Having a land-based entity enter the online gambling world is not new; there are dozens of examples of this cross-promotion scattered across this industry.
However, when one of the most prestigious names in the UK casino world decides it is time for them to get their piece of the online pie, we all perk up.
This review is about the Grosvenor Online Casino.
I’ll be trying to determine if the attention to detail for the online player matches that which the company provides for players who walk in the front doors of their land-based locations.
Let’s get started.
About Grosvenor Casino
The Grosvenor Casinos are some of the most prestigious in all of Europe. In the casino business since 1970, at the time of writing this review, there were 55 land-based Grosvenor Casino locations across the UK so you can imagine that the brand recognition is essential to their online success.
As far as their online casino goes, Grosvenor Casino is owned and operated by the Rank Group PLC. This publicly-traded UK firm is one of the largest gaming entities in that country. The online casino launched in 2007, and they have recently added a sportsbook to the mix, which I will also be reviewing here.
The casino has two gaming licenses; one from the UK Gambling Commission and one from the jurisdiction of Alderney. These two licenses, combined with the land-based locations, should give players a great sense of security when it comes to the management of their deposits.
Who Can Play at Grosvenor Casino?
Well, this is probably the most depressing part of this casino review. With the land-based licenses at stake, it is unlikely that Grosvenor Casino will be taking on players from around the world anytime soon. In fact, at this time, only players from the UK and Ireland are allowed to set up real money accounts at this site.
Now wait…don’t leave! This is still going to be an interesting review to read, I promise.
Software Suppliers
Even though the casino can only take players from the UK and Ireland, they aren’t holding back when it comes to content. The Rank Group has created partnerships with several high-profile casino software providers, many of whom they leveraged their land-based arrangements to secure. Have a look at the suppliers you will see when you start playing at this casino:
- Aristocrat
- Ash Gaming
- Bally Technologies
- Barcrest
- Bede Gaming
- Blueprint Gaming
- Cryptologic
- Electracade
- Endemol Games
- Evolution Gaming
- Games Warehouse
- IGT
- NextGen
- Novomatic
- OpenBet
- Playtech
- WMS
This means you are going to see a lot of crossover content from what you may see in one of the land-based locations, as they will be powered by companies like IGT, Aristocrat, and Novomatic. Having Playtech adds one of the best online casino software companies in the market, and they also have the Live Dealer games leading supplier in Evolution Gaming. All in all, this is a fantastic display of games, and it only serves to make those of us who don’t live in the UK even more jealous.
All of these games are available in Instant Play browser format, with many of the games also mobile-friendly.
The Good Stuff
Cross Promotions with Land Based Casinos
I think this is the most important part about an online casino that has land-based ties. In some cases, the two operate as completely separate entities. In the case of Grosvenor, the fact that there is a tab on their homepage dedicated to their land-based business shows that they are not worried about whether or not you gamble with them live or online, they just want the relationship to be as strong as possible. I hope to see lots of cross-promotions by the group in the future.
Multiple Products available
I like when I can make one deposit and then play different games on the same platform. With a newly added sportsbook to go along with casino and poker, the Grosvenor gaming platform is well-rounded, giving you a chance to test your skills and luck across the full spectrum of gambling.
The Bad Stuff
Very Small Welcome Bonus
I will go into more detail about this later but assuming you come to find the online casino before you enter a physical Grosvenor location, you may find yourself completely underwhelmed by the Welcome Offer. I understand why they do it (they already give many bonuses in their land-based casinos) but still, the offer you will read about later on needs improvement.
Slow Website
In today’s world, we always seem to be expecting things to be faster. When it comes to the Internet, webpages now load in milliseconds, getting us closer to the information faster than ever before. The Grosvenor website is an exception to this rule; it is painfully slow to load, causing me mild panic when I don’t see the page load instantaneously.
Game Selection NEW
Let’s get to the meat of this review: the games you can play online. With the multitude of software available, it won’t be shocking to find that there are hundreds of titles available for you to choose from. I will break them down into these categories:
Table Games
This is a dream for someone like me who not only loves table games like Blackjack and Roulette but also like to play games that look different to one another. Changing up the look of the table every so often can stop a game from going stale in the middle of a long session; at Grosvenor, you will find several different versions of the traditional Table Games.
Have a look at all the different Table Games available:
- Baccarat
- Blackjack
- Casino War
- Caribbean Stud Poker
- Let it Ride
- Red Dog
- Roulette
- Texas Hold ‘Em Bonus
- Triple Action Hold ‘Em
- Craps
- Pai Gow Poker
- Vegas Three Card Rummy
- Sic Bo
- Over Poker
- Pontoon
- Scratch Cards
- Solitaire
- Super Fun 21
- Three Card Poker
- American Blackjack
- Around the World
- Baccarat
- Bingo
- Blackjack
- Blackjack Pro
- Blackjack Surrender
- Blackjack Switch
- Bonus Bowling
- Caribbean Poker
- Casino Hold ‘Em
- Casino Reels
- Casino War
- Craps
- Derby Day Horse Racing
- Dice Twister
- Double Attack Blackjack
- Final Score
- Genie’s Hi Lo
- Heads or Tails
- Jackpot Darts
- Keno
- Knockout
- Let Them Ride
- Lucky Blackjack
- Mahjong
- Mega Ball
- Pachinko
- Pai Gow Poker
- Penalty Shootout
- Poker Three
- Pontoon
- Red Dog
- Rock Paper Scissors
- Roller Coaster Dice
- Roulette
- Sic Bo
- Single Deck Blackjack
- Tequila Poker
- Wheel of Light
- Wild Viking
- Baccarat
- Blackjack
- Roulette
- Sic Bo
Live Dealer Games
As mentioned, the Live Dealer games at Grosvenor, which games are being dealt by a real person over a live stream in a studio in Eastern Europe, are provided by Evolution Gaming. This developer is focused solely on Live Games, constantly trying to improve the quality of the stream and adding games where possible.
At Grosvenor, you can do your best to replicate walking into one of their properties by trying one of these Evolution tables:
- Baccarat
- Blackjack
- Roulette
- Ultimate Texas Hold ‘Em
- Three Card Poker
- Casino Hold ‘Em
Slots
When a casino uses more than one software provider, it is typically to add as much slots content as possible to their offering. Slots are the most profitable part of any casino and having as many titles as possible means, you are more likely to hang around and play for longer.
I stopped counting at 200 slot machines in the lobby; I know there are tons more, but I figured I would leave you with a list of some of my favorites:
- Bouncy Balls
- Bounty of the Beanstalk
- Bruce Lee
- Burning Desire
- Chain Reactors 100
- Chain Reactors Super Trails
- Chests of Plenty
- Cleopatra
- Dazzling Diamonds
- Deal or No Deal
- Deal or No Deal: The Banker’s Riches
- Elvis: The King Lives
- Fairest of Them All
- Fairy Queen
- Fairytale Legends: Hansel & Gretel
- Fairytale Legends: Red Riding Hood
- Faust
- Fire Horse
- Guns N’ Roses
- Gypsy Moon
- Happy Fruits
- Heart of the Jungle
- Irish Luck
- Jack and the Beanstalk
- Jackpot Cherries
- Jackpot Jester 50000
- Jewel Strike
- Jewel Twist
- King of Slots
- KISS® Shout it out Loud!
- Kitty Glitter
- Koi Princess
- MegaJackpots Isle O’ Plenty
- MegaJackpots Siberian Storm
- MegaJackpots Star Lanterns
- MegaJackpots Wolf Run
- Mega Joker
- Mega Moolah
- Mega Pots Bar-X Gold
- Merlin’s Magic Respins
- Merlin’s Millions with Superbet
- Michael Jackson: King of Pop
- Montezuma
- Moon Shadow
- Motörhead
- Orca
- Pentagram
- Pet Luck
- Reel King
- Reel King Potty: King Pot Edition
- Stellar Jackpots with Chilli Gold x2
- Stellar Jackpots with Dolphin Gold
- Sunset Reels
- Super Diamond Deluxe
- Super Graphics Upside-Down
- Super Monopoly Money
- The Sky’s The Limit
- The Wild Life
- The Winnings of OZ
- Thunderstruck II
- Titanic
- Top Cat
- Wheel of Fortune On Tour
- Wheel of Fortune Triple Extreme! Spin
- Wild Times
- Wild West: Hi-Roller
- Wild Wild West: The Great Train Heist
- Zeus 1000
Sportsbook
The sportsbook product is relatively new for Grosvenor; it launched in 2017. This is an interesting move by the group; running a sportsbook requires an entirely different set of skills than their casino team likely has on staff. I have to presume they have brought in the right people to manage this book so I will focus on the product itself.
When first loading the sportsbook page, I am presented with the games that are happening live around the world that allow in-game betting. I was pleased to see not just European sports but also an NFL game. Live betting has become incredibly popular in recent years; it seems people just can’t handle betting only on the final score of a match that takes hours to complete. Being able to bet on that game while it is in progress satisfies the needs of those who get a bit anxious while waiting out the end of the game.
Another excellent feature right on the homepage is the option of setting what type of odds you want to see. You can choose between American odds, Decimal odds or Fractional. This means that no matter what style you are used to, you can find it at Grosvenor’s sportsbook.
From a betting perspective, on the left side of the page is a list of the available sports that have odds provided. Here is a sample of what you can choose to bet on:
- Horse Racing
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Volleyball
- eSports
- Chess
- Soccer
- American Football
- Boxing
- MMA
- WWE
- Winter Sports
- Ice Hockey
- Aussie Rules
- Rugby League
- Rugby Union
- Tennis
- Cricket
- Golf
- Bandy
- Floorball
- Handball
- Table Tennis
- Trotting
I’ll be honest; there are a couple of sports I don’t even recognize up there (I mean, what the heck is Floorball??). Overall, I am very impressed with the array of sports that you can bet on; given the clientele is UK based, I would have expected less American sports to be on the bill.
By all accounts, you can make all the standard wager types at Grosvenor; unless you want to get freaky with your bets, you should be covered here. This is an excellent sportsbook for the recreational gambler.
Poker
Grosvenor Casino also has a full poker section, complete with its own promotions, Loyalty plan, and sponsored players. The site focuses their attention on the land-based poker tour that they operate, the GUKPT. These smaller buy-in events have produced massive prize pools while remaining more focused on the recreational player; you can qualify for all of the live events by playing on their online site.
As for promotions, you will find Cash Game Leaderboards, Guaranteed Tournaments, and Freerolls that allow you to build your bankroll without having to risk a cent. I love that they have a Student Poker Tour, along with being a part of the larger Universal Poker Championship, a network promotion guaranteeing $500,000 to the winner.
Overall, this poker site is perfect for players as it isn’t nearly as vast as sites like PokerStars, meaning you actually have a chance of being a winning player without having to play in a 15-hour tournament.
Promotions
It is evident that content isn’t going to be a problem at this casino; what about the promotions? Let’s dig into a couple that caught my attention during the review.
No Deposit Bonus
There is a $20 No Deposit Bonus available just for registering an account at Grosvenor Casino. The catch here is that you must already be a member of the land-based casino. For those of you in North America, you may not know that casinos in the UK require you to be a member to gamble there.
At any rate, the wagering requirement for the free $20 is an incredibly low 1x. Yes, you read that right. All you have to do is wager it one time through, and you can withdraw the money. Basically, if you get lucky, you could play one hand of Blackjack and walk away with $20. But come on…you aren’t just going to hit and run, are you? Seriously though, go to a live location and create an account ASAP to take advantage of this offer.
Welcome Bonus
I hope you take advantage of the No Deposit offer because the Welcome Bonus is nothing to write home about. It is a 100% match bonus to a maximum of $20.
No, I did not leave off a zero or two from that number. The maximum bonus you can receive is $20. I was stunned when I saw this; this is a significantly smaller number than most other online casinos that I have reviewed. Even with a very low wagering requirement of 5x, I still think the casino can do a little better with this one.
Live Casino $5,000 Leaderboard
This is a promotion designed to get you to try the Live Dealer games at the casino. For one week only, the more you play, the more likely you can advance up the leaderboard and win your share of $5,000. Here are some more details on this excellent offer:
The more you play, the higher you’ll rank. Top the leaderboard and get a £500 bonus!
To get your share:
- Opt in
• Deposit and stake £50+ on Live Casino
• Every £50 staked is a point on the leaderboard
Position | Bonus Amount |
---|---|
1 | £500 |
2-6 | £250 |
7-16 | £100 |
17-32 | £50 |
33-58 | £25 |
59-109 | £10 |
110-185 | £5 |
This is a great promotion for many reasons, not the least of which is that 185 players are going to get some sort of bonus for participating.
Banking
Considering the casino only has to cater to players from the UK and Ireland, the payment processing should be a relatively easy process for Grosvenor Casino. It is hard to tell online if you are able to process payments through their land-based facilities, but I would sure hope they do allow that, as that would be the fastest and least expensive way for the group to process player payments.
Deposit Options
- Check
- Laser
- Maestro
- MasterCard
- Neteller
- PayPal
- Solo
- Switch
- Ukash
- Visa
- Visa Electron
- Wire Transfer
Withdrawal Options
- Check
- Maestro
- MasterCard
- Neteller
- PayPal
- Skrill
- Ukash
- Visa
- Visa Debit
- Visa Electron
- Wire Transfer
Comp Program
Ok, now here is where we finally see the benefit of crossing over between the land-based and online platforms. When you sign up for their loyalty scheme, you will be given a Player Card that can be used to accumulate points anywhere in their land-based casinos as well as online. Finally, there is a program that ties the two entities together, and I couldn’t be more pleased!
The details of the program are all laid out in the Loyalty section of the site, and I have to tell you that after reviewing literally hundreds of online casinos, this is by far the best explanation of a loyalty program I have ever seen. Just look at this easy to understand table of how you earn points:
I mean, it doesn’t get any easier than that. You also earn one point for every $1 you spend on food and drink in the land-based casinos; I suggest you get to eating there every day!
When you are ready to redeem points, you can select from hundreds of items out of the Grosvenor Gift Catalogue; everything from luxury hotel stays to electronics to musical instruments can be selected, and whatever you choose will be sent to the Grosvenor location closest to you at no charge.
VIP Program
On top of having a top-notch Comp Program, Grosvenor seems to have two additional levels of VIP Cards than you can attain by playing even more in the casino. These are the Gold Card and the Black Card, and here are some details on both levels:
PLAY POINTS Gold Card customers receive special privileges in our casinos, online and through your mobile. Having a Gold Card or becoming a Gold customer
- Great bonus levels on each Play Points promotion – online and in your casino.
- Special access to deals and offers, only available to Gold Card holders
- Redeem Play Points for personalised rewards
- Birthday offer just for Gold Card customers
To be awarded a Gold Card, you will need to earn 8000* over 12 months. This can be done anywhere in the casino, online or via your mobile. The 12 month window can start anytime, and we will be checking regularly to invite customers hitting that level to join the club.
Exclusive Black Card benefits
- Enhanced Play Point Earning
- Personal account manager
- Complete account discretion
- Direct personal access to the Black Card team
- Invite-only events and hospitality
- Exclusive in-casino promotions
- Exclusive online promotions
As you can see, there are distinct advantages to earning your way into these exclusive clubs.
Customer Service
There are several ways to contact the customer care department of Grosvenor Casino. First and foremost, if you live near a land-based location, you can simply walk in and speak to an agent live and in person. To me, this is a total game-changer for the industry. This allows the player to be in full control of the support communication; you are standing in front of someone who will hopefully be able to solve your issue quickly.
The site also has an extensive series of articles covering many common help topics; you can search by keyword, and hopefully, the answer to your question will just come up on the screen. If you can’t find what you are looking for there, then you can call the casino via their toll-free telephone line, or connect via their Live Chat feature. You also have the option to email them, or even MAIL THEM A LETTER if you can imagine that!
Would I Play at Grosvenor Casino?
Would I play at this casino? Damn, I might just move over to London for the opportunity to access this great property. Not only am I enthralled with a company that combines land-based and online gaming experiences, the fact that Grosvenor has done it so well is a huge win in my book.
With an extensive Comp and VIP program that brings together your time spent both in-house and online, you are going to be able to accumulate rewards faster than at most online-only sites. As for the product offering, the recent addition of sports betting to the fold gives Grosvenor a full-scale operation which allows you a single-wallet access to many different types of action.
Seriously, aside from the small Welcome Bonus (which is easier to convert than anywhere I have ever seen, BTW), I can’t find many faults with this casino at all. If you live in the UK or Ireland, then I highly recommend you march into your local Grosvenor Casino and become a member if you aren’t already, then head over to their website and start playing right away!