Question about Gambling websites with Curaçao license using incorrect Merchant Category code (side 835)

Let me try to sum up my response in one post. If you don’t mind, I’ll take a broader view, because these are important points and our approach may go slightly against the grain of how information about online casinos is typically regulated based on licensing alone.

Casino Guru is not a gambling operator. We don’t run any casinos and we don’t control which players a site chooses to accept. What we do is offer as much factual and up-to-date information as possible, including licensing details, player complaints and warnings about unfair practices.

The truth is that many players who are self-excluded via GamStop still actively look for ways to gamble and often end up registering at offshore or crypto casinos. This is already happening, often without any proper information or context, and we see the consequences almost daily in our forum and complaint system. Players report issues with casinos that have a Safety Index below 2, casinos that apply predatory rules or simply stop responding. That’s not theory. It’s the everyday reality we’re trying to improve.

Our content adapts to each visitor’s location. Players from the UK can clearly see which casinos are licensed by the UKGC and which are not. That way, if someone still chooses to register with an unlicensed operator, it’s not because a review site tricked or encouraged them. It’s a conscious decision made with full awareness of the risks.

We don’t claim this is a perfect approach. But in our experience, pretending these casinos don’t exist only increases the risk for vulnerable players. When visibility is removed, so are the warnings, and that helps no one.

That’s all I can add from my side. I understand that some may see things differently and that’s absolutely fine. I’m not here to convince anyone, just to clarify how we work and why.

Hello, I was thinking about whether I could give you a helpful tip; however, I found I instead have a few questions.

The thing is that even though it is the same company with the same license, it could be a white-label model or any other unrelated management still under one umbrella; hence, we recommend players consult the specific terms and conditions section to find out whether it is necessary to self-exclude at each casino separately or whether a player may self-exclude from the whole group with a single request. I just do not know how specifically this casino addresses global requests. Did they confirm to you that the self-exclusion has an effect within the same group/owner/management, please? I guess it is always good to start with that.

The fact that the licensing authority stays silent is not very convincing, though. If you want us to give it a look, feel free to submit a complaint, and we shall see whether there is a way to address it.

I recall that in some cases when the licensing authority was already involved, my colleagues preferred to allow them to make the final judgment. I wish I had something more solid.

The licencing authority does not approve payment providers, the issuing bank does. In any case, why so people not just use local methods? I am in Canada and use Interac, everyone is using it, it is trusted and it works. Also, Mifinity works here, too, I can just use my card, pay to Mifinity and then use that money for gambling.

I have read this topic a bit and it does not seem the casinos are stealing money, they just have creative payment handling? I believe Mifinity works everywhere, but I also believe the people do not want to commit to these couple extra clicks it takes, they rather complain later and write whole essays?

Moral of the story, use Mifinity, I am not affiliated with them or anything, but in Canada, everyone uses Interac, you can use your card with that, too.

Missing the point of this thread there shouldn't be a way to use other forms of payment it should be self excluded from everything when your addicted.

Giving people tips of what payment method to use isn't really helping an addict.

Depositing to any gambling establishment just simply should no be allowed if on gamstop end of story but unfortunately money makes the world go round.

No one suggests pretending offshore casinos do not exist. The question is whether to direct traffic to them for commission. Warning about risks is one thing; providing affiliate links and earning from losses is another.

Displaying logos like GambleAware and GamCare while simultaneously profiting from unregulated operators misleads users and undermines genuine safer gambling initiatives.

"Lost fairly" means that when a player decides to play in a casino (local, offshore, licensed, unlicensed), it's their decision. They deposit the funds, play games, have fun, but eventually lose, then it's unfair to claim the deposits back and it's dangerous misrepresenting the truth to a bank or provider.

When you play in an offshore casino, deposit numerous times, but then the casino refuses to process the withdrawal, that's unfair and we wouldn't blame anyone for attempting to get the deposits back. If you're a casino that accepts players from various countries, you need to be ready to pay them out.

We know there are players who purposely look for casinos that aren't licensed in their country, but they accept players from the country. When they win, they get paid. When they lose, they attempt to get the deposits back through chargebacks. They want to play a no-risk game. My post is about informing the community members about potential risks that might be unclear for some users, but the risks are there. When you go through the conversation here or on other websites, you'll see players who've been sued by their own bank. I don't think it's worth it.

Hold on, who was speaking of gamstop in the first place?

Gamstop and such do not block your payment methods, only the casinos block accounts and then maybe the used payment methods. The person you are quoting just mentioned to use local payment methods from what I understand.

And if the players wander off to unregulated off shore bookies, that is on them, Gamstop is limited to the UK, it certainly does not exist for kiwis like myself.

This is not a gambling addiction discussion, or is it? If I missed something, sorry for that.

Lost fairly ! that is a bit of a joke I doubt any of these non gamstop slots are genuine regulated slots it is all designed to target problem gamblers and it is illegal activities using illegal payment methods as well to by pass the laws who could argue against this ? Id be glad if they blocked me from them all but that is nonsense as they dont and often reappear under the same name with a number added to bypass any new blocks ! as for closed bank account it has never happened to me and a law suit no chance ! would love to see how they could achieve this one😂😂

Yeah it’s strange how Casino Guru are suddenly so keen to defend these awful casinos which almost always have zero Safer Gambling measures in place and would theoretically let you deposit hundreds of thousands within hours without challenge if you had access to enough funds. Shameful.

But here we’re talking about people with severe gambling addictions who have done everything they can to block themselves from gambling. The bank and VISA/MC’s rules exist to protect us, yet casinos still make it possible to gamble and lose money, even though it wouldn’t have been possible if they had used the correct MCC. People act out of their addiction and cannot control themselves. Gambling addiction is a serious illness that claims lives every year. For casinos to exploit this is never fair play.

Hello, that is exactly how this thread started, and I agree with you. However, Daniel intended to warn a player who did not fit your description. We honestly do not believe free rolling is fair. What you are discussing is a completely different matter.

Let’s stay grounded. I've been watching your actions under various profiles here for quite some time. 🙏

You may not believe the concept of "losing fairly," but the truth is, most licensed or semi-regulated casinos still run games provided by established providers using certified RNGs. Even offshore. And while they absolutely don’t deserve a free pass for shady practices, calling every slot rigged just because you didn’t win isn’t really helping the conversation.

You say you’ve never had a bank account closed or been sued. That’s great. Genuinely. But we’ve seen players here and on other platforms who weren’t so lucky. That’s not theory, that’s fact. And "I’d love to see how they’d sue me 😂😂" isn’t really a helpful strategy.

Many of these unlicensed sites target vulnerable players and use shady tactics to dodge blocks. That’s a real issue.

But here's the catch: voluntarily playing on known grey-area sites, then screaming fraud when things go south, doesn’t make someone a victim of injustice. Just a victim of their own choices.

Let’s keep calling out truly unfair practices, absolutely. But let’s not pretend that regret after a losing streak is the same as being scammed.

Fair’s fair. Even in gambling.

Just to set the record straight: we're not defending awful casinos. We're defending the idea that if you lose money playing a fair game, trying to claw it back by misleading your bank isn't the solution. It’s risky, and consequences may follow.

Standing up for fairness works both ways. If we want casinos to play fair, players need to play fair too.

As for safer gambling measures, you're absolutely right to be concerned. Some of these casinos are a disaster in that area. There's no disagreement on that point. That’s why we call them out in reviews and why we encourage players to file complaints when something goes wrong.

So no, we’re not suddenly defending anyone. We’re just not interested in mob justice disguised as advocacy.

Good point, but honestly, whether a casino is offshore or not shouldn’t be the only dealbreaker, I guess. What really matters is that players have access to clear, upfront info through reviews, licensing details, payout policies, and other indicators so they can make an informed choice.

In my opinion, it’s good to objectively recognize that if a player has certain preferences, like wanting a licensed casino, then they probably don’t mind that we are an affiliate site with affiliate links as long as they consider the information provided. That’s exactly why we don’t hide even the "bad" casinos—so the player can judge whether an offer they saw somewhere else, maybe on social media, is really as good as it seems and if it’s worth the risk.

We won't deal with casinos that don't have a decent rating, however.

That said, I understand that for many people the fact that money is involved naturally raises concerns and doubts.

Ive only got one profile so that is bull ! where u getting that from ? or do you mean you have various profiles ? its them that are fraudsters they know their not supposed to do it and still do you just are not getting that are you ! they are acting ILLEGALLY !

The ones this site rate highly tell you to use a VPN to bypass any blocks ffs how is that not shady anyway im done with this soon any site I did win on I never got paid the big wins they just make up excuses or slow it all down so I feel no guilt im entitled to my money back

Has anyone been able to raise a chargeback out of the timescales of 120 days?

I contacted the casino directly before the chargeback deadline and they offered me less than half of what I had deposited (£8k in a month 😢) the casino wanted me to sign a confidentiality document but I said I'd only sign something if it was the full amount. I then planned to raise the chargebacks but got put off as people were getting their accounts closed and CIFAS markers.

I've had my head in the sand ever since and think I've missed my chance here but thought I'd ask.

The issue on here has everything to do with gamstop if people weren't on there they wouldn't be finding these rogue casinos.