casino says my welcome bonus expired while documents were still under review

so i went through the usual signup grind on a site, finished kyc right away, but then they asked for extra docs. i sent everything in before playing or claiming anything, but by the time they approved my account the welcome bonus was “expired.” support just copy-pastes terms at me and says it’s policy, but i feel like i didn’t even get a fair shot since i couldn’t deposit or use the bonus at all while waiting for the review.

anyone else had this happen? feels kind of sketchy but maybe it's normal and i'm just unlucky.