small test deposit at a new offshore site, how it went

[northern_neil]

Thought I'd report back since I'm forever telling people to test small before trusting a new offshore site, only fair I do it myself.

New Curacao site, launched a couple of months back. Put a tenner in by card, no bonus, deliberately, wanted to test the cashout clean without wagering muddying it.

Played low stakes, drifted up to about £34. Requested £30 out, left a few quid in the account. They asked for KYC at that point, not before, which I don't love but it's common. Passport and a bank statement, approved next morning.

Money hit the card 50 hours after the request. Not instant, not terrible.

The catch I'll flag, the cashout terms had a £50 minimum withdrawal buried in them which my £30 was under. Support waived it once I queried but you can imagine that going the other way with a less responsive site. Offshore, no UKGC, so a chargeback isn't really your friend here either.

Go small first is the whole point. Anyone else doing the test deposit thing before committing?

[bex_plays]

Always. A tenner to learn how a site behaves is cheap information. Nice that they waived the minimum but you're right, plenty wouldn't, they'd just tell you to deposit more to reach the threshold and there's your money locked in.

50 hours to a card is about par for offshore in my experience. The KYC at withdrawal rather than signup is the bit I'd warn newer players about, get your docs ready before you even spin.

[dave_from_hull]

Good of you to actually do it instead of just preaching it.

That £50 minimum buried in the terms is exactly the sort of trap I moan about. They waived it for you, fine, but only because you queried. Most folk wouldn't spot it till they're stuck. vabbe', tells you to read the cashout section before the bonus section every time.

[lou_spins]

I've never done a proper test deposit, just dived in, so this is making me think. When you say get the KYC ready, is that just having photos of the passport and a statement on your phone ready to upload? Or do you verify somewhere first?

Asking because the last new site I joined held me up for a day chasing documents I didn't have to hand.

[gaz_the_punter]

50 hours to a debit card is honestly fine for offshore, I've waited longer on sites that promised 24. The card route is always the slow one, crypto would've been minutes but then you're into a whole other faff converting it back.

The minimum withdrawal trick is rife. Saw one set at £100 once, basically forces you to keep playing your balance down. Sneaky.