It's that Time of Year Again!! The Meister Awards for 2022 nominees!

[The Dude]

Best and Worst of Online Gambling - Meister Awards for 2022 - I need your input!

The Meister Awards are probably the most anticipated awards for the entire online casino industry. Considered by many to be the only awards that matter because these are awards with the players in mind dished out by our community. It's not some high fiving back slapping circle jerking industry event - these are awards that are for the Best and the Worst entities and people that are associated with online gambling. This is your chance to let us know what kind of experiences you've had in 2022.

What I need from you:

Your top five casinos - and why
Best customer service in your opinion
Best casino group that you can think of
Best casino manager
Best thing that ever happened to a player this year
Worst thing that ever happened to a player.
Your biggest disappointment as well.

Any anything else you'd like us to consider.

Oh - and please post your worst experiences as well. We have a ton of bad experiences within our PABs - so if you can't think of anything - no worries.

For the newbies, The Casinomeister Awards are dished out right after the Xmas break - usually during the third week of January. It's an "event of the year" which has been held since the early days of 2001.

For quite a number of people, these are the only awards that matter... Screw the rest, these are the best.

The most recent years:

2021 Meister Awards,Best and Worst in Online Gambling - Casinomeister
2020 Meister Awards,Best and Worst in Online Gambling - Casinomeister

LOL, for shits and giggles here are the Awards from 2007
The Best and Worst of Gambling for 2007 Not too much has changed...

How we decide

Most Importantly: I create the shortlist of the Best Casino of the year with the input from this thread.

The short list will be voted on (in a secret vote) by active Meister Minions at the end of December.

 

[justdoit]

1. Pokerstars Costumer Service is 8/10 Withdraw under 1min lots of games
2. Virgin Gaming Costumer Service 8/10 withdraw under 1min not many games they small casino
3. SkyBet is growing up with some good games Costumer service 6/10 Withdraw under 1min
4. Bet365 Best UK RTP casino good games, Costumer Service is ?
5. Lottomart Costumer Service 8/10 withdraw Fast lot of offers (40x Wagering abet high)

Best Crypto Casino
@Winz.io casino Costumer Service 8/10 fast payout lot of games to play Max RTP

Biggest Disappointment

WHG
They ban low stake players to cover them self with UKGC , 0 Respect for Costumers Withdraw over 48hrs, They Force players to Self Excluded for 5 years and they keep there Data for 5 years, They refuse to remove Data or Close Account



Best Casino Manager @L&L-Jan

Best Provider @PushGaming

 

[L&L-Jan]

Your top five casinos:
1) Pokerstars - excellent service, great game selection, top notch VIP management.
2) Entain/Party, similar reasons.
3) LV-bet, although my activity went very low, great service and selection of games.
4) All British Casino - no obvious reasons

Best customer service in your opinion:
- PokerStars

Best casino group that you can think of:
- L&L

Best casino manager:
- @Stake kidding, L&L-Jan i would say
- Seriously: @Mark_Lottomart

Best thing that ever happened to a player this year:
- this base game hit:

- And all the players that completed Enhanced Due Dilligence.

Best provider:
- Inspired gaming
- Gaming Realms (Slingo)
- Blueprint
- Pragmatic

Best Sportsbook:
- All British Casino

 

[paul7388]

Was not going to bother this year with nominating anything for awards. Let's face it with the way casinos are at the moment there is not much worth voting for.

But I will nominate a casino. Lottomart for best casino and best Rep/Manager coincidentally is @Mark_Lottomart .

Award for scum of year who have done more to damage online gaming from the casino side is a no brainer in No Limit City.

 

[pinnit2014]

Like being asked to pick your favourite strain of Herpes (PM me if you want to know)

Casino Wise - Probably Mr Q: no issues re w/d's, max RTP's in a sea of crap - support is non existent mind you. Runner up would probably be Lottomart. I don't have another 3 casinos to pick from - sure, fire VS the odd 20 and Unibet but they're not really worth mentioning anymore

Rep wise - Mark at Lottomart.

Best Customer Service - Lottomart. Never had cause to contact them much but any issues were/are sorted out pretty promptly.

Best Casino Group? - see above, can hardly name 5 casinos so will pass on this one

Best thing to happen to player(s)? - Genesis leaving the UK Market. Lower RTP's and ridiculous providers like No Limit City are maybe the best thing to happen to players in the long term as we'll all give it up and do something else

 

[bruinsdude]

My current top 5 are BetRivers for lightning fast payouts and a unique player experience, Pokerstars for consistent CS and overall experience, BetMGM for fast payouts and games library, Coolbet for their BTG library alone and CanPlay just cause ive been lucky there.

Shout outs to Mark from Lottomart, and Mr Wild for excellent forum engagement with us.

 

[johnnymcc1966]

Your top five casinos
I can't say I use 5 any more but the few I use most are :
Bet365(Maximum RTPs and fast withdrawals,excellent sportsbook also.)
Lottomart (Excellent offers and fast withdrawals)
Casushi (Some nice bonuses now and again.)
Mr Vegas (The occasional offer and free spins tournaments are enjoyable.)

 

[Jono777]

Only play at VS these days so won't cast a vote towards best casino or best CS etc.

However reps wise have to give a big shout out and recommendation to @Mark_Lottomart who in all the years I've been here has continually gone that extra mile for each and every player in all his various roles, through good times and tough times.

Another big thumbs up for @L&L-Jan who always appears to sort problems very quickly and effectively for players at his brands.

Finally a shout out for @Mr Wild who despite not being the official rep for VS always tries to post on here as much as possible advising players and easing frustrations in the BoS thread.

Biggest disappointment is nothing getting better for us UK players, UKGC sticking to their guns and getting worse, casinos bailing from the UK, no bonuses as operations costs are crazy for the casinos etc etc. Don't know the full story but was a bit sad to see BGO go after being an established casino with a big player base for so long.

Best "good thing" this year, erm, struggling

oh...

Best disappearing and reappearing act of 2022 - @goatwack

 

[mina1929]

I mainly play at Bitstarz these days but I do check out other online casinos as well.

Best five casinos:
1. Bitsatrz - fast payouts, friendliest and quick response in live chat and great promotions. Love the level up adventures.
2. KingBilly - also fast payouts, live chat friendly and quick response. great bonuses.
3. Videoslots- has been my old time favorite, has a huge selection of slots. Hoping will be able to play there again.
4. Winz.io casino- Yet to join as I like selection of slots and another fast paying casino.
5. Slotum- Has good cashback and promotions, never had a bad experience here.

For best casino Rep/Manager :

Olle @BitStarz- He quickly responds to customer complaints in a professional manner and does his best to resolve issues. He replies to messages quickly and updates customers on their queries. Olle works very hard and he is always around if someone needs help.

I have to also mention @Mark_Lottomart and @L&L-Jan, They have been around a long time and they are doing a fantastic job. I can't play at their casinos but I see all the good that they do.

My biggest disappointment for the last few years is the AU government when it comes to online gaming.
Coronavirus has ruined the whole world, wars and many loss of lives.

Hoping for a better New Year for Players, Casinos and the Universe

 

[BitStarz]

Olle @BitStarz- He quickly responds to customer complaints in a professional manner and does his best to resolve issues. He replies to messages quickly and updates customers on their queries. Olle works very hard and he is always around if someone needs help.

:'))) thank you, Mina!

 

[slotmaster]

I throw in a vote for Mr. Wild who is keeping us Ontario players up to date for whatever award he is eligible for. Can't say for casinos as in Ontario and I have had more problems since April with Ontario casinos than 20+years playing online and not playing much lately.

 

[johnnymcc1966]

Your top five casinos
I can't say I use 5 any more but the few I use most are :
Bet365(Maximum RTPs and fast withdrawals,excellent sportsbook also.)
Lottomart (Excellent offers and fast withdrawals)
Casushi (Some nice bonuses now and again.)
Mr Vegas (The occasional offer and free spins tournaments are enjoyable.)

Just to add that I am aware of the poor RTPs on some providers at Mr Vegas but I tend to avoid these and it's a bit of a lucky casino for me. Mark@Lottomart has made that site very enjoyable with his generous bonuses and offers through the site and I hope these continue as this is how a casino should be but is increasingly uncommon. Shout out to to jan@LandL who is a superb ambassador for his brand. Unfortunately I wont use the brand any more due to over zealous use of the UKGC regulations. A great shame as they,and him especially,were a go to set of casinos.

 

[hhhelllo]

I am shocked with some of you guys votes but who am I to judge.

Top 5
Rizk - Betsafe - Bet365 - Coolbet
-No payment stalling ever
- High RTP versions on every game
- Mostly cheap but honest offers with no hidden terms or bad intentions
Best customer service : sorry but very bad for every casinos in terms of being a human with empathy and respect
Rizk vip manager was awesome but wagering 200k on slots isn't enough to bml to maintain vip status

Best casino group : BML by a landslide
Best casino manager : the only manager that actually managed a casino was L&LJAN IMO.
Winz deserves a thumbs up for promos
Best thing that ever happened to a player this year : successfully cashout at any n1 casinos
Worst thing that ever happened to a player : thinking that casumo and genesis global were a friendly outfit that would never stall payments and/or kill someone with insane useless sow requests

Your biggest disappointment : WHG
After finally adapting their payment options to Canadian market, decided to offer low/mid rtp then slower payments... Then almost as bad as lvbet.
Hero to zero as well.
Shame!

Lotomart? Really?!

 

[Toronion]

Best casinos:

-BET365 show RTP of games, the best sport book site and fast withdraw (2 h. e-wallet)
-Winz.io show RTP of games and pays ultra fast withdraw (10 min e-wallet)

 

[dionysus]

Well, only play ON casinos, so best goes to BetRivers. As mentioned above, lightning fast WDs...like 30 seconds.
Group L&L
Rep Mark

Dunno, more crap than good past yr in many way so y'all can point out the craziness.

 

[Mark_Lottomart]

Lotomart? Really?!

Ouch.

 

[incrediblestuff]

My top 5 casinos - and why:

Been a while since the 'switch' but ever since, i'm still just barely scratching 5 Casinos to even play at

But here goes:
1 - 3Dice: always has been, and still is a very unique place to hang and play, where i'm tied in socially of course - since i've been there for so long, that the staff and most members are basically like family! And their slots-library contains mainly Highly Volatile creations, which are about 99% unique, and have served me well on many occassions

Their pay-out speed is among the fastest, afaik limited to two batches a day. So not always instant but always within 24 hrs.. Their loyalty program is definitely one of the most rewarding ones i have seen in the past 20 years, only ever topped by one guy called Pat Harrison, back in the ole 32Red days

Then there's the fact that most of their catalogue is low-roller friendly, and also - for those of us with tinier pockets - they give you opportunity to play free tournaments for real cash, 24 hrs a day, at an ad minimum rate of once per hour, usually more...

So at this moment for me: they stand above the rest by a mile

2 - Unibet: was one of my fav's before the switch, and luckily they just recently applied for, and aquired a Dutch License,, so i got right back in. They pampered me for a while, but now it's just back to business. Meaning everything is above average, but nothing really stands out. Their payouts are instant though, so that's a feat. I know loads of punters appreciate that, i do as well, but it's not my main target. There's also always some sort of promotion going on, and of all the Casinos on the list, they offer the most variable content. Bingo, Poker, Sports, Casino and Live sections, which to be honest, i was kind of used to before the switch

3 - Toto Casino: seeing as this was basically a big organisation that has been running one of the larger National Lotteries, they sure came in rolling. So i assume that's why, of the whole batch of Dutch License Holders, they stood out. Purely talking about my own experience of course, but everything here was, and still is above average - and from all the Casinos i currently play at, probably offers the most promotions in total. Now i'm not saying those promotions are great, but they are plentiful, for sure

4 - Kansino (F.K.A. Batavia): just like Toto, stood out above the rest, which i shall slightly elaborate on: most of the Casinos that had the initial Licenses, were a hot mess! Some faled at their registration processes, most suffered software errors on various providers, involuntary logouts and logins, saving sensitive info, ludicrous limits and responsible gambling sections (not entirely their fault), annoying session limit popups and resulting crashes with seemingly no 'resume interrupted game' mechanic.. in short, quite the horror show. So when i say above average, it wasn't that hard

That said, Toto, Kansino, and (nr. 5) Fairplay, did have almost no bugs, or any of the above, had a smooth registration process, and also offered most of the providers i was looking for. Of those, Kansino has the least amount of promotions but is the only one that pays instantly, and has the most games i like. Also often beats the rest in terms of having the newest games the fastest. All three of them have ofc. improved since my joining, and so far that seems to be the trend!

5 - Fairplay: as stated above, one of the three Casinos that had 96% of their shit together from the moment the Dutch market opened, and i'd say this one seems to have been the most correct in the responsible gaming section and transparancy. They displayed the RTP's from the start (despite some being shamefully low!) and offered a decent amount of Free Spins and Match-up offers, with fair and decent TC's. In short, i've had little issues with all three, and there's really barely any margin between the numbers 2, 3, 4 and 5 on my list. They are all fine, and safe to play at.

So to summarize, i am missing a lot of my old 'benefits' and of course the freedom of choice, but hey! It's something...

Also really hope we can have our autoplay and bonusbuys back. Autoplay, i don't need to explain, but perhaps, looking at the Gambling authorities - there are ties to the ergonomic mouse and keyboard industry to be found?

Best customer service in my opinion:

As above, without a doubt - 3Dice by a mile. They were always in my top 3 or 5, but currently it's an easy victory for them! There aren't many Casinos where i (or anyone) can call them by name from heart: Ellen, Andrea, Karen, Lance, Jared and more recently also Alex and Kate have been tirelessly working the shifts for at least my own 12 years of membership, and i value each and every one of them! And they are not just some generic nicknames like most modern Casino support-staff seem to have these days: there's an actual, very specific character tied to each one

A bunch of great people, really.. <3

Hats off to you lot, and hopefully many more years of the same to come

Best casino manager:

Also without a doubt - Anna, @3Dice

She's a not only a great asset to their team - confidently leading them - but also a real work horse, that seems to be there 24/7, and still finds time to banter and engage with the players, and pamper them. It's almost scary
Well deserved @3Dice!

Any anything else i'd like to share:

As already stated, i'd really like my autoplay back! Is there anyone here lobbying for Dutch, German and U.K. players? I'm not really networking these days, not even currently workjing in the industry, and kind of old and sick, so it's hard for me to follow everything, let alone initiate any sort of 'activism' - but to alla you rep's and Meisters, CM and staff notably included - if you can/know, or have any ideas, make it nown! Or let's make some sort of player-based advocacy group, or w/e it needs! I'll help where i can, even if i have to perform sexual favors

Jokes aside, it's a great time to be a gambler, provided you're in the right Geo-location! So many awesome games and promotions out there, i'd sure like to be able to enjoy them all again, in the near future!

Side note:

There's one more Casino i play at, but they don't have a Dutch License, so i can't really name them...i do however enjoy them specifically on Fridays! Seems to be the day to visit It's definitely an honorary 6th spot!

Think that's all i have...

 

[peiguy57]

The Players Group is my favorite and Goldwin is my worst casino pick. I had a $5000 cash out on Blackjack Ballroom Casino

 

[dpp00]

ya no change here for me still video slots only place i play, ive had a look at other casinos but as soon as i see withdrawals anything

longer than 20 seconds ive lost interest,

reps/ team vs, and mark lottomart, continuances presence here no matter how hot the kitchen.

 

[The Viking]

Welli i only play at 4-5 so based on cashout speed, support and promos thos are the orders ?
1. Winz super fast cashout, quck reply in support
Top RTP and great promos
2. Videoslots super fast cashout quick reply good promos, to bad about the RTP
3. Bitstarz super fast cashout quick reply
But unluke Mina up there dont like the level up as you can only withdraw 100 no matter if you get 10fs or 100 ?
4. Betsafe fast cashout good support but lacks promos
Also every now and then play at Nostalgia
Good promos but awful cashout speed
As for reps i pick Jury(winz) Ollie(bitstarz) and Mark (lottomart) had some help from Rene (casino rewards) as well super helpful,would mention videoslots rep as well but dont like not knowing who im speaking to (anonymous)

 

[bangersnmash]

Australia is very limited with online casinos. However, i would recommend Fair Go Casino. I have tried a few different casinos available to Australia and can't even remember their names once I found Fair Go. I have numerous withdrawals which would take approximately 6 days to reach my account. The last win was $6000. The customer service is great.

 

[mina1929]

Welli i only play at 4-5 so based on cashout speed, support and promos thos are the orders ?
1. Winz super fast cashout, quck reply in support
Top RTP and great promos
2. Videoslots super fast cashout quick reply good promos, to bad about the RTP
3. Bitstarz super fast cashout quick reply
But unluke Mina up there dont like the level up as you can only withdraw 100 no matter if you get 10fs or 100 ?
4. Betsafe fast cashout good support but lacks promos
Also every now and then play at Nostalgia
Good promos but awful cashout speed
As for reps i pick Jury(winz) Ollie(bitstarz) and Mark (lottomart) had some help from Rene (casino rewards) as well super helpful,would mention videoslots rep as well but dont like not knowing who im speaking to (anonymous)

With the level up adventures , you can withdraw what ever you want and wagering is only very low. 10%
Friday loyalty bonus, Wednesday frees pins and any no deposit bonuses are only $100 limit.
You might now want to move Bitstarz to the top now

 

[Jono777]

Any casino which applies a cash out limit needs to look deeper into this ruling IMO.

Eg: If a player is a regular depositor, loyal customer etc and they have a super lucky day from a NDB one day, then their cash out should be paid in full, no questions.

On the other hand, if they're basically a freebie hunter or a once a month depositor for example then, yes feel free to apply that rule.

This scenario should (but won't as its too much work) figure into their ratings here at CM / awards time.

 

[pinnit2014]

Any casino which applies a cash out limit needs to look deeper into this ruling IMO.

Eg: If a player is a regular depositor, loyal customer etc and they have a super lucky day from a NDB one day, then their cash out should be paid in full, no questions.

On the other hand, if they're basically a freebie hunter or a once a month depositor for example then, yes feel free to apply that rule.

This scenario should (but won't as its too much work) figure into their ratings here at CM / awards time.

Redbet were good in that area - they had 100 caps on NDB but paid you in full of played with them for a while - how it shud be

 

[Jono777]

Redbet were good in that area - they had 100 caps on NDB but paid you in full of played with them for a while - how it shud be

Perfect example mate.

Was not a super loyal player but deposited there back in the day 2-3-4 times a month.

Messaged rep (Marius??) on 44th birthday, he gave me £144 NDB with 35x WR

Rhino went mental all night and cleared WR with 4K, paid me the lot. renovated house and did all garden real nice courtesy of this.

Good old days eh