Have you lost all of your money to an online casino? It is easy to get caught in the vicious cycle of losing a bet and trying to recover the lost money by placing further bets.
It doesn’t help that online casinos have brought gambling into the comfort of our homes. You don’t need to get out of your couch and drive to a casino. You have a casino always in the palm of your hand or in your pocket. With exciting games, bonuses that are too good to resist, and multiple payment options, it’s easier than ever before to go on a gambling spree. It’s no wonder that gambling addiction is on the rise. Statistics show that about 15% of the adult population in the US gamble weekly and more than 5 million adults are “problem gamblers”.
The first step to recovering from a gambling addiction is to seek psychological help. But then there is the loads of debt accumulated from betting way more than one can afford to lose. Is there any way to recover the financial losses incurred from gambling? Can you get a refund due to a problem with gambling? Here we discuss everything you need to know.
Can You Get A Refund Due To Problem Gambling?
The bad news is that casinos are businesses and they don’t care about how much you lost or how deep you are in debt. The good news is that under certain circumstances, you can in fact claim a refund on legal grounds. Remember that these are the rarest of rare cases. However, it’s still an avenue worth exploring. So, in what circumstances can you sue a casino?
1. You self excluded yet the casino let you gamble
One of the cases you can fault the casino is when you realized you had a gambling problem, self-excluded from the casino and still the casino allowed you to gamble.
Self exclusion is when you have used a casino’s responsible gambling tool to restrict your access to your account, contacted the casino directly through their customer support requesting them to block you, or used a third-party game-stopper website to self-exclude from all casinos. If the casino still let you gamble despite exercising this option, you can sue the casino for it. You may be eligible for a refund.
2. You qualify as a problem gambler
In some countries such as the UK, there are rules that mandate responsible gambling refunds. To claim this, you need to meet the criteria for a problem gambler. Now, how do you define “problem gambling”?
Problem gambling is classified as a gambling disorder where an individual suffers from compulsive gambling. This is regarded medically as an addiction in the same category as substance abuse. The gambler is unable to control their urge to gamble despite wanting to stop and it impairing their social functioning.
To gain this, you will have to prove that you have a gambling problem or a related mental health issue.
3. If you played with borrowed money
Let’s say you were already in over your head and you used borrowed money to further gamble. If your lender was aware that you had a gambling problem or knew you couldn’t afford to pay back and despite this, went ahead and issued you a loan or an overdraft, you can complain to your lender.
If your lender approves of your request, your lender may have the provision to refund you any interest you paid on the original amount borrowed.
Conclusion
Above, we have listed some of the cases where you may be able to obtain your lost money back from a casino. However, remember that none of them guarantees a refund.
Casinos are businesses and one-third of their revenue is generated from individuals with a gambling problem. It is not in their interest to willingly give away any part of their earnings to you. Therefore, any chance of getting your money back is very slim. It will require patience, persistence, and substantive proof to establish your case.
That said, your priority should always be to resolve the underlying addiction. For a problem gambler in recovery, getting back their lost money from a casino is likely to lead to a relapse rather than breaking the addiction and gaining control of his life.