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It seems that every online casino prefix has been used these days, so now we find that operators are adding words to their names to be able to purchase URLs that are available. This is clearly the case when we see the name Golden Lion Casino pop up in our list of casinos to review.
Well, I do know there is a land-based casino in Mexico City that bears the same name, so I am going to give these guys the benefit of the doubt and say they are just “borrowing” that name. Regardless, I am never one to worry too much about the name of a casino as long as they offer what I am looking for to be able to recommend it to our players.
Let’s have a look behind the mane, shall we? (No more Lion references, I promise).
About Golden Lion Casino
Software Suppliers
There are several great casinos software vendors these days, and Golden Lion has settled on Rival Gaming as their primary software provider of choice. Rival powers many of the U.S.-friendly online casinos, and Golden Lion players benefit from the quality of these games. They have recently added some popular Betsoft titles to their slots catalog, which means a nice change of graphics for those of you who love slots as much as I do.
Rival have been in the casino software business for well over a decade, and they continue to be innovators, always looking for some sort of edge over their competition. They have made some excellent additions to their casino software platform in recent years, and the hope is that with new licensees coming on board they will not slow down their development.
Golden Lion Casino is available for play via three methods. There is a fully downloadable casino client, giving you the most robust experience right on your PC, which was at one point the only way you could play online casino games (imagine that!). Golden Lion also offers a browser-based instant play version of their games, which are all also fully compatible with mobile browsers. This means that no matter where you are, you can access your favorite Rival Gaming titles through Golden Lion Casino.
Who Can Play at Golden Lion Casino
As with most of the Rival Gaming clients, Golden Lion Casino doesn’t have too many restrictions when it comes to who can play at their site. The company is clearly focused on driving traffic from the U.S. otherwise it may have chosen a different software partner. For the time being, there are only four countries that are on their restricted list:
- Canada
- Israel
- Belarus
- Ukraine
While testing this casino for the review from a Canadian IP address, I noticed that the players were being redirected to the BoVegas Casino. I am not sure if this is a marketing arrangement or if the two companies have a deeper relationship, but I will continue to investigate and will update this page when any more information is uncovered.
The Good Stuff
i-Slots
If you have played at any of Rival Gaming’s other licensees, you probably already know about the robust iSlots platform. If you haven’t, then you are in for a real treat when you log in to Golden Lion Casino. Rival’s iSlots games were introduced into the market a few years ago, providing a much more robust set of graphics, including games with an ongoing storyline or with more detailed skill-based bonus games.
Golden Lion features all the available iSlots titles that Rival has built; here is a list, maybe you will recognize some of the names!
- Cirque Du Slots
- A Switch in Time
- As the Reels Turn 2: The Gamble
- As the Reels Turn 3
- Baby Boomers: Cash Cruise
- Bowled Over
- Cosmic Quest II: Mystery Planets
- Fixer Upper
- Heavyweight Gold
- Hole in Won
- Hole in Won: The Back Nine
- Japan-O-Rama
- Midway Madness
- Panda Party
- Psychedelic Sixties
- Reel Crime 1: Bank Heist
- Reel Crime 2: Art Heist
- Rock On
- Sherwood Forest Fortunes
- Spy Game
- Wild Safari
- Windy Farm
The Bad Stuff
Terrible Website Design
Depending on how you access Golden Lion Casino, you will see two very different homepages. You can visit www.goldenlion.im for a homepage that has some information that clearly points out the total of their progressive jackpots, as well as a scrolling banner of recent winners. If you access the site via www.goldenlioncasino.com, you will find a horrid dump of text on the homepage that looks like it was built as a placeholder. I feel like poor web design is unacceptable; too many people who are good at designing and too many tools to make it easy to build sites to have ones like this with such a shoddy look.
Not Very Inspiring Promotions
Golden Lion Casino sticks very close to the deposit bonus as its main forma of marketing. This is a tired way to get people to play at an online casino; there are so many creative ideas that are out there, even copying some of them would be a start for these guys. I like a good reload bonus, don’t get me wrong, but a casino operating in such a competitive environment should be doing everything they can to keep people interested. If the Golden Lion Casino people are reading this, feel free to contact me and I will give you some advice.
Game Selection
Golden Lion Casino has a full slate of table games and slots available for play. We have already discussed the benefits of the Rival Gaming iSlots earlier in this review so we will focus more on the rest of the selection of games you can find in their lobby.
Table Games
Golden Lion has all the basics covered when it comes to their table games offering. Rival doesn’t have all the bells and whistles like some of their competitors, but if you are into playing the games the way they were originally meant to be played, then you are in luck. Personally, I love the look and feel of the roulette games at Golden Lion, and I got in a great session while I was supposed to be testing all the other games….until I hit a cold streak. No worries, that’s why we play the game, right?
Here are all the great table games you can play at Golden Lion Casino:
- Baccarat
- Blackjack
- Let-it-Ride
- Multi-hand Blackjack
- Craps
- Pai Gow Poker
- Red Dog
- American Roulette
- European Roulette
Slots
As I mentioned earlier, Golden Lion is using both Rival and Betsoft slot games for their casino. I think that these two companies may have cut a deal at some point as Betsoft was having some trouble acquiring licensees on their own. However it happened, the end result for you is a selection of over 200 slot games featuring lots of great themes. The casino also has many progressive jackpot games, where you could walk away with tens of thousands of jackpot cash if your reels come up a winner!
Here are some of my favorite slots titles at Golden Lion. This is only a partial list, so if you don’t see a game you may be used to seeing from one of these providers, you can check out the Golden Lion website for the complete roster.
- 5 Reel Circus
- A Day at the Derby
- Alien Spinvasion
- All Abroad
- Arabian Tales
- Astral Luck
- Atomic Age
- Aussie Rules
- Champs-Élysées
- Chariots of Fire Slots
- Chicken Little
- Cleopatra’s Coins
- Coins Of Olympus
- Costume Party
- Diamonds Downunder
- Diggin’ Deep
- Dog Pound
- Dollars to Donuts
- Doo-wop Daddy-O
- Firestorm 7
- Five Reel Bingo Slots
- Flea Market
- Flying Colors
- Gold Rush
- Golden Gorilla
- Goldenman
- Grandma’s Attic
- Gushers Gold
- Heroes’ Realm
- Hobo’s Hoard
- Ice Picks
- Jackpot Five Times Wins
- Loco 7’s Loco 7’s
- Lost Secret Of Atlantis
- Megawins
- Metal Detector
- Milk The Cash Cow
- Moonlight Mystery
- Moonshiner’s Moolah
- Reel Of Fortune
- Reel Party
- Reel Party Platinum
- Rise of Poseidon
- Roll Out The Barrels
- Scary Rich
- Scary Rich 2
- So 80’s
- Spartan Warrior
- Star Jewels
- Summer Ease
- Surf Paradise
- Tycoon Towers
- Vintage Vegas
- Whale O’ Winnings
- Wheel Of Cash
- Zombiezee Money
Video Poker
Golden Lion does offer a few video poker variants, but if I am being honest, this isn’t Rival’s most robust piece of their platform. For the basics, Golden Lion delivers but for those of us who like to spend hours at the video poker machines, I remain hopeful that Golden Lion (or Rival) find another provider to partner with so they can expand this range of their lobby.
Here are the video poker titles you will find at Golden Lion Casino:
- Aces and Faces
- Deuces and Joker
- Deuces Wild
- Double Joker
- Jacks or Better
- Joker Poker
- Tens or Better
Specialty Games
Golden Lion Casino also takes advantage of the Specialty Games that Rival Gaming’s software has built. These games are non-traditional games like Sudoku that don’t really fit into any other casino category, but I don’t mind…they are a nice distraction when thigs aren’t going your way…I like to consider them gambling’s palate cleanser.
- Keno
- Box Sudoku Game
- Vegas Jackpot Keno
- 30 Ball Bingo
- 80 Ball Bingo
- American Bingo
- Cavalier Cash
- Beach Bum
- Itchin’s to Win
- Gunslinger’s Gold
Promotions
Banking
As with all casinos that offer play to U.S. players, credit cards remain the best option for depositing money. Most of the U.S. credit cards will work with the processors that Golden Lion has secured, and if you are having trouble, you can be sure to be receiving a call quickly from their finance department to help you through the process.
If you are coming to Golden Lion from outside the U.S., then you may be able to use Skrill or Neteller for your deposits and withdrawals. This is nice because there is no delay in getting your money from the site. Usually, the time to receive withdrawals from these methods is considerably shorter than requesting a check.
Players should note that there is a weekly maximum withdrawal of $2,000 USD.
VIP Program
It does not appear that Golden Lion offers a VIP program to their players, at least not one that is open to the public. If you have any information on the topic, please feel free to email us, and we’ll update this review.
Customer Service
Golden Lion players can access the Customer Service department of the casino via email 24/7 as well as via live chat. My test with the live chat agents was a success – while I had to wait for a minute or two for one to answer, they were polite and able to answer my “newbie” player question without any hassle.
There is currently no telephone customer service available at Golden Lion Casino, but if you are comfortable with live chat, then that is likely an easier route anyway.
Would I Play at Golden Lion Casino?
Golden Lion Casino is one of the newer casinos that I have found online. They have chosen great software featuring some of my favorite games. However, I am quite disappointed by the lack of Comp and VIP programs. Their promotions also leave something to be desired. In an incredibly competitive marketplace, promotions are what set good casinos apart from their rivals, and in this case, Golden Lion falls quite far behind. As a result, until they get their marketing department in order I cannot see myself playing at Golden Lion Casino.
