When an owner of multiple casino domains uses those brands to focus on different markets, the end result is typically a series of copycat casinos with some alternative text on them. But what about when that casino owner has some baggage that comes along with it? Or if the casino in question definitely has a different marketing angle to it?
The subject of this review is Casino Epoca. As you will see, this casino, which focuses on the Spanish and Portuguese markets, has an ownership group that has come under fire in the past. I am here to cut through all the crap to determine if the Casino itself gives you what you want as a player – an honest, trustworthy environment for you to enjoy your favorite casino games.
About Casino Epoca
While the layers of different companies can sometimes make it confusing for people to know who the actual owners of a casino are, the bottom line here is that the group that owns this site are the folks behind the Palace Group of casinos. They operate over a dozen brands across the online casino landscape, including brands like euro Palace, Gaming Club, and Jackpot City.
Casino Epoca was founded in 2012 as a way to specifically target a Spanish and Portuguese speaking market. The company is based in Malta and has a license from the Malta Gaming Authority. This license speaks to the nature of the business, as it is one of the toughest jurisdictions in which to be approved. For what it’s worth, the company also has a license from the Kahnawake Council in Canada, which is likely a legacy license to be able to be hosted in their facilities outside Montreal.
Who Can Play at Casino Epoca?
While the casino is focused on the Spanish market, it doesn’t mean that players from other countries cannot play here for real money. The only restrictions that are put on this site are by the casino software supplier and by the Malta Gaming Authority. As a result of both those organizations’ policies, the following countries are not able to access the games at this casino:
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Australia
- Belgium
- British Virgin Islands
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- France
- French Guiana
- French Polynesia
- Hong Kong
- Hungary
- Iran
- Israel
- Italy
- Jersey
- Netherlands
- Portugal
- Puerto Rico
- Romania
- Singapore
- South Africa
- Spain
- Switzerland
- Taiwan
- Turkey
- S. Virgin Islands
- United Kingdom
- United States
Software Suppliers
Casino Epoca is powered by two software companies; Microgaming for digital games and Evolution Gaming for Live Dealer games. We’ll get into the details of the offering a little later in this review, but take it from me – this is a great combination to see when you first enter an online casino site. Microgaming has been a leader in the software game for almost twenty years, and the South Africa-based company shows no signs of slowing down. With the Live Dealer boom taking place over the last few years, companies like Evolution Gaming have burst onto the scene with a sole focus on these live-streamed games. Overall, this is an excellent choice by the Palace Group for this offering.
The Microgaming casino games can be played via a download that goes onto your PC or via the instant play browser-based games. As for the Evolution Gaming piece, those games have to be played in a browser, either from your PC or on your mobile device.
Pros and Cons
PROS
- Become an instant MEGA MOOLAH MILLIONAIRE
- Game Stats Info
Cons
- Bad Reputation
- Poor Website Construction
Become an instant MEGA MOOLAH MILLIONAIRE
One of the things that are great about being a licensee of Microgaming is being able to connect to their network for progressive jackpot games. Casino Epoca features 15 of these games in their lobby, with the largest by far being Mega Moolah. The jackpot for this game is currently well over 3 million USD, and that means it could burst at any minute!
Game Stats Info
Another feature of Microgaming casinos is the Hot and Cold functionality. While this doesn’t really factor into my decision-making, we have all seen that person hovering around a slot machine in a land-based casino, waiting for a player to step away because they have a feeling the machine is cold and ready to burst. That kind of superstition has made its way online; at Casino Epoca, they list which games haven’t been paying a lot and which are paying out all the time so you can add that to the factors that make up your choice of what to play next.
Bad Reputation
So, the Palace Group clearly has some haters out there. A quick Google search will show you what I mean; many complaints from players and affiliates along the way. Now, when I review a casino, I like to look forward, not back, so when I see a bunch of historical complaints, I tend to keep them in the back of my mind while giving the casino the benefit of the doubt. However, if you read these forums, you may find yourself a little more hesitant about making a deposit at this casino (and many others, to be fair).
Poor Website Construction
It is a bit surprising that even though the company launched in 2012, the site looks like it could be from the 1990s. Don’t expect anything flashy when you get to the site; that may seem like nit-picking, but I like a site that has far more navigation than the Casino Epoca site currently offers. I hope there is a plan to redesign the site shortly.
Game Selection
Live Dealer Games
The Evolution Gaming casino offering, filmed in their own studio based in Eastern Europe, gives you the feeling of playing your favorite casino games in a live setting even though you are sitting in your own living room. While the games play a little more slowly than the other games at Casino Epoca, most players are starting to trend towards playing the more realistic versions of these games.
You can check out the following Live Dealer games at Casino Epoca:
- Baccarat
- Blackjack
- Roulette
- Casino Hold’em
- Caribbean Stud Poker
- 3 Card Poker
Slots
If there is one area of Microgaming’s software that has gained the most attention over the years, it is definitely their slots catalog. They started with an excellent slots engine that allows for as many pay line permutations as you can imagine. Then they added some great graphics developed in-house, followed quickly by some amazing content licensing deals with some of the world’s largest entertainment companies. The end result is what you see at Casino Epoca; hundreds of titles featuring some very familiar names. Have a look at some of my favorites:
- Alaxe in Zombieland
- Arctic Agents
- Arctic Fortune
- Avalon HD
- Avalon II: The Quest For The Grail
- Battlestar Galactica
- Beach Babes
- Big Kahuna – Snakes & Ladders
- Big Top
- Break da Bank Again MegaSpin
- Bridesmaids
- BrideZilla
- Bubble Bonanza
- Bullseye
- California Gold
- Captain Cash
- Cash Splash – 5 Reel
- Cashville
- Castle Builder
- City of Gold
- Classic 243
- Crazy Crocodile
- Cricket Star
- Crocodopolis
- Cutesy Pie
- Dogfather
- Dolphin Quest
- Dragonz
- Drone Wars
- Fish Party
- Fruit Fiesta – 3 Reel
- Game of Thrones
- Game of Thrones 15-Line
- Golden Dragon
- Golden Era
- Hitman
- Ho Ho Ho
- Hot As Hades
- Huangdi The Yellow Emperor
- Immortal Romance
- In It to Win It
- Irish Eyes
- Isis
- Jester’s Jackpot
- Jewels of the Orient
- Jewel Thief
- Jingle Bells
- Jurassic Park
- King Arthur
- King Cashalot
- Kings of Cash
- Kitty Cabana
- Ladies Nite
- Lady in Red
- Life of Riches
- Lucky Leprechaun
- Major Millions 3 Reel
- Major Millions 5 Reel
- Monster Mania
- Paradise Found
- Party Island
- Party Time
- Peek-A-Boo 3 Reel
- Pharaoh’s Tomb
- Piggy Fortunes
- Playboy
- Retro Reels Diamond Glitz
- Retro Reels Extreme Heat
- Rhyming Reels – Georgie Porgie
- Riviera Riches
- Scary Friends
- Scrooge Repents
- Secret Admirer
- Secret Romance
- Secret Santa
- Serenity
- Shoot!
- Silver Fang
- Sizzling Scorpions
- Ski Bunny
- Skull Duggery
- Soccer Safari
- So Many Monsters
- So Much Candy
- SunTide
- Supe It Up
- Sure Win
- Tarzan
- Terminator 2
- The Dark Knight
- The Dark Knight Rises
- The Snake Charmer
- The Twisted Circus
- Thousand Islands
- Throne of Egypt
- Thunderstruck
- Thunderstruck II
- Triple Magic
- Twister
- Untamed Bengal Tiger
- Vinyl Countdown
- Voila!
- Wasabi-San
- Western Frontier
- What a Hoot
Video Poker
Video Poker is an interesting animal; if you find the right game and play the cards correctly, you may find yourself in a position where the odds are ever so slightly in your favor! I love some of the variants of this classic machine game; you can typically find me in a Las Vegas casino saddled up to a Jacks or Better machine for a few hours if I don’t watch myself.
Here are all the Microgaming Video Poker machines you can find in this casino’s lobby:
- All Aces
- Jacks or Better
- All American
- Aces & Faces
- Double Bonus
- Bonus Deuces Wild
- Tens or Better
- Aces & Eights
- Deuces & Joker
- Double Double Bonus
- Joker Poker (kings or better)
- Bonus Poker Deluxe
- Double Joker
- Deuces Wild
- Louisiana Double
Table Games
Table Games are what I consider to be my specialty. I am not entirely sure why I say that, as I do play basically everything in a casino, but I guess it is because of how much I love certain games like Pai gow Poker. If you have never played this, I encourage you to try; it is an amazing game that requires a little skill on top of the standard luck, and it is hard to have a really bad session of the game.
They offer Pai Gow Poker at Casino Epoca, along with these other great Table Game options:
- 3 Card Poker
- Atlantic City Blackjack
- Atlantic City Gold Blackjack
- Bonus Blackjack
- Classic Blackjack
- Craps
- Crown and Anchor
- Cyberstud Poker
- Double Exposure
- European Blackjack Redeal
- European Gold Blackjack
- Hi-Lo 13 European Blackjack
- Keno
- Pai Gow Poker
- Poker Pursuit
- Red Dog
- Premier High Streak Blackjack
- Roulette
- Sic Bo
- Spanish Blackjack
- Vegas Downtown Blackjack
- Vegas single deck Blackjack
- Vegas Strip Blackjack
Promotions
Now, the casino has a page labeled ‘Promotions,’ but if I were being cynical, I would suggest that should rename this page ‘Promotion,’ as there is only one listed there! I am absolutely shocked by this; any marketer worth anything will tell you that while customer acquisition is important, customer retention is just as valuable. For this casino, that message has not been received. I sure am hopeful that I am receiving emails full of great ongoing promotions. Otherwise, I am not sure why I would want to keep playing here. Let’s have a look at the promotion they do offer:
Welcome Bonus
The only promotion out there rewards players for their first deposit. Once you make an account and decide to play for real money, you can receive a 100% match bonus to a maximum of $200. A couple of wrinkles in this bonus from the Terms and Conditions:
Once you have opened your account, you only have 7 days to make your first deposit to qualify for the bonus. To me, this is garbage; the casino should be enticing you to make a deposit whenever you feel the time is right.
The wagering requirement for the bonus is 50x the bonus amount. This is on the high side for sure; considering it is the only bonus the casino currently offers, one would think they could make it just a little easier to achieve.
I am hopeful that a company as large as the Palace Group will give this casino more attention and add some leaderboards or other promotions shortly.
Banking
Good news for those of you who typically have trouble making a deposit at an online casino: there are so many payment options at Casino Epoca that I am sure you will be approved! Also, the second you have a transaction fail, you will be contacted by the finance department to provide assistance with an alternative method.
Deposit Options
- Citadel Direct
- ClickandBuy
- Direct Bank Transfer
- eChecks
- EcoPayz
- Entropay
- Envoy
- EZIPay
- iDEAL
- instaDebit
- Lobanet
- Maestro
- MasterCard
- Neteller
- Paysafe Card
- POLi
- Postepay
- QIWI
- Skrill
- Sofortuberwaisung
- UseMyFunds
- Visa
- Visa Debit
- Visa Electron
Withdrawal Options
- ACH
- Check
- ClickandBuy
- Easy EFT
- EcoPayz
- EZIPay
- iBanq
- iDebit
- instaDebit
- MasterCard
- Neteller
- Pay Spark
- PayPal
- QIWI
- Skrill
- Visa
Comp Program
Casino Epoca’s Comp Program (found under the Loyalty tab on their site) is a straightforward program, where you earn points for playing real money cash games. The rate at which you earn points is as follows:
Game Type | Wagering required to earn 1 Loyalty Point |
---|---|
Reel Slots, Fruit Slots | 3.30 |
Video Slots, Progressive Slots, Pai Gow Poker, Roulette | 5.00 |
Blackjack, Video Poker, Poker | 10.00 |
European Blackjack, Roulette Royale | 33.00 |
Once you accumulate enough points, you can redeem them for cash. The conversion rate is 200 points for $1. Overall, this program is in line with many of the other casinos I have reviewed in the past. One important thing to note here is that your points expire after 90 days, so you need to watch them and d redeem them as soon as you reach 200 every time…they don’t do you any extra favors just sitting in your account!
VIP Program
The VIP Program at Casino Epoca also works on the basis of the loyalty points you accumulate in the casino. This program has 6 different tiers, accommodating all players from the time they make their first deposit. Here is a quick review of the different levels:
Tier | Status Points | Bonus |
---|---|---|
Blue | 0-999 | 0 |
Bronze | 1,000-1,999 | 1% |
Silver | 10,000-19,999 | 5% |
Gold | 20,000-39,999 | 10% |
Platinum | 40,000-59,999 | 15% |
Diamond | 60,000+ | 20% |
When you qualify for these levels, there are special bonuses available to you on a daily and weekly basis. What I found a little disappointing is that there isn’t more in the way of VIP events and perks available in this program; it really seems focused on you playing more with the bonus you receive.
Customer Service
I like that this casino is so focused on Spanish and Portuguese markets that they have local phone numbers for players in those countries; there is also a phone number for the rest of the world, but I suspect that comes with a hefty long-distance charge.
The company also has a series of Live Chat agents that are available 24/7 to deal with your issues. I tested the feature in the morning, and while it took over 3 minutes for an agent to respond, when they did they were very courteous and helped answer my question in a reasonable amount of time.
Strangely, there is no support email address listed on their Help page. I am sure I can track one down, but they should have it posted in plain sight. No worries, with the real-time options you are bound to have your issue resolved without too much of a wait.
Would I Play at Casino Epoca?
I want to like this casino. I really do. It has great software, and while the website is a little dated, it is also clean, and therefore I am not riddled with anxiety before I sit down at the games. However, I am dismayed by the promotions department and their lack of real creativity when it comes to trying to develop loyal players.
If you aren’t concerned about those kinds of things, then I would say it is fine for you to make a deposit at this casino. However, you may be best served to accept their Welcome Bonus offer, play it through, and then see if they dangle any carrots for you to keep playing. If not, then you can cut bait and head to another of our recommended sites.
If you have played at Casino Epoca for real money and have any feedback to add to this review, we’re all ears! Contact us, and we’ll update this review with even more honest opinions from our devoted readers.