888/Cassava: all related properties are ignoring player complaints

[maxd]

As regular readers will know we've had a rocky relationship with 888.com and their related 888 Holdings and Cassava Ltd properties. To make a long story short that whole business has come down to head office saying about 8 months ago that they require a signed statement of authorisation from the player before they will discuss that player's issue with us. Since then they have not cooperated on a single player issue. A recent

PAB

against 888 brought this to where we are today, this Warning:

• a player filed a
  PAB
  against 888 -- they had been ejected from the casino for "employing a gaming strategy" -- and when asked they submitted the requested signed statement.
• through the forum rep -- who acts as the go-between to the casinos and/or head office -- the casino's reply was "operations have given their answer to him and it won't change".
• we said "thank you but we need to see the case details", they ignored those requests.
• when asked why they were not honouring their agreement to discuss the player's case after the requested statement had been provided they said "there was no point".
• after many attempts to get them to state whether they would discuss the player's case or not they finally replied (again, through the forum rep) "due to the fact that the issue was resolved they are not willing to share any details on this issue".
• the player reported that 888 hadn't bothered to contact him, never mind offering a resolution. Presumably the casino people mean that they "resolved" it to their satisfaction. Hardly the same thing.

The bottom line is that this casino group has no intention to discuss player cases. The "permission statement" from the player and all that is just a stalling technique: we run around trying to satisfy their request(s) while they sit on their hands and ignore the player issues at their leisure. When everyone does what they have asked they simply make a unilateral statement that they've made their decision and won't change it, that there is "no point" to discussing the player issue(s).

In truth Cassava and its properties have never properly cooperated with the player complaints process when it comes to the involvement of third parties like us: their operating procedure has always been to decide players fates as they and they alone see fit. If the player or anyone else doesn't like it that's too bad. If the truth gets bent, broken or thrown out the window as they "resolve" these issues what do they care? No one can touch them. It has been this way with these casinos for well over a decade. Occasionally they'll make noises that they're willing to be more cooperative but it always ends up back in the same place: they control player monies and the door to discussing complaints is closed.

I have no doubt that 888 and their parent company have become exceedingly wealthy from the losses of their players. Unfortunately this seems to have left them perfectly happy to act alone in dictating terms and everyone else be damned. So be it, but that is a toxic environment for players: nobody is perfect and a company holding the purse strings of player accounts must be accountable to those players, either directly or through a player's designated representative if necessary. Because of their closed door policy 888 and the rest of their lot are accountable to no one. As such this Warning is wholly deserved:

Warning: 888 and related 888/Cassava properties are ignoring player issues and will not discuss player complaints. Players must be aware that Cassava considers itself the final authority on player complaints and that they offer no recourse for players who are dissatisfied with the company's decision(s) against them: the player is totally at their mercy, for better or worse. The only alternative -- such as it is -- is to turn to the licensing body, Gibraltar or try

eCOGRA

. We can offer no assistance if things go wrong between the player and these casinos. Players are advised to avoid these casinos unless they are willing to accept these conditions.

[maxd]

Cassava/888 and most (all?) of its properties are now UKGC licensed. As such the casino will have specified in its Terms their designated 3rd party for dispute resolution (

aka

their "ADR").

UK players with complaints regarding a Cassava/888 property should consult the Terms and contact the ADR.