Jackpot Joy Bingo? More like Jackpot No Joy Congo!

Last year I joined Jackpot Joy Bingo.  I only deposited £5 a time, just a little something to have a bit of fun with.

It wasn't long before I lost interest.  It was quite boring.

So, to my surprise, a year later (last week) I received a letter in the post from JPJ informing me of a £25 bonus that they had put into my account for me.

What a pleasant surprise.  I was thrilled.

As a student, things like this are like gold dust.  Well, even if I wasn't a student I would be over the moon!

So, yesterday, I decided to put this bonus to good use.

First of all, I won £11.  Unbelievable.  I was very excited.  I played a few more games but no more wins.  However, today, I played again.  I played a game that they have called SNAP! which is similar to Bingo but with five playing cards in a line (you can buy a maximum of five lines for 20p each).  It's quite fun, and rather addictive.

I must have won about 8 times.

I went from the £21 I had left in my account to £51 in about half an hour.  It was extraordinary.  So exciting.  I knew what I would do with this new found money - I'll take out £40 and play with the final £10 to see how my luck draws out.

So, I clicked my way to my account to withdraw the cash.  You can understand my surprise when it said that I had £51 in my account but could only withdraw... £0.00.

WHAT?

This would not do.  I sought out the FAQ link where you could speak to an assistant via online chat.  After several minutes of queuing, I was through...

I explained my predicament to the assistant who investigated the problem through access to my account.  She returned to inform me that I could not withdraw any funds until I had spent a further £46.

*cough*cough*splutter*

WHAT?

At this point I had £47 in my account.

Apparently, because I was playing with a bonus, I was expected to match that bonus with my own £25, and it would seem that whatever I win is not mine either.  I have to spend ALL of that, put my own cash in, then whatever I win I can claim as my own.

There is also a jackpot of £10,000.  So, as I understand at the moment, if I won that, I could not claim it and would have to spend £9,999 on the Bingo website.

Absolute CON.

I expressed my disgust toward the assistant and asked her to forward on my grievances to someone of higher authority.  I think it's absolutely appalling.  I told her that if I'd wanted to spend the £25 I would have, and that the £25 bonus was not a bonus at all.  It was a "conus"!  It concerns me that the games that I have been winning, sometimes winning £10 a game, means that the other players, who have put their own money in, are losing to people with a bonus that does not actually exist.  Disgusting!!

Within my discussion, I also mentioned that I found it appalling that Jackpot Joy would distribute a £25 "bonus" as a ploy to get people to spend a further £25.  They then have the audacity to express concern and offer help for gambling addiction.

It's something I am certainly going to keep my eye on and indeed seems, currently, like a Watchdog situation.

Get me Anne Robinson on the phone...!