Reviews of Online Casinos Reviewing online casinos isn't our main business. But since we have experience with a few of them we figured we'd go ahead and share our experiences. How we grade: Casinos which give your email address to other casinos (spam), or which send spam themselves get an automatic F. Casinos which cheat get an automatic F. For other casinos we start at A, and subtract a letter grade for each of the following: popup window/message, problems with getting paid, or other problems.
Detailed Reviews
Bodog. Let's face it, online casinos are a dime a dozen. And most of them openly demonstrate their contempt for the player by foisting popup windows or spam on them. So when looking for an online casino to recommend, I look for a place that goes out of its way to set itself apart from the crowd. And that's Bodog. Here's how they differ from the other guys:
I'm not the only one impressed with Bodog. The Wizard of Odds feels the same way. (visit Bodog)
Casino.net. Casino.net used to be our recommended casino before Bodog came along. They're still a good outfit, but they can't match Bodog's Mac-compatibility, sportsbook, and higher video poker payouts. What they have going for them is that their payouts are audited, they use good software (Boss Media), they're widely respected by players, they don't use popup windows, and we didn't have any problems playing or with payouts. They also offer some pluses vs. many other casinos: Their software downloads really fast, the games look good and are very easy to play, you can play with real or fake money (practice) on the same account (no separate practice account required), you can choose your own username, you can choose from three sets of table limits, and they offer a multiplayer option if you want to play with other players.
Captain Cooks. We used to recommend Captain Cooks here, until we found a better casino. On the plus side, CC's payouts are audited, they don't use popup windows on their site, and they're widely respected in the industry. Downsides: They give your email address to their sister casino, which sends you spam. The software is bulky and takes a while to download. If you want to play with real as well as fake money (practice), you have to create two separate accounts. You can't choose your own username, they assign you a cryptic one (or two, if you have both a real-money and a fake-money account). And unlike Casino.net, you don't have your choice of table limit ranges, and the table limits you're stuck with aren't even posted. That said, there are three possible reasons you might prefer Captain Cooks over Casino.net:
Update, July 2005: Unfortunately Captain Cooks has gone downhill -- they don't even list their support phone number on their website any more! Considering that their competition does, this is inexcusable. Also, CC has introduced a bewildering variety of "accounts" -- flash play money account, flash real money account, download play account, download real money account, bonus flash account, download flash account -- each with a separate, long, and cryptic username. This is a result of their Microgaming software, which I like less and less, and this is one of the reasons. Casinos with better software let you do everything with a single account.
Strike It Lucky Casino. Before we found Bodog we'd been trying to find a decent casino for Mac users for years (software actually works and payouts are audited), so we took notice when we saw that Strike It Lucky Casino advertised that their games are playable on Macs, and that their payouts are audited by Price Waterhouse-Coopers. Unfortunately, while their payouts may be audited, the software doesn't work and their customer support is beyond ridiculous. When I tried the software and it wouldn't play, I called their tech support number and explained the problem, the rep put me on hold, then when she came back she said I needed to make sure my screen is set to at least 800x600. I told her it was, and then she proceeded to lecture me about how it wouldn't work if the screen were too small. I told her that my screen was 1152x768, but the lecture continued. She didn't have any other suggestions besides to make sure I had the latest version of Flash and to try again later. I then emailed their tech support department and explained the problem in detail, including that I had the latest version of everything (Mac OS X 10.2.6, Internet Explorer 5.2.2, Safari 1.0, Flash 6,0,79,0). Darren replies to my email (which was titled "Can't play games on a Mac") with instructions for checking the settings on a PC! I wrote back and asked them to actually read my email before replying, pointing out that I don't have a PC, and Darren replies saying that the instructions are for a Mac. (They're not, they're for a PC.) I replied telling them that they won an "F" on VegasReference.com, and they sent me back a form letter. Amazing. If this casino doesn't want to support Mac players that's fine, but they shouldn't claim that they do. July '03 Update: On July 9th, 2003 they wrote to confirm
that their software doesn't work on Macs, though the old
version used to. They said they'd update their website to
reflect that. We'll see.
BingoHall.com. They're spammers. When I complained about the spam they sent me, they argued that the definition of spam is "subjective" and that they "apologize that you consider this spam" (!). They also added, "If it [spam] didn't work, we wouldn't do it." By the way, the spam they sent me was spam by anybody's definition, except apparently Bingo Hall's.
Roman Casino. Their payouts aren't audited, they use popup windows, the popup window trembles like it's on lithium, and their main window rudely insists on bringing itself to the front if you were trying to read something in another window while waiting for Roman's window to load. But what's more important is that Roman uses its own software, and it's terrible. The advantage is supposed to be that games run right in your browser so you don't have to download, but the software is painfully slow to load, and you have to load it every time you play. And although it runs in your browser, it still doesn't work properly on Macs, with either OS 9 or X/10.1.5 (screens frequently don't redraw, or the system tells you that your session has timed out before your first cards are even dealt). The cards are also tiny and hard to read. Unlike other casinos, you lose your bet if you don't finish your hand because you got distracted by the phone ringing or something else. When I tried to make a withdrawal, the withdrawal form insisted on sending the withdrawal to a credit card I no longer had, and provided no way to update them with my current credit card info. I went to the Online Support (chat) feature, but it was closed. I went back the next day, and it told me I was "Next in queue", but as I type this I've been "Next in queue" for 53 minutes and counting. That's on my Mac. On my Windows machine I've been "Number 2 in queue" for almost as long. I emailed them a couple of times, but days later I was still waiting for a response. They finally replied and told me that it would take "several days" for me to get my withdrawal. I did finally get the withdrawal electronically a few days after that. Why hassle with all this when there are better casinos available?
Roman Palace. We started getting spam from other casinos to the special address we used when signing up for Roman Palace. That alone is enough to earn an F right away. (Here's more on Roman Palace spam.) But that's not all. The Online Players Association called for a boycott of all casinos using GSS software over a dispute in which players lost money when a GSS casino went out of business.
Avoid casinos using software by Gambling Software Systems. Roman PALACE Casino (not to be confused with Roman Casino, above) promises that they keep your information confidential, but shortly after I signed up with them I started getting spam to the special, unique email address I used for that account. When I complained, their online chat rep told me to contact my ISP (!). I emailed in a complaint, which they ignored. Months later I wrote to the company which supplies the software to the casino, Gambling Software Systems, inquiring whether it was Roman Palace or Gambling Software which sold me out to spammers? I never got a meaningful reply from either company. From what they did say, it was clear they weren't being honest with me, and when I pointed that out they tried to buy me off with some casino credit, which I of course declined. I asked for a better explanation, especially about the speculation on the net that Roman Palace and GSS are actually one and the same company, but they wouldn't respond. To top it off, I started getting spam to the secret, unique address I used when writing to GSS to complain about the spam! These guys will sell out your email address in a heartbeat. Here's our article about the Roman Palace/GSS spam. In the meantime, we suggest you avoid all casinos using GSS software, which includes (but may not be limited to): |
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Reason I like Bodog #3: Good
Odds I recommend against gambling for real money, since you'll always lose in the long run. But if you're going to gamble anyway then you might as well make your money last as long as possible, so I looked for an online casino which offers good odds.
Most online casinos are
greedy when setting the odds on their
games. They think they'll make more
money by setting the games tighter, so the player
has less chance of winning, but they're wrong. Most
gamblers eventually gamble away all their playing
budget anyway. They're going to lose the same
amount of money no matter what, the only question
is how long it takes them to do so. And when they
play at a tight casino and lose quickly, they're
less likely to return. A casino which offers good odds will make
just as much money as a tight casino, because
the players will usually gamble away whatever they
deposit anyway, no matter what the odds. The only
difference is that with better odds, they'll get to
play longer before they go bust. And that means
they had more fun in the process, and they're more
likely to return. Bodog is one of they few casinos that
understands this. They offer games with good
odds, knowing that if your money lasts longer,
you'll be a happier, loyal customer. Among their
offerings are: Why play anywhere where the odds aren't this
good? Try their blackjack for free. |
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