888 casino Review

	HIGHLIGHTS OF 888 CASINO
		Welcome bonus Up to $/£/€ 1500 Variety bonuses Up to £/$/€ 1200
		50 Table Games and 154 Slots Titles
		Regular promotions
		Variety of deposit methods, fast payouts
		US Players not welcomed
DEPOSIT METHODS:
SUMMARY
888casino provides an excellent online gaming experience in our opinion. With a professional looking and user-friendly site, a plethora of deposit methods, and a great selection of available games, it’s easy to see why this is such a popular online casino. Large progressive jackpots, top quality live dealer games, and a decent range of bonuses and promotions help too. We also like the vibrant graphics and the realistic sound, as these definitely add to the experience. Overall, it’s really quite easy for us to recommend 888casino. This is an award winning online casino which is completely trustworthy and very reputable. It’s well worth signing up and trying it out for yourself.
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Reasons to Gamble at 888 Casino

Payment Processing – The payment processors are solid in New Jersey and the international scene. Neteller and PayPal are available for US players in Jersey while they can be used by gamblers internationally as well.

Multiple Bonuses – 888 Casino has 10 to 15 different bonus promotions running at any time. None of these offers are the best in the industry, but the sum is greater than its parts. In totality, the bonuses represent a wide range opportunity to play with house money, once again playing to 888’s strength: flexibility.

The first deposit bonus is spread over 5 payments, so you don’t have to unload your bank account on the first payment. The 6-in-1 weekly promotions are some of the best, especially for the weekday deals. The mobile and instant play bonuses are small.

Best Mobile Software – 888 Mobile’s slots software is among the best in the business. IGT won the 2015 award for Best Mobile Software and many of 888 Mobile’s video slots are powered by IGT software.

Players can download the appropriate mobile app with one swipe of their Android and Apple devices. Customers can use Android devices, iPads, or iPhones to play on the site, which should cover most gamblers. BlackBerry gamblers are out of luck, though.

Award-Winning Product – 888 Casino has received recognition for the gaming experience it offers, much like IGT has for its software. The site has won a number of gaming awards from respected groups, including Gaming Intelligence, ICE, and eGR, while receiving awards at the key industry convention, the Global Gaming Expo. Below is a short list of awards 888 Holdings has won in the past 5 years.

• 2015 Gaming Intelligence – Best Casino Operator
• 2014 Global Gaming Award – Best Digital Operator
• 2013 eGR Award – Casino Operator of the Year
• 2013 eGR Award – Poker Operator of the Year
• 2012 ICE Award – Best Online Casino
• 2010 eGR Award – Most Socially Responsible Operator

Live Dealer Games – Three of the four live dealer games available are standard: blackjack, baccarat, and roulette. The fourth game is rare for an online casino: Casino Hold’em. This game takes the game mechanics of Texas Hold’em and converts it into a table game. I wish the casino offered live craps, but that is the only complaint here.

Legal in New Jersey – Few legal online casinos are US-friendly anymore. Those which are operate in the New Jersey gaming market and are licensed by the Division of Gaming Enforcement. 888 Casino is one of those operators, partnering with Caesars Interactive on several websites: Caesars, Harrah’s, and WSOP.com.

American gamblers outside of New Jersey can play for free on those sites, but cannot gamble. If you sign up for a free-to-play account anywhere else in the United States, you’ll be able to gamble for real money while you’re physically in the state of New Jersey. Also, California and Pennsylvania are discussing legalization of online gaming, so one or both of those states might have an 888 Casino gaming portal at some time in the near future.

888 Casino Drawbacks

While 888 Casino is a recommended product in many quarters, it has its detractors. Below are reasons you might want to avoid 888 Casino.

Payment Processing – It can take up to 24 hours to process funds. If you have issues with problem gambling, this can be troublesome. Email communications take too long at times. Live chat is a better option, but is not 24/7 in the United States.

Restrictions Against Playing – I’ll provide greater details later, but several key regions ban 888 Casino. The United States outside of New Jersey does not legally allow 888 Holdings sites. This means those sites are going to block anyone from IP addresses outside of New Jersey from real money play.

France, Denmark, and Hong Kong also have bans in effect. France is expected because it national legislature imposed a strict ban on most online gambling. Hong Kong is the same way. One big surprise is that Australians cannot gamble on 888 Casino because Australia is one of the bastions of online betting.

Bad Reviews – While Casinomeister gives high marks in their critic reviews of the New Jersey-facing sites which use 888 Casino software, some players on Casinomeister have complained about irregularities when making withdrawals. Arbitrary decisions to deny payments are the bane of an online gambler’s experience, and a couple of gamblers have complained. Those complaints are not widespread, so 888 Casino does not have a reputation for such policies, but players should be warned.

Blackjack on 888 Casino

The site offers six versions of blackjack, including four virtual games and two live dealer games. High rollers will notice the special games provided for premium players, high rollers, and whales. If you fall into those categories, then play “High Limit Blackjack” on the virtual platform and “Live VIP Blackjack” in the live casino.

• Classic Blackjack
• Multihand Blackjack
• American Blackjack
• High Limit Blackjack
• Live Blackjack
• Live VIP Blackjack

Roulette at 888 Casino

Gamblers who prefer roulette have their option of five simulated roulette games and one live croupier roulette game. Roulette Pro is a popular version of the game on downloadable apps, while 3D roulette is the best-looking version of the game.

US players should keep in mind that American Roulette has a higher house edge than the other games. Operators prey on Americans who don’t understand this fact. Unless you see special house rules, avoid American roulette, even if they show an American flag in the picture.

• Roulette Pro
• Low Stakes Roulette
• 3D Roulette
• French Roulette
• American Roulette
• Live Roulette

French Roulette has better odds and is preferred by high rollers, because of the “Finals Bets“. Betting the finals lets a gambler max out their bet limit, by making many bets at the maximum bet level at once.

Video Poker on 888 Casino

The site offers six variants of video poker. These are the most popular variations of the game, which means they also offer the highest payouts. Each comes in a multi-hand version, which allows a gambler to wager on 1 to 50 hands at a time. Keep in mind that multiplying the number of hands also multiplies the number of wagers, so adjust bets accordingly.

• Aces and Faces – 99.26%
• Joker Wild – 98.94%
• Tens or Better – 98.51%
• Jacks or Higher – 98.25%
• Deuces Wild – 97.06%
• Bonus Poker – 96.87%

888 Casino sometimes refers to “Jacks or Better” as “Jacks or Higher“. Such changes always make me a little leery, because any operator in the industry this long knows the correct name of a game. Sometimes, slightly different titles mean the game is a slightly changed one — often with worse odds. While it might be a simple oversight, if you’re offered the choice of two games, play “Jacks or Better”.

Slot Machines Offered

At last count, 888 Casino offers 154 different video slots games. The list includes games from IGT Wagerworks, Williams Interactive (WMS Gaming), and Net Entertainment. These are some of the leading software providers on the Internet, so the casino’s slots library is going to contain famous games.

Five Most Popular 888 Casino Slots

	The Great War Slots
	888 produced its own 5-reel, 50-line slot machine called the Great War. It’s based on World War I, which ended the long Victorian Age and cost 10 million lives. World War I was an epoch-making event, including the collapse of most of Europe’s traditional monarchies, the establishment of the Soviet Union, and the creation of the modern Middle East. Now, you can ponder all of that while you play a slot machine on 888 Casino.
	Millionaire Genie
	Millionaire Genie is a 5-reel, 15-payline game from 888 Software. It contains wilds, scatters, and a bonus game. This is an important game because 888 Casino currently has a promotion based around it. The promotion is called the “Millionaire Genie” contest though it soon will be called the “Ultimate Genie” contest. It offers a potential $1 million to the winner.
	Steampunk Nation
	888 also produced a game based on the steampunk fiction genre. Steampunk images a Victorian Age in which anachronistic technology from our time existed. That technology is not powered by electricity, but steam power. Movies like The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Wild Wild West, Van Helsing, and The Golden Compass featured steampunk elements. Steampunk Nation features 5 reels, 25 paylines, and a progressive jackpot.
	Bejeweled 2
	Bejeweled Slots is a popular game, so Gamesys, Blueprint Gaming, and OpenBet created Bejeweled 2. This version has 20 paylines, scatters, wilds, and free spins.
	Bar-X 125 Slots
	Bar-X 125 is one of the most popular fruit machines in the United Kingdom. This 3-reel classic from G-TECH 2 captures the feel of the old school gaming machines, before progressive jackpots and animated, features became the norm. Bar-X 125 is a 3-reel, 5-payline fruit game. It has the action and payouts associated with fruit games.

More Available Games

Here are a few more examples of games you can play at 888 Casino. I’ve cherry-picked a wide selection of games, to show what 888 Casino has done by licensing games from so many different providers.

• Speed Demon 3D Slots – Speed Demon Slots is one of 888’s first in-house 3D animated slot machines. The 5-reel, 25-payline game has the best-loved features in a video slots game: wild symbols, scatters, free spins, and a bonus game.
• Invaders From Planet Moolah – Invaders From Planet Moolah is one of the weirdest games you’ll find. It imagines aliens in UFOs, except the aliens are evolved cows. The reel symbols are chickens, cows, farmers, and barns. The game features 5 reels and 25 paylines, as well as cascading reels. If the cascade effect happens 4 times in a row, you’ll end up winning a free spin mode with 7 to 50 free spins.
• Jack Hammer Vs. Evil Dr. Wuten – Jack Hammer Slots is an animated game designed by NetEnt, based on old comic strips. The game reminds me of the Dick Tracy comic strip. Game play has the innovative Sticky Wins feature. A sequel to this game, Jack Hammer 2: Fishy Business, is also available on 888 Casino and also has Sticky Wins.
• Alice in Wonderland Slots – “Alice in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking Glass” are the classic child’s tales from Lewis Carroll, about young Alice and her trips to a bizarre Wonderland. Ash Gaming partnered with bwin.party and Playtech to produce this 5-reel, 25-payline game. This isn’t a licensed slot because the Wonderland tales are in the public domain.
• Bloodlines Slots – Bloodlines is based on the vampire romance novels that are so popular these days. If you like Twilight, Vampire Diaries, or True Blood, then you’ll probably like Bloodlines from 888 and Genesis Gaming.
• Blood Suckers Slots – Amazingly, Blood Suckers from Net Ent follows the same theme. This 3D animated slot machine focuses more on classic vampires like Count Dracula (Vlad Tepes) and Count Orlok. It has better graphics, too.

888 Casino also has dozens of license video slots. I’ve separated those games from the pack above, to show the diversity of those games.

Licensed Slot Machines

888 Casino and 888 Mobile feature a long list of licensed slots. These are games based on pop culture franchises. Slot machines have been produced based on movies, TV shows, board games, rock stars, comic books, and celebrities. Licensed slots contain art, clips, and sound bites from the biggest names in pop culture. Here are a few examples.

	Superman Slots
	Not to be outdone, DC Comics licensed Superman Slots. There are several Superman slot machines, but this one is a collaboration between Amaya, NYX Gaming, SkillOnNet, GTS, and NeoGames. It has 50 paylines and a great soundtrack.
	Iron Man 2 Slots
	Millionaire Genie is a 5-reel, 15-payline game from 888 Software. It contains wilds, scatters, and a bonus game. This is an important game because 888 Casino currently has a promotion based around it. The promotion is called the “Millionaire Genie” contest though it soon will be called the “Ultimate Genie” contest. It offers a potential $1 million to the winner.
	Elvis: The King Lives
	The King of Rock-n-Roll has his own licensed slot machine, which was designed by WMS Interactive. Elvis Slots has 11 reels and 80 paylines, so it’s unlike any other game you’ll play.
	Evangelion Online Slots
	Evangelion Slots is based on the Japanese anime, Neon Genesis Evangelion. It’s a post-apocalyptic game with bonuses based on key characters Shinji, Rei, Asuka, and Mari. This 5-reel game follows anime’s penchant for overkill by offering 1024 Paylines.
	Cluedo: Who Won It?
	Cluedo is based on the Parker Brothers mystery board game. Americans will recognize this as the game “Clue”, which also spawned a 1986 movie starring Tim Curry. The 5-reel, 15-payline game has a fixed jackpot of 25,000 coins.
	The Big Lebowski Slots
	The Big Lebowski is a brand new slot machine released by 888 in January 2016. It is based on the 1998 Cohen Brothers part-film noir, part-comedy film which starred Jeff Bridges as “The Dude”. It includes 5 reel, 25 paylines, a 10x bonus multiplier, and a progressive jackpot.
	The Wizard of Oz: Ruby Slippers
	Several Wizard of Oz slot machines exist, but this one is designed by WMS Interactive and Skill-on-Net. This 5-reel video slot was produced in 2012, but its theme is taken from the classic 1939 movie which helped usher in the age of color movies.
	The Price Is Right
	The Price Is Right Slots is based on the American game show hosted by Drew Carey — and before that, Bob Barker. The Price Is Right was designed via a collaboration of Electracade, OpenBet, and Fremantle. It offers scatters, wilds, and 25 paylines.

Funding Your Account

International players are going to have dozens of payment options. I discuss the full list of options later in this review. Regional payment options abound in many of these locations.

888 Casino has sister sites like 888 Sports and 888 Poker which allow players to use the same account and gamble on each site with no transfer fees. This makes 888 Casino a one-stop gaming operator. In the US, 888 Poker software also powers WSOP.com, which is active in Delaware, Nevada, and New Jersey.

Though American players anywhere in the US can register and account and download the Freeplay version of the casino, real-money play in the United States is limited to New Jersey. With a few exceptions, gamblers in most parts of Europe can play at 888 Casino.

Deposits and Payouts

With plenty of deposit options that credit to your account instantly, you can start playing on 888casino in no time at all. Whether you choose Mastercard, Visa, Diners Club International, PayPal, Neteller, Skrill, uKash, Instadebit, eWire or EntroPay, your funds will be credited to your account within 10 minutes. The minimum deposit varies depending on method chosen, but is never very high. There are plenty of other deposit methods too; you can see a full listing at the cashier section of your account.

Withdrawal requests are processed the same business day and paid out in as little as 24 hours, although they may take up to ten business days for some payout methods. 888casino lets you keep all your winnings, as they don’t add on any fees for withdrawals. It’s worth noting that some payout methods are restricted depending on where you live.

New Jersey Deposits and Withdrawals

Those playing in the New Jersey online gambling market are going to have fewer options. Most gamblers should find some method which works for them. Both Visa and MasterCard credit and debit cards work. Neteller is back in the American market, while PayPal is available for New Jersey residents.

Online banking transfer and (ACH) Bank Transfer work as deposit methods. Pay Near Me is an option which allows payments at your local 7-Eleven convenience store.

The list of withdrawal methods is even more limited for New Jersey. The ACH Bank Transfer and bank draft (a check) are options. So is Neteller and PayPal, but those are the only four methods allowed when cashing out. Still, most gamblers are going to be comfortable with one of those options.

Software Support

One of the advantages of 888 Casino is the variety of its gaming software. Besides its own propriety 888 software, the casino offers video slots from top providers like IGT, NetEnt, and WMS Gaming. Those who read through the slots list could see a whole list of other software companies, too. This gives slot machine gamblers access to a wide selection of games.

I like the online casinos which mix-and-match software. It lets a person sample many different companies without going through the process of signing up with a new casino. There is always going to be trust issues when sampling dozens of operators, so it’s nice to try a bunch of brand names at one site. Besides, the variety of games is superior.

There is a downside, and it’s one which international gamblers might not face. The signup process for Americans wanting to try out the software can be frustrating. Even for those who want freeplay options need to provide you social security number – and a copy of your driver’s license, in some cases.

In my case, I provided the correct name and address for an address I’ve had for many years, but it told me my SSN and address information did not match. Furthermore, their staff only takes calls during an 8-hour window in the USA, so I was left wondering whether someone had stolen my identity and registered an account on 888 Casino. Happily, that wasn’t the case, but it pointed out 888’s verification system is flawed.

To encourage American players to try the free website, 888 Casino needs to make the process easier. If not, they won’t be popular with Americans.

Safety and Security

One can tell that 888 Casino has the assets and initiative to provide the best safety and security. My complaint above might have been an annoyance, but I understood those policies had my best intentions in mind. Such procedures are increasingly the reality in online gaming, and they are meant to assure identity thieves cannot steal our information or hijack our account.

888 Holdings is listed on the FTSE 250 Index, which represents the 101st to 350th largest companies on the London Stock Exchange. It is a major UK firm with operations around the globe.

Mobile Casino Options

Mobile casino users have their choice of Android or Apple. Players do not need to go to the Google Play or the iTunes Store to download the software. A link exists which allows you to scan the software on the site. I give 888 Mobile high marks for that convenience.

The Freeplay signup bonus is a pittance of only $10. That is one-half or one-third below average market prices these days. On the other hand, the mobile games selection is first-rate. The games selection on the mobile casino is, once again, world class.

BlackBerry, Windows Phone, and Symbian devices are not supported on 888 Casino. That is likely to drive a certain small number of gamblers away, but that is likely to be no surprise for such device users.

Casino Bonuses and Special Promotions

The basic deposit bonus for 888 Casino is a maximum of $300. That doesn’t sound like much, but its wagering requirement includes video poker and classic table games, meaning the best games on the site. Exclusive slots are also included in the rollover.

The no-deposit bonus is a basic $10 for registration. This is a free-play bonus given. Ten dollars is not going to change the house edge much, especially given the playthrough requirement. Luckily, better offers are given to ongoing players.

Customer Support

For Europeans, customer support is going to be first rate. Europe is the lifeblood of their playing community, so that stands to reason. China and Japan are important, but gambling online is illegal in those countries. Though 888 Casino offers language support for play in those countries, their support is going to be a bit spottier there.

Americans are likely to be less-than-impressed with 888 Casino’s customer support. Players must submit their Social Security Number and a copy of their driver’s license or national identification card in order to open a free-play account. This is an evolving situation and, when more US states join the online gambling industry, more attention should be paid to supporting the US gaming audience.

That being said, I had to wait until the afternoon to be able to use the live chat function to have a discussion with customer support. I find that unacceptable for a website which is global, and thus presumably operates on a 24/7 basis around the globe. I would like to see the site enter the Australian market because I imagine that would assure the kind of English-language 24 hour-a-day service I would want.

Payout Percentages

On the good side, 888 Casino posts a payout table, so players can see their odds. The list is by no means complete, but it’s more than most casinos offer. It offers the payouts on several of the top slots titles, as well as table games like blackjack and roulette.

Gamblers wanting to see more payout information can go to eCOGRA. The watchdog group posts monthly payout statistics for each of its members. 888 Casino is one of the approved operators of that site.

888 Ladies

888 Ladies is a bingo site operated by 888 Holding Inc. It offers both mobile bingo and online bingo, with $10, 500% bonus offer. Deposit $10 and play with $60. Terms and conditions apply.

Gamblers should know that 888sports and 888poker are sister sites, too. Your 888 Casino money is going to transfer back-and-forth from these various sites with no trouble and no fees.