Depending on which casino you’re signed on with, chances are you get messages like this when you try to withdraw your money:
“Are you sure you want to withdraw your money? Are you really sure? Really, really sure?”
But those days are soon behind us.
New Jersey’s Department of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) is banning reverse withdrawals.
What are Reverse Withdrawals?
When you try to withdraw money some casinos throw a lot at you so that you’ll change your mind. They might offer more bonus money or some other offer to wager your remaining funds.
In our opinion, this is poor practice of casinos. It makes the withdrawal process longer (and it is already too long at some casinos), and doesn’t honor players’ decisions.
The DGE agrees, stating that this practice will cease so that their “concerns regarding player protection and responsible gaming are being properly balanced against a patron’s right to access their funds.”
And the DGE means business. Violation of their decree could cost casinos. David Rebuck, director of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, stated, “Operators should clearly understand that the Division will take regulatory action and impose civil penalties whenever patrons are improperly encouraged or incentivised to rescind their withdrawal requests for the purpose of resuming gaming activity.”
Why Don’t Casinos Process Withdrawals Immediately?
Faster is great, but immediate withdrawals are better! So why do you need to wait at all for withdrawals?
The reason for the wait is apparently to make sure that the money isn’t being laundered. And using casinos for laundering is no joke.
For example, Trump’s Taj Mahal was given a $10 million civil penalty fine by the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network for laundering in 2015.
Casinos are within their right to check withdrawal requests for any sign of fraud. As Rebuck stated, “The encouragement or incentivization of such rescissions are inconsistent with the intent of having speedy and consistent withdrawals, with a minimal delay solely for the purpose of checking for fraudulent activity.”
What does this mean for the future?
We should stop seeing incentives to reconsider withdrawing money immediately. No more pop-ups or requests to reconsider.
This ruling from the DGE is a good sign for New Jersey gamblers. And it’s also a good reason to play with legal casinos.
The DGE responded to numerous complaints by casino customers. In Rebuck’s words, “It has been reported by some patrons that they were even offered bonus money to reverse a pending withdrawal request.”
We view this as a good sign of DGE’s responsiveness to and advocacy for online casino customers.
Play legally at these online casinos with great banking options:
Sources:
“Director’s Advisory Bulletin 2021-01 Operators Prohibited from Soliciting Patron to Reverse Withdrawal Request” https://www.nj.gov/oag/ge/docs/Bulletins/WDrequestsolicitation2021.01.pdf
“Trump Taj Mahal casino settles U.S. money laundering claims” https://www.reuters.com/article/trump-ent-trumptajmahal-moneylaundering-idUSL1N0VL2L120150211