Online Casino Reviews

[waynemasters]

Meister, thanks for your "admin reminder". Tell me something, did you happen to read his response to me, because I found it far more inflammatory and "emotionally triggering" than my response back to him. Either you conduct a fair and open discussion board, or not. If not, it should raise red flags all over the place. If you do, please don't send me a threatening response that is clearly not warranted. You're incorrect about the B&M industry getting into online - especially here in the United States. The laws here will NEVER allow for this. Perhaps some of the state lotteries (like British Columbia in 2010) will choose to begin an online gaming program, but NEVER a land based casino. And I do see "what is going on in Europe" with the online industry. That's what started this thread to begin with. "What is happening in Europe" is wrong for the industry - and tight gaming, lack of regulation and the ability to fairly resolve any problems with sites are just a few of the reasons why. You mentioned that MGM attempted the online side, but didn't market it properly... didn't they offer these outrageous "bonuses" attached with play through/max cash out requirements that are next to impossible... Our casino had Thunderstruck but got rid of it for obvious reasons - it was a game that was entirely too tight and we received tons of complaints on. There's an old saying that I'm sure you're familiar with, "If we don't take care of our customers, somebody else will". Look man, I honestly don't mean to be confrontational - I really don't. I'm sure there are those of you out there that have won and have had great experiences. Unfortunately for me, I have not had those good experiences.

Lawnet - I'd love to give you the raw data from my gaming experiences, but none of these "outstanding, honest and fair" **chuckles/clears throat** gaming sites will provide me an audit. I find it hilarious that you're offended that I point out that payouts at most online casinos are nowhere near what these schemers claim. An earlier poster said that, "with low overhead, online casinos can provide higher payouts" is absolute balderdash. That poster was correct - the online industry has virtually no overhead and payouts should be amazing, but this is simply not the case. Again, if I had audits I would gladly post each on here to show you all what I'm talking about.

Let me try an put a positive spin on this - perhaps some of you can share with me (based on your experiences) the Microgaming and RTG sites that you have found to have the highest payouts.

Well, this troll has to get back to work. Peace, all.

[thelawnet]

Meister, thanks for your "admin reminder". Tell me something, did you happen to read his response to me, because I found it far more inflammatory and "emotionally triggering" than my response back to him. Either you conduct a fair and open discussion board, or not. If not, it should raise red flags all over the place. If you do, please don't send me a threatening response that is clearly not warranted.

Let's get this clear. You came on here, with no track record, claiming to be some kind of expert, but without doing anything to back this up.

Then, despite having made no effort to earn respect or actually demonstrate your knowledge, you claimed that "most people posting here are enthusiasts and not experts in the field. Not that was the GM for Trump, I do have some mileage under my belt in the industry. I have 6 slot machines in my game room. I know exactly how they work."

in other words "everyone on here is dumb, I'm an expert".

I don't have any problem with people whining about losing, that's fine - I can understand why people do that, but whining about losing and then insisting that anybody who disagrees with you must be clueless is just plain rude.

If you come on here making inflammatory posts that lack any kind of credibility, expect to get it right back at you.

You're incorrect about the B&M industry getting into online - especially here in the United States. The laws here will NEVER allow for this.

Uh, you might like to have a look at IGT's 'Online and Mobile gaming' page.

https://www.igt.com/content/base.asp?pid=58

I wouldn't say 'NEVER' either.

Perhaps some of the state lotteries (like British Columbia in 2010) will choose to begin an online gaming program, but NEVER a land based casino. And I do see "what is going on in Europe" with the online industry. That's what started this thread to begin with. "What is happening in Europe" is wrong for the industry - and tight gaming, lack of regulation and the ability to fairly resolve any problems with sites are just a few of the reasons why. You mentioned that MGM attempted the online side, but didn't market it properly... didn't they offer these outrageous "bonuses" attached with play through/max cash out requirements that are next to impossible... Our casino had Thunderstruck but got rid of it for obvious reasons - it was a game that was entirely too tight and we received tons of complaints on.

So you're saying the B+M game DID play like the online game?

There's a surprise.

Actually it doesn't surprise me that the game got canned. If you're in a land casino you can press a button and cashout any time. A run of a few spins without a payout might well make you cash out in a real casino. With online casinos it's a bit more involved than that. Games like thunderstruck work well online - you can click 'autoplay' and play 500 spins, waiting for a bonus game, which will often payback 100 times your bet, but occurs quite rarely. The downside of this is of course that you have fewer pays in between the bonus games. But here's a newsflash: online is NOT the same as a real casino. You don't get anyone coming to serve you drinks online. You DO get frequent cash bonuses OTOH.

These differences mean that while your experience of real casinos might be interesting, it doesn't give you the right to say that people who know about ONLINE gaming are less knowledgable about online gaming than you are.

Lawnet - I'd love to give you the raw data from my gaming experiences, but none of these "outstanding, honest and fair" **chuckles/clears throat** gaming sites will provide me an audit.

Have you asked for one? Who have you asked?

I find it hilarious that you're offended that I point out that payouts at most online casinos are nowhere near what these schemers claim. An earlier poster said that, "with low overhead, online casinos can provide higher payouts" is absolute balderdash. That poster was correct - the online industry has virtually no overhead and payouts should be amazing, but this is simply not the case. Again, if I had audits I would gladly post each on here to show you all what I'm talking about.

Great, name a casino that's refused to provide you with an audit and maybe we can get somewhere.

Let me try an put a positive spin on this - perhaps some of you can share with me (based on your experiences) the Microgaming and RTG sites that you have found to have the highest payouts.

I don't play at RTG sites.

Sorry.

And as for 'highest payouts', all Microgaming casinos are the same in payouts. It doesn't matter where you play. Sometimes you'll lose, sometimes you'll win, but in the long run it makes no difference. You should choose based on bonus offers, cashout times, customer service, whatever it is that appeals to you.

I've played at 32Red six times: my results

£100 in £345 out
£64 in £240 out
£82 in £0 out
£32 in £0 out
£57 in £0 out
£1000 in £3009.36 out

I've played at Grand Hotel 8 times: my results
£100 in £0 out
£100 in £200 out
£100 in £200 out
£1000 in £0 out
£200 in £0 out
£100 in £0 out
£500 in £600 out
£100 in £0 out

Does this mean 32Red pays out more than Grand Hotel? Nope. If I'd lost one bet on my £1000 deposit at 32Red I'd have cashed out zero. One bet probably made the difference between zero and £3000.

It's just variance.

They are all the same. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.

But anyway, you're the one making the claims that the casinos are crooked, let's see your evidence.

[waynemasters]

Law, I offer my sincerest apologies for coming across as being rude. That was not my intention. On the land side, I am definately a seasoned professional. On the online side, I am a novice that has lost thousands.

To answer your question, the sites that have not provided me with audits:

1. Lucky Emporer (CR Group)
2. Any of the Cirrus, Cool Cat conglomerate sites
3. Sloto Cash
4. Any of the Parlay gaming sites
5. Villento Group
7. Red Flush
8. Fortune Lounge

This is just a few. When I say I have spent thousands - I mean that literally. The only site that I have been able to cash out on was Doyles (when they were running MG). My experience at Doyles really spoke volumes to me regarding site payouts, related to the software - and by that token, meaning the casino itself (and not the software manufacturer) sets the payouts of the games. I can say with an iron clad guarantee that in Pennsylvania (for example) casinos, the only way to change the payout percentages is through the slot machine manufacturer.

Again, I am sorry if I offended you, or anybody else on the forum.

[thelawnet]

Law, I offer my sincerest apologies for coming across as being rude. That was not my intention. On the land side, I am definately a seasoned professional. On the online side, I am a novice that has lost thousands.

To answer your question, the sites that have not provided me with audits:

1. Lucky Emporer (CR Group)
2. Any of the Cirrus, Cool Cat conglomerate sites
3. Sloto Cash
4. Any of the Parlay gaming sites
5. Villento Group
7. Red Flush
8. Fortune Lounge

This is just a few. When I say I have spent thousands - I mean that literally. The only site that I have been able to cash out on was Doyles (when they were running MG). My experience at Doyles really spoke volumes to me regarding site payouts, related to the software - and by that token, meaning the casino itself (and not the software manufacturer) sets the payouts of the games. I can say with an iron clad guarantee that in Pennsylvania (for example) casinos, the only way to change the payout percentages is through the slot machine manufacturer.

Again, I am sorry if I offended you, or anybody else on the forum.

The Cirrus sites are fleapits. So I'm not surprised there.

And Parlay certainly used to be rogue. I'm not sure if that's changed as I haven't felt inclined to investigate.

The other casinos should be pretty good though. Why not name one casino out of those that you have given substantial play, and then proceed from there. Select one, and I would be quite surprised if you can't get logs from them.

I would also be surprised, if those logs show anything untoward, but I'm willing to be proved wrong, but be aware that I deal only in evidence-based claims. No 'I lost so it's rigged' claims.

[waynemasters]

I'll start with Red Flush. Deposited well over $2000, never once cashed out. They refuse to send me any audit reports with the raw figures.

I absolutely despise Red Flush, along with Fortune Lounge. I have filed a complaint with my Senators office to file a motion to ban their URL's from being accessed in the United States. Believe it or not, this actually might happen in the near future. My contacting their office was one of the best things I ever did, not just for a way of making my voice heard and to get back at these casinos, but to make sure that somebody else isn't going to be taken advantage of by these people again. 3 states have already completely blocked accessing gaming sites here in the states - Kentucky, Illinois and Minnesota.

If these sites just kept things honest, they would 1) have a great customer base for life, and 2) they would build a solid foundation for the industry going forward.

[spearmaster]

If you do, please don't send me a threatening response that is clearly not warranted.

And you think you can step into someone else's home and dictate the rules?

You're incorrect about the B&M industry getting into online - especially here in the United States. The laws here will NEVER allow for this.

If you have control over the Senate, and the House of Representatives, and President Obama, then you could be right.

The US is not some bass-ackwards country - it makes mistakes, but it also knows when something is sensible. They made a mistake with Prohibition, but later rescinded it, instead choosing to regulate alcohol. What makes you think they won't do the same with online gambling? For that matter, what makes you think you know the laws so well that the government will never be able to change them?

There are people on this board with far more experience in land-based casinos than you or I, and I speak at conferences on both online and land-based gambling, mobile gambling, problem gambling etc.

I don't hold out any hope that the US is going to reverse direction any time soon - but I do think "never" is a bit strong.

[thelawnet]

I'll start with Red Flush. Deposited well over $2000, never once cashed out. They refuse to send me any audit reports with the raw figures.

I absolutely despise Red Flush, along with Fortune Lounge.

Could you share some of the correspondence you have exchanged with these sites?

AFAIK, if you tick the playcheck button at the top of the screen in a microgaming casino you can get access to your play history.

This is paginated over many pages, which is inconvenient, but they should be able to send it you in a compiled format, no problem.

[waynemasters]

Red Flush locked my account based on "security". When I call, they give me a total runaround, managers never return calls or emails.

If there is a way around this, please let me know.

[Casinomeister]

Red Flush locked my account based on "security". When I call, they give me a total runaround, managers never return calls or emails.

If there is a way around this, please let me know.

Try PMing their casino rep here:
http://www.casinomeister.com/forums/...lush-host.html

[Jasminebed]

I don't think whether you have cashed out or not is a very good indicator of a casino's trustworthiness.

A lot depends on your betting style, your cashout goals, whether you take bonuses and are tied to WR, and your bet size and length of play.

Laws may be different for B&M's in PA, but here in Ontario and in Quebec B&Ms do have techs that can and do change payout percentages. Perhaps they need a certification course from the machine manufacturer, but they wear casino clothing and ID badges, unlike construction crews that wear "contractor" ID. The Quebec government run casinos can change payouts only once in a 24 hour period.

The Ontario Lottery and Gaming has been involved in a number of scandals, and all the top management has recently been removed. Lottery and scratchcard payouts are being further reduced, and payback to players is in the 46% range. Proline, legalised sportbetting, has odds that would make a New Jersey bookie hoot with disdain.

I'm not sure I would trust government run online casinos any more reputable than some of the current operators. Especially if the payouts are as poor as for the current games.