IgnitionCasino.eu Review

Let's start the review with some general pros and cons about Ignition's offerings before we investigate the site in detail further down the page.

First, the things we like about the site:

1. Ignition Casino offers instant-play games exclusively.

Ignition Casino uses a suite of games produced by a number of popular game manufacturers, with most games designed by either Rival Gaming or Realtime Gaming. Other titles hosted at the site were produced by Betsoft and Genesis Gaming. A unique feature of Ignition Casino's game suite is that it offers instant-play games only. Though the idea of downloading casino software is becoming a thing of the past, lots of online casinos still offer a download package. By switching to Flash-based play only, Ignition is aligning itself with the future of gaming, which is accessibility. This is good news for people interested in playing on tablets, smartphones, and other non-traditional devices. All you need to play at Ignition Casino is the latest version of Adobe Flash Player, which is free or already loaded on your device.

2. Ignition Casino is Bitcoin-compatible.

Another feature that Ignition boasts about a lot is their acceptance of Bitcoin for deposits and withdrawals. They aren't the first site to offer Bitcoin, but it does put them ahead of both Slots.lv and Bovada in terms of US Bitcoin compliance. If you aren't in the know about Bitcoin, understand that it's the latest thing that's meant to "save US online gambling." Bitcoin is what's called a "crypto-currency." It exists as part of "a distributed peer-to-peer network," meaning it is a totally-digital currency. Online gamblers use it like electronic cash to send and receive payments, and (in some cases, we suppose) get around the restrictions put in place by the UIGEA. Bitcoin is also used to do stuff like pay merchants and send money to people, it isn't all about gambling. But since it is held electronically, Bitcoin has no central authority, so anyone can use it to send quick and cheap transfers all over the world. The appeal of those things to online gamblers should be obvious.

3. Ignition Casino is designed for US players.

If you live in the United States (which we assume you do, since you're researching a US-facing gambling website), you'll love the fact that everything about IgnitionCasino.eu is designed for American players. The only language available is English. The only currency used at the site is the US dollar. The site doesn't even mention currency conversion, which may be a flaw due to the site's youth. Then again, it's pretty clear that the site is designed primarily for Americans. The parent company has already produced one site aimed exclusively at US players. In short, if you're in the US and you're looking for some variety to add to the short list of casino sites you can easily deposit to, you're in luck. If you're willing to give Ignition a try, you'll have a whole new interface and game library to enjoy.

4. IgnitionCasino.eu is owned by the same people who operate Slots.lv.

This isn't a good thing by default – it's good because Slots.lv has been around long enough to have earned accredited status at Casinomeister.com, positive reviews from a number of respected review sites, and a generally-good reputation among players on the forums. We give Ignition a tiny bit of credit for being operated by the same people who run a respectable Kahnawake-licensed site that turns out to be very similar to Ignition. You can take away some of your fear of the new-ness of IgnitionCasino.eu because of the fact that their owner, Lynton Limited, only runs one other site, and it is a legitimate US-facing enterprise with many of the same features.

Now, a list of cons – a few things we thought we should point out to people looking into the site for the first time:

1. Kahnawake licensure is not very respectable.

We wanted to list this one first because lots of online gamblers are going to look into a new site's licensure right away. American gamblers (the focus of this site's marketing campaign, such as it is) are used to playing at sites licensed by this weird little sovereign jurisdiction inside Canada, but just because we're used to it doesn't mean we shouldn't expect more. Our problems with Kahnawake aren't just gambling-related, either. The same week this site launched, the big news out of Kahnawake was a political protest over the territory's treatment of people in mixed-race marriages. Yikes. The combination of Kahnawake's limited regulations, their licensing of rogue operations, and the growing civil unrest in the area make us nervous. As far as we can tell, there's no reason not to join a site just because of their licensure from the Kahnawake Gaming Commission – but we'd keep an eye on the troubles unfolding there, just to be sure.

2. The site is brand-new.

We don't see any need to get into a deep philosophical discussion about the pros and cons of doing business with a new gambling site. You understand the dangers – they don't have a reputation to research, there's no way to know if they're going to pay, and you can't even talk to former players to get an idea of their services. For us, the lack of reputation is the biggest issue. Every rogue website had to launch sometime, and who is to say that we won't be turning around and writing a post about this site's blacklisting in a few months? So far, we have no reason to be pessimistic. Just keep the site's brand-new status in the back of your mind when considering signing up. You can probably consider the site "new" for the first couple of years of its life.

3. Their bonus program isn't yet ready-for-primetime.

You can read the details of the site's promotional program in the section just below this one, but let's just say that their list of three bonus offers will disappoint gamblers used to scrolling through a long page of different offers. So far, all we have is a Welcome Bonus, a referral program, and a weekly match bonus offer. The site tries to throw in a rewards program (Ignition Rewards) to bulk up the size of their overall bonus campaign, but it is weighted to drastically prefer high-end play. In other words, the rewards program is a bust unless you're depositing thousands of dollars every few weeks.

4. The site doesn't offer a live chat function.

Some may call this a minor thing, but we don't like not having the option to chat live with a customer service agent. It's part of a troubling trend. We find ourselves commenting on the lack of live chat features more and more these days. Could it be that US-facing casinos are afraid of offering these services? Is it the cost? When a player has an issue with an online gambling account, the problem isn't usually minor. Sending an email doesn't have the kind of weight that a problem involving a few hundred bucks requires, and talking on the phone is a time-consuming and difficult issue at most sites. Ignition should offer a live chat feature, not just because it would put them a step ahead of their US-facing competition, but also because it's the right thing to do for your customers, many of whom are entrusting large amounts of money in your care.

At launch, Ignition Casino offers three different bonuses. Is that an unusually small number? If the site weren't brand-new, we'd say yes. But before you pass judgement on Ignition for having such a puny bonus program, take a look at the details of each bonus:

Welcome Bonus

Ignition Casino is offering new members a 100% deposit match bonus worth up to $1,000. Unlike other US-facing casino sites, they offer the entire deposit match as a single bonus that comes with a 25x rollover. Compare that to Bovada's $3,000 Welcome Bonus which is actually four back-to-back sets of bonuses, and you'll see why we like Ignition's offer better. Redeeming the same code four times to chase a $3,000 total is a huge hassle comparing to making a $1,000 deposit and earning your 100% bonus in one fell swoop. We also like that Ignition gives members six months to earn as much of that bonus as they can. Remember – this bonus is paid out a little at a time, so you don't have to earn the entire bonus amount in order to make a little extra cash. Unfortunately, there's no information on the site about the release of bonus funds, even in the (short) terms and conditions page for this bonus. The answer required a call to customer service, which is inconvenient. For the record, this bonus releases in $10 increments as you earn it, according to the rollover requirements. That means for every $250 in qualifying wagers you place, you'll earn $10 in free bets, so long as your bonus balance is positive.

Tell-a-Friend Bonus

Ignition Casino's referral bonus is in line with the rest of the US-facing gambling industry. You can earn 200% of your friend's deposit, up to $100, when they make a qualifying deposit. Of course, earning your referral cash is not that easy. At Ignition, you have to meet a rollover requirement that we think is a bit steep - 25x for slots, 60% for table games, and don't expect your play on blackjack, baccarat, Sic Bo, craps, or roulette to help you clear it – they're excluded. We'll point out that other US-facing sites require a 30x rollover on slots and tables games, so you're at a slight advantage with Ignition over their biggest US-facing competitors.

The Weekly Boost

This is a series of seven boosts available once a day for a week. Ignition Casino points out that their definition of one week is from Monday morning to Monday morning. This sounds cool, but in reality it's just the same low bonus offer that you can re-trigger once a day for seven days. Right now, the offer is a 100% match on deposits of up to $100. Here's the catch – only wagers on Slots, scratch cards, specialty games, and keno count 100% toward clearing this bonus cash, while table games count just 60%, and all other games don't count toward it at all.

Ignition Rewards

This is a typical online casino rewards program with eight ostentatiously-named tiers: Steel, Chrome, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Titanium, and Diamond. The idea is to encourage you to bet more by offering reward points at a 1:1 ratio for all wagers placed at the site. The more you earn each month, the higher your status will rise. Each status update comes with a different offer of perks and bonuses. The top level, Diamond, is by invitation only. It comes with a personal VIP host, unlimited withdrawals, and weekly cashback and reload offers, plus a host of other goodies too long to list here. All players start at the lowest level, Steel, simply by signing up, and you get nothing at all for it. To rise up to the next level, Chrome, you have to spend $2,000 in a month. It gets you access to a special reload bonus offer. Basically, the rewards program at IgnitionCasino.eu isn't worth much until you're spending loads of cash at the higher-end of the scale. This is typical of online casino rewards programs, especially those at sites that do business mainly with Americans.

The list of available deposit options at IgnitionCasino.eu is:

• Credit Cards
  You can attempt to deposit using your credit card (VISA, MasterCard, or American Express only) but some Americans will have difficulty using this method. This is why Ignition offers Bitcoin, since even players restricted from using a credit card can use Bitcoin, provided they follow a short tutorial. Ignition charges no fees for credit card deposits. Your credit card company may identify this transaction as a cash advance, in which case you could be eligible for fees instituted by your financial institution, but not by IgnitionCasino.eu.
• Bitcoin
  The fact that you can make a deposit (and accept a withdrawal) with Bitcoin is the pride and joy of Ignition's cashier department. We're not sure about Bitcoin – the scuttlebutt is that the currency is failing – but we do know that lots of sites are warming to it, and online gamblers are discovering the inherent value of a crypto-currency. Ignition charges no fees for Bitcoin deposits. The Bitcoin system will likely charge you 0.001 Bitcoin for all deposits, but based on the current value, that's a fee of $0.49 per transaction, which is totally reasonable and is used to cover maintenance fees.

The list of available withdrawal options at IgnitionCasino.eu is just a bit longer:

• Check-by-Courier
  This is apparently the preferred method of Ignition Casino's cashier department, which is a little disappointing considering how much they hype the fact that they accept Bitcoin. We say it's the preferred method for withdrawals because they list it in bold in the withdrawals section, and charge nothing for your first check per month. That's a pretty good value considering that they're actually spending a little money to ship you a check through a courier. Additional checks are $50 – so make sure and consolidate your withdrawals if you plan on using this method instead of the two other available methods.
• Credit Card
  You can theoretically withdraw to your VISA, MasterCard, or American Express card, but some Americans may have trouble doing so. Right now, according to the terms and conditions on IgnitionCasino.eu, all withdrawals to credit cards are free from Ignition's end, though (again) you may pay a vendor fee to your financial institution for accepting that payment, depending how they categorize the site's services.
• Bitcoin
  The withdrawal process for Bitcoin is identical to the deposit process, but in reverse. You'll still pay a fee of about $0.49 or so per withdrawal, and you'll avoid any fees from IgnitionCasino.eu. We thought it was a little suspicious that the site goes so far out of its way to mention that these withdrawals are fee-free "for the time being." Keep your eyes on their terms and conditions, because we think it's possible that Ignition will start charging for withdrawals and deposits soon, especially if the changing value of Bitcoin continues to push the fees the site eats ever-higher.

Ignition Casino's library contains 247 games broken up by title into five different categories:

• Slots (199 titles)
• Blackjack (6 titles)
• Table Games (11 titles)
• Video Poker (17 titles)
• Specialty Games (14 titles)

Here's an overview of each of Ignition Casino's betting options:

Ignition Casino offers slot games that come from three different popular game design firms. Most of their 199 slots are produced by Realtime Gaming and Rival, though they have a few titles by Betsoft Gaming available as well.

This group of developers is interesting – Rival and RTG are polar opposites, and Betsoft is one of the best-reviewed and most-popular designers in the industry. RTG is a massive company that produces big games without much variety. Rival is a boutique firm that prides itself on innovation and game quality. Rival's i-Slots are the best thing about Ignition's slot library, unless you're really into progressive slots. I-Slots are popular because they're more likely full-fledged video games with bets than traditional slot titles. The result of this conglomeration of slot designers is a varied library of slots that range from classic-style three-reel slots to modern five-reel video games with licensed themes and progressive jackpots.

Here's a look at four slot games available at the site, popular games we think represent the overall offerings of Ignition's slot game library:

1. Cash Bandits
   Cash Bandits by RTG is a progressive video slot that launched in 2015. It's one of RTG's newest progressive games. This is a Real Series game, with five reels and twenty-five pay lines. Cash Bandits offers a two-tiered progressive jackpot, one bonus round, and a free spins round that hands out as many as ninety free plays at a time. The main goal is to initiate the Vault Feature sequence, a bonus game that hands out both free spins and multipliers. Denominations range from $0.01 to $1, with a max bet of twenty-five lines ranging between a quarter and $25 per spin. The only wagers that are eligible for the progressive cost $25 per spin. The average payout for the Major prize is above $300,000. Both prizes are totally random, based only on the placement of max bets.
2. Cleopatra's Gold
   Cleopatra's Gold is another five reel progressive RTG Real Series video slot with twenty-five pay lines. The theme is Cleopatra, the last ruler of the Egyptian kingdom. Cleopatra's Gold is popular for more than the progressive prizes – it uses both Wild and Scatter symbols, offers a frequently-triggered free spins round, and hands out an average progressive payout of $300,000. Coins have a fixed value of $0.04 each, and the game requires that you place a bet on all twenty-five pay lines on each spin, so your wager is fixed at $1 per spin. We think that's a relatively low per-spin wager for a game that makes you eligible for a random prize that regularly pays off in the six figures.


Screenshot of Cleopatra's Gold at Ignition Casino

3. The Naughty List
   An attempt on the part of the designers to create a female-friendly slot, The Naughty List is a fashion-themed slot with a five reel and twenty-five pay line setup. The Naughty List includes two distinct bonus rounds, a scatter multiplier system, and a wild symbol. The game's theme is supported by images of cameras, spotlights, high-fashion clothing, and expensive accessories. One unique feature is that any two-symbol or greater combo leads to a payout. That means more frequent pay outs on this game than any other RTG title. Credits can be set to anywhere between $0.10 and $1 each, for a max bet wager range of between $2.50 and $25.
4. Reel Blood
   It's obvious from a minute or two of play that Reel Blood references the current vampire craze in young adult literature and films. One of the site's few 243 Ways games, Reel Blood is popular because of its cool theme, excellent replay value, and unique payment system. The game stars plenty of attractive vampires, dripping bottles of blood, and even a Louisiana theme, a direct reference to the True Blood series of vampire books and movies. The wagering range is impressive – you can place wagers between $0.25 and $125 per spin. Rather than picking lines or credits, you just select your total max wager. That's because this is an All Pays game that pays out regardless of the traditional line system.

IgnitionCasino.eu hosts five blackjack variants in a separate category from their table games. Here's a guide to each of the site's available blackjack games:

1. Blackjack
   A standard six-deck game of blackjack, played according to Vegas rules. $500 maximum bet.
2. Double Deck Blackjack
   Standard blackjack with a two-deck shoe. Offers limited bet maximums ($250 per hand) to compensate for the improved player odds.
3. Euro Blackjack
   Similar to traditional blackjack, with a few rule variations. For example, the player makes all moves before the dealer receives his hold card. Also, the dealer must stand on a soft total of seventeen.
4. Perfect Pairs
   Blackjack A standard game of blackjack with an additional payout possible for forming specific two-card hands.
5. Single-Deck Blackjack
   A standard version of blackjack using a single-deck shoe. Maximum bet is $300.