Playlive.co.za is a scam. Not paying my win

[Jossie]

I signed up at a local casino call playlive. Everything went well until I hit a nice win. I was so excited because my luck has not been great lately.

My win was about R4000 off a R4 bet and I played a little longer and decided to cash out the full amount. To my surprise I was told I could only cash out a certain amount and the rest of my winnings needed to be wagered some more.

I spoke to the support and I was told that it's in the rules of the casino and I need to follow the rules. They said there is nothing I can do but take half the money and wager the rest of it thirty times (30x).

Can anyone help me to get my money from playlive. They won't budge and keep telling me to wager this money even although I wasn't playing with bonus money it was pure cash! Is this allowed and which gambling board can I send a complaint to in order to get the full amount.

Can somebody please give me some advice or a number to call and complain?

Joss

 

[Administrator]

Hi Jossie,

I'm sorry to hear about your experience. After reviewing Playlive, I found that they are an unlicensed entity operating in South Africa. They are licensed in Curacao, a jurisdiction with very low credibility in the online gambling industry.

Curacao is known for its lax regulations, offering little to no recourse for gamblers who encounter issues.

This means Playlive are not legally permitted to provide services to South African players, and therefore, no local authority can assist you in this matter.

Furthermore, their terms and conditions state that any win over 500x (e.g., if you bet R1 and win R500) is subject to 30x wagering, and wins above 1000x are subject to 50x wagering.

We consider this to be a rogue term, as our local gambling boards would never allow such unreasonable restrictions on cash winnings.

My advice would be to avoid Playlive and choose locally licensed bookmakers instead.

Admin/

 

[Jossie]

Thanks @Administrator

I didn't know that they were not legal to play at. I mean they are operating from a .co.za website and offering rands. There are so many online slots and websites now it becomes a bit hard to keep track of what's actually going on.

How do I actually check whether a place is licenced in South Africa and safe to play? I know of a few places now I'm a bit uncertain if they are legit are not.

Jossie

 

[Administrator]

To ensure a site is licensed, check the footer on their website. For instance, Lulabet displays its licensing jurisdiction and license number in the footer.



There are various provincial licensing jurisdictions such as the Western Cape, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, and Eastern Cape. More information about these regulators can be found here:

https://ibets.co.za/category/gambling-regulators

Not all websites list their license number in the footer. They may omit this detail because they are not licenced to begin with. For example, Playlive clearly indicates it is licensed in Curacao.

In South Africa, it is illegal to gamble at any online casino or bookmaker unless they are licensed within the country. Common illegal jurisdictions include the United Kingdom, Kahnawake, Malta, and Curacao, with Curacao being the least reputable.

I hope this clarifies your query. Good luck with recovering your money. As a word of caution, if they do pay you, don't ever go back. Sites like these often bait players to make them feel comfortable, but once you win big, problems tend to arise.

Admin/

 

[Jossie]

Thanks Nate

Stuff like this is important to know. I always thought that slots and games are all legal in South Africa now but that is clearly not the case.

My wife and I play a lot of slots and I hate being cheated when I win legitimately. These sites seem to be conning a lot of SA Players. I went onto Hello Peter to see if I could complain but instead found hundreds of complaints from other people who were not paid. Nobody responded to the complaints either.

Lesson learned I suppose. Is there a list of credible places to play at somewhere on this forum?

Joss

 

[Administrator]

Hi Jossie,

Comprehensive South African Online Betting and Sports Bookmaker Reviews 2024 - iBets.co.za

Discover the best South African online bookmakers with our comprehensive reviews! Find bonuses, payment methods, languages, and more!

ibets.co.za

All licenced and legal in South Africa.

Admin/

 

[Fiekie247]

Furthermore, their terms and conditions state that any win over 500x (e.g., if you bet R1 and win R500) is subject to 30x wagering, and wins above 1000x are subject to 50x wagering.

We consider this to be a rogue term, as our local gambling boards would never allow such unreasonable restrictions on cash winnings.

My advice would be to avoid Playlive and choose locally licensed bookmakers instead.

Admin/

That is a BS rule!
Especially when playing with real deposited funds...
I read their terms not nogals " As a responsible operator"

all these other casinos imposing maximum cashout of 10x or 20x your deposit should also go down the damn drain...

 

[Administrator]

That is a BS rule!
Especially when playing with real deposited funds...
I read their terms not nogals " As a responsible operator"

all these other casinos imposing maximum cashout of 10x or 20x your deposit should also go down the damn drain...

You mean this term:

As a responsible gaming operator, the max win on any given spin on Playlive is 500X the bet amount. Any win amount on a single spin exceeding 500X your bet stake will be considered a Wagered Jackpot and subject to 30X wagering. Any win amount on a single spin exceeding 1000X your bet stake will be subject to 50X wagering. From time to time, Playlive management may offer players cashouts for wagered Jackpots; however, this is not a standard practice and will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. A player's principal wallet balance before a wagered Jackpot will still be eligible for withdrawal.

These guys are far from responsible—they encourage SA players to sign up, risking their funds being confiscated for playing at an unlicensed entity. Additionally, they limit your winnings and restrict the amount you can withdraw weekly. It’s a lose-lose situation.

Admin/

 

[Jossie]

wow

I didn't realise they had suck kak terms to screw you out of your money. That is not cool. I mean I'm using CASH which is my own money. They have this rule to prevent you from winning but you can deposit and lose as much as you want. The minute you cash out it's time for them to steal from you.

Thanks for the insight. I would have never read the terms and figured that out. I deposit and play and if I win a small or big amount I expect to be fairly paid.

Joss