Filing any type of complaint report can sometimes be quite difficult and confusing. Many departments are charged with taking business complaints or solving disputes, but you need to know where to look.
For casinos in the Philippines, there are certain steps you have to follow and information to include. When dealing with casino problems, it’s best to refer to PAGCOR, the government-owned company charged with supervising the casino industry.
Let’s see what you should pay attention to when writing a complaint letter and how to best formulate it.
Before Writing
In general, simple letters contain five distinctive parts that help the reader understand your intentions better. These five parts are the heading, greeting, body, complimentary close, and signature line.
However, this letter will keep the main components but add specific characteristics of a complaint letter. For example, the letter must include in its body a formal and more technical detailing of the misconduct of said business.
If you want to send the letter electronically, you can. PAGCOR has a dedicated portal for reporting issues and complaints.
Be Mindful of the Necessary Data
Before you start writing your letter of complaint, you need to make an effort to recall the actions as they happened and ensure that you’re telling the truth exactly as you saw it.
As defined by PAGCOR, here are some of the scopes of dispute for mediation you might need to know for classifying your complaint:
- Non-Payment of Just Debt – This may include, but is not limited to, payments or monetary transactions.
- Light Offenses – Personal offense with no injury committed to the government.
- Other Matters – Matters not included in the above categories that can be settled through an amicable situation.
Remember, a complaint letter must include all your claims against the defendant, and you must specify what remedy you’re asking for. Remedy, in this case, means what you ask for in compensation to consider your problem with the casino solved. Afterward, the recipient of the complaint must respond by answering.
Example of Letter
The contents of the letter are purely fictional and intended as an example:
Name: Nathaniel Garcia
Address: 1599 Briz District, Tagum, Davao del Norte, Philippines
Date: 20.04.2022
Name of Contact Person: Angelo Ramos
Company Name: Casino Crello
Address: 1109 Del Monte Avenue, Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines
Here starts the body of the letter containing details of your complaint:
To whom it may concern:
On [date of the event], I, [your name], entered the premises of [name of the casino] in order to enjoy the facilities of this business. Since I was a new casino client, I was offered a [name of the bonus], and I used it for playing [casino game].
At the end of my casino activities, I wanted to withdraw the funds I gathered from playing with [name of the bonus]. However, I was told by a casino employee that my funds were not eligible for withdrawal due to [reason of ineligibility].
In the Terms and Conditions of the bonus, there was no mention of said condition for withdrawal. Therefore, I would like to receive the funds gathered, valued at [specify the value], while playing [casino game] with [name of the bonus] on the premises of [name of the casino] on [date of the event].
Sincerely,
Your Signature: [signature]
Your name: Nathaniel Garcia
What Should You Pay Attention to?
Before thinking of complaining about a particular event, you must be sure that an offense took place. You can read the Terms and Conditions you agreed to when playing any casino games, including at land-based casinos.
For example, even wagering promotions like bonuses have Terms and Conditions you must be up-to-date with.
As you know, once you enter the premises of a privately owned building, you also agree to act a certain way, depending on the scope of the building.
What are the Responsibilities of a Casino?
As a business that deals with chance games and money, international casino sites must respect a regulatory manual to continue to keep their licenses and activate in this industry.
For example, on page 204, you’ll see the rules for the conduct of table games. There, you’ll find specified conditions for which a licensed gaming employee might refuse your wagers.
Section 20 on page 77 tells us about the details required for a casino to hold a Poker Tournament. Of course, if you notice irregularities at the event, such as refusal to pay the players what they gathered, that casino could be in trouble of losing its license.
To File an In-house Complaint
Filing an in-house complaint can be stressful, but misconduct must be reported if it exists. If you find yourself in this situation, you can use the PAGCOR official whistleblowing policy guideline.
In the above-linked guideline, PAGCOR declares its commitment to the highest standards of ethical and legal conduct inoperations. Furthermore, PAGCOR encourages any concerned individual with genuine concerns to raise complaints without fear of reprisal.
You’re in Good Gands
This year, PAGCOR was implicated in an investigation about the blockage of funds by Suncity Group. In total, PAGCOR received 29 complaints from different people, stating that Suncity Group was unwilling to let them withdraw their funds. The total sum of those funds was HK$160.8 million.
To solve this problem, PAGCOR gave the Suncity Group a one-month deadline to release the promised funds to the respective clients.
As stated on the site, PAGCOR revolves around ethics of conduct and does its job as a gambling supervising authority. You can consider yourself listened to by this authority, as they take misconduct very seriously.