River Belle Casino review. This review is about River Belle; not the luxury cruise ship, but the ship-themed online casino. River Belle Casino advertises as a casino that is “committed to providing you with the best online gaming experience ever”.
The problem is, in the gaming industry, almost every operator claims to provide the “best gaming experience”; but when put under scrutiny, many do not live up to their promises. The big question then is whether River Belle is another unreal “best casino” singer or the real deal. Do they really provide entertaining games, fair gaming, and world-class customer service? In the first place, is the casino genuine?
River Belle Casino is a legit casino site. It is not a scam because they will not steal your money or refuse to pay you. Your money will be paid to you as soon as you request for withdrawal and your bank details are safe.
This River Belle casino review will x-ray River Belle Casino and provide you with the information needed to answer questions like is River Belle casino legit?, Is River Belle casino real or fake? or, is River Belle casino a scam?.
What constitutes the best gaming experience? River Belle Casino explains that their customer service is world-class, that their games are always entertaining, and that they always treat their players fairly.
River Belle Casino review at a glance
- An online Casino launched in 1997 and owned by Digimedia Limited which is part of the CityViews Group
- Powered by Microgaming
- Holds over 350 online casino games including live dealer games
- Offer an enticing welcome bonus (covering the first 3 deposits) up to $800
- Offer a different banking option that covers a host of credit cards, prepaid vouchers, e-wallet, and bank transfer options
- The minimum deposit amount depends on selected deposit method (range from $1.00 – $20.00); while the maximum deposit is $4,000
- Customer support available 24/7 via live chat and email
What is River Belle Casino?
River Belle Casino is online that was launched way back in 1997, which makes them one of the oldest casinos still operating. However, River Belle definitely does not have any looks of its ancientness. This is because, due to their promise of providing the best gaming experience, the casino has done a good job of constantly transforming as necessary. These transformations have given the casino a design that is sophisticated, yet slick and highly functional. They are also able to provide excellent gaming options and services you’ll want from a modern casino.
River Belle Casino is owned by Digimedia Limited Casinos, which makes them part of the CityViews Casino Group. This Group is a big player in the casino industry, as they operate some other top casinos including Spin Palace Casino, Ruby Fortune Casino, Mummys Gold Casino, Cabaret Club, Jackpot City, Lucky Nugget Casino, King Neptunes Casino, Casino Epoca, Gaming Club Casino, and others.
The River Belle Casino website is https://www.riverbellecasino.com/. The website is available in over 20 international languages which include English, Deutsch, Español, Suomi, Français, Suisse (FR), Hrvatski, Italiano, Lietuva, Norsk, Polski, Svenska, and more. If you are of legal age and are not resident in any of the restricted countries, you can register and play in the casino. Registration is a simple process that entails supplying your information in the relevant fields.
Amongst other things, River Belle casino promises that if you join and play in the house, you’ll get:
- Constant variety and more ways to win
- Exciting and unsurpassed promotions
- A safe and secure casino environment
- Loyalty Points for the bets you place, regardless of whether you win or lose
Games
Software Provider
River Belle is one of the many casinos powered by Microgaming. If you’ve checked online casinos, you must have met the brand, because Microgaming is the biggest provider of online casino games in the business. They attained that status not just because of the sheer quantity of the games they provide (which is humongous), but also because of the quality of their games. Mirogaming provides games that hold all the elements of exciting game play – excellent graphics, mesmerizing sound effect, intuitive interface for easy navigation, and more. They also provide the biggest jackpot games in the business.
By being supplied by Microgaming, River Belle Casino is able to live up to their promise of providing games that are always entertaining.
Mobile Compatibility
You don’t have to always sit before your desktop to play casino games. The ideal casino will allow game play even on the go (such as when waiting in queues etc). This is only possible if the casino is compatible with mobile platforms.
Thankfully, River Belle Casino is. It works with Android, iOS, BlackBerry and Windows phone. The game play excitement does not diminish when you are playing form your mobile devices or tablets; you get the same sharp graphics, game play options etc. As advertised by River Belle: “You can start playing on your desktop at home, continue on your smart phone as you travel to work, and finish on your tablet as you wait for a meeting to start”
Download Casino Games and No-Download Games
The best way to use the casino is to download the casino software to your device. You’ll get access to the full library of games, and get to play games directly from your device. However, if you are concerned about downloading .exe files to your device, you can still play games from River Belle Casino. All you need is to have a flash player on your device, and you can load the games with a web browser and play directly from the website.
However, with the no-download option, you’ll be able to access less than half of the total number of games in the casino library.
Games Selection
The quality of the games in River Belle is not in question, by virtue of being provided by Microgaming. What about the variety? The ideal casino should hold a wide range of different games, so that no matter your preference, you’ll be able to find some for your entertainment.
River Belle holds over 350 online casino games. If you’ve checked other legit casinos, you’ll find that this number is easily dwarfed by many others. The number is even small when compared to the total number of games in the games library of Microgaming. That said, I think the model of River Belle is to provide a big enough list that include various games from all the different games categories, instead of providing a huge list that can overwhelm a player and makes searching for a game sufferable. That said, River Belle do provide games from all the games categories you’ll find in any online casino such as slot games, table games, video poker and more. They even have a poker room.
Slot Games
Slot games are at the heart of every casino, because of their ease of play. River Belle Casino provides over 200 slot games that include all the popular slot categories. You’ll find classic slots that’ll appeal to the slot beginners; you’ll find video slots and mega spin slots with special features for action-packed slot spinning action. Many of the Video Slots have engaging themes, while others are inspired by blockbusters.
Specific slot titles you’ll find in the house include: Avalon, Break da Bank Again Megaspin, Dragons Myth, Game of Thrones, Immortal Romance, Jurassic Park, League of Fortune, Mega Moolah (Isis and Progressive), Playboy, Throne of Egypt, Thunderstruck II, Tomb Raider Secret of the Sword, Tunzamunni, and more.
Table Games
You can sit at virtual tables and play some of the most popular table games such as Blackjack, Roulette, Baccarat, Craps etc.
For the popular Blackjack, you’ll find different types and variant of the game to test your skill in beating the dealer by getting a hand total of 21, or as near to that as possible without going any higher. These include Classic Blackjack, Atlantic City Online Blackjack, European Online Blackjack, Vegas Strip, Double Exposure blackjack, Super Fun 21, Spanish Blackjack, and more.
For some wheel spinning action, you can spin the Roulette wheel and bet on where the little ball will stop. River Belle Casino has the different types of the game for you including European Roulette, French Roulette, and American Roulette. For more card action, you can try your hand at Baccarat; but for dice rolling action, you can move to craps, roll the dice(s) and bet on the outcome.
Specialty Games
River Belle Casino also offers those games that try hard to defy classification such as Keno and scratch card games. These games are instant-win games that every online casino should offer. They also bring super excitement and thrill; for example, Keno blends Bingo, Roulette and Poker together for ultimate excitement; while scratch card games give fast-paced action.
Video Poker
The name tells you it’s a bunch of excitement. Video Poker games are an expert blend of video slots and classic poker games for ultimate gaming excitement. River Belle has a variety of these bunches of excitement. You have about 40 different video poker games to choose from, both in one hand and multiple hand denominations. Some specific titles you’ll find include Jacks or Better, Deuces and Joker, Tens or Better, Aces & Eights, Aces & Faces Poker and more.
Live Dealer Games
If there’s anything missing from online casino games it is that social factor that is supplied by real dealers and other real players in brick and mortar casinos. Certain casino patrons will only steer towards casinos that can give them that human element. Thus, the ideal online casino should hold onto their online status and offer the convenience of being able to play from any computer or mobile device, but should still somehow add that human element and offer all the excitement of a real live casino game. This is achieved through live dealer games.
River Belle casino is one legit casino that offer live dealer games. These games utilize video streaming technology to connect you to a real dealer inside a casino studio. In some of the games, you play against the live dealer, but there are also multiplayer games with up to 7 seats. River Belle live dealer games are powered by Evolution Gaming.
Some of the live dealer games include Live Blackjack, Live dealer Roulette, Live Baccarat, and Live Poker (Classic 3 Card Poker, Ultimate Texas Hold’em Poker, Caribbean Stud Poker and Casino Hold’em Poker).
Progressive Jackpot Games
Progressive Jackpot games take your winning potential to a whole new level; and the jackpot chase takes the excitement to even greater heights. These games have a central pot that is added to every time a real money bet is placed on the game by every player across the Progressive network. Because Microgaming is arguably the biggest games provider, their progressive network is large. The result is that the jackpot amounts can grow to life changing sums. Think of winning 6, 7, and 8 figures, with a bet of $1.00 or less.
River Belle Casino is able to offer all these Microgaming progressives. Some of these games include Mega Moolah, Cashalot, LotsaLoot, Major Millions, and more. There are also progressives attached to video poker games, and some table games. With these you get to play your favorite casino with the chance of hitting the life changing score.
Bonuses and Promotions
Casinos gives bonuses and run promotions to make the house attractive to new members and to their existing players. At best, casino bonuses are freebies that are given to players commit them to the casino.
River Belle Casino also offers different bonuses and promotions. In fact, one of the promises of the casino is offering “exciting and unsurpassed promotions”. Their bonuses include all the regulars, such as welcome bonuses, match bonuses, loyalty bonus, etc.
Welcome Bonus
Why should you choose to register in River Belle instead of the casino in the next tab? Now you’ll have to look at what River Belle welcomes you with and compare it with that of “the next tab” casino. If you do that, you’ll find that the welcome package of River Belle is really enticing.
The welcome package is spread to cover your first three deposits. On your first deposit, you’ll get a 100% cash bonus up to $200; on your second deposit, you’ll get a 100% cash bonus up to $300; and on your third deposit, you’ll also get a 100% cash bonus up to $300. This means that the welcome package can be max-ed up to $800. This is definitely one of the biggest welcome packages you’ll find.
Other Bonuses
The casino offer other bonuses targeted at players who already have accounts. These bonuses include regular match bonuses that reward players for reloading their account, by giving them a percentage of their deposit as cash bonuses. River Belle Casino also runs regular tournaments that give players chances to win big. They also offer free spins, which you can redeem and use for play without making any deposit.
Lastly, they have a loyalty program that rewards players for playing games in the casino. For every real money game play, whether you win or lose, River Belle will award you loyalty points. The more you play, the more points you earn; and after accumulating a good number of points, you can exchange them for casino credits for use in wagering more in the house. The loyalty program is tiered into 6 levels with each higher level offering higher points earning opportunities, as well as better rewards.
Bonus Conditions
Casino bonuses are not designed to be withdrawn, but to make players increase their wagering activity in the house. To ensure this they include different conditions. In some instances, these conditions are not players-friendly, and can make it undesirable to redeem a bonus. Thus, a review of casino bonuses is not complete without that of the bonus conditions.
Bonus Wagering Requirement
The most important bonus condition is the wagering requirement, which is the amount that a player who redeems a bonus must wager before he/she can make any withdrawal. You’ll want the bonus wagering requirement to be as low as possible, so that you’ll not have to wager too much (and wait too long) before cashing out.
In River Belle Casino, the bonus wagering requirement is 50 times the bonus amount. This means that if you redeem the full first deposit welcome bonus of $100, before you can make any withdrawal, you’ll have to wager $5,000 (which is 50 X $100).
In comparing the wagering requirement of River Belle Casino with others, we see that it is the same with the WR of the entire sister casinos of River Belle in the CityViews Group. Also, it is not the worst in the industry, there are some casinos that require a bonus playthrough of 60 times. However, it is not good enough. For one, it is higher than the industry average, which is 40 times playthrough. With a high wagering requirement, you’ll have to wager more (and wait longer) before withdrawals can be made.
Percentage Contributions of Games
Not all games contribute maximally to meeting playthrough requirement. Some games contribute little or nothing, and you’ll have to wager outrageous amounts when playing them in order to meet playthrough; also there are some games that you cannot play when actively playing through a bonus, else your winnings will be voided. Thus, it’s important to review the games contribution to playthrough.
In River Belle Casino, the different games contribute to playthrough as follows:
- 100% – All Slots, Keno & Scratch Card games
- 8% – All table pokers, all roulettes, all video/power Pokers (excluding All Aces and Jacks or Better video pokers), all blackjacks (excluding Classic Blackjack) and Casino War
- 2% – Classic Blackjacks, All Aces video pokers, all Jacks or Better video pokers
- 0% – All baccarats, all craps, Red Dog, Sic Bo
(The Gamble Feature on all Slots or the Double Feature on all Video/Power Pokers will not count towards playthrough requirements)
It means that if you’ll redeem a bonus in River Belle casino, you’ll be playing only slots, Keno and scratch card games. Other games contribute little or nothing and playing them will be sufferable. For example, because table poker contributes only 8%, if you’ll be using only it to clear the first deposit bonus, you’ll have to wager a total of $62,500. It’s even worse for classic blackjack, where you’ll be required to wager $250,000. River Belle warns that games that contribute 0% are excluded games, and if played when a bonus is still being played through, all winnings at the end of playthrough will be voided.
Other Conditions
In tune with other casinos in the CityViews Group, River Belle Casino has some very unpleasant bonus conditions.
Low caps for Single bet
When playing through a bonus, you are not allowed to place any single bet that is equal to or more than 30% of the bonus amount you redeemed. If you redeemed the $100 in our previous examples, this would mean that your single bets must be under $30. Not quite. There is another T&C line reading that “the maximum bet while a bonus is actively being played through is €8 per round and 50c per line”.
Thus, the maximum bet allowed is whichever is lower of 8 casino credit and 29.99% of bonus amount. If that is exceeded, all winnings will be voided. This strongly discourages high rollers from redeeming and playing with bonuses in the casino. Playing with small bets also means that you’ll have a lot of wagering to do to meet the high wagering requirement.
In our example of redeeming a $100 bonus, the high wagering requirement (even when playing only games that contribute maximally to playthrough) means that you’ll have to wager a total $5,000. This low cap on single bets means you’ll have to place 625 individual bets before you meet the playthrough requirement.
Low caps on withdrawal of winnings
These caps on withdrawals are designed to ensure that the casino does issue large payouts for winnings from certain bonus plays. Withdrawal that can be made from winnings resulting from plays with the welcome bonus is limited to 6 times your first deposit amount, and any remaining balance will be forfeited.
Back to that $100 welcome cash bonus that is redeemed after making a first deposit of $100; after suffering through playing 625 individual bets (because of their low single bet cap) to meet the high $5,000 playthrough amount (because of the high 50X wagering requirement), you are allowed to withdraw only up to $600, and any remaining balance will be forfeited.
Also, withdrawals that can be made from cleared winnings of all no-deposit bonuses (such as tournament free spins) are capped at 100 Casino Credits (in the your currency of play), and the remaining cash balance will be forfeited. Note that, winnings from all no deposit bonuses are subject to the 50X wagering requirement. So if you win $200 from a free spin, you’ll have to place a lot of individual bets to meet a very high playthrough amount, at the end of which you can withdraw only $100.
Banking Options
You’ll have to deposit money into your casino account and withdraw any winnings; therefore you’ll need your casino to provide a wide range of banking options from which you can easily grab one for conveniently making your deposits and withdrawals.
River Belle Casino supports a host of banking options; they also support different currencies meaning that many players will not have to worry about currency conversions. The supported currencies include: USD, CAD, EUR, AUD, CHF, PLN, SEK, NOK, INR, and JPY.
Deposits
The different methods accepted by River Belle for deposits are: ClickandBuy, EcoPayz, Maestro, MasterCard, Neteller, PaysafeCard, Postepay, Ukash, Visa Debit, Visa Electron, instaDebit, Visa, Entropay, GiroPay, EPS, Swedbank, EZIPay, Euteller, Neosurf, UseMyFunds, Fast Bank Transfer, eChecks, Transferencia Bancaria Local, Trustly, and Skrill (Moneybookers).
The minimum amount that can be deposited depends on the method chosen for the deposit. It is $5.00 for most of the e-wallets, $10.00 for most cards; and $20.00 for Direct Bank Transfer. Some methods do not have any minimum deposit amount allowing you to deposit whatever you want to; these methods are PaySafeCard and Ukash.
Withdrawals
There are fewer withdrawal methods than deposit methods, but you’ll still find one to conveniently use for your withdrawals no matter where you are playing from. The withdrawal methods are: Cheque, ClickandBuy, ECO Card, Maestro, Neteller, Visa Debit, Visa Electron, instaDebit, Visa, Entropay, Swedbank, EZIPay, eChecks, and Skrill (Moneybookers).
Also, there are minimum and maximum withdrawal caps, which depend largely on the currency of play. The minimum that can be withdrawn is $50. When playing with other currencies: 50 CAD/ EUR/ AUD/ CHF, 150 PLN, 300 SEK/ NOK, 2000 INR, 5000 JPY. The maximum amount is €/ $4,000 per week.
Understandably, withdrawals are not processed instantly like the deposits. When you submit your withdrawal request, River Belle Casino will take about 24 hours to process it, after which it will be issued through your chosen method. How long it then takes to get to your account will depend on the chosen method. Generally, the e-wallets take 24 – 48 hours, which makes them the fastest means of withdrawal. Credit and debit cards will take 2 – 5 days; direct bank transfers will take 3 – 7 working days; Courier check will take 5 – 7 working days; while regular mail check will take 14 – 21 working days.
Fast payouts are the hallmarks of legit casinos. While payouts in River Belle Casino are fairly fast, the process may be slowed by the player document verification process which can take as long as 7 days. River Belle can do well to shorten this process. However, you may do well to send in the necessary documentation on time (before hand), so that it will not delay your payout.
Restricted Countries
Casinos do not accept players from every region/ country. This has nothing to do with legitimacy; one reason is that gambling laws in some regions make it illegal for their residents to place bets online. In this regard, River Belle Casino is no different. They do not accept players from the following countries:
Australia, Andorra, Austria, Baden-Württemberg, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France & Outlying Territories, Hong Kong, Iran, Israel, Italy, Lower Saxony, Myanmar, North Korea, Philippines, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, USA & Outlying Territories, Taiwan, Turkey, Hungary and United Kingdom
Customer Support
The ideal casino should provide channels for addressing customer inquiries/ complaints. River Belle does provide different resources for assisting players. The first is an FAQ section on their website. It answers many of the general questions that other players have asked about the games and services of the casino.
If you still need to directly contact a support agent of the casino; you can do that through a live chat feature on the site, or through regular email using the email address: support@playersupportcenter.com. The support service is very good because; the live chat feature is available 24/ 7, and they responds to email submissions within 24 hours.
Summary
River Belle Casino is a legit and safe casino. Their operating license from the Malta Gaming Authority and eCOGRA certifications say as much. They make big promises, some of which include offering: exciting gaming experience, big promotions, and a world-class customer service. We found that River Belle Casino lives up to many of their promises. They draw games from Microgaming, so they are able to offer top quality games that guarantees exciting gaming action. However, they do not offer as many games as you’ll find in some competing casinos.
Their welcome bonus is definitely exciting and big. However, the one big problem that plagues all the CityViews casinos also plagues River Belle, and that is unfriendly bonus conditions. First, there is a high 50 times wagering requirement; then there are low caps on single bets when playing through a bonus; also there are low caps on withdrawal from winnings obtained from certain bonus plays. These bonus conditions combine to make the casino not the best house to redeem and play with bonuses.
On a good ending, they support a host of banking options for convenient transactions, and payouts are fairly fast. Also, the casino customer support service is actually world class, as agents are available 24/ 7 and provide timely and helpful responses.