Proclaimed “the UK’s best online casino” on its own site, 888Casino.com is certainly one of the best-known online gaming destinations on the planet, which is slowly but surely becoming unavailable to most countries. The golden days of online gambling far behind us, operators such as 888Casino are still chugging along, apparently increasingly resorting to underhanded practices to meet their revenue-expectations.
Given the way casino games are set up (with the house edge and the house drop it triggers), a casino (or online casino, for that matter) does not have to cheat to win. All it really needs to do is to convince its players to keep on playing, until their balances inevitably hit 0. Cheating will speed up that process though. So what exactly is going on at this casino, and why are there so many players complaints about them out there. Sites like trustpilot and askgamblers give the operation some pretty abysmal ratings.
One thing that we have to bear in mind is that casino player-feedback can indeed be quite misleading and at the end of the day: irrelevant. Why is that the case? No casino player is ever content: those who happen to win, want to win more, and those who lose – the overwhelming majority, will never post a positive review.
As a casino player, you WILL lose. That’s how casinos work and all that is public information, not some sort of conspiracy theory. The house edge induces a house drop, which is around 30% on all games, and which – given enough playtime – is guaranteed to reach 100%. This is why it makes no sense at all to complain about games being “rigged.” Sure they are…and they are supposed to be that way. That’s how the casino earns its money and that’s why it exists in the first-place. No one will ever operate a casino for the benefit of the gambler.
As a realist who understands the mechanics of gambling, you should see the setup for what it is: entertainment, for which you pay money. That’s it.
With the above in mind, seeing all that negative player feedback out there is hardly surprising. Is it a scam though? Do players lose MORE than they are supposed to lose anyway? Some of 888Casino’s users seem to think so.
Ownership and Regulation
Launched way back in 1997, 888Casino was indeed one of the pioneers of the industry. Thus far, more than 25 million gamblers made use of the services of the site. The operation has picked up an impressive number of awards, which are all proudly displayed in the About Us section of the 888Casino.com website.
The company behind the casino is Cassava Enterprises Gibraltar Ltd., which is a wholly owned subsidiary of 888 Holdings Plc. The parent company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and Cassava Enterprises is licensed by the Government of Gibraltar, not making any claims regarding the legality of its remote gaming services in other jurisdictions. The operator possesses two remote gaming licenses, #022 and #039 respectively.
888 UK Ltd, the company branch responsible for the services offered in the UK, is licensed by the Great Britain Gambling Commission. The company representing the brand in the European Single Market is Virtual Digital Services Ltd – also incorporated and licensed in Gibraltar.
The bottom line in this regard is that 888Casino is a rather run-of-the-mill operation, licensed here and there and peddling its services under a less defined legal umbrella elsewhere.
888Casino Game Selection
What’s interesting about the games offered by 888Casino is that besides the regular selection of online games one may expect, there are live games offered as well. What this means is that players who log into these live games through the 888Casino site, will play remotely at a real table, featuring a real dealer. What’s even more surprising is that there’s an impressive selection of such games available. There is live Roulette, Blackjack, Casino Holdem, Baccarat, 3-Card Poker, Dream Catcher and Ultimate Texas Holdem.
Within each of the above mentioned categories, several game-variants and languages are supported. There’s for instance Spanish Live Roulette, Italian Live Roulette, British Live Roulette, etc.
As far as the regular online games are concerned, there are of course scores of Slots, with each and every one of them featuring a detailed game description in the lobby. Popular titles include Jack’s Pot, Irish Riches and the Rise of the Pharaohs.
5 Roulette variants are supported, namely: American Roulette, European Roulette, French Roulette, 3D Roulette and Low Stakes Roulette. There’s a detailed Roulette guide available at the Casino too, which introduces newbies to the intricacies of the game and even discusses some strategy.
Blackjack is one of the very few casino games in which the player can actually turn the tables on the house. At 888Casino, they have Classic Blackjack, American Blackjack, Multihand Blackjack and High Limit Blackjack.
While the games generally look great and work well, there have been player complaints regarding lagging action and possibly rigged outcomes.
Baccarat and Video Poker round out the 888Casino online game selection.
Promotions
The $200 Welcome Bonus is the most visible promotion currently peddled by 888Casino. The bonus is essentially a 100% match on player deposits, up to a maximum of $200. Many players caution against accepting this bonus though, the terms of which are considered abusive and counterproductive for the player.
Funding Your 888Casino Account
888Casino player accounts can be funded through a wide range of credit- and debit cards (VISA, MasterCard) as well as through scores of eWallet solutions, such as Neteller, Qiwi, WebMoney etc. Even Wire transfers are accepted. It has to be noted that not all supported deposit methods can be used for withdrawals.
Player Protection
The 888Casino.com site does not say a lot about player protection. It does offer links to a number of organizations dealing with problem gambling though, such as gamcare.org.uk and begambleaware.org.
Conclusion
Can 888Casino be called a scam in its current form? The answer to that is not any more than any casino/online casino out there can. The system works against the player: that’s just a fact of life. Does 888Casino rig its games above and beyond that though? Some players say they do, some say they don’t. If you do not view gambling as paid entertainment, you probably should not bother with it though.