Mandarin Palace Casino Review – Online Gambling, Mobile Casino Website

Mandarin Palace Casino Review

Mandarin Palace casino is an online gambling platform with a Curacao license (you can check the licence here), belongs to the Lotus Players Club Group of Online Casinos. I was a member of this group for more than 6 years (specifically the flagship website, the Black Lotus casino), I’ve witnessed the group changing hands and expand into a decent network from its humble beginnings, in operation for 8+ years. (Sadly they no longer accept players from my country so my player account was closed.)

I spent quite a lot of of years playing in Black Lotus casino (recommended) and also in the Grand Eagle casino (not recommended). The other casinos of this group are: Lucky Creek, Treasure Mile, Mandarin Palace – this one, Big Dollar, Lotus Asia – but I recommend registering at the Black Lotus website, it’s the flagship casino of the group that gets the most attention and it is the most well maintained.

The casino has average games (it was much worse just a few years ago, they had really bad games and only like 50 slots, glad to see they improved, definitely going in a good direction in this regard). In all fairness, there is not much difference between many of the casinos of this group: same games, same parent company, same customer support, same license, same issues, same flaws, only the design of the website seems to be different. However, it appears that Lucky Creek, Big Dollar are about to close down soon and they are neglected ,abandoned, I recommend avoiding those two, they most probably will be closed down very soon.

I trust this group. I trust them to let me withdraw my winnings, all of it, no matter how much I win, all the time. In fact, I withdrew over $3000 already, a while back, when I still had my account, no problems whatsoever (mandatory ID check of course, but no unnecessary delays, always got the money, and that’s what matters). However, buyer beware, I heard that it’s much more difficult and takes much longer to receive your winning if it’s over $5000. I’m deducting 1 point for that. I really hate it when casinos do that, ID checks are okay, they are mandatory in fact, they don’t have a choice in it, but unnecessary delays and limiting the amount you can withdraw are not okay.

Takes a long time to get your money if it’s above $5000: -1 points

If you don’t have time to read the full review and you are just looking for a short summary, just read this: The casino accepts players from the USA. Considering this is a US casino (US casinos always have worse and less games due to legal issues) it has an average selection of games, with Saucify, Rival, Betsoft, Genie, Nektan games, 200+. It’s okay if you are from the US, but not recommended if you are not, there are better casinos for non-US players. Good luck, see you at the casino.

If you are not from the US I recommend this casino, you can read the full review here. Much better, more and better games, but does not accept US players.

Simon says: There is a big divide in the world of online gambling, online gambling websites, which accept US players, and websites which do not accept US players. Mandarin Palace is firmly the former, accepting players from the USA and US territories. This is important to mention in a review, because radically different games are available to both of these casino types and they should be reviewed differently. European (primarily targeting European players, mostly licensed in Europe) gambling websites always have better and more games, because the best software providers, due to licensing and legal issues don’t work with casinos, which accept US players. Treasure Mile Casino has around 200 games, mostly slots, some video poker, some table games, nothing really special, average casino stuff. While a typical European casino has about 800 games and has interesting unique games as well, including live dealer games, digital sports betting, digital scratchcards, game show like games e.g.: Deal or No Deal, movie license slots based on popular franchises etc… Therefore a US casino is always going to look bad compared to a European one. You can read more about why this is, and about the legal status of domestic and offshore gambling, online gambling in the USA here. Be warned, pretty complicated, dry read, legal stuff. So, a good US casino would still be only 3/10 compared to a European one. However, In a review I would still rate a good US casino 7-8/10 because different context, and for different players,  that’s all there is available for US players. Therefore when I review a casino I use a separate scoring system for the two different types of casinos. A good US casino will still get 7/10 or 8/10 like it should, instead of a 3/10. Just wanted to mention this, to avoid confusion as to why a 200 games US casino might get the same score as a EU powerhouse with 1000+ games. People already made remarks about this in the comments section…. I hope this clears it up why this is the way it is. If you are not form the US there is no point to play in a US casino, really, you have much better options.

Review methodology: In each section I review one of the primary attributes of the casino, these are: list of countries not accepted, list of games, deposit and withdrawal process, methods and uniqueness. Each of these aspects then gets points ranging from +2, meaning exceptionally good to -2, exceptionally bad. Additionally at end of the review I go through what I consider to be less important secondary attributes, such as live support chat, VIP, loyalty program, mobile compatibility, other reviews, bonuses, promotions.
At the end I tally all the points and add and subtract them from 10. This will give the final score of the casino. I use a 1 to 10 scale, 10 being the best and 1 being the worst, no 0 or minus scores.

Mandarin Palace online casino review

1., Who can play: The most important thing for a player in a new casino is whether you can actually play or not, here is the list of all the countries not accepted at Mandarin Palace Casino. So before you read any further let’s determine whether you can actually play at the casino at all.

/Clarification: The country of your residence, your official address, what’s on your ID card (or address card if it’s a separate thing in your country) is what you should be checking, not your current residence. E.g: So if you are from the UK and you currently temporarily reside in the US, you should put down your UK address. It’s important, because if you win, they will ask for your ID and/or address card to make sure you are who you said you are on the registration form, and they will check the address on your ID, if it’s not the same as what you put down during registration they will instantly perma-ban you. And all your winnings will be confiscated, no matter how much you won! Be careful! /

A very short list. +1 points for accepting players from many different countries. I added a question mark symbol at United Kingdom and United States. Clearly, you can register and play from the states, or the UK, it’s one of the selling points of the casino. They are always described as a casino accepting US players on every gambling blog. And if you check the registration form you can select both the UK and US as your country when trying to register. Clearly not true. That’s quite a big mistake in the terms & conditions (that’s where the list of the countries not accepted is) and I wouldn’t be surprised if it would cost them quite a lot in a lawsuit, down the line. But hopefully they will fix it in time, -2, it’s a big and potentially costly mistake for the company, really unprofessional.

Just like all the other casinos of this network Mandarin Palace aggressively tries to push the registration form in your face, it’s unnecessarily agressive. I can’t check out the games, no demo mode, can’t read the details of promotions, almost everything on the website is hidden behind the registration form. -1 point

Accessibility, number of countries accepted: +1
Aggressively pushing registration: -1

2., Games: The second most important thing to players is the number, and also the quality of the games. Some casino game developers are just better than others, Net Ent, Microgaming, IGT to name three of the biggest, but the best software developers are only available to European casinos. However, Mandarin Palace works with Saucify (a good software developer) Betsoft (average, below average games), Genii (below average and some bad games) and Rival (below average and bad games). It’s a mixed bag but there are some good games there, above average selection for a US casino, enough to satisfy even returning player (and they keep adding more regularly). Around 200 games, mostly slots, table games, no poker, classic casino games, no live dealers.

Most of these games are mobile compatible, except for the older ones. Above average quality and selection for a US casino.

Games: -1

3., Deposit and withdrawal options: The third most important thing to a player are the deposit and withdrawal options. You obviously can’t win anything unless you bet money. And in this area Mandarin Palace needs to improve too. Apart from the usual: Skrill and Neteller, Mandarin Palace Casino accepts credit cards as well! Which is great for US players, because due to legal reasons credit card companies refuse to deal with the overwhelming majority of US casinos. This is one of the few exceptions. They also accept EcoCard (never heard of it myself) and Bitcoin. More than most casino that accepts US players, most of them definitely don’t accept credit cards or Bitcoin.

However! These were only for depositing money, for withdrawing money they don’t accept credit cards, Skrill, Ecocard. Luckily they still do Bitcoin, Neteller, cheque, wire transfer. It’s definitely an inconvenience that they don’t just send your winnings to your credit card, the same card you used to deposit, but that’s the law. Payment processors are independent third party legal entities and it’s really strictly regulated, international transactions especially.

Another big issue is that the minimum withdrawal amount is $150. I can understand a limit of $50, because of the extremely high cost of wire transfer in the US, but $150 seems excessive.

Still, they get -2 point deduction for limited options to withdraw funds and having a relatively high minimum withdrawal amount. (Use Bitcoin or wire transfer to get the money you won, I live in Europe, wire transfers are free, that’s what I used. I got my money in a few days. But if you live in the USA, Bitcoin or Neteller might be better to avoid the crushing, usually $50-30 fee for international wire transfers. It’s crazy how expensive wire transfer is in the US! Unbelievable! The casino doesn’t cover the wire transfer cost, they deduct it from your winnings.)

4., Uniqueness: And the last one I think we all are looking for in an online casino is innovation, unique and interesting new online gambling games and features. Anything that makes you “Wow, that’s amazing.”. Does Mandarin Palace have the so called ‘wow-factor’? No, it’s average. It accepts credit cards, that’s unique for a gambling website that accepts US players, but only for depositing money not for withdrawing so that’s not enough to be considered unique. I t accepts bitcoin, that’s unique, but not very unique. It has Saucify, Betsoft, Rival games. But so what? A lot of US casinos have them too, not enough. No unique games, no live dealers, 80% of the games are just plain old 5 reel slots, many are 5+ years old and not mobile compatible. This is an average, okay US player accepting casino, but nothing special or truly unique. Not a bad choice, but still, I would choose the flagship casino Black Lotus instead, same network, it’s just better maintained, updated more frequently, get the most love from the company.

Innovation, interesting, unique features/games: 0, none

Total score: Mandarin Palace Casino gets 5/10, 3/5 stars, average, recommended only for US players, I don’t recommend it if you are not from the USA. However! I would strongly recommend the flagship, main casino of the group instead of this one, it’s much better maintained, receives more attention and gets the best promos and jackpots, click here to check that casino.

Back to the casino reviews section.

Last updated: 2020-04-14

Miscellaneous other info about the company, in case you need to contact them:

Official name: Ardway Limited,  using the gaming license of its holding company Genesys Technology N.V.
Encryption: 128-bit SSL
Live Chat: 24/7
Head Office: DSLR Suite 413, Ftieh Street, Birkirkara Bypass, BKR2940 Birkirkara, Malta
Licence: Curacao
Phone: no phone number, just email
IT-Security: COMODO
Self Exclusion: Available
Email: [email protected] but use the contact form on the website instead, better, faster response
RTP Analysis: eCOGRA
Anti Money Laundering: ID-Check Required

Summary

Reviewer

Simon András Péter (SimonTheSorcerer)

Review Date

2020-03-27

Reviewed Item

Mandarin Palace Casino

Author Rating

3

Software Name

Mandarin Palace Online Mobile Casino

Software Name

Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS

Software Category

MobileApplication