Casino Site Expert Review: bet365 Casino

History

Bet365 is a very well known brand offering all sorts of gambling, from sport gambling to poker and financial speculation. It is one of the largest private companies in the UK with revenue of over £600 million and employing nearly two thousand people. With over 7 million customers in 200 countries it is a brand you can trust! Their casino was one of the pioneers of the industry, launched back in 2001 and they have maintained a reputation for delivering a simple, no-nonsense product that does exactly what it promises to.

Casino Website

Bet365 has always had a simple and uncluttered approach to their homepage. Their trademark green background is there and the rest of the page is primarily filled with the games on offer. The games are divided into seven categories – Card games, Table games, Live dealer, Video poker, Games & Keno, Jackpots, Slots. At the bottom of the page is a full list of all games under each category. This does require a bit of scrolling but it means that all the games on offer are easily accessible. Your account details are clearly shown in the top right hand corner of the screen, and access to other services such as the help sections, chat facilities and cashier is easily accomplished from a drop-down ‘services’ menu. Overall, the site is simple and easy to use; it might be a little bland but sometimes it’s nice not to be bothered with the fancy graphics and flashing lights that can be so prominent on other sites.

Software

The casino is powered by Playtech software and is available in either a download or instant play Flash version. The casino itself has a limited offering of about 100 games, but there are many more available from the ‘games’ tab at the top of the screen. From here you can access hundreds more games from different software providers, so overall the choice of games is quite comprehensive.

Live Casino

There is a good live dealer section to the site. It offers the usual Roulette, Blackjack and Baccarat, but also has live Sic Bo, an Asian dice game, which is not available at many other casino sites. You have a choice of Asian or European dealers, which certainly appeals to those customers who like to choose their dealers on the basis of ethnicity! This can add a certain familiarity to the playing experience for customers from different cultural backgrounds. The one downside is the lack of information available on the dealers themselves.

Customer Support

As you’d expect from such a large and reputable international company the customer services are excellent. You can access them by live chat and freephone 24/7. You can also email, fax, use normal mail, or avail of their helpful callback service when they will ring you as soon as they can. The live chat facility if particularly good, with a link to it from most pages and generally only a very short wait before you can chat with a customer service representative.

Payment Methods

Deposit methods are somewhat limited in comparison to other sites but still comprehensive enough to cover the needs of most customers. They do accept Paypal, which is useful considering its ubiquity in the field of online commerce. Other deposit methods include debit and credit cards, Neteller, Moneybookers/Skrill, Ukash, Paysafecard, bank transfer and cheque. Withdrawal methods include most of the above deposit methods and many are processed within 24 hours, which is very fast in comparison to many other sites.

Safety and Security

Bet365 takes the security of your personal and financial information seriously. The site uses Thawte SSL certificates to guarantee encryption of all data sent to and from the site. Their privacy and cookies policy is clearly stated in the help section so you can know exactly what information they keep and how they use it.

Licence

The casino operates under a licence issued by the Gibraltar Licensing Authority and regulated by the Gibraltar Gambling Commissioner.

Reliability & Fairness

The Bet365 casino is tested regularly by Technical Systems Testing, one of the largest and most reputable testing companies in the world. This ensures fairness and reliability in the payouts and also in the random number generator used by the casino. Bet365 is also a member of IBAS, which is an independent third party arbitration sceheme offering adjudication in the case of any disputes between customer and operator.

Social Engagement

Bet365 promotes responsible gambling and has extensive information on this available in the help section of the site. Bet365 has always been actively involved in charitable and social work benefitting the communities in which they work. They are the shirt sponsors of Stoke City, the football team which is local to their main UK offices. In 2012 Denise Coates, the founder of Bet365, received a CBE in the Queen’s honours list for services to the community and business.

Mobile / Tablets

Bet365 offers a good mobile casino, available on a wide range of mobile platforms and with the number of games increasing regularly. Currently they have Roulette, Blackjack, Baccarat, Keno and quite a few slots available to download. iPhone, iPad and Android users can also access a selection of instant play games. Once you’ve registered for the casino it is easy to download the games you want to play by simply selecting the game you want on the website and giving them your mobile number.

Free Demo Play

There are no facilities for practice play on the casino itself, which is definitely a drawback from the point of view of experimenting with new games. This is in keeping with the site’s aim to offer a simple product however – the name of the game is gambling and that is what you get! However, there is a free play option for many of the games in the Games section. You need to be logged out to access this facility though, which is a slight annoyance.

Promotions and bonuses

The bonuses on offer at Bet365 are not as extensive as at other casinos but they are good. For example, the current opening bonus on offer is a very good 150% deposit bonus up to £150, with a quite low minimum wagering requirement of 20x the deposit plus bonus. However, this requirement must be met within 30 days or the bonus will be forfeited. There are quite a few other bonuses on offer which change regularly. These include promotions like special deposit bonuses on Mondays and rebates on losses. The bonuses may not seem as generous as at other casino sites but at least they are simple to understand and actually get, as opposed to some sites with seemingly great offers but with requirements that are quite difficult to actually achieve.

Loyalty Scheme

Like most casino sites Bet365 offers a comp point scheme, with different amounts of comp points to be earned depending on which game you play. Roulette, for example, attracts one comp point for each ten currency units wagered, while video poker gives you three comp points. Every 100 comp points accumulated can be converted into one unit of whichever currency you are betting in.

VIP Scheme

Bet365 offers a four level VIP scheme – Bronze, Silver, Gold and Diamond. The levels are attained based on the amount of comp points you accumulate, with each level offering more in terms of promotions and bonuses. These bonuses include more deposit bonuses, free chips, faster comp point accumulation, special prizes and invitations to sporting events. The last level, Diamond, is very exclusive and is by invitation only, with the benefits being so exclusive they’re not even listed!

Pros

• Part of a massive and reputable international brand – you know you can trust them!
• Excellent customer support, especially the 24/7 live chat
• Faster than average withdrawals

Cons

• Practice play options quite limited
• Games in casino quite limited (though there are many more in the ‘games’ section)
• Bonuses could be a bit more generous

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