Reviews: Challenge Casino

Challenge casino is one of the five Microgaming-branded brethren online gaming sites belonging to the Casino Action Group, who have been in business since the nineties. Regulated and licensed through the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, Challenge Casino is deemed to be a provider of fair gaming and responsible management. The Kahnawake Gaming Commission has been in operation for nearly ten years, and is one of the leading world-wide authorities on the regulation of online casinos and internet betting operations. All depositing and withdrawals, as well as a players personal account information, are protected and kept secure with the best 128-bit digital encryption and firewall technology to date. Payment processing is handled by Purchase On Net, which has securely handled all financial transactions for thirteen distinct gaming sites over the years.

Casino Software
Microgaming Systems is the powerhouse behind the entire platform of games at Challenge Casino. The most current upgrade of Microgaming games is called the "Viper" pack, which has risen the standard in graphics, how casino games are navigated, and functionality of the overall software platform. Games can be previewed on Challenge Casinos website, which are categorized as video pokers, slots games, table games, progressives and "others", like keno and scratch-offs. There are over 130 games total - most of which, are available through the no-download, Flash version which takes less than a minute to set up. Players can test the software out first by playing in Fun mode, which only requires one to provide a birthday and username/password. The entire platform has a Las Vegas feel to it, which the casino uses to invoke a fast and flashy atmosphers.

Bonuses & Promotions
Challenge Casino offers promotions on an ongoing basis. Management (as do most players) seem to prefer the long-term, comprehensive bonus that gives percent matches on a players first three deposits with the online cashier. The particular offering at the time of this review is called the Triple Bonus, and awards up to $1,000 over the course of three deposits. Terrific for high-rollers, the entire value of this bonus will most likely not be taken advantage of by players with smaller bankrolls. Nonetheless, it is still a generous bonus offer. The way it works is that players receive a 25% bonus on their first deposit, up to $800 free (which, to receive $800 would entail depositing $3,200). A smaller deposit of $250, would bring in a bonus of $62.50. A players second deposit comes with a 50% bonus up to $150 free (deposit $300 to get the full value). The third deposit is a 100% bonus up to $50 free. Players should keep in mind that bonuses like these set cap limits based on the amount of the very first deposit. While there are no time restrictions imposed on the second and third deposits, the amount of the first deposit will dictate the maximum bonus amounts received from the following deposits. In this case, a minimum of $300 would be needed to be deposited on the first deposit, in order to receive the maximum bonus offerings on the second and third deposits. Play-through on these bonuses are at 30x the total value of deposit and bonus, which amounts to 15x the bonus amount. Different games go towards a different percentage of meeting the wager requirement. For American roulette and slot machines, 100% of bet amounts will go towards the requirement. Poker, Casino War, Sic Bo, and Roulette other than American will count towards 50% the play-through for each stake amount. All other games, except standard blackjack which counts 2%, will count 10% of the wager requirement. Challenge Casino promises to make bonus funds available within two hours of a players making a deposit.

For competitive players, Challenge Casino offers several weekly slots competitions for each weekday, and weekly blackjack competitions, all of which have cash prize pools averaging over $1,000. The branded software platform lists each tournament, including how much time and days are left before the promotion closes out and starts over again. Additionally, every player is included in Challenge's Extreme Rewards Program that awards bonus points to players every time they make a real money bet. Winnings are awarded in multiples of 1,000 bonus points, which equates to $10.

Games & Payouts
Counting the latest upgrade of games to the Microgaming Viper platform, Challenge Casino has well over 150 games - of which, at least nineteen have progressive jackpots on the download version of the software. The latest upgrade at the time of this online casino review, included the five-reel, twenty pay-line video slot machines, "Cashville" and "Golden Goose Genie's Gems", the five reel, fifteen pay-line video slot, "Munchkins", and a 50 Play Power Poker machine with jackpots paying up to 120,000 coins. Microgaming is a leader in new gaming technology, as well as in developing original and inventive new gambling games and variations. As such, players can expect new upgrades throughout the year. As for payout percentages, they are audited by Price Waterhouse Coopers accounting firm, which verify that Challenge Casino is consistently hitting payout averages at 97%, as well as show all game averages repeatedly hitting over 98% payouts.

Online Cashier
Challenge Casino operates a full-functioning online cashier that is capable of processing/exchanging four currencies, as well as handling a variety of deposit and withdrawal methods. In addition to InstaDebit, MoneyBookers, and Click2Pay (which all enable players to make deposits and withdrawals), NETeller serves as the eWallet account of choice for Challenge Casino players. Being one of the world's largest and most trusted eCash processors (NETeller securely facilitated more than $7.3 billion in monetary transfers for 2005 alone), NETeller also offers the InstaCash service, which lets players make instant withdrawals from their member account through the Challenge Casino cashier. Depending on a players status with InstaCash, daily withdrawals up to $2,500 per day. Naturally, deposits can be instantly credited to a players casino account as well. Other acceptable methods of making deposits or withdrawals through the Challenge Casino cashier are FirePay, Citadel, PaySpark, EcoCard, UseMyBank, Diner's Club Card, and eChecks.

Casino Customer Service
Several modes of contact are available through both Challenge Casino's website and the software platform itself. Player ratings show an overall satisfaction with the timeliness and courtesy of responses, as well as the ability to communicate. At other casinos, it has been many an online gamers experience to encounter customer representatives who do not speak the same language fluently or have limited knowledge of their gaming procedures. This is not the case at Challenge Casino, however, which keeps a well-trained staff on call twenty-four hours a day/seven days a week. They can be contacted via an e-mail entry form, through live chat, and regular email and toll-free telephone.

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