How to complain about an online casino

Start with the operator, in writing

Every complaint route we have found begins with the operator. The bodies that license the seven casinos we review do not settle individual disputes, and the deadlines that matter most are the operator’s own, some of them short. Put the complaint in writing, quote the clause you rely on and keep a copy of everything you send and receive.

The routes below come from seven operators’ general terms, read on 27 September 2026 (PlayBaze, Wintino and AquaSpins) and 3 October 2026 (TuffPuff, Winshark, Slots Vader and Rivo), and from the authorities’ own complaint pages, read on 27 September 2026.

Each operator’s complaint route and deadlines

Rivo’s window is the one most likely to catch a player out: a week passes quickly while a withdrawal is pending. If you are unsure whether an issue counts as a payout issue, escalate within the shorter deadline.

What the Curaçao and Anjouan authorities do

Winshark and TuffPuff are on a Curaçao Gaming Authority certificate held by GBL Solutions N.V., and playbaze.com on one held by Latcas B.V.; Slots Vader and Rivo are on the Anjouan register. For Wintino and AquaSpins we have not found a licence record that matches the domain. Check the current record for your casino in our reviews before you rely on a route; our data pages show what the Curaçao licence register and the Anjouan licence register listed.

• Curaçao Gaming Authority: it does not handle individual complaints against gaming providers and cannot order an operator to compensate a player. Complaints can still be sent by email as information about a possible breach of the law.
• Anjouan Gaming: it does not handle, mediate or adjudicate player complaints. Complaints go to the operator through its interactive site seal; account disputes, including payments, must be submitted within 30 calendar days, and operators must respond within 30 calendar days. A complaint still unresolved after 30 days may go to an approved dispute-resolution provider, at the operator’s cost.

Neither route can force a payment. What they can do is put an unresolved complaint on record, and in Anjouan’s case open the door to a dispute-resolution provider that the operator pays for.

If a local regulator licenses the operator

Regulators in your own country only help with operators they license. Even then, most send money disputes back to the operator first:

• Ireland: the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI) tells customers to take a dispute to the operator; it investigates complaints about possible breaches by the operators it licenses, normally made within 12 months. Our Irish withdrawal checklist covers the local rules.
• Canada: the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario and Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis say they cannot get a player’s money back, and iGaming Ontario cannot award compensation; it asks whether you already have a formal complaint number from the operator. The Canada research hub explains the provincial routes.

A chargeback is a bank dispute, not a complaint

A chargeback asks your card provider to reverse a payment. Ireland’s Competition and Consumer Protection Commission says most card disputes must be raised within 90 to 120 days, and that a consumer unhappy with the bank’s decision can complain to the bank and then potentially to an ombudsman.

Casino terms answer chargebacks harshly. TuffPuff, Winshark and Slots Vader can withhold the whole balance or part of it (clause 13.3) and deduct EUR 50 from the refund for each notification email (clause 6.2); PlayBaze forfeits winnings from charged-back funds (clause 7.4) and charges EUR 50 (clause 9.1); Rivo prohibits chargebacks outright (clause 4.11). Our guide to when a casino can keep your winnings sets out the other grounds.

What to put in a complaint

1. Your account identifier and the email address registered with it.
2. The transaction: date, amount, currency, method and the operator’s reference.
3. The clause you rely on, with the version or date of the terms you read.
4. What you are asking for: payment, an itemised explanation or the outstanding condition.
5. A reasonable deadline for the reply, and a request for a complaint reference number.

Subject: Formal complaint, account [identifier], withdrawal [reference]. I am making a formal complaint under your terms. On [date] I requested a withdrawal of [amount] (reference [reference]); its status is [status]. Clause [number] of your terms, as published on [date], says [what it says]. Please tell me in writing, within [period], what is still needed or when the payment will be sent, and give me a complaint reference number.

For a withdrawal that is pending or approved but not received, our pending-withdrawal guide explains how to establish which stage is unresolved before you complain.

Keep the complaint separate from your play

Do not deposit again or keep playing to unlock a disputed balance, and do not delay a break or self-exclusion while a complaint is open; our guide to breaks, self-exclusion and pending withdrawals explains what each does to money in the account. If the dispute is causing stress, our responsible gambling page lists support.