Casino Kingdom: Regal Casino or Royal Nightmare?

Casino Kingdom channels an almost cartoon-like theme, speaking to monarchs, knights and the Medieval. To be honest, the graphics aren’t especially great, but I’m sure they appeal to somebody. But I was always told never to judge a book by its cover, and I’m glad I didn’t in this case. Casino Kingdom is part of the Casino Rewards Group, which owns and operates a range of different casino sites. From my experience at other casinos in this group, I already expected big things when I played here – and fortunately, I wasn’t to be disappointed.

From the second you start playing here, it’s obvious this is a fair and legitimate casino. For starters, it runs Microgaming games, which you’re not able to do when you’re a fly-by-night operation. Beyond that, it’s been online since 2002 – practically Medieval times, over the lifespan of the online casino industry.

If these two factors alone weren’t enough, there’s also the licensing. Casino Kingdom is a regulated operator, and holds licenses including from the Kahnawake jurisdiction. This means they are accountable to a higher authority, and must provide fair, safe gaming conditions for their players. Unfortunately however, this does come with a price.

As with most casinos in this group, you can’t play here if you’re from the USA (try Bovada), or if you’re in a number of European countries like Belgium, France, Spain, Italy and Portugal – you guys can check out Betway instead. But, if you’re from the UK, you’re allowed to open an account here.

The particular market this casino most closely aims at is Australian players, and it’s one of the most credible and most popular casinos open to Australians. If you’re from Australia or the UK in particular, this is a great place to play, and I recommend you take the time to check out what Casino Kingdom has to offer.

User Experience

Before we get too deep into the type and selection of games on offer, it’s worth giving some passing consideration to the user experience – in other words, the customer support, banking facilities, and all the softer stuff that often separates the best casinos from the rest.

When you’re playing at any casino, you’re almost certain to come across customer support at some stage. It could be resolving some issue with your account, or as part of the verification processes most casinos go through before paying out. With Casino Kingdom, I can personally vouch for their support team. You can get hold of them by live chat, which I usually prefer because it’s so quick, or also by phone or email if you prefer. They give answers quickly and seem knowledgeable about their casino, which is a major plus point. I really can’t fault the support team – they seem to show the characteristics I’ve found at other Casino Rewards Group casinos that make them such a welcoming place to play.

In terms of the transactional side, you can run deposits and withdrawals through a number of payment methods, such as Bank Transfers, eCheck, ecoPayz, EntroPay, InstaDebit, Kalibra Card, Maestro, MasterCard, NETELLER, PayPal, Postepay, Visa, and Visa Electron. I usually try to stick to one of these methods where I can, because it’s just easier to run deposits and withdrawals through the same card or account.

If you need alternatives, you can deposit (but not withdraw) through several other means, like Citadel Instant Banking, eps, Euteller, GiroPay, iDeal, iDebit, MB Multibanco, Neosurf, paysafecard, Poli, Przelewy24, Qiwi Wallet, Sofortuberweisung, Trustly, and Zimpler.

One point of note here – when you’re requesting a withdrawal, it will be subject to a 2 working days holding period before your payment will be processed. This is a bit frustrating, but I find that if players are aware of it, they are less likely to find it a problem when the time comes to withdrawal. I’m incredibly impatient, and even I can live with the 2 days period, especially when I know I’m dealing with a safe, fair casino that isn’t going to try and rip me off.

Game Types & Selection

Casino Kingdom could have the best support in the world, but I wouldn’t play here if it wasn’t for the games. This casino is powered by Microgaming. For those in the know, this needs no further introduction.

For those new to online casinos, Microgaming is the developer of the games you most want to play. Whether that’s table games like roulette and blackjack and their countless variations, or the huge selections of slots, AWP games and progressives. Some of the progressive jackpots on offer here are out of this world.

The games are quick to load, whether you’re using the Flash games in your browser, or you’re simply using the download casino and the lobby. The latter can be a bit slower, but that’s nothing new.

I especially like the selection of video poker titles here, which means I can try out a whole range of different games with subtly different rules without needing to flit between different casinos. It’s great to be able to play single-hand Jacks or Better one minute, then switch to multiplier-enhanced Level Up poker when I’ve decided I want a change of pace.

And because these games are provided by Microgaming, they are well-designed, visually stunning, and great fun – especially when you’re winning!

There are over 500 games in all, which is very impressive – especially if you compare that to the number of games at other casinos. You can even play in free play mode at first, ideal for checking out new games before you decide you’re ready to play for real.

Deposit Bonuses

The deposit bonus on offer here is a flat $77 for a $77 deposit, essentially a 100% match bonus as a welcome to life at the casino. This isn’t a huge amount and it’s by no means the biggest even in the Casino Rewards Group. But it’s a good way of establishing that this is a casino that generally prefers casual players over the high rollers. Still, it’s not a bad bonus to kick things off.

The one thing I dislike most about this bonus offer is the playthrough requirements – 60x on your first deposit. Seriously? That’s pretty high. I usually like to look for something in the 40x range, which I think is a bit more realistic for most players, without being unfair to the casinos.

The only saving grace here is that subsequent bonuses are only subject to a 30x requirement – in other words, a much lower playthrough, that is so much easier to reach. For me, this makes it worth accepting the initial bonus and playing on, but it’s just a little frustrating it couldn’t be set at a lower amount for that first deposit bonus.

Supported Devices

The mobile casino at Casino Kingdom is another real strong point. It’s easy to play on any tablet or mobile device through your browser, and you don’t need to find or download an app to get started. I much prefer this type of set up to the app based casinos some operators offer for mobile users. This is the future as far as I’m concerned, so it’s good to see Casino Kingdom taking such a proactive approach to welcoming mobile players.

The experience is equally as good on desktop, and the Flash games are quick to load, so I’m not sure why you would try to play any other way.

Our Verdict

Casino Kingdom has so much potential. It’s always been good to me in terms of winnings, but I try not to let that cloud my judgement too much. Generally speaking, the games are amongst the best you’ll find anywhere online, not only in terms of their quality but also just the sheer breadth of choice available. Microgaming casinos are usually where I like to hang out online, and this one is up there with my favourites.

Some people might grumble about the bonuses, particularly the 60x playthrough requirement. But when you consider this is a free bonus anyway, and there’s plenty of other reasons to get stuck in to life at Casino Kingdom, I really don’t see it as that much of a big deal.

If you want to play somewhere that treats players well on the whole, and offers some incredible games, you could do a whole lot worse than this. That’s why I feel confident recommending players check out Casino Kingdom, if not for the bonuses then for the amazing games, promotions, loyalty and jackpots it has to offer.