[Kieran]

On 21/6/09 I opened an account with The Greek Sportsbook depositing £740, and received a “21% sign up” bonus of £151.34. Over the course of the next 5 weeks I placed bets totalling £4,987.05. My balance, on 27/7/09 then stood at £1,141.41 and I contacted customer services to ask whether I was allowed to withdraw the full balance from my account. My last bet had been a £1,101.53 loss at The Greek (Honduras – USA match, various bets made on Honduras at various odds) and I wanted to thus withdraw keeping my winnings to date. The agent advised that I could make a full withdrawal if I chose to & made the arrangement for this. On 28/7/09 I received an email from Customer Services (shown below) stating they were keeping the bonus from my account. The argument Wally (of Customer Services) appears to have given to steal £151.34 from me is my "account clearly fits the description of only doing the minimum to get the bonus". This is not even close to the truth and I have made the following points

- Wally admitted that I have turned over £4987.05, and that the minimum required turn over to get the bonus is £2960 (also verified in the terms and conditions, printed below) - and so I've done a staggering 68% more betting than the minimum required.
- According to Wally account must be opened for 4 weeks before a withdrawal can be made. I can’t see this in the terms and conditions, but none-the-less, I have had the account open in excess of 5 weeks - over 25% longer than Wally’s minimum.
- I checked with the customer service team before requesting the withdrawal that I was allowed to withdraw my full balance. They said yes. If I wasn't allowed I wouldn't have withdrawn.
- The agent who handled the withdrawal confirmed that the full £1,141.41 was to be withdrawn & I will receive all the funds the next day.
- I haven't requested the closure of the account, simply a withdrawal.
- I lost £1,101.53 on a bet after I had fulfilled all the wagering requirements of the bonus. I wanted a gap from further gambling with The Greek at this point to avoid further addiction and the temptation to chase losses.
- No indication is given of what I should do / should have done differently. Am I simply to bet with them until I lose all my money?


I am so angry with this. Please help me. What can I do? All I ask is that The Greek play fair, just like I have. E-mails from The Greek & terms and conditions of the bonus are below.

Appreciate your help.
Kieran Bailey



Message 1 from The Greek:

"Dear Mr. Bailey,

Please be advised that the bonus amount of 250 USD will be forfeited from your account, reason being Management reserves the right to make final decision regarding bonuses. Bonuses and fee reimbursement will be forfeited if it determined that an account is established just to make the minimum bonus requirement, and then closed. Valid identification may be required to claim bonuses.

Therefore you will recieve 990.07 GBP.

Thanks for choosing The Greek.

Regards,
Venisha
The Greek Customer Accounts"


Message 2 from The Greek:

"It is not our intend to give a 21% bonus to have the customer request all his funds after 5 weeks. That is the reason we have the rule posted on our
website:

a.. Management reserves the right to make final decision regarding bonuses.
Bonuses will be given to recreational players only. Bonuses and fee reimbursement will be forfeited if it determined that an account is established just to make the minimum bonus requirement, and then closed.
Valid identification may be required to claim bonuses.

Your account clearly fits this description. Withdrawing all your funds is the same thing as closing the account. Sorry but the decision stands.

Wally"


Promotional/Bonus Rules

• Promotional credits/bonuses can be used for sportsbook wagering purposes only. Promotional bonuses have no cash value until four times (or fifteen times if casino play) the original amount deposited has been placed on wagers. i.e. $500 deposited = 21% signup bonus = $105 bonus. If any withdrawal is made before $2,000 has been placed in wagers, the bonus ($105) will be forfeited and withdrawn from the account before the withdrawal request is honored.
• Maximum bonus amount is $250 USD (the total of all bonuses received, ie. signup, reload, etc.) per calendar month per person unless otherwise specified.
• Accounts are only eligible for bonuses if no withdrawal has been made within the previous 30 days.
• If a withdrawal has been made in the previous 30 days, subsequent deposit amounts must cover withdrawals before qualification for bonuses would apply. Overall loss amounts (subsequent to withdrawals) can also be used to cover withdrawals.
• Re-load bonuses are not eligible on credit card or express money deposits, unless otherwise specified.
• Re-load bonuses are not eligible on deposits made into an account with sufficient funds already existing for average wagering activity.
• Rollover requirements for casino play accumulated via low-risk roulette, baccarat, and craps bets will not be eligible. Examples would include betting both red and black on same spin in roulette or betting both pass and don't pass at the same time in craps.
• Bonus amounts must be claimed by either phone or email.
• Management reserves the right to make final decision regarding bonuses. Bonuses will be given to recreational players only. Bonuses and fee reimbursement will be forfeited if it determined that an account is established just to make the minimum bonus requirement, and then closed. Valid identification may be required to claim bonuses.

[Willie Bee]

Kieran, welcome to SBR and sorry to read this. TheGreek has certainly left the door open to do this per that last little bit in their rules, though it would seem to take a certain amount of mind reading on their part in my opinion to make such a determination.

If you haven't done so already, fill out the complaint form and see what our dispute folks might be able to work out.

As I've said before and will say to the end, I wish I had a dollar for every complaint we've ever received that begins with, "I deposted $X at Such-&-Such Sportsbook and got an X% bonus..."

[moonbeam]

OK, I guess you want to tell us: "Don´t use all this bonuses offered from A or B rated books"

Is this right?

[tomcowley]

I really hope this is another made-up complaint. If those emails are real, it's ****ing pathetic.

[chance]

Wally and his team have been making lots more of these "screw the customer" type rulings on bonuses over the last 6 months. I can see a clear direction here.

A couple of years ago they would have never have attempted such a f\*\*k you type stanch.

[kmarinouofm]

this is really sad.. i usually talk up the greek to anyone that asks.. but honestly this is shameless.. this guy almost rolled over twice the amount required by the Greek and that wasn't enough?

i mean jeez its not like this guy took the greek for a grip of money.. he cleared like 300 bucks over his deposit.. he did the rollover and then some.. lost a Grand.. and decided he had enough.. that maybe gambling isn't for him.. either way he played by all the rules.. its like what John Malkovich said in movie Rounders "HE BEAT ME !! STRAIGHT UP!!! PAY THAT MAN HIS MONEY!!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6OU_8zkvw4

unless i missed something the greek is really wrong on this one and I am really really sad to have to say that...

[Kieran]

Thanks for the early feedback. I have filled in a complaint form so hope someone can pick up the battern for me.

Unfortunately none of this is made up. I knew The Greek had a strong reputation so was happy to gamble with them, I'm amazed by the behaviour of such a bookmaker.

There is no way my account has only undergone the minimum to obtain a bonus - I've bet far far more than I needed to. I'm in the right, aren't I?

[capitalist pig]

Kind of scary when/if The Greek is really doing this over such a small amount of money. Ive always used them as my # 1 book without a 2nd thought. Makes a person wonder if the industry is hurting alot worse than it is made out to be.

later

[Chuck Sims]

Its unfortunate The Greek tarnishes their good name once again. Their rules seem to imply that we reserve the right to screw you. Shameful.

Bailey, once you were aware of the f-u-c-k the player rules, were you given the option to just take a smaller WD, and then keep betting until Wally won't steal back the bonus?

[HedgeHog]

What happened to "Sweat the game, not the payout". If these facts are true, The Greek is basically stealing back an earned bonus. Hard to imagine Spiro would piss away his rep for chump change.

[durito]

This is not acceptable and very surprising.

[HedgeHog]

Kieran, welcome to SBR and sorry to read this. TheGreek has certainly left the door open to do this per that last little bit in their rules, though it would seem to take a certain amount of mind reading on their part in my opinion to make such a determination.

If you haven't done so already, fill out the complaint form and see what our dispute folks might be able to work out.

As I've said before and will say to the end, I wish I had a dollar for every complaint we've ever received that begins with, "I deposted $X at Such-&-Such Sportsbook and got an X% bonus..."

Looks like the OP is being treated harshly by "Wally and the Bee". Golly SBR.

[gym rat]

The Greek is definitely in the wrong here. I'm a long time Greek player but I'll have to think about how much action I give them if this is in fact true. Very Sad to see from the greek!!

[Nickelicious]

And yet some people here do NOT want online gambling to be legal in the U.S.

Every gambler in the world would benefit greatly if the U.S. legalized online gambling.

The shitty books might not like it, but so what? And the good books like the Greek would have to wake up and smell the coffee: do your customers right or you will be discarded like yesterday's newspaper.

Unbelievably shortsighted from all corners.

[Kieran]

Its unfortunate The Greek tarnishes their good name once again. Their rules seem to imply that we reserve the right to screw you. Shameful.

Bailey, once you were aware of the f-u-c-k the player rules, were you given the option to just take a smaller WD, and then keep betting until Wally won't steal back the bonus?

Thanks for the feedback. No option of a smaller withdrawal was given Chuck Sims. They simply paid me £990.07 and set my account balance to zero.

[Keith Richard]

I think the Greek was in the wrong here also.Seems rather petty of them.One thing I don't understand Kieran is why you would withdraw your whole account balance to the penny?I mean if you don't intend closing your account you should at least leave the change in there.

[paul123]

You are in the same situation as me.

I read their great reviews on here and other forums and opened an account at the start of June...Over the next 8 weeks i managed to win about £1500. I emailed them about making a withdrawal as i had never withdrawn before and they said no problem...

2 days later i have an email from them saying they are withholding $250 from my withdrawal....I was quite shocked, but as i was quite a bit up i was going to let it go..

I asked for them to look back at my betting records and reconsider (i had bet approaching $10,000)..But they were not interested...

Do you guys think i should put in a complaint also ?

I quite liked their book and did'nt want to close my account, but it seems that once you withdraw your money they say it's closed....

Paul

[HedgeHog]

Paul: File the complaint--what do you have to lose?

[JoshW]

Complaint received from Kieran, and I am working to resolve it.

[katstale]

Been a while since I could play at the Greek, but if this story is even close to correct.....

Sad sad day for the offshore sportsbook world. I remember Wally giving me one of the nicest "move along" emails I ever received.

Hard to write something like this off as an accident. More like a change in philosophy towards the customer. Look forward to SBR take on all of this.

[eyeball]

Maybe not company policy, but one jerk with an agenda? We need to get all the facts before roasting the Greek. We only have one side of the story.

[betpartners]

offshore chickens coming home to roost

[thespeculator]

Been a while since I could play at the Greek, but if this story is even close to correct.....

Sad sad day for the offshore sportsbook world. I remember Wally giving me one of the nicest "move along" emails I ever received.

Hard to write something like this off as an accident. More like a change in philosophy towards the customer. Look forward to SBR take on all of this.

Kat would care to share why you received that email, i had always though the greek was the one place that didn't do those kind of things, it very disappointing to here they are even those kind of things

[Willie Bee]

OK, I guess you want to tell us: "Don´t use all this bonuses offered from A or B rated books"

Is this right?

Not sure where you read "A or B rated books" in anything I said. My point was that regardless of any rating, the fine print in bonus/rollover rules is the one common denominator I've seen with the vast majority of the complaints and problems we have received.

[katstale]

Kat would care to share why you received that email, i had always though the greek was the one place that didn't do those kind of things, it very disappointing to here they are even those kind of things

It is not a secret that Greek can be touchy abt large wagers over the internet that are pouncing on "movers". If you are willing to give up your ability to lock and load on those "instantly" thru the internet and phone it in.... you will be ok with them. Of course, when you take the time to phone it in--that number is not there any longer.

So there's the rub!

[thespeculator]

thanks for the feedback

[JoshW]

The Greek has agreed to give the bonus money back.

Sometimes players don't take the fine print seriously. I would say that in the case of any bonus at The Greek, that a player take seriously:

"Management reserves the right to make final decision regarding bonuses. Bonuses will be given to recreational players only. Bonuses and fee reimbursement will be forfeited if it determined that an account is established just to make the minimum bonus requirement, and then closed. Valid identification may be required to claim bonuses."

Personally, I would say that The Greek should just change the rollover to even longer and put a hold on it (I have emailed that idea to them), it would get rid of any question, but I think you can expect that if you do the minimum in terms of time or rollover, that the bonus may be taken.

[tomcowley]

It's hard to believe they could be so stupid. If they want more action, they should have a higher rollover. Listing a rollover amount, and then claiming that it's insufficient.. wow.. just wow. Spiro should shove a plunger up somebody's ass for coming up with that one.

[headgames]

With not having bet offshore for long, is this ("Withdrawing all your funds is the same thing as closing the account") representative of offshore bookmakers' opinion of players emptying balances? Maybe I'm old-fashioned but I don't like to build too high a balance (for me) at any bookmaker regardless of rating or whether they're offshore or not but 90% of the time have always returned at a later date so long as I was happy with the site and their customer service. I thought that was normal!

[Chuck Sims]

I am glad The Greek is giving back the earned bonus. It appears this is not an isolated incident as Paul123 poster says it happened to him too.

I do think its short sighted on these players to go through the rollover and then cashout. Obviously the book is going to be pissed. The 21% bonus is offered in hopes the player will remain a customer. Not swoop in, grab the bonus and split after the rollover is completed.

[themajormt]

Yeah the fact the player cashed out the entire account sucks and probably rubbed the book the wrong way. My only issue is that if he met the rollover AND continued to place large wagers, showing he is a recreational players, they shouldnt have done this...

[TheBeautifulGame]

With not having bet offshore for long, is this ("Withdrawing all your funds is the same thing as closing the account") representative of offshore bookmakers' opinion of players emptying balances? Maybe I'm old-fashioned but I don't like to build too high a balance (for me) at any bookmaker regardless of rating or whether they're offshore or not but 90% of the time have always returned at a later date so long as I was happy with the site and their customer service. I thought that was normal!

Yes, I do it all the time. When Ive won a few quid with a book, I withdraw all the money so the balance is 0. The account was not closed though and I have been able to go back and make another deposit.

I just think that MAYBE the GREEK were trying to discourage people from depositing receiving the bonus, rolling it over and withdrawing all the funds. Of course, they would have had to kNOW that he would post here in order for that tactic to work.

[HedgeHog]

For many Books, apparently including The Greek, recreational player is code for "Loser". If you win and decide to leave, they subjectively change your status to "Pro" and use this as an excuse to steal. Totally inconsistent for an A+ Book, IMO.

[gym rat]

Maybe not company policy, but one jerk with an agenda? We need to get all the facts before roasting the Greek. We only have one side of the story.

Well we actually have two different posters telling the exact same story so that makes the first story a little more credible now.

[gym rat]

The Greek has agreed to give the bonus money back.

Sometimes players don't take the fine print seriously. I would say that in the case of any bonus at The Greek, that a player take seriously:

"Management reserves the right to make final decision regarding bonuses. Bonuses will be given to recreational players only. Bonuses and fee reimbursement will be forfeited if it determined that an account is established just to make the minimum bonus requirement, and then closed. Valid identification may be required to claim bonuses."

Personally, I would say that The Greek should just change the rollover to even longer and put a hold on it (I have emailed that idea to them), it would get rid of any question, but I think you can expect that if you do the minimum in terms of time or rollover, that the bonus may be taken.

Minimum as far as time and rollover is very subjective. These players did more than the minimum from their perspective. The one poster claimed to have wagered $10,000. They really need to make the rollover a bit more and just stop worrying about the petty minimums and trying to confiscate bonus money.