Rich Reels Review
A now-closed Microgaming casino
By Casinomeister, Last updated Apr 12, 2024
Casinomeister's Verdict
Rich Reels Casino was one of the many Casino Rewards casinos operating. Initially an RTG Casino, it changed to a Microgaming site after it was acquired by the Casino Rewards Group in 2011. It’s a shame to see it go, but many Casino Rewards sites, including Luxury and Nostalgia Casino, continue to operate. This review will reflect the site’s prime, almost a decade ago!
Solid licensing
First Impression
Rich Reels Casino, a part of the Casino Rewards network, was a popular online casino back in the day, known for its extensive range of Microgaming slots and video poker. The casino was initially built on RTG’s software platform, but in 2011 they changed to Microgaming. This transition brought hundreds of new, modern games to the site and used Microgaming’s advanced “Viper” software – a downloadable software client still available today.
Rich Reels Casino offered over 400 games, with over half being slot games. However, the casino also provided various other gaming options, including table games, card games, and games with progressive jackpots. This review will show you what the site was like back in operation. We’ll show you the main Rich Reels Casino bonus and point you to Casino Reward operators who’re still going strong today.
Pros
It offered a great selection of Microgaming video poker back in the day
A solid management team operated it
The website was reliable
A downloadable software client was available
Cons
The payouts weren’t the fastest
The casino’s withdrawal limits were low
The Casino is now closed
Top 5 casinos 
BONUSES AND PROMOTIONS
All players could claim a semi-decent welcome bonus as soon as they opened their Rich Reels Casino account. Ongoing promotions were also pretty good. We will examine these bonuses and promotions in the sections below.
Exclusive offers
Welcome Offer
Rich Reels offered an attractive welcome bonus to its new players. The bonus consisted of a 100% match of up to $150. When a new player made their first deposit, the casino would match that amount by 100%, up to $150. For example, if a player deposited $75, the casino would credit their account with an additional $75, bringing their total balance to $150.
According to information from the Wayback Machine, the minimum deposit to claim the main welcome bonus was $20, which was okay, especially for an old-school Microgaming casino.
The bonus used a non-parachute structure, meaning the bonus AND cash funds were pooled together and inseparable until the wagering requirements had been completed. Like many Casino Rewards sites, the wagering requirements were high; 60X for the welcome bonus we found. Using our $75 bonus example from earlier would mean players would have needed to wager a total of $4,250 before the bonus and cash funds would be unlocked.
The maximum allowed bet was 25% of the bonus amount received on any bet or round. One of the reasons the deposit bonus appealed to players was that there was no maximum cashout limit, and the bonus was also cashable. This was not particularly common back then.
Different games contributed differently to the wagering requirements when playing with bonus funds. For example, slots and parlour games contribute 100% towards the wagering requirements, while casino table games only contribute 50%. Some of the video poker games contributed just 2%! Subsequently, this was a first deposit bonus geared more towards those playing slots than casino table games.
No-Deposit & Free Spins Offers
Rich Reels Casino did not offer any no-deposit bonuses or no-deposit free spins when we pulled the old site version for this review. Players had to deposit to take advantage of the casino’s bonuses and promotions.
Casino Rewards Group VIP Scheme
Rich Reels Casino was part of the Casino Rewards group, offering its players the Casino Rewards VIP scheme. This comp point program is where players earn VIP – comp – points whenever they place a real money wager at any Casino Rewards website. The most significant benefit is that it doesn’t matter which online casino you play at; your “progress” is saved, and you can redeem your points wherever you want.
When our team was writing this Rich Reels Casino review, the site wasn’t live, as mentioned earlier. However, we managed to access a cached version of the online casino on the Wayback Machine, which displayed the rate at which comp points were earned at the site. One comp point was earned for every $10 wagered on slots, while most casino table games would earn you one point for every $20 wagered. Video poker earned no points, and Blackjack would have earned you just one point per $100 wagered!
When you accumulated enough points, you were able to redeem them. The last time the site was live, the conversion rate was $1 per 100 points – the same as most other Casino Rewards sites. Unfortunately, these bonuses and features were subject to a 30X wagering requirement. These wagering requirements needed to be completed before a withdrawal could be made.
Still, this VIP scheme was an excellent way for players to earn extra rewards as they played. The more they wagered, the more points they earned, and this same program is still in use at all Casino Rewards-powered casinos to this day.
Cashback
Bonus Terms
Sign up process
BANKING AND PAYMENT METHODS
Rich Reels Casino offered a variety of deposit methods for its players. These included PayPal, EntroPay, Skrill (Moneybookers), Euteller, Przelewy24, Ukash, iDeal, Neteller, EntroPay, Kalibra, Swedbank, Moneta, Bank Transfer, Instadebit, ClickandBuy, eKonto, uNet, Click2Pay, EZIPay, Nordea, PaySafeCard, Credit/Debit cards, eWire, and MultiBanco.
The minimum deposit amount at Rich Reels Casino was $20, a relatively low amount, making the casino accessible to players on all budgets. Like all the casinos operating in the CR network, making deposits was easy and fee-free, for the most part.
The casino used advanced security measures at the time to ensure that all transactions were secure, although these may look a little outdated in 2023! Deposits were, for the most part, credited to players’ accounts instantly.
Rich Reels Casino Withdrawal Speed
When it came to withdrawals, Rich Reels Casino also offered a variety of methods. These included Skrill (Moneybookers), Click2Pay, EntroPay, PaySafeCard, eKonto, Moneta, EZIPay, eWire, Bank Transfer, Neteller, Przelewy24, EntroPay, Instadebit, Swedbank, Nordea, Kalibra, PayPal, ClickandBuy, uNet, Credit/Debit cards, Ukash, iDeal, Euteller, and MultiBanco.
The minimum withdrawal amount was $50. The maximum withdrawal amount was $4000 per week for players who won a sum that was five times or greater than their total spending across all Casino Rewards partner casinos. All progressive wins/payouts were exempt from this clause, but it’s still something we don’t like to see. Almost all their casinos continue to maintain this term today.
Withdrawals were paid within four days, which, at the time, was a reasonable timeframe. However, a four-day withdrawal payout time would be laughable to most players today.
Responsible Gaming
Rich Reels Casino was committed to promoting responsible gambling among its users. The casino had a dedicated page on its website that provided information and resources to help players gamble responsibly. The casino’s responsible gambling policy was built on the understanding that gambling should be an enjoyable activity, not a means to generate income.
The casino offered several tools and facilities to assist players in maintaining control over their gambling habits. One of these was the ability for players to set their deposit limits, giving them control over how much money they could fund their Rich Reels account daily, weekly, or monthly.
Rich Reels Casino also allowed players to self-exclude or take a break from gambling if they felt gambling was becoming problematic. This was a proactive measure to help players regain control over their gambling habits.
Furthermore, the casino provided links to professional organisations that help individuals struggling with problem gambling. These included Gamblers Anonymous and the National Council on Problem Gambling.
Customer Support
Customer support is essential for any online casino, and Rich Reels Casino did a pretty good job of looking after its players. The casino offered a comprehensive customer support system designed to help players with any issues or queries they may have had.
The primary way of contacting the customer support team was via email. (Yes, this is before the days of live chat being the standard form of communication!)
The casino had a dedicated email address where players could send their queries. The response time was impressive, with the casino typically responding within a few hours.
The casino also offered phone support, with different numbers for different regions. For instance, players in Canada could reach the support team at 1 866 312 7466, while those in the UK could call 0800 917 1545. This ensured that players from different regions could get support more quickly than if they were to use email.
From what we’ve heard, the customer support team at Rich Reels was responsive, professional, and dedicated to helping players have the best possible gaming experience. Whether you had a question about the games, deposits, withdrawals, or any other aspect of the casino, you could be sure that the customer support team would be happy to help.
KYC
Rich Reels Casino had a comprehensive verification process to ensure that all players were above 18 and not self-excluded from other partner sites. The casino’s terms and conditions outlined the steps taken to verify the identity of its players. This process was also designed to prevent fraudulent activity.
Upon registration, players were required to provide accurate personal information, including their name, address, and date of birth. The casino reserved the right to verify this information at any time. This could involve requesting additional documentation from the player, such as a copy of their passport or driver’s licence, or a recent utility bill.
The casino also implemented checks to verify the source of funds used for gambling. This was to ensure that the money used on the platform was not the proceeds of illegal activities. If the casino could not verify the source of funds, it reserved the right to suspend the player’s account and withhold any winnings. This was pretty strange for us, as SOW (Source of Wealth) checks didn’t become a “thing” until a few years ago. It shows how strict the Kahnawake Gaming Commission are and how seriously Rich Reels took their legal responsibilities.
Website Experience and Features
Desktop and Mobile Gaming
Rich Reels Casino, a decade ago, looked like a pretty decent casino. The design followed the typical style of that era, featuring a dark background that made the colourful game thumbnails stand out. The layout was simple and straightforward, with a navigation bar at the top letting you access the site’s different sections. At that time, simplicity was the key focus, and Rich Reels Casino delivered precisely that.
The games were neatly categorised, making it fairly easy for players to browse the games on offer. There was also a sizable promotional banner displaying the casino’s latest bonuses. Rich Reels did a pretty good job making their site as user-friendly as possible, and loading times were fast compared to the standards back then.
Rich Reels Casino was also well-known for its downloadable Microgaming Viper client. This software enabled players to access a more comprehensive selection of games with enhanced graphics and smoother gameplay. The download process was straightforward, and the client was user-friendly, making it a significant selling point for the casino. This desktop client is still offered today at other Casino Rewards sites, although it’s pretty much useless due to HTML5 gaming.
Naturally, the casino also lacked a mobile version of the site. In the current era where mobile gaming has become the norm, the lack of a mobile-friendly platform would be a significant setback, and this is something that we’ve seen other CR online casinos struggling to adapt to.
Brand games
Providers
Rich Reels Casino exclusively featured games from Microgaming after they transitioned from an RTG site. Microgaming has a long history with Casino Rewards casinos, providing them with a wide range of high-quality games. Known for their hit slots and video poker machines, Microgaming has been a staple in the online casino industry for many years. Today, online casinos on the CR network also feature games from Microgaming’s partner studios like Foxium. Back when Rich Reels was operating. However, most of these companies were still independent – so you wouldn’t have found any games from them. Below, we will examine some of the games available at Rich Reels.
Slots
Rich Reels Casino boasted an impressive list of 470 online casino games, including many slot games. Some of the most popular slots included Power Spins – Sonic 7s, an electrifying slot that introduced an exciting new feature, Power Spins. Each Wild during Power Spins effectively doubled the win, making it significantly easier to hit big payouts.
According to a cached version of the “Latest Games” on the Rich Reels website, their most popular video slot was Thunderstruck II, a Norse mythology-themed slot with 243 ways to win, and Immortal Romance, a vampire-themed slot with a captivating storyline and multiple bonus features.
Avalon II was another player-favourite, offering players a quest-like experience with multiple stages and bonus rounds. These games were known for their high-quality graphics and immersive sound effects. They proved so popular that they’re still found at most other casinos today.
Microgaming was also known for its branded slots. Games like The Dark Knight Rises, based on the popular Batman movie, and Jurassic Park, based on the iconic dinosaur film, became instant hits, with later releases including Game of Thrones. These games often featured clips from the movies, character symbols, and bonus rounds that were thematically consistent with the film, an ideal choice for movie lovers.
Live Casino
As for the live casino, it’s important to note that Rich Reels Casino did not offer a live casino product. Why this was the case, we’re not entirely sure. Microgaming used to operate live dealer games, although they pulled their product from the market several years ago. Their games are rumoured to remain available at a few Asian-focused casinos, but it’s incredibly rare. As a result, any Casino Rewards site that offers live games today uses Evolution.
This is a shame, in our opinion, as Microgaming’s live product was pretty solid. The live casino suite included games like Live Baccarat, Live Roulette, and Live Blackjack, all streamed from multiple studios worldwide. The live casino product also featured an interactive element within the games, allowing players to interact with each other during gameplay.
Microgaming’s live casino product was also known for its innovative features. For instance, it had a Bet Behind feature in Live Blackjack, which allowed players to bet on another player’s hand. This added an extra layer of excitement and strategy to the game. The live casino product also had a multi-window feature, allowing players to play multiple games simultaneously.
Table Games and Video Poker
In addition to slots, Rich Reels Casino offered a variety of table games and video poker. One of the crowd-pleasing games was Poker Ride, derived from the hugely popular poker game Let it Ride. Poker Ride was linked to a huge progressive jackpot, adding significantly more win potential to the game.
Another popular game was Gold Series Multi Hand Bonus Blackjack, featured on the “Our Popular Games” tab on the casino’s website. This game allowed players to play more than one hand at a time, which may not sound very exciting today, but it was a pretty big deal back then. Other casino games included Caribbean Stud Poker and Baccarat. However, most casino games contributed very little towards the welcome bonus wagering requirements, one of players’ only real complaints about the site.
Progressive Jackpots
When it came to progressive jackpots, Microgaming was also a pioneer. According to the version of the site we were able to access, Rich Reels offered the following progressive jackpot games: Mega Moolah, King Cashalot, Roulette Royale, Triple Sevens, Wow Pot, LotsALoot, Cash Splash, SupaJax, Tuzamunni, Progresive Cyberstud, Fruit Fiesta, and others.
While Mega Moolah is perhaps Microgaming’s most well-known progressive slot, the provider had several other progressive games that could offer significant payouts. Games like King Cashalot and Major Millions were known for their life-changing jackpots. These games were networked across multiple casinos, meaning that the jackpots would snowball and could reach staggering amounts.
King Cashalot, for instance, was a 5-reel, 9-payline slot with a mediaeval theme. The game featured a king, queen, knight, and other thematic symbols. The king symbol acted as the wild, and getting five king symbols on the 9th payline would trigger the progressive jackpot.
Major Millions, on the other hand, was a military-themed slot with 15 paylines. The game had a wild symbol, represented by the Major Millions logo, which could substitute for other symbols to create winning combinations. Getting five wild symbols on the 15th payline would trigger the progressive jackpot.
These progressive slots allowed players to win life-changing amounts, and Rich Reels had a nice little feature at the bottom of their “Jackpots” page which showed the current total of all jackpot games currently running on the site.
About the Team and History
Rich Reels Casino was part of the Casino Rewards group, a well-known name in the online casino industry. The Casino Rewards group has been around for decades, and, generally speaking, they have a solid reputation here at Casinomeister. However, they faced some issues in the past, causing some sites to lose their Accredited status here at Casinomeister.
For instance, the group was known to aggressively pursue anti-bonus abuse policies, often restricting players’ access to bonuses when they made a withdrawal that that casino deemed to be not financially viable for them. However, things were eventually sorted out, and their remaining brands are primarily in the “Neutral Zone” at Casinomeister now.
Rich Reels Casino was licensed by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, and the Malta Gaming Authority, three of the most reputable regulators in the online gambling market. These licences ensured the casino operated fairly and transparently and protected player funds.
Players worldwide could play, although restricted countries included Hong Kong, the USA, Turkey, Israel, Belgium, France, and China. This was due to various legal and regulatory reasons.
Despite some of the issues the Casino Rewards group faced, Rich Reels Casino continued to offer a quality gaming experience until it shut down. It’s unclear exactly when it shut its doors, but 2013 seems to be the last year the site was actively maintained.
Complaints and Track Record
Given the time since Rich Reels shut its doors, there are no recent threads in the Casinomeister forums. One of the last we found is this one. A member asked whether the site was legitimate, and long-time forum user, KasinoKing, stated:
“Rich Reels is the sister casino to Villento – both pretty good casinos, IMHO. The play will be better than Club World because they use MG software, not RTG. I believe they are only not accredited here due to poor/no response to Max/Bryan regarding player issues quite some time ago.
I should be meeting reps from the casino at the London affy conference in 2 weeks – I’ll raise this subject with them & see what they have to say for themselves.”
Another member, 3mptyseat, confirmed the slow payouts we mentioned earlier: “It takes longer and longer, but they pay. And they lack their former accreditation because of their unwillingness to deal with PAB issues by our hosts or any third-party mods. The now more assertive KGC handles any issues a player might have with them, and from all accounts I have read, they have accepted the terms set by the tribal gaming council and paid players accordingly.”
Casino Facts
| Founded | 2007 |
| Accredited at Casinomeister | 2016 - 2018 |
| Jurisdictions | Kahnawake, Malta Gaming Authority, UKGC |
| Casino representative | Affiliate Program Manager and CM Player Complaint Rep |
| Affiliate program | Rewards Affiliates |
| Is this casino certified at Casinomeister | No |
| Payout time | 24 hrs |
| Reverse time | 24 hrs |
| Payout limits | €/$/£4000 a week for players who win a sum that is 5 times or more greater than their total purchases across all Casino Rewards partner casinos. All progressive wins/payouts are exempt from this clause. |
| Weekend payouts | No |
| Locks withdrawals | No |
The man with the plan here at Casinomeister. Bryan Bailey has been running Casinomeister since its launch in June of 1998. He has watched the industry grow from its primeval stage to what it is now. The Meister has attended nearly 100 conferences in the past 20 years and has either been a speaker or a panel moderator for at least 60 events. He has always been an advocate of fairness and reason and is known to like German beer, a good Scotch, and astrophotography.
bryan@casinomeister.com
