Casino customer service can make or break your experience.
What is customer service in a casino? What is good customer service? What does customer service do? Is there live casino customer service?
If one or more of these questions has been on your mind regarding online casinos, you are not alone. In fact, these are important question that online players – myself included – have asked Google prior to jumping on board the internet gambling bandwagon.
Why are they such important questions? As is the case of any company with whom you might conduct business, customer service in a casino is important because it can make or break your experience. Therefore, what it does, how it is offered, and how quickly it is provided says a lot about the integrity and reliability of the online casino.
Customer service quality and responsiveness is a key factor when it comes to choosing the best online casino in Ontario, Canada, or anywhere. It’s right up there with ensuring the casino has a legitimate license, is independently tested, has trusted payment methods, offers responsible gambling tools and fair terms and conditions.
After all, even if an online casino has your favourite games and great promotions, if you can’t reach casino customer support when you need it, or they take forever to respond, or they don’t resolve your issue – your overall experience will tank.
We’ve all been there, haven’t we? In need of simple customer service and you’re brushed off or treated terribly. I can’t speak for you, but when I’m treated poorly by a company, I take my business elsewhere. On the flip side, if I’m treated well, my loyalty is secured.
So…what should you expect from online casino customer service exactly?
Simply put, customer service in a casino should effectively:
- Answer your questions.
- Address any concerns you may have.
- Resolve any issues you bring to their attention.
Seems like a no-brainer, right? But all too often when I’ve investigated reviews of online casinos that have piqued my interest, among the top casino complaints are from players who have been disappointed with the casino customer service they did (or did not) receive.
Naturally, there’s always going to be a player out there who will complain about anything and everything (simply because they’re never happy and need to complain about everything 🙄). However, casinos that have several customer service complaints, especially complaints that are similar in nature, is a red flag for me.
Specifically, casino customer service red flags to look out for include:
- Not resolving a payment issue.
- Misleading promotions.
- Winnings not being paid out.
- Support takes forever to get back to a player, or not at all.
- It takes a long time for a withdrawal to be processed.
- It takes a long time for support to verify identity.
- Lack of responsible gambling assistance (e.g. a player gambled and lost more than they could afford by losing track of time and the casino never interrupted their play to see if they were okay, etc.)
What makes for good customer service in a casino?
Good customer service in a casino…
- Is available 7 days a week, ideally 24 hours a day – If an online casino is open 24/7 you should be able to reach them 24/7. However, the reason I said “ideally” 24 hours a day is that not all Canada online casinos (including the good ones) offer 24/7 live chat. This includes where I play, PlayOJO. Their live chat is open for a solid 18 hours a day, and you can email any time you want or check the FAQ. This is fine for me, because I play during the hours when live chat support is available, anyway.
Usually, from what I’ve seen, online casinos that don’t have 24/7 live chat or a 24/7 casino customer service number, usually have hours of operation from the early morning (6 – 8 am) up until midnight-ish. If you’re someone who wants the security of being able to reach support right away, I would recommend either playing at an online casino that offers 24/7 live chat and/or phone support or consider playing during the times when the live casino customer service is available (Note: be sure to check the hours of operation time zone! You might live in an EST time zone but the casino’s hours may be GMT).
- Is easy to reach with multiple communication channels, especially live chat – There should be more than one way to reach customer service in a casino. Email and live chat are the bare minimum. Other options that may be available include telephone, Skype, or a social media messaging platform (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, etc.). That said, if a casino customer service phone number is offered, it should be free. Personally, I think charging a customer to make a call is just dirty.
- Is quick to respond to queries – No matter when the hours of customer service operation are or what communication channels are offered, when you reach out to connect with a support representative, you should receive a timely response. For instance, a minute or less via live chat or within 24 hours via email.
- Includes an FAQ – While not all players will agree that having an FAQs (frequently asked questions) section is necessary for good customer service in a casino, I’m a player who happens to think FAQs are a must. I personally really like when an online casino – or any online business for that matter – has an FAQs section that covers answers to the most commonly asked questions. The more detailed and clear the answers, the better.
Online casino FAQs are a perfect self-help tool that can provide you with basic info regarding account information, promotions and rewards, deposits and withdrawals, technical stuff, etc., and you can access it whenever. Many times, I’ve found the answer I was looking for without having to contact support or learned something that helped me to ask support a question that was more specific to my issue.
- Offers exceptional service to VIP players – Although I’m not a VIP player (and currently don’t have any interest in becoming one), I do think that if you’re going to spend more, you’re entitled to special treatment (e.g., personal account manager). So, if being a VIP is important to you, don’t settle for anything less than the best support.
What should you do if customer service in a casino doesn’t cut it?
If you have made every effort to reach out to the casino, including taking your complaint to the highest casino customer service manager you can reach, move on to the next step and reach out to an outside authority who can help you.
This is why it is important to play at online casinos that are licensed and regulated by a reputable governing body. If you are not satisfied with the online casino customer service you received and you need to escalate a complaint, you can get in touch with the regulator.
For instance, in Ontario, you can take your complaint to iGaming Ontario if you play at an online casino with gambling products conducted and managed by the organization. Although iGaming Ontario can’t directly settle any bets, refund wagers or award compensation, a player can escalate an unresolved or unsatisfactorily resolved dispute to iGaming Ontario for review. It helps to ensure that your dispute or complaint is not ignored or brushed off by the online gambling operation with whom you have the issue.
Another awesome thing to do as a player if you have a serious complaint about a casino – especially one that was not resolved – is to warn other players about your experience. The best places to submit this type of complaint/warning is on reputable review sites like AskGamblers. Other platforms with gambling communities like Reddit and Quora are also places to consider mentioning your experience and concerns and/or getting advice, if you happen to be a member.
Of course, remember when sharing a complaint on these types of platforms that it’s important to be honest, factual and have decorum. Avoid using them as a venting space to blast the casino.
Customer service in a casino – the bottom line
Regardless of whether you’re a regular online casino customer or a VIP, you should expect good customer service from wherever you choose to play. I do, and I always will.
Do your homework before you sign up and deposit to ensure that the online casino you picked has a good reputation within the industry, with regulators, and with customers.
We deserve the best online casino experience after all. 😁
Until next time, good luck and have fun!
Mia 👩💻
*All links and images in this post are for information purposes only.
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