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There are an awful lot of online casinos that boast of being the ‘world’s number one’ and ‘biggest’, however 888.com is one that probably has a pretty decent claim to the title. As an early star in the online casino firmament – and 1996 really is ancient history in this industry – 888.com have grown a huge membership internationally, serving over 13 million downloads of its casino software worldwide to date. The 888 brand (and its earlier incarnation as Casino-on-Net) has also become one of the most familiar to UK online casino consumers through its extensive sports sponsorships and offline advertising in traditional media. Its elder statesmen status already underscores its reliability, however its accreditation by eCOGRA and membership of the Interactive Gaming Council seals the reputation of this online casino as both well respected and undoubtedly a safe bet.
For such a long established and successful casino it’s little surprise that 888.com has refined its offering into a very slick and comprehensive product. The website is text-book stuff when it comes to introducing new members to what this online casino offers and getting them into the action through clear navigation and well considered content to deal with the normal who’s what’s, where’s and how’s of a first time visitor. OK, it is a bit traditional in its design and colour scheme, but we can’t imagine there are many UK casino players that will get sniffy about this and flounce out looking for somewhere with more chi chi decor.
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What makes a noteworthy difference to the user experience at this online casino is that its games use 888.com’s own proprietary software. Many big name rival UK online casinos, such as Littlewoods, William Hill and Ladbrokes casino, use gaming software from companies that supply other casinos (e.g. Cryptologic and Microgaming) which means the playing experience offered by that software, whilst undoubtedly excellent, is not wholly unique to that casino. Whilst the difference in look and feel of 888’s software isn’t radical, it does offer a subtly different playing experience that you’ll only find at this casino. We’re also happy to report that this difference doesn’t harm the experience either; the quality and realism of the 888 games is very, very good, offering private, group and public tables with live chat and useful features like History Logs to enhance your sessions. Vive le difference!
888 also offer a non-download casino option for its visitors, and it’s this which brings us neatly to another feature of this online casino which is worthy of both note and high praise. Switching to our test Mac computer we discovered that this online casino has made its website platform-aware and took us, without user intervention, to an alternative site catering specifically for Mac users. Even more astounding is that there is a similar microsite for Linux casino users too! Now this is how multi-platform support should be done; all other UK online casinos could learn a lesson from 888.com if they want to reach the biggest audience possible. To temper our enthusiasm slightly we did find that this Mac specific site didn’t offer us a ‘Play for Fun’ option when we followed its links into the casino itself, seemingly excluding an option available to PC users from the main site and a valuable way for visitors using Macs to trial the games before committing to play with real money. What was concerning was that, on further investigation using the excellent customer support service (we used the live chat and got swift and effective results), we were then provided with an alternative web address that did give us access with our Mac to the casino’s “Play For Fun’ option. We appreciate that 888.com is a business, but, if it’s not just a programming oversight, we think it a bit sneaky to conceal this from the less canny visitor. We hope to see this anomaly fixed . . .
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As mentioned above 888’s customer support for their casino customers proved to be very effective during our review and there is the full complement of chat, e-mail and freephone numbers at your disposal. The one aspect of 888.com’s service to UK online casino customers that is currently disappointing is that there is no currency option available – at the time of writing this is a dollar only casino, so all deposits, bonuses and withdrawals have to be converted from GBP when you play here. Although this is hardly a ‘deal-breaker’, it is undoubtedly more convenient if you can manage your account in GBP as at rival UK online casinos, and we’re surprised this Gibraltar-based casino has yet to implement this option.
Promotions are worthwhile (we’re pleased to see a Welcome Bonus that’s automatically credited as opposed to one you have to actively claim as at some other casinos) and 888 also operate a handy Player’s Club that genuinely enhances the experience for regular players here. All in all, there’s everything you would expect from an online casino that has won the custom and respect of such a huge community of players worldwide!
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The dollar-only nature of 888.com may not mark it out as an obvious option when choosing a UK online casino to play at, but if you look beyond that limitation you’ll find a casino with unique software and world-class reputation that you definitely should put on your short-list to visit. If 888.com isn’t the World’s Number One Online Casino then it must be pretty damn close!
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