum. I can only conclude that CRIS does not in fact welcome "sharp action," contrary to what they have boasted for decades. It is bad enough that they now charge some accounts a 3.5% withdrawal fee. It is even worse, and frankly amounts to extortion, when the fee didn't exist at the time of deposit.

Almost every book, including many shit books, does not charge a fee for Bitcoin withdrawals. One hypothesis that has been mentioned on this forum is that CRIS charges the fee in order to discourage those who frequently deposit and withdraw. This is certainly not true in my case. I think I have made one withdrawal from CRIS in 2020.

I have tried to request payouts via cheque, since it is cheaper than paying 3.5%. One time when I tried to make the request, I was told on Live Chat that the cheque option no longer existed. I asked why it still appeared in the Cashier if it doesn't exist. I was told that the method was in the process of being eliminated for everyone and that it would be gone in the next few days. This was many months ago. The cheque option remains available in the Cashier to this day, but I am apparently banned from using it. More recently when I tried to withdraw via cheque, I was told that I could do not do so because all payouts must match the method of deposit. If true, when would anyone be eligible for a cheque withdrawal? Does anyone actually make a deposit by mailing a cheque to CRIS? I asked if a manager could call me to discuss this. My request was denied.

In the old days of CRIS, their customer service was very good. They had a VIP department. You could speak with a manager. They had a phone number. I'm not sure if ownership has changed, but none of these channels are available to me anymore.

As far as I know, Bookmaker does not charge a 3.5% fee for anyone. Some posters have said that Bookmaker and CRIS do not have the same ownership. If that's true, then I don't understand why I'm not allowed to have a Bookmaker account. Whenever I try to get one they say: "sir, please use your CRIS account." I would gladly transfer my funds to a Bookmaker account in order to avoid the 3.5% extortion, but this option is not being made available to me.

I wish someone from CRIS would call me, or email me, or address these issues on this forum. Charging a 3.5% withdrawal fee to "sharp" accounts is in direct contradiction with a book claiming to cater to sharp action. If you want me to bet more, remove the fee. If you don't want me to bet more, then it begs the question: why not? A so-called sharp book should want as much action as possible, and it shouldn't care where that action comes from. Don't you hang a number because you WANT someone to bet it?

Often posters say: "You should try talking to the book directly before complaining on forums." I agree with this principle, but CRIS no longer has a customer service phone number and it is impossible to speak with a "manager" or "supervisor" on Live Chat, as previously mentioned.

I wish SBR would at least get some kind of comment from someone at CRIS about this policy, since I have been unable to speak to anyone from CRIS except various clerks on LiveChat who's only words seem to be: "I'm sorry sir. Management decision."

CRIS should be downgraded if this policy is not reversed. A sportsbook that skims 3.5% on withdrawals cannot possibly be considered A+.