Recently, someone wrote to me about a withdrawal problem she encountered. It is a valid one, and something more people ought to be enlightened about.
Question: Recently, I played at an online casino. I deposited C$50 and decided to run after one of those baity welcome bonuses I had come across. It was a 3x deposit, so unless I would bust my initial deposit, I should be able to collect a fine C$150.
I deposited my fifty and got to playing slots and almost immediately I managed to win a somewhat generous jackpot of C$12 500! Of course, I was over the moon about this. As I have never had this much spare change at any point in my life, I decided the safe thing would be to make a withdrawal of the entire sum.
I went to the withdrawal section of this online casino in question, but once I got there I saw they only had four different withdrawal options, one more expensive than the other. In all, the cheapest version would set me back by 5 percent, as in C$625! C$625 to get back the money I had won fair and square!
I had no issue depositing my money. That was lightning fast and for free. But once I won they want to rob me blind instead, as if they wanted to take out revenge for having lost me that much money.
Please, Susanna, enlighten me on this rather anticlimactic situation. Was this pricey withdrawal standard practice or was I subjected to one of those online casinos that in fact should have been black listen long ago?
/P-J
Answer: Dear P-J, the withdrawal situation you encountered is both normal and not normal at the same time. I know this might sound like a confusing double standard, but please allow me to explain.
Whenever you deposit money for free, it is not because it’s for free, it’s because the online casino in question takes that fee upon themselves. If you deposit money with your debit or credit card, for example, then it will set the casino back some 2-7 percent depending on the card provider and the individual deal they have.
When people make withdrawals, however, it is typically because they have won money. In the eyes of the casinos it is a fair proposition that they pay for your fees upon depositing, but for you to pay for theirs whenever you decide to make a withdrawal of any money you may have won from them.
I see where you are coming from here, and 5 percent withdrawal fee does sound like a lot. In your case, however, you may want to pick online casinos in the future that have a wider array of withdrawal options. Normally, you will find at least a dozen of withdrawal options. Some of those withdrawal alternatives will take up to a week or to for your money to safely arrive, but they will at least arrive for free. Truly, I am surprised that the casino you chose to play at didn’t offer free bank transfers. This is the ideal proposition whenever it involves higher withdrawal amounts, as the C$625 fee could be well worth a ten day wait to waive.