Review of Grand Reef Casino
Billing itself as "Australia and New Zealand's #1 online casino", Grand Reef Casino is a Playtech powered casino run by management with years of experience in the online casino industry. It boasts a full complement of Playtech games, access to the networked Playtech progressive jackpot pools, and a bunch of promotions and bonus offers for players to enjoy.
Grand Reef, saying no to Aussie kitsch
Before you read any further bear in mind that I am an Aussie myself and the usual reaction I have when I see an Australian themed online casino is to laugh at how inappropriately the obviously non-Australian website editor has splashed the words "pokies", "down under", "g'day" and "mate" all over the website, not to mention stock photos of kangaroos and koalas. Its like they think we're all kangaroo riding Crocodile Dundees or something. In this respect Grand Reef is refreshingly restrained, and aside from the woman sitting at a seemingly underwater table playing Gladiator on her laptop with the disturbingly jerky hand movements who blinks at you once in a while (watch her for a while, you'll see), the website is simple, uncluttered, and straight to the point. Obviously the casino has styled itself on a Great Barrier Reef theme.
Pokies and Games at Grand Reef Casino
The Playtech games offered by Grand Reef are plentiful in both quantity and quality. Among the numerous poker machines (slots for the non-Aussies) available for play, the casino offers a full selection of Marvel comic games such as Blade, Hulk, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Elektra and more if you are so inclined. There are also a wide selection of progressive jackpot games which are tied into the Playtech-wide progressive jackpot pools. This means the jackpots grow as people from numerous different casinos contribute to them every day, and the big ones like Beach Life are often won in the millions (see below for a full list of current jackpots on offer). In addition, Grand Reef sports a bunch of traditional casino table games including various games of Blackjack, Video Poker, Roulette, Craps, Caribbean Stud as well as more exotic table and parlour games that you probably won't find at Crown Casino or Star City.
While I am comparing things to local casinos, a point worth mentioning is Grand Reef's payout percentage statistics. Each month the casino is audited by an independent company called Technical Systems Testing which is located in Canada and it publishes a report showing the exact payout percentages across the various games on the site. The average looks to be a shade over 95% which immediately tells you that your money should last longer here than at your average pub or RSL club where the pokies are usually set to pay back in the mid 80s. Chalk one up for online gaming.
So why would an Aussie or Kiwi play at Grand Reef?
Aside from the excellent games and deposit bonuses you are entitled to upon joining, Grand Reef has a few things that set it apart for locals. The casino supports play in both Australian and New Zealand dollars - something that will no doubt appeal to those of you becoming accustomed to the sharply diminishing value of the U.S. Dollar (peso?) which we are usually required to transact in. In addition the regularly run promotions have a distinctly local flavour - for example there have been Ashes Cricket, Australian Open, Waitangi Day, and Queensland Flood Relief Appeal promotions among many others during the last year or so.
On the operations side of things, toll free telephone support and local fax numbers are available in both Australia and New Zealand and the casino supports direct bank deposits from local banks using your "Pay Anyone" internet banking facility. One major point that we would like to highlight is the fact that this casino, unlike most other Playtech operations, does not have a restricted withdrawal limit policy. This means that if you win big, you will be paid in a lump sum, not some 20 year long, $10k per month, payment plan.
Overall we like what is being offered here at Grand Reef, especially for Australian and New Zealand players. Local support numbers and deposit options are great, as are the regular promotions. In fact, even if you are not an Aussie or Kiwi this is still one of the better Playtech casinos that we have seen, mainly due to the unlimited withdrawals policy. Recommended.
Addendum: some of you may be thinking something like "hang on, haven't I heard Nick Xenophon or someone else say that gambling online is illegal?" Well yes, you have probably heard someone say that, but that doesn't make it true. It is not illegal for an Australian to gamble online at all. For more information see here: Is online gambling illegal in Australia?.
Comments
CANNOT WIN AT GRAND REEF CASINO Have been playing weekly for 5 months and have not been able to make one single withdrawal as you cannot win, believe me, cannot win at Grand Reef Casino. Have been playing for years with Villento, Spin City and Captain Cook all of which I have won either a few hundred or few thousands. I decided to try Grand Reef, I checked out their games which are really different to the other casinos and fun to play but unlike the other casinos Grand Reef Casino takes your money really fast and NEVER EVER pays out. So Far I have lost THOUSANDS and won ZERO.
1 member gave thanks for this useful post: CL-Ed
this casino make e slow Payment
Withdrawals may take a minimum of 7 days, which is unacceptable in our opinion
What method are you using danyorkys? When we tested our withdrawal was sent in under 2 days.
Always play it safe! Consult our list of rogue casinos and warnings before depositing.
Every comment you make in our forum earns you CLchips which can be used to buy real prizes in our CLchips shop!
After corresponding with danyorkys and the casino, we have lowered our rating of the casino for the time being. Taking two weeks to pay a player using an e-wallet simply isn't fast enough - even if there were some unusual circumstance that needed checking and/or confirming first.
Always play it safe! Consult our list of rogue casinos and warnings before depositing.
Every comment you make in our forum earns you CLchips which can be used to buy real prizes in our CLchips shop!
ok i read the above review sounds like a fun casino so i create an account and download casino.I click to download the first game in fun mode and a online operator says "Hello & welcome etc" i thought very nice touch to say hello and welcome a new member.The online operator then proceeded to force the chat window to stay continually open & harass me to make a deposit (this went on for 2 or 3 minutes).ok so i got rid of him/her and the first game finished downloading.I click auto play 10 games first spin i won $2 & i got spammed with windows telling me its my lucky day & do you want to make a real cash deposit ... every spin where i won $1.50 or more the same multiple windows.Tried a few games all the same took me about 5 minutes to spin a game 10 times.If this is the amount of pressure i feel in "Fun Play" im glad i didnt make a real cash deposit i'd be so stressed if i won and made a withdrawl.This casino's atmosphere stunk of desperation.Sad thing is i do gamble online & Grand Reef just lost a paying customer the game selection looked fantastic.Chill out guy's (Grand Reef) no need to pressure people to gamble ... run a fair ... good value..fun casino & people will come running.
1 member gave thanks for this useful post: CL-Ed
In my experience the popup chat thing is common to a lot of casinos that use the Playtech software. It must be part of their sales technique or something. Usually you just close it and they leave you alone. I can see why you would find that annoying, I would find a creepy chat box of doom stalking me to be off-putting too!
Re the free games - pretty much all Playtech casinos do the same thing, its built into the software. We have a bunch of Playtech free games here in our games section and they even do it there, despite our attempts to find a version that doesn't.
Always play it safe! Consult our list of rogue casinos and warnings before depositing.
Every comment you make in our forum earns you CLchips which can be used to buy real prizes in our CLchips shop!
if this is reference to Grand Reef this is wrong .... you should never log into a casino & before you have any software on your computer be asked for money & $100 they wanted i couldnt even spend it if i wanted too i had only the lobby on my computer.I played at 32 Red & Mr Greens i had fun i also spent $20 -$30 because my first deposit & im cheap (im not but it is first transaction and we must build trust) (these companies asked me for nothing)Most of your reviews are faithful & i had plenty fun.So Playtech you give 100,000 people free play software & a clever company would know we need 5% maybe 7% - 10% of people to play $20 - $50 + a few high rollers this adds up to a nice profit & i hope alot of happy customers.I watered down my opinion it was very bad about this casino(i spent $20 - $75 on 4 other casino's each but not Grand Reef).But you helped me find 32 RED and Mr Greens so i think 4 out of 5 reviews is pretty cool.
1 member gave thanks for this useful post: CL-Ed
It's indeed very very slow!!! I won $3188 on the 18 November and after numerous emails requesting ID checks etc, they finally emailed me on the 23rd to let me know the withdrawal request has been submitted to their finance department and was told it would take 24-48 hours to process. But until today, I still have not received my withdrawal!!!
P.S. The withdrawal is supposed to go back to my credit card......
Hi CL-Ed, which payment method did you use for your withdrawal that Grand Reef had paid in under 2 days?!!!
It's not a bad online casino to me though (despite the slow payment) cuz I only spent $100 to win $3188!!! I'll give a thumb up for the winnings but a thumb down for the terribly slow payouts!!!
Our tests are almost always done using a Neteller or Moneybookers account. It should not really make a difference though - even though some payments may take longer to clear, the casino should be able to process them at the same speed.
We contacted the casino after danyorkys reported slow payment and they assured us it was a one off due to a problem with his specific situation, but this does not sound very good. I am going to get one of our testers to deposit some money in there again and see what happens.
Hang in there, and don't reverse your withdrawal.
Always play it safe! Consult our list of rogue casinos and warnings before depositing.
Every comment you make in our forum earns you CLchips which can be used to buy real prizes in our CLchips shop!
Just letting you know our test withdrawal has been waiting for 3 days now...
Did you get your money dominican?
Always play it safe! Consult our list of rogue casinos and warnings before depositing.
Every comment you make in our forum earns you CLchips which can be used to buy real prizes in our CLchips shop!
We received our withdrawal via Neteller on December 15. So it took 5 days total. Not great, and certainly not meeting their "within 48 hours" promise on their website. But on the other hand, we've seen a lot worse. We have emailed them again to see what is going on.
Always play it safe! Consult our list of rogue casinos and warnings before depositing.
Every comment you make in our forum earns you CLchips which can be used to buy real prizes in our CLchips shop!
I have met with the owners of this casino personally recently, and they have assured me that the payment delays have been sorted out. Now I have heard the same story many times before so I am naturally cautious. We tried another test withdrawal (via an account that is not linked to us) and received the money in 3 days which is definitely an improvement. Please do not hesitate to let us know if you experience any further delays with this casino's payments.
Always play it safe! Consult our list of rogue casinos and warnings before depositing.
Every comment you make in our forum earns you CLchips which can be used to buy real prizes in our CLchips shop!
well there not paying my withdrawel to me and its been 4 days they only want to pay me my 14000 thousand dollars owed to me in 2000 thousand dollar weekly payment not good enough!!! they are saying they are having trouble getting money from there international bank what can i do?
Post new comment
Nothing beats feedback from other players about an online casino, be it good or bad. If you have experience with this casino then we would love to hear about it.
Login or register to post comments
Registering for an account takes less than a minute and you will be brought right back here to comment afterwards.