Getting Your Winnings: A Guide For When A Casino May Not Pay Out

Nothing beats earning a bumper payout on a casino game, but it can be heartbreaking when a casino refuses to pay out. There are many different reasons as to why a casino may not pay out. There are a number of rules and also a number of things you can do if you believe this to be unfair. Below you’ll find all you need to know about the rules and regulations behind a casino not paying out and the options you have available…

Licensed Casinos: You Have Protection 

When playing with a licensed online casino, which of course all that are recommended on this site are, you as players have a layer of protection.

This is in accordance with the UK Gambling Commission and the Advertising Standards Agency, where you feel offers may be misleading.

Therefore, if you aren’t paid out for whatever reason, there is a governing body it can be taken up with so you receive your payout. This is also the case when it comes to sports betting. If you then need to take your case further, you can do with the Independent Betting Adjudication Service (IBAS).

If you play with an unlicensed casino, which we would never advise, then you are limited and will likely find yourself unable to receive those winnings. It is illegal to operate in the UK without a license, and all licensed casinos will have a license number and their address on their website, as well as on the Gambling Commission site.

However, it is still the case where casinos can not pay out, and are within their rights to do so.

Clear Errors 

Where the Gambling Commission covers a casino's back is when it comes down to an obvious error.

This is one of the more common reasons for not paying out and can be down to either human error or machine error.

What the rules do state though is that it must be an obvious error rather than a careless one. For example if there was a technical glitch and a roulette game paid out £2,000 into your bankroll when you placed a £2 bet on red, that would be a clear error.

Abusing Offers 

Another common reason you may not receive a payout is due to offer abuse. Many casinos have a range of brilliant offers, but in reality they are in place to allow new customers to try out a site and get a feel for their offering.



In some cases will try and create multiple accounts with the same casino, or a number of different tactics which try and expose the offer. In these cases you may find a casino will be unwilling to payout on any winnings, as well as banning you from their site.

You will however receive back any money back that you have deposited into the betting account.

Consistent Winning 

It may sound like throwing their toys out of the pram, but casinos can put a halt on payouts if a player is consistently winning.

It doesn’t happen too frequently but it a player is continually exploiting what is known as a “weak line”, it will be flagged and a casino will likely see their account limited. This may not result in you losing any winnings, but in the future it may prevent you from winning as much.

Breaking the Ts & Cs  

Of course, any player found to be breaking the terms and conditions of a site will see their winnings go unpaid and they will face a ban from the website.

There are many ways a player can be found guilty of this and you will not have any luck appealing via the Gambling Commission or IBAS. You will not receive any payout and will be banned for:

• Underage Gambling
• Account Duplication
• Gambling from an Illegal Territory
• Obvious use of System Betting
• Third Party Betting
• Fraud

If you do not feel you have contravened any terms and conditions or all of the above don’t apply to you, contact the online casino initially to raise a case.

Should they not be forthcoming you can then contact the Gambling Commission to take your case further. They will then review the case.