Alright, gotta share this mess with you guys because I don't want anyone else getting screwed like I did. BetWhale pulled some seriously shady stuff on me and I'm still pissed about it.
Background:
Put in $454 over a few deposits, ran it up to $621 betting mostly NBA and some MLB. Nothing crazy, just had a decent run and figured I'd cash out my $167 profit in April. Should've been simple, right? Wrong.
Here's how they got me:
The verification nightmare:
Took these guys 3+ weeks to "verify" my account. Same docs I use everywhere else, but suddenly nothing was good enough. Document after document, rejection after rejection. Classic stall job.
The hidden limits:
Finally get approved and they're like "oh by the way, you can only withdraw $300." Their site says $2500 max but apparently that's bullshit. They've got these "customer levels" they never mentioned when I signed up.
Where it gets really dirty:
So I take the $300, leaves me with $321. If I do another $300, I'd have $21 left - below their $125 minimum. Can't withdraw it. Smart, right? So I figure I'll do $175 instead, leaves me $146 which is above their minimum. Took another 2+ weeks but finally got the $175.
The trap:
Go to withdraw my last $146 on June 6th... DENIED. Why? They bumped their minimum to $150. Exactly $3.65 more than what I had left.
You kidding me with this?
When I called them out:
Sent some emails asking what the hell was going on. Their responses were straight garbage:
- "The minimum was always $150" - complete lie, I specifically chose $175 because it was $125
- Some nonsense about "customer levels" determining limits
- Told me to keep betting to "improve my level"
- Even threatened me for planning to leave bad reviews
These people are a joke!
The bottom line:
They're trying to steal $146 out of my $167 winnings. That's 87% of what I legitimately won. Over policy changes they made in the middle of my withdrawals.
I've used BookMaker, Heritage, BetOnline during this same time period. All paid within 2-3 days, no drama.
Why I'm posting this:
BetWhale's new (2024) so they don't have a reputation to protect yet. They're clearly running this scam on purpose - wait till you have a small balance left, change the rules, hope you give up or blow it back.
It's been over 6 weeks and I still don't have my last $146. Posted about this on reddit and trustpilot too. Other people are going through the exact same thing.
Look, there's plenty of solid books out there that actually pay. Don't waste your time with these clowns. Learn from my mistake.
Anyone else get burned by these guys?