A licensed casino that refuses to pay can be challenged for free. Here is the escalation order, the deadline in each regulated market, and the body that rules on it.
If a licensed casino refuses to pay you, there is a fixed order that works. Put a formal complaint in writing to the casino. If that fails, take the case to the independent dispute body attached to its licence. If the casino ignores a binding ruling, report it to the regulator. In the UK the casino has eight weeks before you can go to a free ADR provider. In Malta the casino must tell you the outcome within ten days. Do not go to your bank for a chargeback first. That usually ends your claim and gets your account closed.
Everything below depends on the casino holding a real licence. Look up the operator on the regulator's own register, not the logo in the site footer. Logos are copied. Registers are not.
If the casino is not licensed in your country, no dispute body will take the case. You are left with legal action, and most players write the money off. This is the strongest argument for checking a licence before you deposit rather than after.
Use the words "formal complaint" in an email. Not live chat. Live chat leaves you nothing to show later and does not reliably start the clock.
State four things: what happened, the dates, the amount you are owed, and what you want the casino to do. Keep it factual. Anger is understandable and it does not help your case. The person reading it did not make the decision.
Ask for a written reason for the decision and the specific term of the terms and conditions the casino is relying on.
Casinos update terms. Accounts get closed and take their history with them. Before you escalate, collect:
If the terms have already changed, the Internet Archive often holds the older version.
Each market gives the casino a window to sort it out. Once that window closes, or the casino sends a final answer or a deadlock letter, you escalate. The table below sets out the route for the seven markets covered on this site.
Two things follow from it. Regulators mostly do not get your money back, and dispute bodies do. Every route listed is free to the player, so there is no reason to stop at the casino's final answer.
If the casino ignores a binding decision, send the case reference to the regulator. At that point it stops being your dispute and becomes a licence compliance problem for the operator.
Most withheld payouts are not theft. Rule these out before you escalate, because a dispute body will side with the casino if you skipped a step the terms clearly required.
| Market | Casino deadline | Where to escalate next | What that body can do |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (UKGC) | Eight weeks from receiving the complaint, or sooner with a deadlock letter | The casino's approved ADR provider, such as IBAS or eCOGRA, free to use | Rules on the dispute. The casino must tell you which provider covers it. The UKGC does not resolve individual disputes |
| Malta (MGA) | Ten days to tell you the outcome | MGA Player Support Unit, or the registered ADR entity named in the terms | ADR decisions bind both sides and the operator has twenty days to comply |
| Sweden (SGA) | Internal complaints procedure first | ARN, the National Board for Consumer Disputes | Issues a decision on consumer disputes. A minimum claim value applies. Spelinspektionen does not mediate |
| Denmark (DGA) | Must tell you when it expects to settle if not resolved in fourteen days | Center for Klageløsning, then the Consumer Complaints Board | Mediation first, then a ruling. Spillemyndigheden cannot settle disputes between you and an operator |
| Spain (DGOJ) | The operator's own claims system first | A written reclamación to the DGOJ | Accepts player claims directly. You must attach your complaint to the operator and its reply |
| Germany (GGL) | Internal complaints procedure first | Civil courts for money claims | The GGL states it does not handle civil claims such as payment of a balance or recovery of losses. Its portal covers illegal gambling and advertising |
| Netherlands (KSA) | Complaints procedure required by law | Report to the KSA, courts for the money | The KSA checks licence compliance. It does not recover funds for players |
Deadlines and routes verified against each regulator's own published guidance on 24 August 2026.
Usually not. The UK Gambling Commission states it does not resolve individual disputes, and the same applies to Spillemyndigheden, Spelinspektionen and the KSA. Spain's DGOJ is the exception and accepts player claims directly. Use the dispute body for the money and the regulator for conduct.
No. ADR and the equivalent consumer dispute routes are free to the player in every market covered here.
Almost never. It looks like an attempt to reverse gambling losses, it breaches most casino terms, and it will usually end both your account and your claim.
Verified against 9 primary sources. Last reviewed August 24, 2026.