Casino Grand Bay Review

You can almost feel the Caribbean sun beating down on the back of your neck when Casino Grand Bay first loads up. It very nearly invokes scenes from the first Daniel Craig Bond movie, Casino Royale, where the super spy travels out to the tropics to pursue a super villain, and engages in some super-big money casino moments whilst managing to woo a woman or two (our memory is a little vague, apologies).

Digressions aside, clearly if you’re gambling from the sanctity of a cold, poorly insulated rental property in some godforsaken corner of hipster East London, or your local equivalent, the simple act of loading up this online casino isn’t going to truly transport you to warmer climes, but the theme is certainly pretty appealing- you could stare at the banner image, of a yacht mored next to impossibly (and no-doubt Photoshopped) white sands that give way to tear-inducingly turquoise waters. Not a bad sight to see.

As for the overall landing page in general, it’s not rewriting any rules when it comes to online casinos, but then you could say that everything is therefore in its right place. There are very prominent prompts to download desktop versions for both Mac OSX and Windows, go to the impressively responsible Smartphone and Tablet mobile version of the site, or simply click through to begin playing direct via web browser.

Beneath those, you’ll see thumbnail images for popular titles, some of which have demo versions to play without the hassle of signing up. There’s also a cool Recent Winners ticker, which adds to the feeling you’re playing amongst countless other global players- a community- and also emphasises just how frequently people are winning on this particular site.

A YouTube video embed gives you a more in depth view of a specific title, and any doubts about Promotions are put to rest given there’s a huge $100 sign up bonus presented across the banner image, and lower down the page an ad for a competition to climb aboard a real life cruise ship. But we’ll come to the rewards and what not later.

Destination Wherever You Want

There are plenty of options in terms of games themselves. Video Slots, Progressives, Table Games, Video Poker, and Others are all categories that greet you when the homepage first loads up, and each have an abundance of different styles, themes, and looks- as varied as the islands on any Caribbean cruise itinerary we’ve seen.

Being big fans of Slots we really enjoyed the Progressive Jackpot machines, of which there are a few. Magnificent 7s was perhaps the most fun, a Wild West-inspired effort that runs on a simple three paylines, making for simple but quick fire gaming. The video poker options aren’t as revolutionary as some we have seen but there are some great details included and gameplay is totally seamless. On the whole then, top selection, albeit perhaps not as enormous as other sites offer, but one that’s every bit as strong as you would hope for.

Offers and Loyalty Rewards

We’ve already mentioned the $100 reward for signing up, which is done on a bet match basis. That’s not bad, but you can’t help feel that the developers and casino owners are missing a trick by not offering some more promotional offers. Yes, we’ve also experienced overly-complex ‘deals’ that actually don’t really work out in the players’ favour, but great offers are great offers and we welcome them.

That said, there is a nice little reward scheme on GrandBay that’s nicely stylised too. So you can be a Jack, Queen, King, Ace or Black Diamond. Each requires a different level of commitment and risk on your part, and each equates to a different value of reward overall. So, whilst all will provide you with some form of Daily Bonus, only the latter three categories receive Lifestyle Merchandise, VIP Contact Person, and Payback Bonus.

Ongoing Support

Whereas many casinos see fit to provide one international number, or maybe just an online form to fill out, GrandBay outdoes most of the competition. There is a separate number for every territory eligible to play, and also an email address given out. However, the Live Support is really what sets this apart – something we’re still amazed hasn’t become industry standard yet. Although it is fast becoming so.

What this all means is that you have plenty of support for queries and any possible anomalies that you might come across. Obviously things like this shouldn’t happen, but occasionally they do so it’s good to know there are the necessary lines of communication to get issues ironed out as quickly as possible.

En Guard

Perhaps it nods to the James Bond stuff we were talking about before, perhaps not. Either way there are ongoing tournaments at GrandBay that conjure a sense of competitiveness that is sorely missing from many other online casino sites.

Some have a very low buy in requirement, which is great news for those that don’t want to use all their spare cash or loyalty points, which can also be redeemed, whilst still having great financial rewards for those willing to buy in and put their mettle to the test.

Don’t Worry, Be Happy

Reassuringly, GrandBay Casino has an entire page dedicated to its banking information, which is clearly advertised when the homepage loads up (just click on the ‘Banking’ tab, obviously).

This is far easier to find and read compared with many rivals, and is the best way of giving people piece of mind when it comes to just how secure their transactions are. 128-bit encryption technology is the best possible, and the number of methods of payment, including relatively new offerings like Skrill only adds to the sense that this is as up to date as possible, meaning your money couldn’t really be in safer hands.

Setting Sail

Admittedly, we’d probably opt to board an actual cruise ship and sail around gorgeous island idylls whilst also satisfying our love for gambling. But as we’re not really in a position to do that right now, or at least we weren’t at the time of writing, this is really the next best thing.

GrandBay may not be able to do much about the weather outside your window, but it can certainly provide the big money thrills you’ve been looking for.

With a great selection of games spread across a good (but not comprehensive) selection of formats, this really is coming close to the full casino experience in digital form. We also love the loyalty system as it genuinely pays off for players to get involved as much as they can, offering significant bonuses to those who play frequently enough.

There’s no silliness in the design, which is refreshing to say the least, and no messing about when it comes to the robust technology being employed, meaning this is in the upper leagues of online casinos overall- providing reassurance and entertainment in equal measure. And if that’s not enough of a recommendation we really don’t know what is, other than to simply say this is a must-try, particularly if you’re beginning to tire of time wasting casinos elsewhere.