Consumer complaint received 2025-11-18 00:00:00
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Virtual currency
Issue: Other service problem — 
Company: Coinbase, Inc.
State: NC

Complaint narrative:
I have a severe online gambling problem which has gotten out of control and is ruining my life. Over the course of the last XXXX months I have burned through my life savings, maxed out my credit cards and have taken on predatory loans with trying to dig myself out of this hole. 

The way that I have done this is through wiring money to Coinbase, converting that to XXXX, and then transferring the XXXX  to online casinos. 

Beginning on XX/XX/year> ( after losing < {$10000.00} and realizing this was getting out of hand and I needed help ) I notified Coinbase via live chat that I use their platform exclusively for this purpose which is a violation of their XXXX. I told them that any use of their platform would be used for these purposes and that I was requesting they ban me in order to prevent this from happening anymore. 

I was told there was nothing they could do. 

Following this initial conversation, I have called in, talked to support on XXXX, messaged the support team on XXXX and talked to live chat about this issue. There have been no less than XXXX conversations I have had with Coinbase pleading for help, letting them know that I was continuing to violate their XXXX, and that I needed to ban myself permanently. I stressed each and every time that I was becoming a danger to myself and that I wanted to ban my future access. 

I was finally told that the request was escalated to the proper team, and that someone would be able to fix this. After waiting for over XXXX weeks and being able to open up XXXX more accounts and deposit/lose over $ XXXX, I finally received this response : Hi XXXX, A member of our team provided your contact details and asked that I reach out to assist you with your account access. We want you to know that your well-being is our top priority, and we are here to support you in any way we can. 

If you are feeling overwhelmed or struggling, please know that you dont have to face this alone. We strongly encourage you to reach out to someone you trust or a mental health professional who can provide the support you need. 

Here are some resources that may be helpful : -- - XXXX  ( XXXX ) XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Regarding your account, we want to inform you that it has already been deleted. While we can not prevent the creation of a new account, please note that any new account created will be linked to your previously blocked account. This could result in the new account eventually being restricted from trading. 

If theres anything specific we can assist you with regarding your account or if you have any questions, please let us know, and well do our best to help. Your safety and well-being are incredibly important to us. 

Please dont hesitate to reply to this email if you need further assistance or just someone to listen. 

Take care, XXXX Coinbase Customer Support ---

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation