Casino Mate Review

Believe it or not, the name is not the only thing that leads us to believe that the casino is “welcoming”. The welcome bonus package is extremely generous. With a total of $/€1,400 in bonus money and 80 “Zero Wager” Free Spins, players are in for a real treat at Casino Mate. Before we have a look at the bonus terms and conditions of the Casino Mate welcome bonus deal, here are the bonus specifics:

The welcome bonuses sure look enticing, but please refrain from any premature conclusion, at least hold on before you see the bonus terms. To be honest, we’d have preferred a Casino Mate no deposit bonus to get us started. First things first, players need to wager the bonus amount 40 times on all bonuses, whereas 100% or higher deposit bonuses are subject to 50x bonus amount wagering requirements. Players need to complete the said wagering requirements within a time window of 30 days from the moment the bonus amounts are credited. This is OK, so far.

In our opinion, no bonus offer should have a maximum withdrawal amount. Well, in the casino of Casino Mate, all withdrawals are capped at $5,000. These include welcome bonuses only. Needless to say, progressive wins are not subject to this bonus rule. The winnings from the Zero Wager Free Spins are free from wagering requirements, and are credited to the player’s CASH balance immediately, but are capped at $/€200.

You have 3 days to claim the first deposit bonus, from the moment you sign up. Moreover, you have 3 days to claim the following bonus from the time you’ve made your last deposit. It kind of puts pressure on the player. Nevertheless, passionate players should be OK with this. After all, it’s not like you have to claim the full bonus amount. Lastly, here’s a list of the wagering contributions per game at Casino Mate:

• Slots, parlor games – 100%
• Classic Slots – 75%
• Live Dealer Roulette – 10%
• Live Dealer Blackjack – 10%
• Live Dealer Baccarat – 5%
• Table Poker – 8%
• Roulette Games – 8%
• Craps – 8%
• Baccarat – 8%
• Video Poker - 2%
• Blackjack – 2%

The liberty of playing casino games other than slots to complete wagering requirements is a huge advantage. Basically, it makes the bonus eye-catching for ALL players.

In all honesty, we don’t get to see online casinos with as many bonus offers for existing players like Casino Mate has. Apparently, it pays off well to be a loyal and active player at Casino Mate. There’s a wide array of reload bonuses that are on display during weekends, or on a given day of the week. Free Spins are also provided, but you will have to make a deposit to claim these. In addition, at the time of writing of this review, there were some promotions that incentivized players playing slots to find up to 5,000 of Free Spins, hidden in various slot games.

Overall, the reload bonuses are in the range of 25% to 40%, which is OK-ish, kind of. However, we think that it’s better for a casino to offer more frequent bonus deals with modest bonus values, than to force players to wait for them days, or even weeks! Casino Mate is without a doubt, a bonus player friendly online casino.

Where should we start? For starters, although there’s no seal on display at the bottom of the page, we found out that Casino Mate is licensed by the authorities of Curacao. This is not all that bad, considering the fact that most of the Curacao licensed casinos operate successfully based on reputation and integrity. So far so good, they have a spotless record, and we’re pretty sure it will stay this way. Note, until we see the CURACAO SEAL at the bottom of the page, we’re going to consider Casino Mate as an unlicensed online casino. In case you think you’ve seen Casino Mate somewhere before, yes, it’s related to House of Jack Casino.

The casino is not big on responsible gambling, but it does meet the mandatory requirements. Gambling Therapy is the featured responsible gaming watchdog at Casino Mate. Gaming Limits, Cool-off period and Exclusion Period are put on display and are fully available to all players that have a need for them.

Underage gaming is strictly forbidden. You have to be 18+  to enjoy the casino games at Casino Mate. Any of you that are worried about your privacy and how your personal and banking details are treated, you can check out the privacy policy section in the T&C. To be honest, it’s underwhelming. On the other hand, the casino boasts an industry standard SSL certificate, which reassures players that the game OUTCOMES and the TRANSACTIONS are private and intact by any 3^rd parties.

One of the key areas which shape a casino’s customer base are the deposit and withdrawal methods. They say more about the casino’s nature than any other segment. The standard credit/debit cards are made available at Casino Mate, but we’re more interested about the alternatives. NETELLER and Skrill will help you depositing and withdrawing, but so will INSTADEBIT and EcoPayz. A big surprise for us is the presence of UPayCard, which in our experience, is a popular in RTG casinos which are inclined to US casino players. iDebit is also available as a deposit exclusive payment option.

Neosurf is definitely in the spotlight. It’s been adopted by many online casinos soon after the gaming regulation changes in Australia. Basically, due to its nature, banks and the authorities can’t track the sources of the money. For what it’s worth, it’s become the go-to payment method for Australian online casino players. In case you’re wondering, you can get Neosurf prepaid cards online and at local land-based authorized vendors.

Many of you will not be allowed to withdraw using a VISA credit card, which is why we recommend going for an e-wallet as your payment method of choice. The 3-5 day withdrawal period is not all that bad. Let us warn you that you have to verify your identity with Casino Mate before any withdrawals are released. Do not worry, you will not be reported to any 3^rd party, nor will your personal details be shared with any other entity.

There’s only one withdrawal limit we managed to dig out. It’s a weekly withdrawal limit of $/€10,000 per week. In our view, it’s a standard limit, which won’t affect most casino players. Note, it appears that the operator wanted to keep this limit as deep as possible, making it difficult for players to find it.

It’s not an overwhelming casino game offer, but it has its pros. Powered by half a dozen of casino game providers, Casino Mate delivers diversity and quality as far as entertainment goes. Now, Microgaming and Play’n Go make most of the game offer, but Quickspin and Betsoft have an important role as well. The 5^th game provider which sets in motion Casino Mate is Spigo. A peculiar element which we think is of your interest, Casino Mate, like we suspected earlier, is extremely inclined towards the Australian casino player base. So much so, that they’re calling Video Slots, Pokies! Needless to say, now, they do not accept Australian casino players.

As far as filters go, the navigation and search options are OK-ish, meaning they are of help. Players can sort them alphabetically or by their popularity. Moreover, you can filter the games by their respective provider. Lastly, you can find all of the available casino game categories on the left of the games themselves.

Thanks to Betsoft and Play’n Go, there’s quite a lot of jackpot games. Needless to say, they’re not as generous as many of us would hope. Betsoft’s jackpots are usually in the 5 digit range, and some of them never get to go above the $10,000 threshold, with the exception of Greedy Goblins. Major Millions and Mega Moolah Isis are our top picks which we recommend to jackpot hunters.

Table games and video poker players are well taken care of, with a dozen of games on display. Blackjack, Roulette, Craps, and a dozen video poker games are available both for desktop and mobile play.

Casino Mate does not have native apps which you can download with your mobile devices, but it is available to mobile casino players, nevertheless. You can access all mobile compatible casino games with your mobile web browser. The casino looks great both on smartphones and tables. Moreover, it doesn’t matter whether it’s an Android mobile device or an iPhone or iPad, all mobile casino players can enjoy the full range of mobile-friendly casino games. The Casino Mate mobile version is great for casual gaming during your commute, or your coffee break at work.

Sure, a great deal of casino games that are available for desktop play are not on display for mobile casino players, but this is expected, and it’s normal. Since there’s a ton of slot games, we’re pretty sure most players will be happy with the Casino Mate mobile web app.

Note, since the games are available via mobile web browser, Windows and Blackberry devices are also compatible with Casino Mate.

We hate to break it, but there are no live dealer casino games at Casino Mate. Although there were some traces of a potential live casino, in the bonus terms in particular, the situation is different. Overall, when we take a step back and take a look at the casino as a whole, we imagine that Extreme Live Gaming or VIVO Gaming are adequate candidates as Casino Mate’s live casino game providers. For the time being, players who have an affinity for table games will have to settle with the virtual table games. So far, this is probably the only flaw of Casino Mate, if we can call it a flaw that is.

A VIP program is in place at Casino Mate, and we have every reason to believe that it’s worth your time and money. The VIP benefits outweigh the requirements players have to meet to earn their spot amongst the VIPs at Casino Mate. The operator requires a mix of loyalty, frequency and interest in a variety of casino games. Not sure where the last one comes from, but it’s their VIP program, and they have every right to set the rules as they see fit.

The only bad thing about the VIP rules is that you can lose your VIP membership if you stop playing, or even if you simply stop playing as much as you did before. Here’s a brief overview of what you can expect to receive in return of your loyalty at Casino Mate:

• Exclusive Promotions and Bonuses
• Dedicated VIP Manager
• Special VIP Welcome Bonus Once You EARN Your VIP Status
• Faster Payouts
• Higher Withdrawal Limit
• Plenty Gifts, Freebies and VIP Promotions

Casino Mate enables its trusted players to contact the customer support department via live chat, by email or by calling the department directly. We haven’t tested the email and the phone support, but we did test the live chat response time. We had to wait only 10-20 seconds, and this was at peak hours! We hope that Casino Mate will maintain this level of efficiency, and to be frank, the level of effectiveness as well. In general, we’re happy with what the customer support service. Here are the contact details in case you need them.

• International Land Line: 1 800 006 285
• New Zealand & Australia: 0 800 451 134
• Alternate Number: + 1877 280 5371
• Casino Mate email address (Support): CMSupport@Casino-Mate.com
• Casino Mate email address (Payments): CMBanking@Casino-Mate.com

Ideally, all queries can be resolved via live chat, but if you feel that you need expert assistance, feel free to call them!

So who’d enjoy what Casino Mate has to offer? The list of restricted countries is a short one indeed, but not all players would be interested in its offer. In our opinion, players from New Zealand and Canada will definitely enjoy their stay at Casino Mate. Why? Because the casino is designed with them in mind. INSTADEBIT is an obvious tell which points to Canada, whereas Neosurf and the list of accepted currencies scream AU and NZ. If you’re not located in these 2 countries, it’s highly likely that you can still join Casino Mate. Then again, you might want to check out the similar casinos we’ve listed below this review.

Not so long ago, Casino Mate was one of the go-to destinations for Aussies. Unfortunately, the operator decided to block all Australian players from joining Casino Mate.

Slot player or table game fans, bonus hunters or not, Casino Mate has something for everyone! As stated in our Casino Mate review, the casino game offer has its advantages, but we think slot players should be extremely happy with its contents. The welcome bonus is extremely generous by all standards, and the terms associated are fair to say the least. With the exception of live casino games, Casino Mate has all the qualities a regular online casino must have. You’re just one click away from the generous welcome bonus package, and two steps away from playing casino games with real money!