Le Bon Casino Review

Dust off your old high school French books for this online casino which is designed especially for slot machine players who reside in France. The website is not restricted to players in the United States or the United Kingdom but the only language available is Francais, although a nifty bit of help from a browser translation extension such as that which is provided by Google Chrome should do the trick if your French isn't quite up to scratch.

The casino has a downloadable software package as well as an instant online flash service with more than 50 slot machines from Realtime Gaming software. There is also a mobile optimised site which allows spinners to enjoy the action while they go about their day-to-day business. However, for all of the potential entertainment that this gambling website offers, the service does have some serious problems when it comes to reputation and accreditation.

In with a Bad Crowd

The chief issue with Le Bon Casino is through association with its affiliate programme, Ace Revenue, which has in the past been listed as a rogue outfit on a number of respectable casino review site and forums. Far from being out and out scam artists, it would appear that much of the ill-fate of the casinos under this affiliate programme are problematic due to badly worded terms and conditions for bonus promotions and shoddy quality of customer service. However, it would appear that the group has started to clean up its act in recent years with better communication and less serious complaints.

Still, players should proceed with caution and use their best judgement before signing up with Le Bon Casino – especially if they don't have a solid grasp of the French language. It would be all to easy for an important clause in the terms and conditions to be lost in translation considering that the casino group doesn't have a good track record in clarity when it comes to that sort of thing. But perhaps the biggest cause for concern is the lack of respectable legal and official accreditation. The website does provide links to customer dispute portals via “CDS Corporation” and a link to a company under the name of “Hastings B.V.” which is based in Curacao. There is no mention whatsoever of where the casino or this company is licensed, but there is a link which reveals that Realtime Gaming and Hastings B.V. are use a fair and trustworthy Random Number Generator as verified by Gaming Laboratories International – which can provide some degree of reassurance at least.

Elusive Customer Service

Ostensibly, Le Bon Casino provides a variety of avenues for its players to get in touch with the casino directly, be it through a telephone line, 24/7 chat portal or through email support. However, customers who try to use the live chat service may encounter some technical issues, primarily the fact the pop-up window closes whenever you click “Submit” to begin the chat.

Variety of Exciting Slot Machine Games

Le Bon Casino is powered by Realtime Gaming, a software company that was launched in 1998 and can, therefore, boast quite an extensive catalogue of slot machine titles. The only downside is that the majority of these games do appear to be a little bit dated on the design front. Nonetheless, spinners will come across more than 50 games, many of which offer some generic novelty themes such as the fairy tale Enchanted Garden, the wild and ferocious Tiger Treasures and the ice cool Polar Explorer.

There are also many 5-reel video slots that serve up some weird and wonderful spinning entertainment. Take Shark School for example, which features an underwater academy for young sharks, or the Mexican wrestling themed Lucha Libre. There is also a somewhat unprecedented number of Christmas themed slot machines which put a unique spin on the festive season such as The Elf Wars and Rudolph's Revenge.

Many of these Realtime Gaming slots have “Feature Guarantee” such as Aztec Treasure, or a “Win-Win Feature” such as Loch Ness Loot. What's more, the majority of these games come with minor and major progressive jackpots, which is great news for players in search of some big bucks. However, the one thing that this catalogue of slots is missing is some truly classic 3-reel action.

Some Casino Classics

There may not be much in the classic slot department, but Le Bon Casino does give punters the chance to play some classic casino games such as Pontoon, Blackjack, Roulette and Vegas Three Card Rummy. There are also more than 10 video poker games to try your hands at.

Slow Banking

All of the transactions at Le Bon Casino are handled in Euros, while players from other countries such as the UK or Canada will pay their deposits and receive their winnings converted into US Dollars using a daily exchange rate. The casino claims to process all of its deposits immediately, although sometimes it may take up to 24 hours before funds appear. The limitations listed by the casino restrict all deposits to a minimum of €50  ($57) while payments made via Visa must be below €1,000 per day ($1,125), while credit card deposits via phone or live chat must be below €5,000 ($5,630) and bank transfers are restricted by a €1,350 ($1,520) maximum limit per day. The website all lists Bitcoin and Neteller as deposit options but there is no information about limits for these methods.

As for withdrawals, it's all a bit unclear as to what methods are available. The casino's FAQ section lists cheques and Neteller as specific options along with “transfer” “money transfer”, both of which are a bit vague. What we do know is that withdrawals will take a ridiculously long time to be processed by the casino – up to 10 days in fact – after which it could take up to 7 days for your money to arrive. The minimum withdrawal amount is €100 ($115) and the maximum weekly limit is €2,500 ($2,800).

A Couple of Bonus Boosts

There are a couple of sign up bonuses which new players at Le Bon Casino can take advantage. The first of these promotions is a 100% deposit bonus which will match customers first pay-in like for like. The casino doesn't make it clear as to what the maximum limit on this bonus is, but it does state that the bonus must be wagered 30x for slot machines and 60x for table games and video poker. Plus, players can only claim winnings worth no more than 10x the bonus that is awarded.

After that, punters can choose to claim one of two other bonuses, one which will award a 100% deposit bonus to be used for slot machines and another which will give a 100%b bonus for table games. These bonuses come with a “no maximum payment” and “no wagering requirement” clause. However, the general terms and conditions do state that all withdrawal requests must exceed the sum of the deposit and deposit bonus.

Slots to Go

A selection of Realtime Gaming slot machines and table games are available to play on your mobile browser. This mobile service is compatible with Android and iOS devices, allowing spinners to continue spinning their favourite slot machines on the go.

Looks Can be Deceiving 

On the face of it, this French style casino website looks to be the part. With a well designed user interface and a good albeit limited selection of slot machines from Realtime Gaming, players could feasibly find a decent amount of entertainment to be had at this online casino website. However, the service is let down by the dodgy reputation of its affiliate programme as well as some shoddy customer service on its own part. Plus, the website doesn't provide much in the way of firm accreditation to suggest that it is accountable to any respected legal gambling authorisation – and that is proof enough that players should steer well clear.