We are always on the lookout for the latest and greatest in casino bonuses and promotions so that we can bring you the best offers from across the online casino industry but this week we noticed something that bears mentioning and that you should keep in mind before signing up at a casino to accept their bonus, and that is the fine print.

Now we have stressed the importance of reading the terms and conditions of bonuses and promotions before so we won’t give another lecture on that, but just keep in mind it is EXTREMELY important and can save you a lot of time, hassles and disappointment, because when it comes to online casinos, the devil truly is in the detail, of the fine print that is!

That said, we saw a bonus offer from an RTG powered casino, which we generally don’t recommend for a variety of reasons, one of which was reinforced when examining their latest offer which included three match bonus offers for table games players. Seeing any offers for table games, let alone generous ones like these caught our attention.

Upon closer examination of the three match deposit bonus offers, we discovered the fine print which read that these bonuses could be used to play any table games except Roulette, Craps, Baccarat, Sic Bo, Pai Gow, Bingo or casino poker. So what does that leave? Basically only Blackjack. So rather than being a “table games bonus” this offer is effectively only a Blackjack Bonus. Imagine how upsetting that could be if you’re an avid Craps or Roulette player, make your deposit and then learn that the bonus doesn’t apply?

It’s also a good example of how some online casinos twist promotions to sound like something they aren’t to get people to deposit money which they know will inevitably be spent on something else if it can’t be used for the game they want to play.

Obviously this is not the smartest move on the casino’s part as it can aggravate people and lose them their patronage, but this doesn’t seem to stop some groups, so beware! Reading the fine print is essential! And if you are still in any doubt, check out our rogue and blacklisted list of online casinos or join the player forums and ask around before putting your hard earned money into an unfamiliar casino whose offers seem to be too good to be true.

A recent topic regarding unusual low range, unauthorized charges on a number of online casino players’ credit cards, just a few days after depositing at online casinos in the Club World Casino group appeared on player forums this week.

After realising that this seems to be an emerging trend with more and more players coming forward with similar reports, we decided to write this article and issue a warning about this and remind you just how important it is to keep an eye on your bank statements on an on-going basis.

To summarise the discussion, players have received unauthorized, small increment charges of between $3.78 and $4.00 a few days after depositing at RTG powered casinos in the Club World Casino group (these include Club World Casino, Lucky Red, Aladdin’s Gold, All Star Slots, Manhattan Slots and High Noon Casino). The reference code listed alongside these charges includes “BEIJIN” or some variation thereof in the descriptor.

Usually a payment processor will deduct an added 3% off of any amounts charged to a card, as will the depositors bank, but in this case both the usual charge and the additional unauthorized charges were deducted. Some players even had multiple charges being taken off 2 different cards…a very worrying issue for all concerned!

Upon contacting the CWC Group support team, players were informed that the casinos knew nothing of the additional charges and that the issue would be taken up with the processor in question. In an act of good faith, the casinos concerned also credited the charged amounts back to the players online casino accounts which was a very nice gesture, although not very helpful seen as though the processor had debited the charges directly from their banking accounts.

This has obviously caused some serious trust issues amongst players concerned and the casinos in this group and questions arise as to whether or not they have been privy to the unauthorized deposits all along. Their actions of refunding the amounts to player casino accounts may indicate that they have not been, but still suspicions remain. An even more pressing concern however is the integrity of the payment processor they are using and how they could have handed over confidential player credit card details to a processor that is obviously less then trustworthy.

While the CWC Group remains an accredited casino group and has not been rogued or blacklisted by online casino watchdogs and forums as the issue is still pending resolution, this really serves as a wake-up call to all players to continually monitor their bank accounts as these types of incremental charges could quickly add up or be used by underhanded parties to check whether or not charges will be disputed before attempting to charge even larger amounts.

This week saw the emergence of shocking allegations that Full Tilt Poker has been operating a monumental Ponzi scheme against its players for shareholder benefit. A Ponzi scheme is similar to that of a pyramid scheme which in essence promises high returns on investment in the short term, however in ponzi fraud the funds are not invested and the money is pocketed by the fraudsters involved.

It is alleged that Full Tilt Poker used funds from player accounts to fund various fraudulent activities without ever paying the money back. According to reports, the Full Tilt scheme allegedly involves hundreds of millions of dollars in illicit money transfers and investments in fraudulent activities and Full Tilt poker has racked up quite a list of charges from bank fraud to money laundering while news of the ponzi scheme has sent shockwaves through the online casino and poker industries.

While the case is currently being investigated by both the FBI and US Department of Justice and US federal prosecuting attorneys claim to have an airtight case against the poker room operator, Full Tilt Poker and its operator Chris Ferguson have lawyered up and refuted the claims vehemently.

According to Full Tilt’s lawyer Ian Imrich, “While the government has obviously taken issue with the underlying activities of FTP, under any reasonable interpretation, the worldwide operations of the online card room are not a so-called Ponzi scheme“. Ironically, Full Tilt has however implicated Absolute Poker and PokerStars in Ponzi scheme operations and all three sites have been closed down pending further investigations.

While the case ensues, many poker players from across the globe fear the worst as cashing out funds from Full Tilt Poker has become impossible. According to prosecutors, Full Tilt Poker operated in hope that only a small number of poker players would attempt to withdraw funds at any given time, and that the organisation would receive additional deposits on a regular basis in amounts greater than any pending withdrawal requests.

Full Tilt Poker on the other hand claims that cash deficits are due to a $42 million payment processor fraud and the seizure of over $115 million in cash over a number of years by the US government for which the company then became liable.

As it stands at present though, Full Tilt Poker has a reserve of a mere $6 million while players are owed in excess of $300 million. With that harsh fact in mind it seems like the outcome will be bleak and the reality is that the poker room has defrauded its players of millions in winnings and deposits owing to them.

More than ever before players need to protect themselves and their money, so to avoid fraud by rogue operations, always only play at trusted, honest online casinos like those recommended on our site.

Absolute Poker which is part of the Cereus network is no stranger to controversy, fraud and cheating allegations, security issues, software glitches and more. The first issues were reported back in 2007/2008 when the company was embroiled in a major cheating and fraud poker scandal wherein their poker games were compromised by a high ranking consultant who accessed the groups security systems, enabling him to manipulate internal systems and access third-party computers and accounts to view other players hole cards during tournament games, thus ensuring that he could win substantial sums of money throughout the duration of the scam.  The case came to an end in 2008 and Absolute Poker paid restitution to all players involved, and was fined $500,000 by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC), ordered to place a surety with the commission for two years against future conduct as well as to undergo random auditing at their own expense on an ongoing basis.

With the two year probation barely up, earlier this year the group had to deal with an encryption method breach wherein the Cereus encryption methods were shown to be easily hacked and it was then possible for the hacker to hijack a player account and once again see hole cards in real time if the hacker was able to access the users Internet connection.  The group acknowledged the security breach and promised to fix the problem.  

Just a few short months later it seems the Absolute Poker Casino has yet another potential issue on their hands but this time it’s their traditional Keno casino game that is under scrutiny and allegations being made include that the game is rigged and the results show that Random Number Generator (RNG) is allegedly not random at all and produces very obvious patterns. 

While those behind the allegations do note this system may not have been manufactured intentionally they do insist that this is the type of error that should not occur at licensed, reputable casinos and the fact that it exists does allude to incompetence on behalf of the group and the lack of regard for implementing proper procedures.  However, it does appear that the Absolute Poker Keno’s RNG or lack thereof may lead to improved results for players in some aspects (as opposed to those in their previous poker tournament debacle).  While players still lose, and because the results are not random, the player will have a much lower chance of winning but the losses are lower than they would be in a fair Keno game regulated by a high quality RNG.

While it seems that Absolute Poker has taken action to rectify the problem on their Keno game, the issue has cast speculation on the other casino games offered by Absolute Poker and Unibet (as they run on the same software and could potentially be the same).  The group is yet to release a statement.

As with any industry, there are always entities that operate on the outside of what is considered to be honest and fair.  Unfortunately, the online casino industry is no different and from time to time rogue operations do emerge.  Yours4Money.com is always on the look out for these types of operations in order to ensure that we can inform our visitors and save them the time and hassle of dealing with dishonest operators and their underhanded practices.

It has recently come to our attention that despite numerous warnings and discussions with industry watchdogs, Stryyke Casino/Poker/Sports continues to be the source of numerous player complaints which cover everything from unjustified closure of player accounts, to non-payment and illegitimate confiscation of winnings and every other unfair and dishonest business practice in between.

There was one stage where we thought that Stryyke’s management had seen the error of their ways and promises were made to “turn things around” but the fruits of those promises have never showed and there seem to be more unhappy players who have been cheated in one way or another by this organisation than ever before.

Yours4Money.com is therefore issuing a warning to all those who would consider playing at Stryyke’s Casino, Poker room or Sportsbook and placing the organisation on our casino blacklist.  Why endure the inconvenience of these types of organisations when there are decent, honest and safe places to play at online?  Rather visit one of the trusted online casinos featured on our site.