CloudBet Freezes Customer Account A crypto gambler learned the hard way why you shouldn’t use a VPN to gamble online recently after getting tangled up in a high-stakes game of deception with Cloudbet. After winning a substantial amount of Bitcoin gambling on the Cloudbet platform, Bitcointalk user Swofty, attempted to withdraw his winnings, only to find that Cloudbet required his ID before they would greenlight the withdrawal. There was just one problem, Swofty was a United States resident hiding behind a VPN.
Cloudbet expressly forbids users residing in the United States from participating in their casino and blocks them from accessing the games, but Swofty used a VPN to get around the country block.
Previously, Swofty has been using Cloudbet to gamble with crypto, but last year the site blocked all US and UK players in order to protect themselves from tightening regulations. However, some of their users, like Swofty, did not want to stop playing, and a VPN seemed like an easy enough solution to the problem.
This might seem like a great idea at first, but if you check the terms of service for nearly any online casino, you’ll see that most of them reserve the right to ask for identification before processing large withdrawals. While many people think that this only applies to casinos that process fiat deposits, this is not the case, and even cryptocurrency casinos can ask you for your ID before paying out.
Cloudbet expressly forbids users residing in the United States from participating in their casino and blocks them from accessing the games, but Swofty used a VPN to get around the country block.
Previously, Swofty has been using Cloudbet to gamble with crypto, but last year the site blocked all US and UK players in order to protect themselves from tightening regulations. However, some of their users, like Swofty, did not want to stop playing, and a VPN seemed like an easy enough solution to the problem.
This might seem like a great idea at first, but if you check the terms of service for nearly any online casino, you’ll see that most of them reserve the right to ask for identification before processing large withdrawals. While many people think that this only applies to casinos that process fiat deposits, this is not the case, and even cryptocurrency casinos can ask you for your ID before paying out.
They also reserve the right to void any of your winnings if you are caught violating this rule! When the user in question realized that this would mean 330 Bitcoin down the drain, he panicked, and then tried to use someone’s ID in the Philippines to verify the withdrawal.
Swofty employed the help of a close online friend in the Philippines, asking him to provide his own documentation to Cloudbet, claiming the account belonged to him. This turned out to be a mistake, as Cloudbet quickly caught on to the deception and froze the account in question. Swofty eventually did provide his real ID and Cloudbet actually credited him the amount owed.
Though it should be noted that they did not have to do this, and it was likely pushed through due to the high-profile nature of this particular case, which at this point had gained a lot of traction in the cryptocurrency community.
The moral of the story is that even cryptocurrency based gambling sites can ask you for identification. This is particularly true for sites which are regulated, because they have to answer to that country’s government or they lose their licences in that country.
There’s plenty of great cryptocurrency betting sites out there, and there’s no reason to use one which does not welcome your country. It’s simply not worth the risk, and you’d be better off choosing one that won’t get you into trouble if you suddenly become a Bitcoin millionaire overnight.
Swofty employed the help of a close online friend in the Philippines, asking him to provide his own documentation to Cloudbet, claiming the account belonged to him. This turned out to be a mistake, as Cloudbet quickly caught on to the deception and froze the account in question. Swofty eventually did provide his real ID and Cloudbet actually credited him the amount owed.
Though it should be noted that they did not have to do this, and it was likely pushed through due to the high-profile nature of this particular case, which at this point had gained a lot of traction in the cryptocurrency community.
The moral of the story is that even cryptocurrency based gambling sites can ask you for identification. This is particularly true for sites which are regulated, because they have to answer to that country’s government or they lose their licences in that country.
There’s plenty of great cryptocurrency betting sites out there, and there’s no reason to use one which does not welcome your country. It’s simply not worth the risk, and you’d be better off choosing one that won’t get you into trouble if you suddenly become a Bitcoin millionaire overnight.
RSS Feed
