Merge stole over $3k from me and provided no reason whatsoever. Let me explain from the beginning. I apologize in advance for the length, but I am making sure I leave no details out. Please try and finish it, it would mean a lot to me.

I signed up with sportsbook.ag on the morning of Oct 27th. I made my deposit that evening for approx $3300 and received a 30% deposit bonus of $1k. I put the entire balance on the Houston Astros to beat the Dodgers; I won. The next day at 1:43pm, I get an email from them saying,

"Due to a routine security review of your account (the document received which is not valid for verification purposes), we require you to provide us with some information in order to continue using this account. Please understand we are obliged to verify account details for your own security; therefore your account has been temporarily inactivated.
We reserve the right to at any time, request documentation from a member before releasing a withdrawal or for general auditing or identification purposes.
We also reserve the right to request additional documentation or photographic proof of yourself with the documentation.
In order to resolve this issue, please comply with the following:

- A color copy of your driver’s license or passport (must show MRZ). Document must have at least three months validity and must not be altered
- A copy of a household bill or bank statement showing your name and current address.
- To validate the documentation received please provide us with a picture of yourself with your ID copy.
Please attach digital images (scan or digital photo) of your documents to an email and send them to us.


I find that odd since I have yet to even send them any documents, but ok whatever. I send all the requested documents at 6:59pm. Its now is the 29th at 2:30pm, and I've yet to hear from them, so I send them an email saying, "Hello?". They respond at 3:26pm saying,

"Thanks for getting in touch with us.
Our management team has reviewed your account and has deemed that it will remain inactive. If you open any new accounts they will also be closed.
As per our house rules, management reserves the right to revoke the agreement between the user and our site. If an account is closed per Management’s decision, all pending wagers will be graded as No Action and account activity voided.
Management decision is final and no further correspondence will be entertained on this matter.
Please provide us with a BitCoin wallet acct number to refund your initial deposit at your earliest convenience."


I immediately reply at 4:04pm with, "Please let me know what the total balance is, along with the bet history". I say that so I can make sure they are paying me the correct amount, along with any pending bets that I might have made (even though I was 99% sure it was all on the Astros). After it simmers in my head for a bit, I realize that they said they were returning my "initial deposit". I then sent them an email at 8:28pm that evening saying,

"I'm a little confused.....Are you saying that you're only sending me my initial deposit of approx $3350? I made bets since my account was suspended that already won, are you saying that activity will be voided? As in, you're not paying me the winning funds? Certainly that cannot be the case..."


I hear nothing back for a full day, so the next day, the 30th at 8:19pm, I send an email saying, "I would appreciate a response". I get one the next day, the 31st at 12:52pm saying,

"Thanks for getting in touch with us.
Our management team has reviewed your account and has deemed that it will remain inactive. If you open any new accounts they will also be closed.
As per our house rules, management reserves the right to revoke the agreement between the user and our site. If an account is closed per Management’s decision, all pending wagers will be graded as No Action and account activity voided.
Management decision is final and no further correspondence will be entertained on this matter.
Provide us a Bitcoin Chain Address so we can return your initial deposit.
Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this matter may have caused you. Your co-operation is greatly appreciated."


So it's the same email as the last one. I respond with, "I've already received this message. Here is my Bitcoin address: _____ "Could you please answer my question as to the total amount that was in my account, along with my bet history. You said you were going to send me my initial deposit, which implied that you weren't paying out my winning wager, which was graded on the 27th, a day before my account was disabled." I get a response on Nov 1st at 1:05am saying "Thanks for getting in touch with us.Thank you. Please rest assured that you will be emailed with an update as soon as we are able to verify the supplied information.We apologize for any inconvenience caused.If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us" I then get another one on the same day at 2:31pm saying, "Thanks for getting in touch with us.This is a quick email to inform you that we have initiated a manual withdrawal for your initial deposit, it will be process to the Bitcoin address provided within an establish time frame of 24-96 business hours.If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us.". I respond with, "Why are you guys not answering my question? Look at the email chain, I've sent you multiple emails and have not gotten an answer. You keep saying you're going to send my initial deposit, yet my account was disabled on the 28th, and on the night of the 27th I had bets that were already cleared and graded as winners. I need you to tell me my bet history and the amount of the bets that I made."


I get a response the same day at 3:49pm saying, "Thanks for getting in touch with us. Unfortunately no further details will be disclosed on the inactive account and as stated the $3315.08 will be refunded very soon. I don't have any details other than this was a decision taken at Management level. Regrettably, we will be unable to enter into further correspondence pertaining to this matter, account, previous action or possible balances. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this matter may have caused you.If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us." At this point I feel its best to speak with a supervisor. After googling "Sportsbook.ag supervisor" I found an email; aston.k@sportsbook.ag. I email him an hour later and say, "Hi Aston. I googled "Merge supervisor" and this came up, hopefully its the right email. I've sent multiple emails over the last few days and have not received an answer to my question. You guys keep saying that you're going to send me my initial deposit, yet my account was suspended on the 28th, and on the evening of the 27th I had bets that were already graded and cleared as winners. For the last 3 days I have asked for you to send me my bet history and the amount of the bets, and have gotten no response." He responds with, "Your account has been permanently closed and we will refund your original deposit; you will be notified once the transfer has been completed.Regards, Aston, Team Manager"


At this point I decide nothing more can be done but wait until I get my deposit, and then report this to any and all resources I have. They graded and credited a wager, then the very next day disabled my account, received my personal documents, then permanently disabled the account and confiscated the winnings. I am not leaving anything out of the story, hence the length of it. I'm begging anyone to help me at this point. Thanks to all who took the time to read it all...

You MA here on 2+2, did you MA on sportsbook.ag also? They frown upon that sort of thing

MA=multiacct?

Theres gotta be more to the story. Have you had an acct with them before?

I'm guessing that you created a new account to bonus whore and they detected it. Since you mention that you were getting cashed out with bitcoin, I'm guessing you deposited with it as well in order to try to stay anonymous. The fact that you specifically mention the bonus amount gives it away. They didn't steal your money, you tried to cheat them, got caught, and they graciously are returning your deposit instead of confiscating that as well.

This. Don't try and rob from books they'll figure it out

Cool assumption bro. Now if only you had some facts to back it up, your post might actually have some value. I didn't open multiple accounts, I didn't go bonus whoring, I simply opened an account, made a bet which won, and then had my account closed and winning bet voided, all while given no explanation as to why, and somehow that is being defended on here


I've been sports betting for years on 5dimes, but have stayed away from Merge due to their payout issues in the past. I just recently found out that they were accepting new US players, but only Bitcoin only accounts. So no, I wasn't using bitcoin to hide my identity, I used it because it's literally the only option available.


I can provide any documentation/proof of identity, as well as email history to people who want to actually try and help me and not just spew false, baseless accusations.

Best of luck stranger! Sorry ive got no advice.

I have dealt with other international bookies before and I have found them to be nothing but honest. My guess is they think you have tried to scam them, they dont like that too much.

Hey thanks buddy.
I mean, obviously Merge doesn't go around stealing peoples money and closing their accounts, so they for sure think I have done something wrong, but the fact is I haven't. They're not even giving me a chance to defend myself, since they won't tell me what they're accusing me off. That's the part that's so baffling to me. Even if the posters here think I'm full of crap, they clearly shouldn't be ok with how Merge handled this. If you're going to ban an account AND confiscate someones money, you should at least give them a reason. I feel like that should go without saying.

This is very True. Where’s the merge rep w their side of the story?

I'm surprised by your experience. 5Dimes ripped me off with rigged casino software then the General Manager berated and swore at me for asking for a refund.

https://wizardofodds.com/online-gambling/blr/

I mean whether or not it is true, this def appears to be a multi account situation (in their eyes) and they caught someone they believed doing that. whether true or not they will drag this out as long as they can. the reality is you dont have much recourse available other than trying to be annoying and consistent enough that they finally pay you what's owed. FWIW I would make sure I get the original money out before making too big of a stink since you dont want them to have that leverage too. but I mean yea, sounds like at least their optics are you were MA'ng for the bonus

I dont play casino games. Its just looking for trouble.

SBR are reporting that Merge are claiming that he used fake documents.

I trust a random person on the internet more than I trust the dishonest scumbags at Merge and SBR. So until we see further proof, there is no reason to believe that OP actually did do anything wrong. But if he really did submit forged documents, then I'm not too surprised he got caught. Dumb thing to do.