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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
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    Exclamation Massive customer fraud at "Curgam Casino group" through Blacklotus

    This thread serves as a warning for webmasters and potential customers about the massive fraud that is being committed by the "Curgam group" of online casinos through Black Lotus Communications. This operator (Curgam Malta/ Curgam N.V. Curacao) is systematically abusing the services by Black Lotus to defraud customers and confiscate legit payments. Details about this scam are published on the websites as listed below.

    (Replace xxx with www & hxxp with http)

    • xxx.casinomeister.com/rogue/mightyslotscasino.php
    • xxx.complaintsboard.com/complaints/real-vegas-online-c578856.html
    • xxx.casinolistings.com/forum/discussion/online-casinos/11512/slots-inferno-any-information
    • hxxp://thepogg.com/casino-review/99-slot-machines
    • xxx.casinolistings.com/forum/support/help/8922/real-vegas-casino
    • xxx.ripoffreport.com/r/Real-Vegas-Online-casino/internet/Real-Vegas-Online-casino-Rips-Off-Paying-Players-by-refusing-to-pay-out-winnings-Curacao-815156
    • hxxp://thepogg.com/casino-review/99-slot-machines
    • xxx.askgamblers.com/casino/99-slot-machines-casino-review-r4294


    This list only provides a small selection of the actual complaints about the actions of this company. There are countless additional reports about non-payments on the largest website portals and forums about internet gaming. I am also owed 4-figure USD amount by the Curgam group since several years. However, not much can be done about this as these online casinos do not hold a gaming license. The websites of Curgam include Real Vegas, Mighty Slots, Plenty Jackpots, Slots Inferno, Slot Luv, 99Slot Machines and SlotNut Casino. I tried to establish contact with Black Lotus about this but they are not addressing the issue at all.

    If any webmasters here are working in the online gaming sector, please inform your visitors about this scam. If anyone has any questions or thoughts, be welcome to ask in this thread or contact me by PM.

  2. #2
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    Is this thread meant to intentionally harm BL? While you have raised a issue to questionable group doing business, you are also implying that BL is partially to blame just because they are the carrier.

  3. #3
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    The scam itself is performed entirely by the Curgam group. However, Black Lotus apparently do not bother that Curgam is continually using their services to defraud people for large amounts.

    If I was a hosting or DNS service provider I would not condone any of my customers to intentionally use my services to scam people.

  4. #4
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    Why should they play the role of a judge?

    It seems like it thread was created exactly to provoke BL.

    Even the thread tags you were kind enough to put their name b*** l***, curgam, fraud. What part exactly of what you are doing is not somewhat fraudulent?
    Last edited by SPINIKR-RO; 09-30-2013 at 11:59 AM.

  5. #5
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    @SPINIKR-RO I actually have issue with that
    @Lithops Most casino/gaming sites would not host in the U.S., and consequently are not our hosting customer. More likely that the content is proxied to the jurisdiction where the company is licensed. If you have a concern about the business practices of any such company, you should contact the appropriate regulatory entity (eg. whomever licenses gaming in Malta and/or Curacao).

    We're not going to be dragged into these disputes.

  6. #6
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    Of course it is their decision how they operate their business. However, in the end I am glad about any customer who can be warned and saved from stepping in the same trap and lose their money in any of these casinos.

  7. #7
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    @IRCCo Jeff: Black Lotus are providing various services for Curgam. This is clearly visible in the whois information for the casino websites.

    If you condone these operators to use your services to defraud people it is your decision. Anyone is free to make up their opinion about this.

    The evidence for the illegal actions of this operator is overwhelming and it is a true shame that Black Lotus cooperates with any such company.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by IRCCo Jeff View Post
    @SPINIKR-RO I actually have issue with that
    I meant to say I have *no* issue with that.

  9. #9
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    How really matters who is hosting or DDoS protecting the scam (if any) ? Acting like a "detective" ... Today is BL tomorrow is somebody else.
    QHoster.com - Web Hosting with DDoS Protection | Shared & Reseller in Europe/North America
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  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by WebHostDog View Post
    How really matters who is hosting or DDoS protecting the scam (if any) ? Acting like a "detective" ... Today is BL tomorrow is somebody else.
    If anything, the OP (understandably) feels that the (brought-up) issue is within Black Lotus' ability to do something now.

  11. #11
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    @WebHostDog: I do not think it is okay to commit, condone or support criminal action just because someone else would do this as well.

    As far as the scam and complaints about this operator go, a google search for "Curgam casinos" will provide a good impression of what is going on. However, this is only the very tip of the iceberg.

  12. #12
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    I'm not a legal expert. It seems to me that simply routing the traffic through US networks may not be illegal. Now if the target website is defrauding people, that's entirely different. Perhaps the necessary authorities should be contacted regarding that website?
    Matt Mahvi
    Staminus, Infrastructure DDoS Protection and Appliances
    @ 200+ Gbps global ddos mitigation network. Local or Remote. Proxy, GRE, and direct cross connects.
    @ Available in Amsterdam, New York, Los Angeles and Orange County. Anycast BGP.

  13. #13
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    Feb 2012
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    Curgam & Black Lotus

    @toro: You are right. However, what makes this difficult is the fact that Curgam operates their online casinos without license or any overseeing legal body. They merely have a business license in the country they operate from, which is Costa Rica. All of this is legal there.

    I am personally owed a USD xxxx amount by Curgam but bringing this case to legal action would be very difficult and expensive.

    What disturbs me though is the fact that Black Lotus does not seem to care about this fraud at all. Before starting this thread I contacted them various times through their website, explained the situation and made them aware of what is happening. I did not receive any reply. Of course I am not owed money by Black Lotus but without their support this simply would not be possible.
    Last edited by Lithops; 10-03-2013 at 06:38 AM.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lithops View Post
    @toro: You are right. However, what makes this difficult is the fact that Curgam operates their online casinos without license or any overseeing legal body. They merely have a business license in the country they operate from, which is Costa Rica. All of this is legal there.

    I am personally owed a USD xxxx amount by Curgam but bringing this case to legal action would be very difficult and expensive.

    What disturbs me though is the fact that Black Lotus does not seem to care about this fraud at all. Before starting this thread I contacted them various times through their website, explained the situation and made them aware of what is happening. I did not receive any reply. Of course I am not owed money by Black Lotus but without their support this simply would not be possible.
    We will support the authorities if properly subpoenaed, but you would need to go through them in the first place.

  15. #15
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    @Lithops: I understand your frustration. According to you, you are owed money and you're not finding recourse through the company that owes you. According to you, Black Lotus hosts this scam operation so you feel it is their obligation to help you resolve it. Black Lotus has to abide by laws so if you feel they're violating the law, you need to bring that up with authorities. If Black Lotus is not violating the law, but is only hosting a scam operation, then it's simply their choice. If the matter is legal in the country the site actually operates in, then your recourse may very well be limited, for which I'm truly sorry!
    Matt Mahvi
    Staminus, Infrastructure DDoS Protection and Appliances
    @ 200+ Gbps global ddos mitigation network. Local or Remote. Proxy, GRE, and direct cross connects.
    @ Available in Amsterdam, New York, Los Angeles and Orange County. Anycast BGP.

  16. #16
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    Arrow

    @toro: What Curgam does (not honoring rightful withdrawals of balances) is not legal in Costa Rica either. However, it is virtually impossible to sue an unlicensed gaming company with presences in various banana countries, not to forget about the money this legal process would take, without any guarantee for getting it back. Due to this Curgam will most likely never be sued by any customer and Black Lotus are well aware of this.

    @IRCCo Jeff: Customers have already been scammed out of extraordinarily large amounts by the Curgam group. This is provably reported by countless individuals on dozens of reputable websites across the internet. It happened to me as well.

    Obviously any of this does not bother Black Lotus though.

    If Black Lotus intends to cooperate with proven criminals it is indeed their choice. However, I would refrain from any such company and would suggest any other webmaster to do so as well. The very least they could have done is to reply my emails and forwarding the complaint to the operator.

  17. #17
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    US providers of remote DDoS protections are only considered an ISP and not really a hosting company (even though BL also offers hosting) and are therefore very well protected by law and can't be held responsible for any content which is not actually placed on their servers. This is why BlackLotus is doing nothing wrong regarding the law.

    In Germany that's different. As soon as a provider is aware of any illegal actions of a client and continues to support him or provide services to him, it's considered a crime as well. This is why we for instance wouldn't provide DDoS protection to such a client or even touch his server. Yet this is different in the US and therefore I don't see anything you can do about it.
    Inbound Marketing & real SEO for web hosting providers
    ✎ Get in touch with me: co<at>infinitnet.de

  18. #18
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    @infinitnet: If it was legal to sell a knife to a known serial stabber I still would not do it. I also would not provide my hosting or ISP services to anyone who is knowingly using it to defraud people.

    There may in fact not be much that can be done about it in this case but to warn others. I am glad about any customer who can be saved from stepping in the same trap and any webmaster who becomes aware of what is going on.

    This situation is quite obvious. Anyone is free to read this thread and draw their own conclusions.

  19. #19
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    @Lithops I have a similar opinion about this, which is why our company policy is different. I only wanted to clarify that BlackLotus isn't to blame for this as in US law.
    Inbound Marketing & real SEO for web hosting providers
    ✎ Get in touch with me: co<at>infinitnet.de

  20. #20

    Internet police

    To bad you can't call them (see title).

    Kudos on the responsible journalism. Down with corporate greed!

  21. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by toro View Post
    @Lithops: I understand your frustration. According to you, you are owed money and you're not finding recourse through the company that owes you. According to you, Black Lotus hosts this scam operation so you feel it is their obligation to help you resolve it. Black Lotus has to abide by laws so if you feel they're violating the law, you need to bring that up with authorities. If Black Lotus is not violating the law, but is only hosting a scam operation, then it's simply their choice. If the matter is legal in the country the site actually operates in, then your recourse may very well be limited, for which I'm truly sorry!
    correct me if I am wrong but Black Lotus is not hosting the content as stated by Jeff.

  22. #22
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    @GNG-Zane: Quite frankly, I do not think it makes a difference if Black Lotus hosts the websites of Curgam or if they provide ISP services to them. Without their cooperation Curgam would not be able to do what they are doing, one way or another.

    From a moral point of view Black Lotus have clearly expressed their opinion on this issue. They do not care.

  23. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lithops View Post
    @GNG-Zane: Quite frankly, I do not think it makes a difference if Black Lotus hosts the websites of Curgam or if they provide ISP services to them. Without their cooperation Curgam would not be able to do what they are doing, one way or another.

    From a moral point of view Black Lotus have clearly expressed their opinion on this issue. They do not care.
    Why don't you also contact Curgam's gas and electric company as well? Or their pizza delivery guy? Without their cooperation Curgam "would not be able to do what they are doing, one way or another." Right?

    If you suspect someone has committed a crime - contact the authorities and they may (or may not) contact BL regarding that matter. That's the proper channel.

    And if you don't believe in "banana" country authorities don't play online casino games based out of "banana" countries next time.

    p.s.
    sorry for bringing an old thread.

  24. #24
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    Feb 2012
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    Curgam & Blacklotus

    @greecejoe:

    If my company was providing services for another company that is continuously stiffing customers, I would most certainly not cooperate with them anymore. This is a simple question of morals and attitude. Blacklotus are members of this community which is why I believe webmasters should be aware of this issue.

    If anybody requires additional information in this regard, please let me know. Customers need to be made aware about this scam and I will be glad to assist spreading the word wherever possible.

  25. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by toro View Post
    @Lithops: I understand your frustration. According to you, you are owed money and you're not finding recourse through the company that owes you. According to you, Black Lotus hosts this scam operation so you feel it is their obligation to help you resolve it. Black Lotus has to abide by laws so if you feel they're violating the law, you need to bring that up with authorities. If Black Lotus is not violating the law, but is only hosting a scam operation, then it's simply their choice. If the matter is legal in the country the site actually operates in, then your recourse may very well be limited, for which I'm truly sorry!
    Matt, I'm curious what your/Staminus position would be on the @ops case - would you remove content or stop service without a valid takedown/court order etc?

    Disclaimer: I'm a Black Lotus customer - have also spoken with you in the past RE: Protection, since IMHO the best strategy may be a diversified one.

    Edit: Didn't realize this was an old thread just bumped yesterday. There's a reason I don't post often :-), though I'd still be interested in a response.
    Last edited by markspeed; 01-16-2014 at 12:53 AM.
    Getting Cloudy in the US, Europe, & South Asia.

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