Ruby Fortune: crucial bonus term buried deep in the general terms page

Ruby Fortune: crucial bonus term buried deep in the general terms page

December 16th, 2013

Ruby Fortune casino has a bonus term which makes cashing out your full winning amount upon receipt of a bonus almost impossible. Although this is their choice and fair enough as such, it isn't the end of the story. There's currently an unresolved complaint at Casinomeister over this issue.


The term in question is:

7.6

Where a Sign-Up Bonus has been granted to you, subject to you being required to have met all wagering requirements, you will be limited to a maximum withdrawal value of 6 times your first deposit amount and any remaining balance will be forfeited. This clause will only be applied at the discretion of casino management. All progressive wins are exempt from this clause.

With a bonus, the only realistic games to play are slots - the required wagering for all others is over twelve times greater and many games are excluded. Slots are very volatile; usually you lose, but occasionally you win. Often, you win big. Assuming moderate levels of depositing and wagering your results will follow accordingly; in other words, most deposits will be lost, but some will result in cashouts, often quite large and certainly greater than just three times your starting balance, which is what you would be limited to in the case of Ruby Fortune's £150 sign up bonus for a £150 deposit.

As an example: playing £5 spins, any win greater than just 120 times your bet would push you over this limit from the point of your starting balance. Slot machines can comfortably generate wins of this moderate size, and many payoffs are much greater. You would lose any winnings which breached the cashout cap of £900.

Still, is this not fair enough, given that it's listed in the terms?

The clue is in the number above, "7.6". Take a look at those bonus terms - there's no number 7.6, nor any sign of that restrictive rule. So where is the mystery Rule 7.6?

Rule 7.6 can be found only in the general terms. There is no mention of it on the bonus terms page, and no suggestion that there are other vital terms elsewhere, ignorance of which could well disadvantage you.

But even if, having read the bonus terms, you have the foresight to successfully make your way to the general terms page, rule 7.6 is not located where you would naturally expect it to be, which would be section 8, "bonuses". It's found in section 7, "payment details and withdrawals".

Why is such a vital term not only placed not on the page where all the other relevant rules are, but also not even in the section where you would reasonably expect to find it, the "bonuses" section, of that general terms page? We can speculate about their reasons. My own feeling is that Ruby Fortune is quite keen for this rule not to be seen, because knowledge of it will deter players, whereas ignorance of it will allow the casino to confiscate any wins greater than £600, progressives aside. In other words: a win - win situation for the casino.

If that is not so, then why hide it thus? There is no possible reason.


Burying key rules in locations you would never expect to find them is not new. Casino Rewards pulled just such a stunt a couple of years ago, and the Kahnawake Gaming Commission ruled partially in the player's favour - see my article Kahnawake Gaming Commission: an unexpected step forward. However, partial, or for that matter, full findings for the player are not the answer; casinos should not be attempting these sleight of hand tricks with the terms to entrap players into disadvantageous situations. The rules are already complex enough, and if they must be yet more complex we need to be made aware of the fact, stated clearly and in the location where common sense expects to find them.

If Ruby Fortune wants a UK Gambling license to deal to the lucrative UK market when the requirement becomes law fairly soon, they will have to rethink this underhand practice. For myself, I hope they don't get one. But in any event: be very careful in any dealing you have with Ruby Fortune casino, or any of the others in the Palace group: Cabaret Club, Mummy's Gold and Spin Palace.

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