Player Files a Complaint Over a $220K Jackpot

May 16th, 2023: It isn’t every day that we read about a casino player that goes against an established casino operator and files a case. Well, that’s exactly what happened to a Canadian player who decided to sue an offshore licensed casino over a casino game.

In a lawsuit filed in the British Columbia Supreme Court, Victor Janicki of Kelowna, British Columbia, argued that he was cheated of a potential ‘$220,550 jackpot’ off a blackjack side bet he wagered while betting on the Live Blackjack Classic Game at BetOnline.ag, a popular offshore online casino registered in Antigua and based in Costa Rica. This is a rare instance that an offshore licensed casino has been hailed to court, and it comes at a crucial time when US regulators are looking at ways to solve illegal offshore online gambling.

A story about a $1 side bet

Before hitting the big win, Mr. Janicki has been a loyal player of Betonline. Ag. According to the lawsuit and multiple stories online, Mr. Janicki was betting $40 a hand on the site’s Blackjack Classic game, which also boasts a side bet called the 777 Diamond Jackpot that requires a $1 bet. Players may trigger a huge progressive jackpot thanks to this feature if they receive three ‘sevens of diamonds’ from a six-deck shoe.

And it’s exactly what Mr. Janicki scored after playing the game. In an interview, he explained the exact moment he hit the jackpot.

In an interview with Las Vegas Review-Journal, Mr. Janicki shared that he “got dealt two sevens of diamonds, and I asked for a card.”

“Then, my screen went black for about 10 seconds, which was the first time that had ever happened to me. But when the screen came back on, two supervisors besides the dealer congratulated me for winning the jackpot. So I chatted with them to find out how I was to be paid.”

But the player’s excitement turned to disappointment in just a few seconds. The supervisors then informed him that there was a mistake in the game’s results, and he never won big.

Months-long correspondence and fight for the prize

For the next two months, Mr. Janicki tried to contact BetOnline.ag and Visionary Gaming and tried to get a copy of the video based on the game and hand he was playing. He received a video reply from the casino, showing a re-enactment of the dealt hand. The re-created video shows that the dealer gave him two 7s of diamonds and dealt himself one card face-down. Furthermore, the video shows the dealer explaining that he is eligible for the big prizes since he has already collected two 7s of diamonds. After a few seconds, a woman entered the frame, old that camera that his hand was eligible for the jackpot, wished him good luck, and exited the frame.

Then, the dealer dealt himself a ten and checked the face-down card. The card was an ace, and the round ended. The video shows that Janicki was never dealt the third card for a potential jackpot.

But, in the filed lawsuit, that’s not what happened.

As a retired lawyer, Mr. Janicki felt he could file a lawsuit. So last April 25th, he filed a complaint and hired a firm based in San Jose, Costa Rica, to serve the claim to Visionary iGaming and BetOnline.ag. He is currently waiting for a response from the representatives of the online casino, and according to Canadian law, the defendant has 49 days to respond to a lawsuit if it’s served outside the United States or Canada. After this, a British Columbian judge can provide a judgment on the case. And this is exactly what the complainant is looking for, a directed verdict, which he expects by June 13th.

What do you think about the case?

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