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Casino
Beacon
> Online
Casinos
> Online
Casino Reviews
> Mansion
Casino Review Mansion
Casino
Review Welcome
Bonus: Software:
Playtech Our
Rating: Introduction Mansion
Casino is a popular
Online
Casino
with games powered by
Playtech
software. The casino launched in
2004 and are licensed by the
Government of
Gibraltar. Mansion
Casino is included in the 'white
list' of approved jurisdictions
now allowed to advertise gaming
services in the UK. New
players at Mansion Casino are
welcomed with a free money
welcome bonus of up to £200
free and there's a weekly reload
bonus (see 'Free Money Bonuses'
below for details). Casino
Games You
can download Mansion's free
Casino
Games
software and get access to their
entire collection of more than
100 casino games or you can
instead play their 'instant
games' via your
browser. Choosing
to download the games software is
usually preferable as it gives a
better overall gaming experience
but it's nice to be able to play
without downloading if you're
using someone else's PC or your
PC is running short on available
memory. Free
Money Bonuses The
free money welcome bonus is a
100% deposit-match bonus of up to
£200. In
order to earn this bonus, you are
required to wager 40 times the
bonus amount. For example, if you
deposit £200 you'll get
another £200 free, so you
need to wager £8000 in
bets. If
you are not UK based then you
should read carefully the
promotion terms and conditions at
Mansion Casino's website -
players from China don't get the
bonus at all and players from the
USA are not accepted. We
couldn't find any minimum deposit
requirements in order to get the
welcome bonus. Not
all online casino players want to
accept welcome bonuses because of
the playthrough restrictions
involved so it would be nice if
Mansion Casino allowed players
NOT to take this bonus. Well,
they do allow you to play without
a bonus but you have to ask them
to do this. See this in the
casino's terms and conditions:
"If you do not wish to receive
this bonus, please contact a
member service representative
after you have made your first
deposit, but before you start to
bet." Okay,
I guess that's better than
nothing but it would be far
better if Mansion Casino allowed
you to either accept or decline a
bonus without having to go
through the hassle of contacting
them. Things
got considerably worse when we
took a closer look at the weekly
reload bonus. The only
information shown on Mansion's
website is "Mansion Casino is
offering a 25% reload bonus on
any reload made on a
Tuesday." That's
your lot as far as information
goes. There's nothing about
playthrough requirements,
restricted games, maximum amounts
available, etc. Oh well, this
gave us a chance to contact
Mansion's support team via their
handy Live Chat facility and so
began a rather interesting
dialogue with someone called
Thomas R: Thomas
R:
Hi, my name is Thomas R. How may
I help you? Casino
Beacon:
Hi. I was just looking at your
Tuesday 25% reload bonus. It
doesn't say if there's a maximum
amount to this or any playthrough
requirements and there's nothing
at all about it in the t&c -
can you point me to any
conditions on the
site? Thomas
R:
It is 40 times wagering on
allowed games for this bonus and
the minimum deposit is
50€ Hmmm.
So we've already discovered that
there's a 40x playthrough
requirement when using the reload
bonus. That's the same condition
that applies to the welcome bonus
so there's no reason it can't be
clearly explained on the casino's
website. We've also learned that
only "allowed games" can be
played when using this bonus. Oh,
and our question about any
maximum amount remained
unanswered. Not
to be put off, we pressed ahead
with the chat: Casino
Beacon:
Right... although I didn't ask
the minimum. I asked if there's a
maximum amount bonus available
for the 25% reload? Also, what
are the "allowed games"? There's
nothing at all on the site,
unless you can point me to
it? Thomas
R:
the maximum is
400€ Casino
Beacon:
That's the max deposit or
bonus? Thomas
R:
deposit Getting
precise information was a bit
like pulling teeth out here but
Thomas wasn't finished yet so
let's give the guy a
chance. Thomas
R:
All games are included in this
offer except for: all forms of
Baccarat, Craps, Roulette, Sic
Bo, Pontoon, Blackjack, Jacks and
Better, Aces and faces, Casino
Hold’em, Deuces wild, Joker
Poker and All American Video
Poker. So
we now know that the Tuesday
reload bonus has a maximum amount
of £100 and the restricted
games. Thing is, few players are
likely to contact the casino as
we did and so they'd be
depositing to get this bonus
money without any clue as to the
restrictions attached. Being a
helpful bunch here at Casino
Beacon, we thought we'd pass on
our words of wisdom. Casino
Beacon:
Do you know if these terms are
listed anywhere on the site? To
be honest, the casino won't be
able to use these terms unless
the player has been made aware of
them. I wouldn't have a clue
about them if I hadn't used Live
Chat. Thomas
R:
The terms are listed for the
First Deposit Bonus and also
apply for this one, they are
trying to fix the
link Casino
Beacon:
Ok, well I guess until they're
listed then the casino won't
really be able to rely on those
terms for the reload bonus - I
suggest the casino sorts that
pretty sharpish. Thomas
R:
you will also get a pop up when
you accept the bonus - with the
terms and
conditions Casino
Beacon:
Is that after the deposit or
prior to it? Thomas
R:
after the deposit before
receiving the
bonus Now,
that's more than a bit naughty!
As things stand, Mansion Casino
will accept your reload deposit
and THEN advise you of the
restrictive terms and conditions.
That's just not acceptable and we
decided to explain just
that. Casino
Beacon:
Then my point stands You really
cannot notify a player of terms
for a reload bonus AFTER they've
made the deposit. Thomas
R:
Sorry, I don't create the
website. Is there anything else I
can help you with? Ooh,
getting a bit shirty with us,
Thomas? We pointed out a VERY
valid point and instead of
thanking us and passing on the
information, we pretty much got a
'not my fault' in reply. Not good
enough, Thomas, and not a good
way to represent Mansion
Casino. Into
The Action Once
you've visited Mansion Casino's
website, you'll be presented with
the choice of either downloading
the casino software or playing
the 'instant play' version via
your browser. Most people tend to
go for the download version as it
does provide a better experience
but the instant play versions of
online casinos are becoming
increasingly popular and we
decided to take a closer look at
Mansion's version. If
you're playing the 'instant'
version rather than downloading
the games software, then you need
to remember to switch off any
pop-up blocker on your PC as the
games will open in a new
window. One
nice thing about Mansion Casino
is that you can choose to play
for 'fun money' rather than real
money, which can be a nice way to
ease yourself into the action
gently and try out the games
before going on to risk real
money. However, things got a bit
messy when we tried to do just
that. We
found the opening of multiple
windows a bit annoying. For
example, we clicked to play
blackjack which opened in a new
window. After a while we clicked
'lobby' to play another game
which opened in another new
window. We clicked to play
roulette and wondered where it
had gone, only to find that it
had opened in the window where
blackjack had been. Not exactly a
disaster of an experience but
still, it wasn't exactly what
we'd call tidy. We
came across other annoying little
niggles. It would be unfair to
describe them as reasons not to
play at Mansion Casino but
they're quite easily fixable and
Mansion should make a few tweaks
to give a better player
experience. One such example can
be found when playing roulette.
After you've placed a bet and
watched the ball land, you can't
simply click 'rebet' to place the
same bet, or place a different
bet. First, you have to click
'New Game' and then place your
next bet and then click 'Spin'.
There's absolutely no need for
the 'New Game' thing and it can
become rather annoying after a
while. We
also found the total lack of any
sound effects rather offputting.
It's nice to be able to switch
off any audio when playing at an
online casino but not having any
in the first place can mean a
somewhat eerie gaming session
which lacks any real
atmosphere. Many
of these niggles apply only to
the instant games. If you follow
our advice and download the games
software then you'll find you
have a much improved
experience. Don't
Dig Too Deep Any
player with an ounce of common
sense will want a bit of
reassurance before making that
first deposit. This is especially
true if you're new to online
casinos - rightly or wrongly
(mostly wrongly), many people are
skeptical of internet casinos and
it's vitally important that the
casino presents a totally
professional image and a website
that makes you feel
secure. At
first glance, Mansion Casino's
website seems to tick all the
right boxes but dig just a little
and you'll find that not
everything is reassuring and some
things are a right mess. The
links called 'blog' and 'forum'
took us to promotional pages for
Mansion and had bugger all to do
with a forum or blog. We also
found spelling
mistakes. Just
to make you feel totally uneasy,
Mansion couldn't even get the
time right! At the top of each
page of their website it shows
the current time - or rather, the
time it would have been an hour
ago. VIP
Club It's
good to see that Mansion Casino
have rewards in place for regular
players. These rewards come in
the form of Mansion's
VIP Club. It
isn't immediately apparent from
Mansion's website exactly how
much you need to spend or how
often you need to play to gain
access to the VIP Club but
that does make it seem even more
exclusive and something to aspire
to. Or maybe it's really bad
customer service. We like it,
anyway. Mansion
say "It’s really easy to
earn your VIP Club Membership -
just keep playing your favourite
casino games" which are not
perhaps the most detailed
instructions. They
go on: "Regular real money
players will soon have wagered
enough to be granted membership.
Our VIP Manager checks all
players on a daily basis and
makes notes on frequency of play,
player deposits and player
turnover - as well as preferred
choice of games." If
you do gain entrance to this
magical land of paradise then
you'll get monthly exclusive VIP
promotions, random free money
drops, hospitality opportunities
at top sporting events and direct
contact with Mansion's Casino VIP
Manager to deal with any issues
you may have. Mansion
list as one of their hospitality
events, "experiences at
Tottenham Hotspur Football
Club" so perhaps it's not as
wonderful as we'd hoped. Now, if
they'd said a box at Villa
Park... Customer
Support Mansion
claim that customer support is a
priority and you can reach their
team via any of several contact
methods. In
the event that you need any help
then you can get hold of a
Mansion Casino customer support
representative via freephone
telephone, e-mail or via their
Live Chat facility. It's also
nice to see that Mansion Casino
have listed a full postal
address. Our
own experience with Mansion's
customer support wasn't brilliant
but at least we did get the
required information - albeit
with a bit of unnecessary
prodding. Banking Players
at Mansion Casino can deposit and
withdraw via many different
methods and you're unlikely to
find a deposit method you want to
use that isn't available
here. You
do not need to have a credit or
debit card to deposit at Mansion
as they have a variety of
alternative banking
options. You
can deposit at Mansion via credit
or debit card, cheque/money
order, Neteller,
bank wire, Instadebit,
Ukash,
Moneybookers
and EcoCard. Mansion
Casino also accepts deposit via
Prepaid
Credit and Debit
Cards
which can be a useful way to
budget your spending. Summary Mansion
is a functional and reasonably
enjoyable online casino but they
need to address some worrying
issues before they can be
considered a serious contender
for your money. Having a website
that feels unfinished and
offering promotions with terms
and conditions given AFTER you've
deposited are sure-fire ways to
send customers running away and
never coming back. Mansion
are not a small operation - far
from it. In fact, they're a big
name in the online gambling world
and they need to redirect some of
their considerable resources into
making their promotions
transparent and their website
finished. Telling their Live Chat
reps not to get pissy with
customers would also be
nice. |
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