Planet 7 Casino Review

The first time I checked out the Planet 7 site, I was impressed with their streamlined design and wealth of casino gaming options. Clicking on the "banking" tab revealed a number of deposit and withdrawal options, and I was thrilled to learn that they accept players from the United States.

I was even more impressed with their promotions and VIP club. The former offers free money to players every day of the week, and the wagering requirements are comparable to competing sites. While I don't play enough to take full advantage of the VIP program, it's an option that any high roller or grinder should look into.

The casino is powered by software from Realtime Gaming, and their 15+ years in the business can assure you that all casino games are operated fairly. They're one of the biggest names in the virtual gambling industry, so there should be no problems on that front.

Other elements surrounding Planet 7 are not as certain. First of all, they've been associated with the Crystal Palace and Ace Revenue groups, and both have a long reputation for engaging in slow-pay tactics. There have also been multiple complaints regarding treatment of players, especially once they start asking for money to be paid out.

If there are problems, the licensing jurisdiction of Costa Rica isn't going to be of assistance. They've long been known for taking a "hands off" approach, meaning they don't care what casinos in their jurisdiction do as long as they pay their fees to the government.

Planet 7 offers a number of bonus options, as well as a VIP program to reward repeat customers. The former is especially impressive, with eight different opportunities to earn bonus cash when you first sign up. Weekly and monthly bonuses are also offered, but the following are available throughout the year:

• $7,777 Welcome Bonus – Divided up over your first eight deposits, this 100% matching bonus goes up to $777 for your first deposit. After that, all deposit bonuses cap out at $1,000 for the next seven deposits.
• Slot Special – 100% matching bonus on deposits between $30 and $10,000. Only slots and keno satisfy the 30x wager requirement.
• Table Games Bonus – 80% matching bonus on deposits from $30 to $10,000. Only table games satisfy the 60x wager requirement.
• Weekend Special – Get a 130% bonus when you make a $30 to $10,000 deposit on Saturday or Sunday. Wagering requirement is 30x (or 60x for video poker and table games).
• Monday Funday Special – Deposit between $30 and $10,000 on a Monday and receive a 110% bonus. Wager requirements are 30x, or 60x for table games and video poker.
• Player Appreciation Free Chip – Deposit at least $200 during a month and receive a $50 free chip. You must withdraw twice the chip amount, and the wagering requirement is 30x (60x for table games and video poker).
• Wire Transfer Bonus – Get a 20% bonus added to any other bonus when you deposit via wire transfer. Wagering requirements are determined by which bonus you choose.
• VIP Member Bonus – Members of the VIP program can receive a 130% match bonus on deposits of $100 to $10,000. Wager requirements are 25x (or 50x for table and video poker games).

The Planet 7 VIP program has five levels, and it provides frequent players with all manner of perks. If you're a true high roller, just look at everything you can gain access to at the fifth level:

• Custom gifts
• Casino balance insurance for $50,000
• Insurance paid at the start of every month
• Access to exclusive bonuses and promotions
• Every $2 wagered earns an additional comp point

Planet 7 doesn't really offer mobile gaming. The casino used to have a mobile presence, but only one table game and three slots were offered at that time. They must have discontinued the service due to lack of customer interest, so anyone wanting to play on their portable device needs to look elsewhere.

Planet 7 Casino specializes in casino games, and they offer over 100 options to choose from. Their entire selection is powered by Realtime Gaming, one of the leading names in the industry. This means you can always count on fast loading times, smooth graphics, and crisp sounds.

The casino divides their games into the following sections: slots, table games, video poker, and specialty games. We'll examine each of these in the next four sections, providing readers with a strong idea of what to expect before they ever set eyes on the actual casino website.

Slot Machines

Since space is limited, I'm not going to list all the slot machines available from Planet 7. There are, however, over 120 to choose from. The fact that they're designed by Realtime Gaming is also a bonus, as you can always count on that company to provide diverse themes and reliable graphics.

If you choose the downloadable version of the casino, then all slots are available. The Flash version is more limited in its selection, but that's common among most casinos.

Multi-payline games have become the norm, and the bulk of these slots fall into that category. There are, however, some three-reel games for old school players. Regardless of your preference, you can look forward to progressives, win multipliers, bonus rounds, scatter pays, and wild symbols.

I would discuss the slots with the best payout percentages, but these figures aren't commonly available. To make matters more complicated, RTG software provides three settings to allow casinos to make each game looser or tighter.

Table Games

Fifteen table games are available from Planet 7, and each has been designed by the award-winning team at Realtime Gaming. The following are included:

• War – The player compares one card with the dealer, and the high card wins. In the case of a tie, the player can go to war and double their wager.
• Baccarat – The player tries to beat the score of the banker. Featured in a number of James Bond films and often played for high stakes.
• Blackjack – The player wins if they can get a higher total than the dealer without exceeding 21.
• European Blackjack – Similar to blackjack, although the dealer doesn't draw their second card until the player has completed their hand.
• Vegas Three Card Rummy – The objective of this game is to build a lower three-card hand than the dealer.
• Face Up 21 – Played in a similar to manner to blackjack, but the dealer and player both get two face-up cards at the beginning of the game.
• Tri-Card Poker – The player must build a better three-card hand the dealer. A pair pays bonus money if an optional wager is made.
• Let'em Ride – Requiring at least of pair of 10s for a payday, this game challenges the player with building the best possible hand using two cards and three community cards.
• Texas Hold'em Bonus Poker – Plays like regular Texas Hold'em, although there are no additional wagers after the river phase.
• Match Play 21 – A variant of blackjack with all the tens removed from the deck. The house edge is only 0.76% when the dealer is required to hit on a soft 17 and 0.40% when he must stand under the same circumstances.
• Pai Gow Poker – The player must make a two-card and five-card hand, and both must beat the dealer's hands in order to win a payout.
• Pontoon – The player gets two face-down cards to begin the game, and their objective is to get closer to 21 than the dealer without going over.
• Perfect Pairs – This game is similar to blackjack, although a bonus payment is available to the player if they get a pair with their initial two cards. Carries a low house edge of 0.54%.
• Super 21 – Played much like regular blackjack, expect with a few tweaks to the rules.
• Red Dog – The player is dealt three cards. In order to win, the value of the final card must be between the values of the first two.

Video Poker

Thanks to RTG, Planet 7 has 16 different video poker games to offer its customers. These include the following:

• Sevens Wild – The minimum hand for a payout is three-of-a-kind, and the seven cards substitute for any other card.
• Pick'em Poker – Two cards are dealt face up, and then a pair of three-card hands is dealt with only the top card facing up. In order to win, the player must guess which hand is superior.
• Mystery Bonus Poker – This is a unique hybrid that combines slots and video poker.
• Loose Deuces – At least a three-of-a-kind hand is required for a payout, and all deuce cards are wild.
• Joker Poker – The joker serves as a wild card, and at least a pair of kings is required for a payout.
• Jacks or Better – The most common form of video poker, this game starts paying out with a pair of jacks. The multi-hand version of this game offers one of the lowest returns at 97.29%.
• Double Jackpot Poker – Four-of-a-kind hands offer larger payouts, but you can finish in the money just by getting a pair of jacks.
• Double Double Jackpot Poker – The same as the previous game, although some four-of-a-kind hands offer larger payouts.
• Double Bonus Poker – This game is like Jacks or Better, except a bonus payment is paid out for any four-of-a-kind hand.
• Double Double Bonus Poker – Plays like Double Bonus Poker, expect the bonuses for some four-of-a-kind hands are even larger than before.
• Bonus Poker – In order to receive a payout, you'll need a pair of jacks or better. If you get any four-of-a-kind hand, you'll win a bonus payout.
• Bonus Poker Deluxe – This game plays exactly like Bonus Poker, although some of the payouts have been amplified.
• Deuces Wild – All deuces are wild, and the minimum payout hand requires three-of-a-kind. In order to receive the top cash prizes, you'll need to make a royal flush or five-of-a-kind using a wild card.
• Bonus Deuces Wild – The deuce card is wild, allowing it to substitute for any other card. Bonus payouts are available for different card combinations, but you need at least a three-of-a-kind to finish in the money.
• All American Poker – This game is similar to the classic Jacks or Better, although the pay table has been modified.
• Aces and Eights – The minimum payout requires a pair of jacks, but special payouts are awarded for four aces, eights, or sevens. Aces and Eights offers the best overall return of these games at 99.78%.

Both single and multi-hand versions of video poker are available through the site. If you decide to play more than a single hand at a time, you can choose from the following options: 100, 52, 10, or 3.

Specialty Games

The 14 games in this section offer a variety of options, with the house edge averaging 2 to 3 percent. The best wager is the even money bet on the French roulette wheel, which carries a house edge of 1.35%.

• Sic Bo – Three dice are rolled, and the player wagers on the outcome. The highest payout is an impressive 180:1.
• 5 Diamond Blackjack – This scratch card option simulates blackjack, with the player trying to get a better hand than the dealer.
• Lucky 8s – This is another scratch card game, this time offering a theme of leprechaun and shamrocks. The lowest winning multiplier is x1, while the highest is x4000.
• Magic 7s – Another scratch card game, this one pays out if a 7 is uncovered. The player wins double the amount if a magical hat is also revealed.
• American Roulette – This is the most popular version of the game in American casinos, although the addition of the 00 pocket results in a bigger house edge.
• European Roulette – This game has a lower house edge than its American counterpart thanks to only one zero pocket.
• French Roulette – All wagers are written in French, and the table can accommodate more than one player at a time.
• Multiplayer Roulette – Several players can play at the same time, and a timer feature is included to simulate the pressure and excitement of real-life gaming.
• Roaring Twenties Bingo – With a theme straight out of the 1920s, this game features progressive jackpots and the option to play up to 100 cards at once.
• Bonus Bingo – Fans of bingo should love the extra features such as bonus rounds, special balls, and winning multipliers.
• European Slot Poker – A combination of video poker and slots.
• Keno – Pick one to 20 numbers and then get paid based on the number of matches.
• Hot Dice – Another scratch card game, this time requiring the player to get a 7 or 11 to win.Various multipliers are available, including one that pays 2000 times the normal win.
• Craps – The classic casino game that allows players to roll a pair of dice and wager on the outcome.

While Planet 7 accepts players from the United States, they don't act as though the passage of the UIGEA has harmed their ability to accept deposits from players. In fact, they state on their website that they have one of the best records in the industry for successfully processing money into customer accounts.

The two main deposit options listed on their site are as follows:

• VISA – This credit card option can normally prove difficult for players in the United States, but Planet 7 insists that they've got players covered. Keep in mind, though, that some of the leading casinos have difficulty on this front. Players in other parts of the world, however, should find it a simple matter to perform a transaction.
• Neteller – One of the world's leading e-wallet services, Neteller is not available to players in the United States. For those who live elsewhere, they'll find that their account can be loaded with money online or at an available kiosk.

Other deposit options are supposed to be available, but the site doesn't provide any additional information other than their logo. If you want to know more, you're supposed to contact their customer service department.

Withdrawal options may change at times according to their site, but the following three options are always available:

• Bank Checks
• Bank Wire
• Cash Transfer

It takes 7 to 10 business days for a withdrawal request to be approved or denied. If it's accepted, payment will be made within 10 to 14 business days. The minimum withdrawal is $100, and a processing fee is involved for checks or money transfers. There's also a per-week maximum withdrawal limit of $2,500, so any amount over that is paid out in subsequent weeks.