For people that gamble online you will only know to well about the unnecessary delays operators add to the time to make withdrawals. Bingo players that make deposits in their bingo accounts will see the money debited from their accounts straight away and in an age where payment can be made instantly you would thing that withdrawals would follow the same suit. However this is not the case and players are clearly being exploited. One punter at Betfair is likely to have to wait a ridiculous two years to receive his money back.

When you gamble at a land based venue your winnings are paid out straight away unless it is a large amount and in such cases a cheques or bank credit is generally sent the following day. However it seems when it comes to online gambling, operators see this as a secondary money making operation, with clear strategies in place to get as much of the winnings back.

When you make a withdrawal from you gaming account you typically have to meet a strict criteria in terms of wagering requirements, which if you have had a bonus added to your deposit maybe as much as 40 times the combined amount. You also have to request a withdrawal which will normally only be considered at a certain time and in some cases only on one or days per week. At the point whereby you request a withdrawal you may also lose also bonus funds in your account. You then have to wait, while the payment is pending until it is sent to your account, which again can take a number of days. The last time I made a withdrawal it took 10 days until the money was actually in my account. It is worth noting if at anytime you decide that you want to use some of the money that is ‘pending’ to add to your gaming account the whole process starts again. Going back to understanding why a gaming operator cannot simply return your money instantly, well as you guessed, it’s because they don’t want you making withdrawals and want you to spend your money!!

If you thought such practices were bad how about if you had a few million in a gaming account after a big win and had to wait two years to get your money? Betfair, the UK gambling group is again the subject of criticism following allegations that a player may have to wait for over two years to receive winnings of $3.1 million paid out in instalments.

Sports Book Review claims that a Russian professional gambler using Betfair had requested payment of $3,5 million in February this year. At that point the player had received only $360 000, although to date, and over a period of five months, a total of $600 000 has apparently been received.

The payment processor used by Betfair claimed: "The current laws restrict transactions to up to $20 000 US a week. We have been paying $10 - $20 000 weekly via bank wire (we are trying to transfer larger increments soon) and in addition give him cash."

Reports suggest that both Betfair and the unnamed payment processor have been contacted about alternative payment means but neither party has commented. It would be interesting to know if the limit is $20,000 why some weeks they have paid as little as $10.Now I know that cheques are being withdrawn in some countries but this is a feeble excuse, maybe they ought to get some advice from the National Lottery.

It seems to me that this is another way of exploiting online punters as I am sure they won’t be paying interest on the late payments. Anyway next time you have to wait 10 days for your money, just think it could be worse!!