Scams to Avoid: The 'Release Fee' Before Withdrawal
If someone tells you to send money so that your winnings can be released, you are not waiting on a withdrawal. You are being robbed in instalments. This page describes the release-fee scam in detail, along with the scams that usually accompany it. KKJILIACE is an independent guide, not a casino. It takes no deposits, runs no games and will never ask for a payment. For readers 21+.
The core rule
A genuine withdrawal moves money in one direction: from the operator to you. Any charge an operator applies under its published terms is taken out of the amount it pays or is shown in the cashier before you confirm. It is never collected as a separate transfer from your e-wallet to a person or to a new account number. When money is requested in the other direction, the withdrawal is not real.
How the demands escalate
- A 'tax' or 'withholding' payment, described as a percentage of the win.
- An 'anti-money-laundering clearance' or 'verification deposit' to prove the account is yours.
- A 'turnover top-up', because your betting volume is supposedly just short.
- An 'unfreezing fee', because you allegedly typed your account number wrongly and the funds are locked.
- A 'VIP upgrade', because the amount is too large for a normal account.
Each payment is followed by a new obstacle. The sequence ends only when the victim stops paying, and the amount already paid is then used as leverage: one more fee and you get everything back.
Where the 'winnings' come from
Often there were never any. A cloned or unlicensed site can display any balance it likes, since the number on the screen is only text. Some victims are led to such a site by a fake agent, given a 'bonus', and allowed to 'win' quickly so that the withdrawal stage, and the fees, arrive sooner. In other cases the site is irrelevant and the entire story takes place in a chat, with edited screenshots of a pending payout.
Claims you will hear
| The claim | Why it is false | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 'Pay the tax first, then we release' | Legitimate deductions come out of the payout, not out of your wallet in advance | Pay nothing. Save the message |
| 'It is a refundable security deposit' | It is not returned; the next fee follows | End the conversation |
| 'Your account is frozen until you top up' | A freeze notice appears in your account with a reason, not a price | Check inside the real site you typed yourself |
| 'Send to this GCash number, it is our finance officer' | Operators do not collect through personal wallets | Do not transfer. Report the number in your wallet app |
| 'This is the last fee, guaranteed' | The same line is used for every fee | Stop. Paying more does not recover earlier payments |
Four scams that often come first
Fake agents on social media recruit players and take deposits through personal accounts. Look-alike domains present a copied lobby at a slightly different address. Fake promo codes lure people to those domains with promises of free credit. OTP phishing then captures wallet access when the victim tries to 'verify'. The release fee is frequently the final stage of one of these, which is why prevention starts with reaching the operator only through an address you typed and verifying its licence on PAGCOR's own site.
What genuine KYC never asks for
Scammers present fees as 'verification'. Real verification is a document check carried out through an upload form inside your account. It asks for a government ID, sometimes a selfie, sometimes proof that the receiving account is yours. It never asks for:
- A payment or deposit of any size.
- A one-time password.
- An MPIN, banking password or card security code.
- Access to your screen.
- Documents sent to an individual's chat account.
If you have paid a fee
- Stop all further payments, whatever is promised.
- Report each transfer through your e-wallet's in-app help centre at once and ask what can be done.
- Collect evidence: account numbers paid, chat logs, the site address, screenshots of the 'balance'.
- Change passwords if you shared any login details.
- Be ready for 'recovery agents' who appear afterwards offering to retrieve the money for a fee. They are part of the same fraud.
Escalation route
Follow this order. First, if a real operator is involved, contact its support from inside its own site. Second, use your e-wallet's in-app helpline or help centre, and never a number given to you by the other party. Third, for an operator claiming a Philippine licence, use PAGCOR's complaint channel as published on its official website. Fourth, report fraud to the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group or the NBI Cybercrime Division. The CICC's Inter-Agency Response Center also takes scam reports on hotline 1326.
KKJILIACE is not able to recover funds, contact wallets or negotiate with anyone on your behalf.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do casinos charge a fee before releasing a withdrawal?
Not as a separate advance payment. Any legitimate charge is set out in the operator's published terms and deducted from the payout or shown in the cashier.
They say it is tax and I must pay it first. Is that true?
A demand to send 'tax' to a person or wallet number before a payout is a hallmark of advance-fee fraud. Do not pay it.
I already paid two fees. Should I pay the last one to get it all back?
No. Each fee is described as the last. Stop paying and report the transfers to your e-wallet immediately.
The site shows a large balance in my account. Is it real?
A displayed number proves nothing on an unlicensed or cloned site. Check whether the operator's company appears on PAGCOR's published list.
Can KKJILIACE help release my withdrawal?
No. This site is an independent guide with no connection to any cashier. It takes no deposits and handles no payments.