STAKES Casino Review

Stakes Casino has been around since 2016, and on the surface it looks fairly decent. The website has a strong layout that is pleasing to the eye, and the lobby is well-stocked. However, you know the old adage – all that glitters is not gold.

 We’ve heard one too many stories about dissatisfied players who had issues at Stakes Casino, be it from extended waiting times with customer support to simply not getting their money rightfully withdrawn. For extra measure, we made an account with Stakes, played some games and read all the fine print. We were less than impressed.

 At best, Stakes is proof that a ‘nice’ website can only get you so far. Read the rest of our review, where we get into more detail about all the things we didn’t like about this casino and why you should put your money elsewhere.

A Boring and Limited Welcome Package

We don’t play by the idea that a bonus is the most important thing at a casino. Nor do we believe that a casino needs to have exorbitant welcome bonus packages. Plenty of our favourite casinos do just fine by offering moderate packages that aren’t hard to max out.

The welcome package at Stakes, though, is pretty bland. As you’ll see in the table below, you need to deposit three times to complete the whole package, and the total amount you’ll get is pretty minor. High-rollers will be put off for sure, and we reckon that even most players with a more casual approach will find this package to be underwhelming. Not worth the wagering requirements.

Decent Banking Options; Weird Banking Terms

Like with most things at Stakes, the banking options look pretty good on paper. Certainly, we’d be dishonest if we said that there aren’t a wide range of deposit and withdrawal methods available. But time has proven that banking is perhaps the area where Stakes fails the most. Check out this clause if you want to see what we’re on about:

“STAKES reserves the right to modify the credit card/ debit limits and/or refuse to process any withdrawals/ deposits.”

After reading that clause, we’d be super wary about putting any money into Stakes. There are no qualifications as to why they might refuse to process a withdrawal. They could technically refuse a payment process just because they feel like it or because it suits them, and whip up a spun-together argument that the transaction looks fishy. You’d be in very little position to argue.

That’s not the only weird term, though. Winnings greater than €10,000 will be divided into monthly withdrawals of €5000. You might think that’s not too bad until you realise that also applies to progressive jackpots. What happens when you strike gold and get €100,000 on a single spin? You have to wait 20 months to get all of it, that’s what. 

An Over-Saturated Lobby

The lobby at Stakes casino isn’t the worst thing about it. In fact, for all intents and purposes it’s decent. The lobby page is organised neatly, and there’s a good selection of games. Its biggest problem is that it’s just filled to brim with games by far too many providers.

For players who know exactly what they want, that’s OK – but for players who are still getting acclimated to online casino gaming, we think it can be pretty overwhelming to sift through hundreds of games to find the good stuff. For every great game like Wizard of Gems by Play’n GO, which has stellar graphics and gameplay options, there are quite a few other guadier games.

It’s a pattern we see in various online casinos – trying to compensate for lacklustre casino features by overcompensating with the game selection. We’ve come to appreciate the more focused experience you get at a lobby that’s more curated and more streamlined. 

Service With a Grimace

Stakes’ customer service seems in line with what the top dogs are doing: live chat and contact forms are both options here. Unfortunately having the system ‘in place’ means little if the functionality is not up to par. We’ve found response from the contact form to be very slow, so live chat would be anyone’s best bet for quicker service.

Plus, we can’t really trust the customer support here – not with the questionable clauses in the T&Cs that enable them to be unhelpful when it suits the casino. This is not a hypothetical situation. Enough stories have come our way about Stakes and associated casinos to justify our wariness.

Look Elsewhere

There are so many great casinos on the internet, from the most popular casinos to new online casino sites, and you don’t need to look terribly hard to find them. It’s really hard to justify signing up with Stakes Casino for an average experience. If poor bonuses and problematic withdrawals are your thing, go ahead.

 For everyone else, let’s find you something better.