Let’s admit it. Online casinos are abundant these days. Every time you refresh an affiliate page, you’ll find new brands added to their automated list. Still, some operators offer more value to the players than others. I have one such brand for review here.
We’re talking about BitStarz, the first-of-its-kind, multi-currency online casino. To me, its appeal lies in the extensive game selection, long list of accepted payment methods, and airtight security.
Throughout this review, I’ll dissect the most important aspects of the brand and whether it’s worth your time, and money if you plan on playing for real money.
BitStarz — A Brief Background
You may notice that BitStarz is widely marketed as a crypto casino. It started accepting crypto as soon as it went into operations back in 2014. Many argue that it was the first-ever online gambling brand to accept cryptocurrency as a payment method. But that’s not important at this point. What’s more important is that you can use popular crypto tokens like BTC, BCH, ETH, and LTC for payments.
|
Pros |
Cons |
| Licensed by Antillephone N.V. (License #8048/JAZ2020-13) | No telephone support |
| Over 5,000 games to choose from | No downloadable mobile app |
| Massive welcome bonus for new players | |
| Good selection of provably fair games | |
| Lots of fiat currency and cryptocurrency payment methods | |
| 24/7 customer support via live chat and email |
License and Security of BitStarz Casino
Whenever you even think of online gambling, the first thing that should come to your mind is security. Due to the money flow, a lot of scammers target uninformed players. And a lot of these scammers pose as online casinos.
The primary distinction between a safe and an unsafe online casino is its license. BitStarz, for example, is licensed by Antillephone N.V. It’s one of the four master license holders under the laws of Curacao. The license is granted to Dama N.V., the owner and operator of the BitStarz brand.
Provably Fair
The main difference between a regular online and a crypto casino is the provable fairness. Traditional casinos use a random number generator (RNG) to keep the game outcomes random and fair. In some cases, they employ a third-party audit agency to verify the integrity of the RNG.
Whether the operator employs an audit agency or not, you have no way of checking the fairness of the games yourself. You just have to take the casino’s word for it.
But with provably fair games, it all changes. BitStarz, for example, uses blockchain technology to provide provably fair games. With this, you can track the game outcomes after they’re completed. This way, you don’t have to rely on any third party. You can independently check the fairness.
SSL Encryption
The last piece of the security puzzle at BitStarz is solved by the industry standard 128-bit SSL encryption on the website. I know, it’s fairly standard, and practically every website these days comes with it. I believe it’s still important, especially for an online casino where you share sensitive payment information.
Bonuses and Promotions
If you ask me, one of the main attractions of online gambling over offline gambling is bonuses. When was the last time you walked into a land-based casino and it offered you a welcome bonus? I know the answer. It’s NEVER.
Being one of the industry veterans, BitStarz knows how important bonuses are. That’s why it offers a unique welcome bonus along with a few ongoing promotions. Let’s explore them one by one.
Welcome Bonus
The welcome bonus at BitStarz is actually a package deal where you keep getting rewards for your first four deposits. In total, you can secure up to $500 or 5 BTC. Each deposit comes with a percentage match bonus. Here’s how it goes:
- First deposit: 100% match up to $100 or 1 BTC
- Second Deposit: 50% match up to $100 or 1 BTC
- Third Deposit: 50% match up to $200 or 2 BTC
- Fourth Deposit: 100% match up to $100 or 1 BTC
It’s a no-brainer that the BTC rewards are way bigger than the fiat rewards thanks to the volatile nature of cryptocurrencies. However, it also means you have to deposit a lot more to get the matched bonus.
If you ask me, I recommend sticking to the fiat deposit.
Besides the deposit match bonus, the package also includes 180 free spins. You get 20 the moment you deposit at least $20. The remaining 160 free spins are distributed in batches of 20 for the next 8 days. Each batch is valid for 24 hours only so make sure you open the game within the timeframe.
Also, there are wagering requirements for the bonuses. It’s a regulator requirement that helps the operator prevent bonus abuse. At BitStarz casino, all cash bonuses and winnings from free spins are subject to 40x wagering. You have 7 days to complete the wagering because that’s when the welcome package expires.
Tournaments
Once you’re off the welcome package high at BitStarz, you may want to shift your focus to the tournaments. There are quite a few in there. Here’s a quick overview.
- Level Up Adventure: This is essentially a loyalty program tournament where 41 places on the leaderboard are paid from a $70,000 prize pool. All you have to do is play any game and earn points. It runs every two months so keep your eyes open on the promotions page of the casino.
- Jackpotz Mania: It’s a race-style tournament where you must beat other players by wagering more than them. You’re often fighting for a Mega Jackpot and a Minor Jackpot.
- Slot Wars: This slot tournament comes with a massive $5,000 and 5,000 free spins! This time, you need to play slots to earn points on a weekly basis. A whopping 150 places are paid and the first prize is a juicy €1,500.
- Table Wars: With a prize pool of €10,000 cash, this is a table games tournament where you need to play table games to earn points. The top 40 places are paid every week.
BitStarz Games
Of course, I know that you’re here for the games at BitStarz. Believe it or not, the game library boasts over 5,000 titles from industry’s top software providers. At the time of writing this review, the most popular providers include:
- Pragmatic Play
- Betsoft
- NetEnt
- Microgaming
- Spinomenal
- Nolimit City
- Play’n Go
- Booming Games
- BGaming
- Amatic Industries
- Belatra Games
- Mascot Gaming
- Ezugi
Besides the software provider portfolio, I really like BitStarz’s menu. Along with the main categories like slots and table games, it also houses many thematic categories, such as Hold & Win, Megaways, Game Shows, Trending Games, Classic Slots, Provably Fair Games, New Games, Hot Games (jackpot), etc.
Online Slots
Without a doubt, the slots take up the biggest chunk of the games library. In fact, it’s the case for all online casinos out there. As BitStarz only collaborates with the best software providers, you can expect to find all the top titles on display.
Speaking of the display, some of the most popular games you’ll find under the slots category are:
- Wild Spin
- Egypt Coin Link
- Sweet Bonanza
- Stampede Gold
- 5 Lions Megaways
- Golden Joker 100 Hold & Win
- BitStarz Billion
- Gold Rush Frog
- Tree of Riches
The list can go on and on. But I’m not here to list all the slots for you because you’ll find them in the game library anyway. Let me share my experience with the games.
First, I played some of them on my computer. In demo mode, of course. The games load fast and I didn’t notice any issues with the optimization.
Then, I played the same games with real money. The idea was to check if the demo mode paid more than the real money mode with a skewed RTP setting. If that happened, I wouldn’t be here reviewing the brand.
Finally, we opened up the casino on my phone and played games. Yeah, the screen was smaller but it didn’t seem to affect my experience at all. The games are surprisingly optimized for mobile screens!
Table Games
I know a lot of you are slot lovers out there but I also know a lot of you like RNG table games. You’d be glad to know that BitStarz casino offers a hefty selection of Roulette, Blackjack, Poker, Baccarat, and video poker.
Some of my favorite games from this section include:
- Black Jack
- Baccarat
- Texas Hold’em
- European Roulette
- American Roulette
- Casino Hold’em
- Lucky Roulette
- Baccarat VIP
- Aces and Faces
- Multihand Blackjack
What I really like about table games is that they work really well as a sandbox for live dealer games. Speaking of it, let’s see what BitStarz casino has in stock for you.
Live Dealer Casino
Just navigate to the “Live Casino” section from the main menu and you’ve hit the jackpot. Live dealer games are one of my favorite ways to spend my free time and BitStarz is definitely one of my favorites.
The games in the library are mostly from Evolution Gaming. In case you’re not aware, Evolution is the godfather of live dealer games. It has cutting-edge studios spread all over the world to make sure none of its audiences face too much packet loss.
Also, Evolution focuses a great deal on dealer selection and training. You’ll know right away that you’re in the hands of a professional casino croupier. It doesn’t matter what kind of game you’re into. Even if you’re not into casino games but game shows, BitStarz has a good selection of those as well.
Here’s a quick list of my favorite games on the BitStarz live casino:
- Speed Baccarat
- Roulette Live
- Crazy Coin Flip
- Speed Baccarat
- Blackjack Live
- Monopoly Big Baller
- Crazy Pachinko Live
- Punto Banko
- Crazy Time
- Instant Sic Bo
- Extra Chilli Epic Spins
Real Money Payment Methods
To play the BitStarz casino games or to claim the generous welcome package, you need to deposit real money into your account. BitStarz, thankfully, has a great selection of online payment methods that cover a wide area all over the world.
Here’s a quick list of the available methods:
- Visa
- Paysafecard
- MuchBetter
- MiFinity
- Neteller
- Skrill
- Bitcoin (BTC)
- Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
- Litecoin (LTC)
- Ethereum (ETH)
- Ripple (XRP)
- Tether (USDT)
- Dogecoin (DOGE)
- USD Coin (USDC)
- Cardano (ADA)
- Tron (TRX)
- Binance Coin (BNB)
Where did I get the list, you ask? Well, the team at BitStarz is smart enough to include a payments page on the website. I wish more casino sites did that. It makes life a whole lot easier for players.
The page not only lists the methods but also displays the transaction limits. For most methods, you can deposit anywhere between $20 and $4,000 in a single transaction. For cryptocurrencies, however, the limit varies.
As for withdrawals, your limits are between $50 and $20,000 per transaction for all crypto. For Skrill and Neteller, however, the maximum withdrawal limit comes down to $4,000.
The best part is that you don’t have to pay any fees for any transaction. BitStarz likes to keep its platform accessible to all players. However, you may still end up paying an annual fee on your e-wallets or a transaction fee depending on the crypto network. So, be mindful of those.
Customer Support
If I know anything from my iGaming experience, it’s that you need good customer support, always. Due to the online nature of these sites, things may go wrong at any time. What if you’re trying to deposit at 3 AM on a Friday night but it doesn’t go through?
That’s why I always check the customer support at online casinos when I review them. BitStarz is no different. To be fair, I really liked its support structure. You get a 24/7 live chat you can easily access from the bottom right corner widget. You can also send emails to support@bitstarz.com for more elaborate issues.
On top of these, the site includes an FAQ section where you’ll find the most common questions regarding your account, deposit & withdrawal, bonuses, the casino itself, security, and responsible gaming. As it has a major focus on crypto, you’ll also find a guide on how to buy crypto from centralized exchanges.
Final Verdict
Overall, I really liked BitStarz. It’s a balanced platform with an amazing selection of games. The website is optimized for practically all kinds of devices you can think of. Sure, I’d like to have a mobile app but it doesn’t really affect your playing experience.
Then there is the generous welcome package, crowd-favorite payment methods, and strong security measures. I give the casino a solid 8.5/10.