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The growth of the online casino industry has been gradually increasing for over 20 years now, and players are getting increasingly versatile offers that compliment all their needs. Those may include the design of the casino, the number of games casinos offer, or whether the sites ensure the player’s safety and regular payouts. All of the above is crucial for a casino to be legitimate, so additional investigation about each you plan to try out is crucial. In this article, we will dig further into the Lucky 18 online casino and help you decide whether the decision to give it a shot would be the smart thing to do.
General Information
Lucky 18 Casino was founded in 2008 by Ruby Heights Limited Casino. Powered by RealTime Gaming software, this company ensured that their players would have a highly immersive experience while playing a wide range of games with high-quality graphics. Unfortunately, the bad publicity had severy cut their audience after a couple of severe allegations. However, Lucky 18 continued operating until late September 2012.
First Impression
The website is similar to plenty of other casinos on the web at the moment. The simple design of the purple background is somewhat modern, with flashy images of bonus offers and available deals for players. On the homepage, instant play mode and downloadable option are both available.
At the bottom of the page, players have easy access to all promotions and a link leading to the casino’s 24/7 customer support along with toll-free telephone numbers for both international and UK customers. However, below that, there is a big image stating “Safe and secure” that calls for attention. After following that link, we were taken to another online casino site called “Wiz Bet.” At this moment, we found ourselves confused, but of course, we decided to dig further.
It seems that unsuspecting gamblers who have not done their research were still depositing to this site for an additional three years. And that just made the already existing pile of complaints even bigger. It is really astonishing that sites such as this one can continue such shady practice years after they getting exposed. Luckily, the site is officially closed since 2012. However, at the bottom of their page, you will still be able to see an image that leads you to Wiz Bet Casino. This site seems to have the same issues as well. So far, no one has linked the two casinos, and Lucky 18 has denied any connections, as their officials stated that the two casinos were not associated at all.
Games and Software
Lucky 18 has a great offer of games, thanks to the always-reliable RTG. They feature more than 80 classic five-reel slot machines, along with the old-school three-reel slots for the ones who prefer it that way. And among the long list of names, we were also able to find promotions for many free spin rounds for titles such as Warlock’s Spell, Dice mice, and many others.
Moreover, their table games library includes several options of Blackjack, European Blackjack, Pontoon, and Match Play 21. However, the important thing that we found out about Lucky 18 is that their video poker versatility made them stand out. According to many portals and player’s comments, their offer is proclaimed to be the largest in the industry. It seems that their offer includes both single-hand and multi-hand games and grand versatility in each of them. Moreover, players will have the option to choose between Jacks or Better, Deuces Wilds, Tens or Better, etc. And in case they wish to try something entirely different, they will be able to enjoy Double Double Jackpot, Pick’em Poker, or Mystery Bonus.
Bonuses
When it comes to the bonus offers this site offers, they are in many ways similar to those of other online casinos. However, the only difference is that the Lucky 18’s bonus scheme is divided into three different stages. The welcome matching bonus is 100%, where you will be able to deposit up to $1000 and this offer comes with a 15x wagering requirements. And once players deposit for the second time, they are provided with a 50% bonus offer that comes with a 15x wagering requirement as well. And finally, when it comes to the third deposit, players are awarded 75% of the deposit bonus with the same playthrough.
However, it is stated that those wagering requirements are not applicable to table games. Although, while looking into their site’s T&Cs, we were not able to find out more. So the wagering requirements for table games have remained a mystery.
Moreover, the site has created a classic Loyalty scheme, where players are entitled to rewards by being active. According to the scheme, players accumulate points with every wager, and they have the option to redeem those earned points through the site’s offer of gifts, prizes, and bonus chips.
User Experience
At first glance, this site seemed like a regular online casino with standard bonus offers and conventional design. However, upon further investigation, we encountered many issues and severe accusations. So in that spirit, we will give our best to make an objective judgment about this site.
Usually, online casinos make a good start when they enter the online scene. They do their best to provide excellent service, bonus offers, and resolve customer’s complaints as quickly as possible. At least they try to practice that kind of behavior for a certain period of time to gain the trust of their audience. However, the Lucky 18 was declared rogue by many portals in November 2009, after just one year of existence. The reason behind this was too many complaints from customers that claimed that the payments were too slow, or in some cases, never going through at all.
Moreover, the list of complaints was so long that many casino review sites decided to get in touch with the owners of Lucky 18 to try to get to the bottom of this since their procrastination with the payments lasted even for months. However, the staff of this casino remained unresponsive. Only a couple of players received vague answers such as “Please, wait a while.” That is more than unacceptable since players are waiting to receive their money for way too long while the process is being stalled with to no end.
Also, another issue connected to their payment complaints involved poor organization with player’s ID verification on the casino’s part. Usually, the process of verification is done before players win and request for payouts. However, Lucky 18 decided to organize that entirely differently. They decided to ask for their player’s ID verification documents only after they had requested to withdraw their money. The casino most probably chose that kind of management strategy in order to drag out the payout process even more. And just when we thought the situation could not get any worse, we came across many reports that the casino also managed to “lose” their users’ documents just before the payout was supposed to happen. The players were then requested to re-send their documents, which of course, caused more delays.
Moreover, another excuse this site has been using to avoid resolving these financial matters included blaming the Neteller account of being in overdraft due to a lot of fundings being processed at the same time, at least this is what one of the managers of Lucky 18 told to one the players. That player, in particular, was initially damaged for $1,300, but that amount only kept growing, and the excuses he received from the staff members of the company were so appalling that he started a formal lawsuit against the company.
Although we were able to see toll-free telephone numbers, an e-mail address, and live chat support available and clearly stated on the site, it seems that the customer service this online casino provides is poor. The support should always be at the customer’s disposal, and not work against them like Lucky 18’s obviously does.
License
And as an icing on the cake, this casino holds was licensed by Costa Rica. This Central American country is well known for its tolerant government, and it has shown somewhat relaxed standards and attitude towards online gambling operators. However, that does not mean that every operator holding this license has a bad reputation and offers poor services to their players. Although, it does mean that the operators have more freedom, and it is their call whether they will comply to standard regulations and respect their customers.
Pros and Cons
All in all, Lucky 18 Casino had a great start when it came to the software provider they chose — it ensured a wide variety of games for every player’s taste. Moreover, the bonus offers casino had in mind had a good reward system for its loyal players and an excellent welcome bonus offer. And lastly, the video poker versatility marked them as one of the top online casinos in the whole industry, which is quite remarkable.
However, in order to be a good online casino operator, choosing a high-quality software provider is not nearly good enough. Instead, it is a matter of trust and building a reputable brand. In that regard, giving players the money they had won fair and square is something they should be obliged to do — it should not be something that should ever be debated on.
Verdict
Overall, as previously stated, Lucky 18 had a great start and a big chance to make their way to the top of this industry. Unfortunately, they tarnished their reputation too quickly. They managed not only to climb the lists of blacklisted casinos but to be labeled as a thieving company as well. Moreover, players are being warned about them on every corner on the web.
However, keeping someone’s money is illegal and that has to be pointed out. This site did not shut down after such allegations, which turned out to be true, and that is not the worst case scenario yet. The bad publicity had severely cut their audience. However, it seems that Lucky 18 has continued their practice until late September 2012.
Unsuspecting gamblers who have not done their research were still depositing to this site for three years more and made the already existing list of complaints to pile up even more. It is really astonishing that sites such as this one can continue such practice years after they are being exposed. The site is officially closed since then, however, at the bottom of their page, you will be able to see an image that leads you to another online casino called Wiz Bet Casino. This site seems to have the same issues as well. So far no one has linked the two casinos, and Lucky 18 has denied any connections, their officials state that the two casinos are not associated at all.
Therefore, we will keep it short and kindly advise all players that Lucky 18 online casino site is not a venue we would recommend you to bet at. The online gambling industry is not for entertainment purposes only. Players invest both their money and their time and enjoy earning some winnings along the way. It is illegal, to say the least, to deprive them of their earned money, and obviously, unethical. Providers are the ones who should be ensuring a safe environment for players while following rules of responsible gaming, as most respected operators do. Providers are the ones who are there to ensure entertainment, proper management and make sure to follow the rules of responsible gambling in this industry as most of the respected operators do. Ultimately, our best piece of advice for you is to do yourself a favor and find a venue that respects its players.
Casino Rating
Customer Support: 2/10
Cashout Time: 2/10
Software: 8/10
Jurisdiction: 2/10
Total: 3.5/10
