Roxy Palace - Online Casino Review

Roxy Palace Casino

March 13, 2005

Overview

The site design is kind of cheesy, the graphics are large and loud, like this is the Mc Donald's of internet casinos. This isn't a bad thing, it's simply an observation. The print is large and clear as are the graphics. Anyone who needs reading glasses will appreciate this site. Roxy Palace is an on-line casino authorized by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake, Canada. Payouts are reviewed monthly by PriceWaterHouse Coopers and posted online for all to see. They accept US Dollars, Canadian Dollars, British Pounds, and Euros. I hope you enjoy download casinos because that is what they offer, no browser version available here.

Customer service is 24/7. With that said when you go to their contact page the first thing you see is a link to the FAQ's. Even though 24/7 support is available there is the impression that they would prefer you look it up yourself first. If you can't find what you're looking for on the site you can choose to email or call. Calling is free from the following countries: USA, Hong Kong, United Kingdom, Israel, Australia, Italy, Canada, Japan, France, Korea, Germany, Portugal, and the Netherlands. Live chat is not on offer. Grrrr. I like my live chat! If I wanted to talk to someone face to face I would go to a real casino (actually that's not true but you get my drift, I prefer live chat).
 
Deposits

They offer a basic selection for depositing:

• Neteller
• FirePay – Maximum deposit per day per card is $750. The deposit limit of $1800 per card is refreshed on Tuesdays and Fridays. Players can deposit up to 10 times a day on one card with the largest deposit being $500.
• Credit Card – Maximum deposit per day per card is $900. However the deposit limit of $1800 per card is refreshed on Tuesdays and Fridays (so actually it's under $900 per day). Players can deposit up to 10 times a day on one card with the largest deposit being $500.
• Click2Pay
• PaySpark
• Citadel

The minimum deposit is $20.

Withdrawals

The minimum withdrawal is $20. They process withdrawals as follows:

• Neteller – If you deposited via Visa previously they will credit that first (fair enough). Only available if you have deposited via Neteller. Winnings may be sent via check or bank transfer at the casino's discretion.
• FirePay - Only if you deposited via FirePay previously. Winnings may be sent via check or bank transfer at the casino's discretion. May take 3 – 6 working days to appear in your account.
• Visa – Only if you live in one of the countries that they allow your card to be credited back
• Checks – Take 21 days for delivery.
• Checks by International Courier – Fee of $25 if check is less than $1000.
• ACH Transfer – Minimum of $50 cash-out and takes 5 working days to appear in your account.
• Wire Transfer – $20 fee and takes 3 working days to appear.

For your first withdrawal request you will be required to supply proof of identity such as a copy of your driver's license, a utility bill or copy of a credit card that you have used to make deposits at the casino.

Terms and Conditions

"For certain legal and banking reasons we regret we may be unable to accept players from certain parts of South East Asia, Southern Africa and Eastern Europe." I'm still looking for the list of exactly who they don't allow…

A few weeks ago a report came out claiming that the risk assessment part of the brain isn't developed until we reach the age of 25. That is why we do so many stupid things as kids (and yes, I will vouch for that personally). That is why I like that Roxy Palace's minimum age requirement of 21 so much. The closer we are to 25 when we start to game regularly the more likely we are to be responsible gamers and not develop a problem. If you look at it from an industry standpoint it's smart, because a problem gamer will eventually have to stop, but a regular gamer who knows there limits and holds them can game forever. It's also better for the player and promotes responsible gaming. Ok, enough of my soap box – back to the terms and conditions.

DO NOT LEAVE YOUR ACCOUNT HANGING. If you don't log in within 180 days they will take all of the money from your account.

Bonuses

• Matching 100% bonus on first deposits up to $100. Minimum deposit $50.
• Deposit method bonus via Neteller, Click2Pay or FirePay and receive a 15% bonus (capped at $50) on your first deposit.
• E-Cash Bonanza – Deposit via Neteller, Click2Pay, Firepay, Citadel or Payspark and get 1 entry into the drawing.
• Roxy Poker Challenge – Poker tournament where players can win their share of $3000. To qualify players must deposit at least $100 during the event and wager at least $2,500 on any video poker games during the event.
• Bonus Slots Magic – Slots tournament where players can win up to $2500.
• Players Club – One point for every $10 wagered on any slots and keno and one point for every $25 wagered on video poker, table games or any other casino game (excluding roulette and craps). Points may be redeemed in units of 1,000 with each 1,000 points = $10

The bonuses are ok. The terms are better on the returning player's incentive bonuses (unless you are Israeli or Danish – more on that below). I like that the Players Club membership is automatic.

Promotional Terms and Conditions

To qualify for the sign up bonus players have to wager the amount of the deposit first. Once you wager that amount WAIT UNTIL YOU RECEIVE YOUR BONUS BEFORE WAGERING FURTHER. The other wagering requirement is counted only after you have received your bonus. The wagering requirement is 9X the deposit plus bonus. As I am depositing $50 I will receive a $50 bonus and must wager a total of $900 before being able to cash out. ($50 + $50 = $100 * 9 = $900).

Of course there is always a catch: "Wagering on Baccarat, Craps, Roulette, Sic Bo, Blackjack and all forms of Video Poker does not fulfill the wagering requirements of this bonus offer. Players may play with the bonus on non qualifying games, however the bonus can only be cashed in where wagering requirements have been fulfilled on qualifying games." In other words, you can play Slots or Keno.

HAVE YOUR INFORMATION READY. If you won and plan on cashing out I strongly suggest you have everything ready on your computer for sending. "All withdrawals will be subject to audit before being processed. You may be requested to furnish proof of identification, residential address and/or proof of deposit. Failure to provide this information to the Casino within 48 hours of a request being made will result in the bonus being withdrawn."

Even though I'm certain they already know this: students beware. Roxy Palace will void your winnings if you play on a shared computer. "The Casino reserves the right to impose further limits in respect of accounts originating from environments where computers are shared (e.g. university campuses, fraternity, school, public library, workplace, etc. )"

Each bonus has its own set of terms and conditions. Players will definitely want to check the terms for all of their monthly bonuses on offer well before signing up. Sometimes their terms can be tricky. For example, on the raffle bonus a player must wager 10X the amount of the deposit before qualifying for the raffle. If you deposited $500 via Neteller you have to wager $5000 before receiving your 5 entrees. I think that is a bit much – it's a raffle for crying out loud.

For the deposit method promotion players must qualify before getting their bonus. The wagering requirement is only 5X the deposit + bonus. If I deposit $100 via Neteller and receive a $15 bonus I must wager a total of $575 before being allowed to cash out. Roulette and craps do not qualify for the wagering requirements on this bonus. Maximum bonus is $50.

Here's one I can't figure out. Roxy Palace offers a matching deposit bonus as an incentive for regular players. It's given out by invitation only, which is fine, but it has a different wagering requirement for Israeli and Danish players (20X the deposit + bonus as opposed to 10X for players from everywhere else). You'd think they would be able to choose which Israeli and Danish players they would send such an offer to and thus avoid the risk of sending it to bonus hustlers. I guess not.

Signing Up

Easy and painless. It took virtually no time at all.

Download casino

Within 1 minute of playing Spectacular Slots I won 100 coins (I was playing the lowest denomination at the largest coin amount – which means two coins of 25¢. For a deposit of $50 to win another $50 in your first minute is a great feeling. Unfortunately it was in the middle of a 5X spin and I only realized I won after the spin had passed so I didn't get a screen shot of it.

After such a nice win I thought I would try some other slots. What a mistake. I lost my big win within a matter of minutes.

If you read any of my other reviews you know how much I love the slots at Microgaming powered casinos. There's no point in giving you the list of every slot game I played (especially since I lost in most of them) but I can't help but mention how nice their slots are. Really, these are just pretty, well designed games. They are such a high step ahead of the competition in terms of style, features, and sound. I guess you would say they are the Paris of the gaming software world.

I took a lunch break and came back to check my game history. I took my entire game-play from PlayCheck and entered it into an excel file to see how much I have wagered thus far, only $164.88 and I have $75.90 left. Apparently I didn't just receive the sign-up matching bonus, but the deposit method bonus as well. This will give me a higher wagering requirement. I need to know exactly how much I have to wager since I got both bonuses so I call their help line in Israel. My question is if I have to wager both the 5X deposit + bonus of the deposit method bonus PLUS the 9X deposit + bonus of the sign up bonus? Mario is figuring out my wagering requirement right now. If I don't like what he tells me I will ask to take off the deposit method bonus of $7.50. Sure enough, the wagering requirement is $1187.50, which means that they do require both. Mario gladly takes the $7.50 off of my account so that I won't get stuck with the hidden wagering requirements. Not that I honestly think I will make it to $900, but it's easier than $1187.50! Now that I don't have the deposit method bonus my account is left with $68.40 to meet the wagering requirements of $735.12 left over. It could happen – if I get very very lucky…

I've been playing now for a few hours and am ready to take a risk and blow the lot. It's pretty obvious by my game-play that I probably won't have anything left to cash out anyhow. I go to Thunderstruck and set the coins to $9. First spin, nothing. Second spin, nothing. Third spin I win $18. Eh. Not what I was hoping for but it will do. Now to try another slot…

Went around trying random slots and blew the lot in about 10 minutes. I have never met a wagering requirement that is slots play only. With that said at least they were Microgaming slots and fun to play. At the end of the day I wagered a total of $356.64 I won $244.67 and my odds were 68.6%. Today was not my lucky day.

Overall

The customer service was impeccable. Every question was answered clearly and concisely in a quick and forthright manner. The bonuses are ok, and I like that the terms and conditions get easier as you stay with the casino. This helps them weed out the bonus hustlers without punishing the regular players. I wish they had Live Chat, but they did have toll free phone support for Israel, so that made it better. The games are Microgaming, so you know they are good.