Online Casino Etiquette

Interacting with Customer Support Agents

Before attempting to contact a casino host, players must remember that a casino host's job is to help players and solve problems. For this reason, players have to be polite and courteous in their dealings with customer support agents.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind while contacting a customer support agent:

• Never rant and rave, abuse, or swear at a customer care representative.
• When you get connected with a casino host on live chat, greet him/her politely and inform him/her that you need help with something.
• Be patient when the casino host asks you general questions unrelated to your problems as this is essential for purposes of security.
• Avoid pestering the customer support representatives for bonuses as it is the online casino, not its customer care staff, which grants bonuses.
• Remember that customer support agents are real people who deserve to be treated with respect.

Interacting with Fellow Players

You will find yourself interacting with casino buddies while playing multi-player games, poker games, and tournaments featuring chat functionality. You can use the chat box to interact with all the players who are participating in these games.

The situation is similar to real life, where you meet a variety of people and may not approve of or agree with all of them. But this doesn't give you the right to be rude and abusive. Instead of responding to provocative comments or getting annoyed with purposeless ramblings, you can simply close the chat box or play some other game.

Interacting with Live Croupiers

If you are playing at a live casino, you must remember that it is exactly like playing at a brick-and-mortar casino. You are sitting in the cozy comforts of your home, but taking part in a game that is actually being played in a remote location. You are also interacting with real live croupiers and fellow players through a chat box. You should always be polite and courteous in your interaction with them.

If the chat box distracts or annoys you, you have the option of either ignoring it or closing it. If you use the chat box to behave rudely or aggressively towards the live croupiers, they have the right to eject you from the game.

The Right Way to Complain

If you feel that you have been treated unfairly at the online casino, you can always make a complaint. Online casino players are always getting into disputes with their online casinos, but most of them forget that there is a right way to complain.

You should always do the following before making a complaint:

Read the Terms and Conditions - Most disputes between online casinos and their customers are because of wrong interpretation of its terms and conditions. Some online casinos stand guilty of publishing confusing and contradictory terms regarding their bonus offers, and this always leads to disputes if players fail to read them and clarify them before claiming the bonuses.

Create Only One Account - Most licensed and regulated online casinos permit only one account per IP address. If you create multiple accounts with the intention of claiming the same bonus many times, the online casino has the right to freeze your account and confiscate your funds. In this case, your complaints will hold no water.

Submit Your Documents - Licensed casinos are required by the law to follow strict Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures. They request players to submit copies of documents such as government-issued photo IDs, latest utility bills, front/back of credit cards, and others before requesting payouts for the first time. If you have not received your winnings because you have failed to provide the required documents, you have no reason to complain.

Technical Issues - In case your game freezes, you may take a screenshot and present it to a customer support agent to get the required assistance. You can also view the game logs whenever you please. The best option, however, is to just log off and log in again and you can start playing at the exact point where you left off.

If you have a valid reason to complain, here is a brief guide for you:

• You have to first complain to the online casino through email, phone, or live chat. However, you must avoid getting abusive. You should also state your problem as clearly as possible.
• Maintain a proper record of all your correspondence with the online casino.
• Never lose your cool, no matter what.
• If you are not satisfied with the way the online casino dealt with your complaint, you can approach an alternate dispute resolution (ADR) body such as the eCOGRA, the Central Dispute System (CDS), or the Independent Betting Adjudication Service (IBAS).
• If you are still not satisfied, contact the regulator that has licensed the online casino.
• The last option is to raise your voice on social media, including casino forums. You can even approach the press, but your case has to be strong and crystal clear.

Avoid Abusing Bonuses

Online casinos have clear terms and conditions to protect themselves against bonus abuse, but some players manage to abuse bonuses. Follow these steps to avoid bonus abuse

• Claim the bonus only once as online casinos allow only one account per IP address.
• Read the terms and avoid breaking the bonus rules. For example, you may not be allowed to place bigger bets if you have claimed a bonus.
• Avoid claiming bonuses just to make a profit.