Bella Vegas - Online Casino Review

Bella Vegas Casino

July 18, 2005

Overview

Bella Vegas runs Microgaming software and is licensed by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake, Canada. This is a casino that likes to keep things official. They are members of eCogra, ICRA (Internet Content Rating Association), and the IGC (Interactive Gaming Council). Along with official goes responsible. There is a link to Gamblers Anonymous on their home page.

Customers from the following countries have toll free phone and fax numbers to contact customer service: USA, United Kingdom, Italy, Holland, Germany, France, Canada, and Australia. Email and Live Chat support are also available. However, Live Chat is not 24 hours, as when I was reviewing the site it was unavailable.

I had a list of questions for Bella Vegas so I sent them an email. That was an hour ago. For a site that has 24/7 customer service I would have expected a quicker response. I can't wait to see just how long this is going to take. Over two hours now… I checked Live Chat again – still unavailable. Three hours and nothing. I'm now going to send my email to their supervisor@bellavegas.com as their automatic email informs me to. Let's see if the supervisor can be bothered to write back. Four hours and no email. I've come to the conclusion that this casino just doesn't care about it's customers. Here is the email I sent to their customer service with the questions that I will not be able to answer in this review:

Hello,

I hope you could help me with the following questions:

1. What is your minimum deposit amount?
2. What are the hours of your Live Chat?
3. When did the casino open?
4. How long have you been audited by PriceWaterHouse Coopers? I have only been able to find the audit from June 2005, and none earlier. Where do you keep the archives?
5. What currencies do you offer for playing? (i.e. Euro, USD, and British Pound – what about Canadian Dollar, etc…)
6. In your bonus terms and conditions you have the following statement: "Any player deviating from the promotional rules will be disqualified, however, their original wagering amount will be credited to their casino account." What exactly does that mean?
7. You also have "In cases where a player has been identified as a bonus abuser in Bella Vegas Online or any of its associated casinos" Which casinos are you associated with?

 

Thank you for your time. I look forward to your reply.

 

This is weird. They are audited by PriceWaterHouse Coopers, but they don't actually post the history of their reviews. When I clicked on the link I got the review from June 2005 (last month). Nice, but doesn't give me any history. As you can see from my email above, they couldn't be bothered to answer.

Deposits

I don't know the minimum deposit amount. They don't bother to publish that information on their site. Players can deposit in $ US dollars, £ British pounds, and € Euros. They offer the typical range of deposit methods:

• Visa
• Mastercard
• Diners Club
• Solo – UK residents only
• Switch – UK residents only
• Delta – UK residents only
• Neteller
• Click2Pay
• FirePay
• Instadebit
• Citadel
• PaySpark – A daily spending limit of US$3000 per day.
• UseMyBank
• Eco Card

Credit cards have some limitations. Players can register a maximum of three cards per player with a maximum weekly purchase limit of US$2,000 on each registered card and a maximum single purchase amount of US$1,000. Players may not conduct more than 10 transactions daily.

Withdrawals

Minimum withdrawal amount is $50/ €50/ £50. I'd like to be able to tell you that the minimum deposit is also $50/ €50/ £50, but I can't. They can't be bothered to answer my email. Note that documentation is required should you purchase with a credit card, debit card or your Firepay account. First time withdrawals will have some documentation requirements regardless of payment method.

The following are listed under their withdrawal options:

• Solo – UK residents only
• Switch – UK residents only
• Delta – UK residents only
• Check – minimum withdrawal is $50. A $10 Service charge is applicable to all checks that are below $100. For an additional $50 flat fee, you can have your check sent by FedEx.
• PaySpark
• Click2Play
• Neteller
• FirePay
• ACH – US residents only
• Direct Wire Transfer – minimum $100 request

They have a "Banking Made Easy" section which is enlightening. The suggestions they have for players are as follows:

• When you receive bonuses, play more than the absolute minimum required.
• Limit yourself to one cash-out per month.

 

In other words don't win too much or too often and don't be savvy when it comes to bonuses or else we'll lock you out. I would call this a blatant threat, there's no point of a veil at Bella Vegas.

Terms and Conditions

This is a basic and fair terms and conditions. Play nice, be of legal age, and know the laws in your area. Well, that plus the "cover your ass" statements every terms and conditions make which means they aren't liable for, well, anything and you would have it.

The last casino I reviewed gave some misinformation regarding taxes on player's winnings. Fortunately this casino has a clue and gives more accurate information: "Taxes, if any, on any prize are the Player's sole responsibility. The Player, by acceptance of a prize, acknowledges compliance with all Rules thereto." If you win over a certain amount and are a US resident you will owe the IRS, period.

They also tell you exactly what you will need for withdrawing your winnings:
"a. A valid form of identity issued by the government of a recognized country/state such as a drivers license or passport,
b. A copy of the front and back of the credit card used to fund your casino account. Thereafter, you will be required to submit a copy of the front and back of each and every credit card registered on your casino account.
c. A copy of a utility bill (electricity or other) with your name and current address on it
d. When a player cashes in, he/she will receive a Purchase Agreement which will be emailed to the player within 48 hours. He/she needs to complete and return this in order to have his/her cashin processed.
20. If there are any irregularities or if there is a mismatch between the name and address of the Player, and the name and address associated with the credit card, or other mode of payment, used by such Player, all transactions conducted with such credit card will be considered as invalid and voidable in the sole discretion of BELLA VEGAS CASINO management. "

Basic, no-nonsense, clear and concise terms and conditions. Nothing to complain about here.

Bonuses

Maybe it's just me, but I find it very strange that there isn't a top navigation bar link to their promotional page, just a tiny bottom sub-bar link. What I find even stranger is the fact that there's no real information on their Promotions page.

There are two bonuses listed on the promotions page:

• $10 Free for new members, no purchase necessary
• Double your money 200% bonus up to $100 for first deposit.

The $20 Free no deposit required sounds good, until you think about the fact that you need to have a minimum of $50 to be able to cash out.

I would like to say that they redeem themselves on the Calendar page, but they don't. Their calendar lists the following:

• Tony's Tuesday
• Winners Circle
• Famous Friday
• Super Saturday

The thing is there isn't any real explanations as to what any of these things actually are on the site. The closest thing to information is "Slots are hot on Super Saturday", um, ok, does that mean that there's a bonus for playing slots on Saturday? A tournament perhaps? I haven’t a clue. All of the information is sent to players via email.

I couldn't find a reference to a loyalty program, and it's been well over an hour and I still haven't heard from their customer service, so I'm just going to assume they don't have one.

Promotional Terms and Conditions

Their terms and conditions are fair and basic. Their promotional terms on the other hand are strict and exacting. There will be no varying from the line in this casino.

To request a bonus the player must first wager the purchase amount. In other words, if you deposited $100 you must wager $100 to be able to request the bonus. You have 30 days to request a bonus (assuming that it's still within the time period). Players must wager at least twenty (20) times the purchase and bonus amount combined to be allowed to make a withdrawal. This means that if you have purchased, for example, $100 and received a bonus of $100 for free, you are required to wager $4000 (i.e. ($100 + $100) X 20) to cash out the bonus.

There's a reason why their wagering requirement is relatively low. Slots and keno are the only games which count towards meeting the wagering requirements. That means that the initial wagering to be able to receive the bonus must be in slots or keno as well. No other games count towards meeting the wagering requirements.

Do not even think about wagering only up to the required amount. They will label you! "A bonus abuser is defined as a player who uses promotional-bonus money to deviously profit from bonus-promotions that are offered, in good faith, by the Casino with a view to gaining player loyalty. Such players generally accept bonuses, wager the minimum amount and immediately cash out."

Bonuses are really meant as a thank you incentive for their regular players, and they will not hesitate to make you be a regular player. "In order to qualify for subsequent promotion-bonuses, the Player will need to make a minimum purchase of $20 between the last bonus credited to their casino account and the date of their application for the next bonus offer." While I can understand the need for a clause like this I have to wonder if it's going too far. I suppose it does keep the bonus hunters away.

If you live in any of the following countries you can not get a bonus: South East Asia, Southern Africa and certain other countries. Some of these countries include, but are not limited to, Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belarussia, Bosnia, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Herzegovina, Hungary, Indonesia, Jiang Do, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malaysia, Moldova, Montenegro, Pakistan, Romania, Russia, Russian Federation, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Ukraine and Yugoslavia.

Players from Denmark are allowed to play, but aren't welcome to the welcome bonus. On the other hand, if they get a special invitation then they are welcome to the welcome bonus. Is that clear?

Overall

Over four hours to answer an email and Live Chat is down the entire time. This is a casino that really doesn't care about its customers. As such, I won't become one and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else either. Good customer service should be a given, and I have no patience or respect for an internet casino that doesn't give even the most basic response to a customer.