Paf Casino - La cuenta del jugador ha sido reabierta a pesar de la autoexclusión.

I would like to file a complaint against PAF (Play Among Friends) for failing to uphold responsible gambling practices, despite being fully aware of my gambling addiction.

In 2014, I requested my account to be permanently closed due to a serious gambling problem. I repeated the same request again in 2020, clearly stating that I suffer from gambling addiction and should not be allowed to reopen my account.

PAF has acknowledged receiving these requests. However, in August 2025, they allowed my account to be reopened — either by action or omission — and I resumed gambling immediately, ultimately losing *€889.21*. This behavior is consistent with compulsive gambling, something they were fully aware of based on prior communications.

PAF has claimed that after a 5-year period, accounts may be reopened. I believe this policy is fundamentally irresponsible, especially when there is documented evidence of gambling addiction. A fixed time limit cannot override an individual’s vulnerability or the casino's duty to protect the player.

I hold PAF responsible for enabling my relapse and profiting from my addiction. Their actions show a clear disregard for their own responsible gambling commitments and player protection policies.

I am requesting a refund of €889.21 and the permanent closure of my account.*

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Dear Willie55,

Thank you very much for submitting your complaint. I’m very sorry to hear about your negative experience. I checked the Responsible Gambling section and I found this:

Self-exclusion

If you want to stop playing at Paf, you can exclude yourself in the Exclusion settings section of your profile. Note that the self exclusion only applies for Paf and that you will be able to play again once the time has expired.

We offer you the following exclusion periods:

24 hours

1 week

2 weeks

3 weeks

4 weeks

6 weeks

6 months

For longer breaks we recommend you to block yourself by registering on the Estonian national exclusion registry HAMPI.

Could you please forward me the self-exclusion requests that you sent to the casino? My email address is kristina.s@casino.guru. Do you currently have access to your casino account?

Thank you very much in advance.

Best regards,

Kristina

hi,

I am sending the email conversations and the message with which PAF now justified that it acted correctly. I think this action just does not seem responsible, because in 11 years I have told twice about my gambling addiction and asked for exclusion. Now PAF has blocked my access to the casino.

Thank you very much for your reply. Do I understand correctly that your account was closed only recently? Did you contact the casino while your account was still active to inform them about your gambling problem?

Hello,

Yes, you understood correctly. I have informed Paf about my gambling problem for over 10 years, and even during my most recent self-exclusion, I contacted them multiple times asking when I would be allowed to reopen my account — which in my opinion clearly indicates problematic gambling behavior.

Paf’s idea of responsibility was to ask about my current situation, and I simply replied that I had no problems — as a person struggling with gambling addiction typically would in such a situation. My gambling behavior was clearly compulsive. I requested bonuses from them, used a short self-exclusion period, and frequently asked on Wednesdays when the Green Gaming payouts would be made. 

Eventually, I realized that my gambling had spiraled completely out of control, and I submitted a formal complaint to Paf. They did proceed to close my account and responded that they would only keep it closed for 5 years — after which I would once again be welcome to play, despite their full knowledge of my serious gambling addiction.

This sounds really frustrating, but at least the account is closed for now, so we can focus on our next steps. Unfortunately, I will need a few more details in order to proceed with this complaint. Please answer the following questions:

• Can you please clarify whether your account was reopened upon your request or automatically by the casino?
• How did the casino ask about your current situation? Did you fill up a questionnaire before the account was reopened? Could you please forward me this conversation together with the questionnaire?
• Have you recently tried contacting the casino regarding this issue? What was their reaction?

Additionally, please forward the latest communication between you and the casino to kristina.s@casino.guru. Alternatively, you can post it here. Thank you in advance.

Hi Kristina,

Thank you for your message. Here are my answers:

1. *Was my account reopened by request or automatically by the casino?*  

My account was reopened after I had requested it several times over the years. Paf had previously told me that I could reopen the account after a 5-year self-exclusion. Once that period ended, I asked to reopen the account – so it was reopened at my request.

2. *How did the casino ask about my current situation?*  

They sent me an email asking if I still had a gambling problem. I responded that I did not – which is unfortunately common for someone struggling with gambling addiction. There was no proper questionnaire or in-depth evaluation – just a single question.

3. *Have I contacted the casino recently and what was their response?*  

Yes, I submitted a formal complaint and requested a refund of my losses, as I believe the casino acted irresponsibly given my long history with gambling problems. Their response was that everything had been handled correctly and no refund would be issued. However, they did close my account again.

4. *Latest communication:

I have already sent you the most recent messages with Paf by email. Unfortunately, older messages related to the account reopening are no longer available.

Thank you again for your help and support.

Best regards,  

Ville

Thank you very much for your cooperation. I will now transfer your complaint to my colleague Jozef (jozef.k@casino.guru) who will be at your service. I wish you the best of luck and hope the problem will be resolved to your satisfaction in the near future.

Hi,

I truly appreciate you sharing your experiences with the Casino Guru team. We will now proceed to reach out to the casino.

Dear Paf Casino Team,

May I kindly ask you to explain the situation from your point of view?

As far as I know, the standard practice in the industry is that when a player informs the casino about a gambling addiction, their account is permanently closed without the possibility of reopening. Could you please explain why, in this case, the account was closed for only five years each time?

I understand that there can be exceptions where reopening is possible, but this usually happens only after a long period when the player proactively contacts the casino. Even then, it is typically not reopened immediately. Usually, a questionnaire and a cooling-off period are part of the process. If, after this period and the evaluation, the player is clearly in control, reopening might be considered appropriate.

However, based on the player’s statement, it seems that such a process was not followed, and as an individual struggling with addiction, they relapsed and experienced losses as a result.

Hi,

I just wanted to update you that Paf has not responded to any of my messages for the past 3–4 weeks, despite my repeated follow-ups.

At this point, I do not believe they intend to respond to this complaint at all or take any responsibility. This lack of communication is disappointing and raises further concerns about their commitment to responsible gambling and fair customer service.

We would like to ask the casino to reply to this complaint. We are extending the timer by 7 days.

Paf refuses to act responsibly. If you close this complaint, will it affect your opinion of Paf? Can I now go and write a public review on your website? I think people deserve to hear that Paf is not acting responsibly, and they should not be overrated.

Paf kieltäytyy noudattamaata vastuullisuutta. Mikäli suljette tämän valitukseni vaikuttaako se arvioonne pafin suhteen? Voinko nyt käydä kirjoittamassa julkisen arvostelun sivuillanne? Mielestäni ihmiset ansaitsevat kuulla ettei paf toimi vastuullisesti eikö heitä kuulu yliarvioida.

Dear Willie55,

Thank you for your patience. There is still a chance that the casino will cooperate in this case. We are continuing our efforts to establish a communication line. I am extending the timer by 7 days. Hopefully we will have more information soon.

Hello Casino Guru,

I wanted to share my thoughts regarding my complaint about Paf. It has now been around 3–4 weeks without any response from them.

I believe that if they truly wanted to cooperate and resolve the matter, they would have replied by now. At this point, it seems they are not interested in individual player cases.

In the bigger picture, I see this as irresponsible behavior — especially considering that my request involved a plea for help and a permanent account closure due to a gambling problem. A company that promotes responsible gambling should act differently.

Dear Willie55,

are you currently in contact with the casino team, or have they reached out to you?

I was informed by the Paf Casino team that their customer support is handling the case with you directly, as they are unable to share any information with us.

Hello Casino Guru team,

About a month ago, as I’ve previously informed you, Paf refused to refund my deposits and stated that the case was closed. I asked them to show some flexibility in handling the situation, but since then they have not engaged with me at all. I haven’t received any further messages from them.

In my opinion, they are acting irresponsibly and are not even willing to engage in any conciliatory cooperation. Their approach is very rigid, and there’s no sign of flexibility from their side.

Since we haven’t received further response from the casino regarding the issue, we have no choice but to classify the complaint as 'unresolved'. The casino can reopen this complaint any time.

Dear Willie55,

I’m sorry, but since the casino team has not shared any relevant information with us, we’re unable to continue the investigation. An alternative option is to file an official complaint with the licensing authority of the casino. Please note that this complaint will have an impact on their safety index on our website. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or require further assistance.

Best regards, Jozef

jozef.k@casino.guru