Casino Site Expert Review: Mansion Casino
Verdict: This famous UK casino brand offers a great Playtech casino with a 5-star VIP section and strong focus on reliability and security. It has some great promotions, but a slightly reduced number of games available for Instant Play.
Mansion Casino:Mansion Casino is one of the leading UK casino sites. It has been around since 2004, having been launched by the large and reputable Mansion gaming brand. It aims to bring you a quality Playtech platform with a focus on providing a simple, easy-to-use playing environment – and it succeeds in this! Combined with their focus on fairness and security, backed by up stringent testing and regulation and high standards of financial security, they offer you the reassurance and reliability you need to relax and just focus on the reason you’re there – to enjoy playing some great casino games. And with great bonuses available every month it’s easy to do just this!
History
The casino was launched in 2004. Its parent company, Mansion (Gibraltar) Ltd, was founded in 2003 by a group of private investors who set up the company in Gibraltar, and also offers poker and sports betting services. It focuses on the UK market but is open to all, with their support phone lines available from many other countries.Casino Website
Mansion casino features a sleek black and red background, which looks good and, more importantly, the static yet catchy graphics are easy on the eye and don’t distract you from that game you should be focusing on! The casino opens in a compact pop-up window with everything you need available without having to do any scrolling. Most of the window is taken up with the games menu, featuring nine different games categories as well as a link to your favourite games. The categories are New Games, Live Games, Slot Games, Table and Card Games, Progressives, Asian Games, Video Pokers, Arcade Games and Scratch Cards. There is a bar along the top of the screen with links to the cashier, your account details and the online support. At the bottom of the screen are links to the VIP section, your points and the contact section, along with an indicator of whether you’re in a free or real money mode. All-in-all it’s a very simple layout, with everything you need in easy reach, and no attempt to bamboozle you with too much information and flashing lights which is so common at some other casinos.Software
Mansion uses Playtech software for its casino. It is available in both download and instant-play Flash versions. There are slightly less games available in the Flash version, but with about a hundred games still probably more than enough to satisfy the needs of those customers who prefer not to, or are unable to, install the software.Live Casino
Mansion offers live Blackjack, Roulette and Baccarat, easily accessed from the main games tab. When you select which game you want you will be given a choice of quite a few different tables. The dealer on each table is featured to help with this decision! The games themselves feature the great graphics and audio you’d expect in a Playtech casino, but unfortunately there is no biographical information available on the dealers. One neat feature though is that you can play a mini game in the same window, which is great for those who find the pace of live casinos to be a bit slower than they like – now you can play another game while waiting for that roulette wheel to stop spinning!Customer Support
Mansion has great customer support available 24/7 which is always reassuring and the sign of a serious and reputable company. You can use the livechat facility easily from most pages, and they also offer freephone numbers from ten different countries, including the UK. Or of you are not in a rush and prefer a written response, then you can also email them.Payment Methods
The casino is focused on the rapid fulfilment of all transactions. For this reason all the deposit methods are ones which can be fulfilled instantly. All the major methods you would expect are available including debit and credit cards, Moneybookers, Neteller, Paysafecard and Bank Transfer. To guarantee the security of your money Mansion insists on valid documentation verifying your identity. This may seem a bit of a hassle but actually it’s quite easy to scan and email them, and you can then have peace of mind that you are dealing with a company who take your financial security seriously. Withdrawal methods include most of the major deposit methods like credit and debit cards, Moneybookers and Neteller, and you can also withdraw by bank draft or cheque.Safety and Security
Mansion has a clear privacy policy stated and easily accessed from the homepage. It guarantees the privacy and security of your personal and financial information, using SSL encryption of all data sent and received. They have a certificate issued by Norton which guarantees this encrypted transmission of information and confirms the identity of the company as a valid business. This certificate is linked to from their homepage.Licence
Mansion casino operates under a licence issued in the jurisdiction of Gibraltar, so you are be reassured that it operates within one of the strictest regulatory frameworks in the world, on a prized shortlist of overseas gambling authorities approved by the UK government.Reliability & Fairness
Regulation by the Gibraltar Gambling Commissioner offers reassurance that the games you play are fair and reliable. Mansion also regularly has its games tested by TST (Technical Systems Testing North America), one of the leading statistical testing companies in the gambling industry. This guarantees fair and clear payouts, and randomness of results.Social Engagement
Mansion seem to take their social remit quite seriously and are strong advocates of responsible gaming, with links on their site to quite a variety of problem gambling organisations, including Gamcare and Gambling Aware. This engagement with the real world goes beyond any legal requirements though with, for example, Mansion casino being one of the official shirt sponsors of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.Mobile / Tablets
Mansion does not yet offer a mobile casino. This is obviously an issue for those people who like to play on the move, but not so much of a problem if you primarily prefer to play your favourite games sitting on a comfy seat, with your drink of choice in easy reach!Free Demo Play
There is practice play available for most games, which is a great way to learn a new game before betting for real money. When you log onto the casino initially you will be given the choice of practice or real money modes. The mode you are currently in is clearly indicated in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen, and it is easy to change between modes simply by logging on and off.Promotions and bonuses
There is a headline high roller welcome package of up to £5000, with a deposit bonus of 50% when you deposit over £1000, up to £5000. Otherwise there is still an excellent 100% deposit bonus for everyone else, up to £500. The wagering requirements are quite low, 20x for the normal welcome package, and 15x for the high roller bonus. As always though, not all games count towards the wagering requirements fully so make sure you check this with, for example, slots giving 100% of the wagering requirement but Blackjack and Craps only counting for 10%. There are many other bonuses available, such as a weekly and monthly reload bonuses of 25% worth over £3000 over the course of a month. Some games have their own special bonuses attached, such as the Bond Experience with the chance to drive an Aston Martin or spend two days at a spy academy! There is also a refer-a-friend bonus of £50.Loyalty Scheme
Loyalty points awarded for real money bets, with the amount needing to be wagered varying between games. Loyalty points can be redeemed for cash and also enable you to progress up their VIP rankings. For example, you need 500 loyalty points to move from Bronze to Silver in their VIP scheme.VIP Scheme
Mansion has a five-level VIP scheme, going from Bronze to VIP Elite. You can progress up the levels by accumulating loyalty points, with the final VIP Elite level an elite invitation-only club. Each level opens up new bonuses and promotions and allows you to accumulate those loyalty points more rapidly. At the top level you will enjoy the use of a personal account manager, as well as invitations to special VIP tournaments and real world sporting events, and extra benefits like faster withdrawal times.Pros
- Some of the best bonuses and promotions around!
- Fairness and security guaranteed by best regulators and testing agencies
- Simple, easily navigated website – no attempt to distract you!
Cons
- No mobile casino
- Relatively limited number of instant-play games
- Could have more info on their live dealers
You can also read our casino site short review of Mansion Casino or view our carefully selected list of the highest quality casino sites alongside the best live casinos with live dealers from the world around or check out the best UK casino sites if it suits you geographically.