12Bet.com Player Learns €5,200 Lesson (Always Read Fine Print)

12Bet.com (B+ Rating) is one the higher rated Asian Bookies here at Sports Betting Sites with decent banking methods for players from Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia. In this here report they are merely part of the story as this post involves a lesson, not a valid complaint.

The Story of Mentality and his 12Bet Complaint

The true to life story starts just over a month ago when a sports bettor known by the forum handle Mentality, registered a 12bet account, deposited €1,200, and received the maximum first deposit bonus allowed (€225). The bonus rules as he understood them stipulated he had one month to turnover his deposit plus bonus ten times. Mentality did well running up a large balance while making over €60,000 in wagers. From his understanding this was far more than the required turnover and he believed his winnings and bonus were free and in the clear.

Mentality’s expensive lesson came a month from his initial deposit. At this time his account was debited €5,200. At first Mentality was furious and felt cheated, however after dealing with support, for the first time since accepting the bonus he decided to read the rules. Mentality was quick to realize like night and day, this was clear cut; he had no case. To make sure it is very clear, if you visit the EU version the 12Bet website and click promotions, the first deposit offer is marketed with a link to more details, and the only way to even get the bonus code required is to click this link. Once clicked the following page is opened.

Mentality failed to read rule #5 which stipulates only wagers with decimal odds 2.0 or greater are counted towards the required rollover. As far as his €5,200 in winnings being debited: this is clearly explained in rule #9. That rules is also clear as day, it does not say management reserves the right nor does it have any subjective wording. The rules states: “The bonus amount and all winnings will be forfeited if the deposit and bonus rollover requirement are not met within 30 days of bonus credit.”

Always Read the Rules

Lessons such as the one Mentality just learned are common. Online bookies are not in the business of giving away free cash and all betting bonuses have terms. Some betting sites such as Bet365 have friendly terms while other betting sites have terms some players view as predatory. However, in my opinion, so long as the rules are clearly displayed there are no predatory bonuses; only punters who made the foolish mistake of accepting a bonus without reading the rules.

Please understand, as sports bettor myself I routinely decline bonuses when the rules do not appeal to me. Please also understand I have plenty of sympathy for players with stories similar to the one Mentality recently shared. However despite operating one the most sincere sportsbook watchdog sites on the net and doing everything I can to protect players, in cases such as this my response is always “lesson learned”. In no case where the rules are clearly posted can I side with anyone but the sportsbook. I can’t help you, SBR can’t help you, BMR, CasinoMeister nor can anyone else help you when the complaint comes down to the simple matter: you failed to read the rules.

I’m sure you’ve already deferred this advice from the text but to say it clearly here: ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS read the rules. Once you accept a bonus, you are stuck with whatever rules are attached.