Overview
When a land-based casino makes the leap into the online realm, it isn’t uncommon for it to be met with a mixed response. Casino fans have been let down too often by trusted brands that have delivered mediocre online products. Cynicism has become the most sensible approach. Hippodrome Casino faces an even tougher struggle in attempting to replicate the luxury of its bricks-and-mortar properties online. The fact that it’s built on a Microgaming platform, and run by the experienced Betway Group, is a good start. So, our review team got stuck into the site to determine whether it does justice to a legendary name in British gambling. Read on for the definitive Hippodrome Casino Review.
Safety and Trustworthiness
In this day and age, trust is a hot topic in the world of online casino play, as questionable (even straight-up fraudulent) sites seem to be cropping up all over the place. This has made finding a safe site to join slightly difficult. In regard to the trustworthiness of Hippodrome Casino, the site comes complete with licenses from the United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC) and the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA). These two licenses should go a long way in reassuring most players of the secure nature of Hippodrome Casino.
Adding to the above, Hippodrome Casino also has eCOGRA certification, with up-to-date Return-to-Player (RTP) information for slots, table and poker games, and for the site’s full game catalogue. The latest certificates can be viewed by clicking on the agency’s logo in the homepage footer. It’s a nice touch that is all too rare in the industry.
When everything is added up, you should have no safety concerns should you choose to gamble through Hippodrome Casino, as they make a valid attempt to protect players at every turn.
Deposits & Withdrawals
When you arrive at Hippodrome Casino, it’s worth making a beeline for the cashier page. Through this you can move your bankroll around using e-wallets, credit cards, pre-pay cards, debit cards, and bank transfer.
Bonuses
In the hyper-competitive online arena, no site can afford to drag its heels when it comes to bonuses and promotions.
Hippodromeonline.com will match your first deposit 100% up to £50. What’s more, your welcome bonus can be used across any games including their hugely popular live casino tables that allow you to play remotely on the actual tables at London’s Hippodrome Casino.
The bonus comes with a 50x wagering requirement but one big upside to their terms is that 50% of stakes placed on roulette games count towards this requirement (far higher than many competitors where only 10% or 20% of stakes on roulette counts towards the wagering requirements).
To top things off, they also offer a whole host of promotions to regular players including 20 free slot spins every Sunday & exclusive hidden ‘daily deals’ each time you log in.
Game Selection
Hippodrome Casino’s deposit bonus has its problems – that much is obvious – but one area in which there appears to be no drawbacks is when it comes to game selection. Hardly surprising, given the Microgaming underpinnings.
The foundation of the game selection here is made up of table-based classics, with the likes of Baccarat, Pai Gow Poker, Cyberstud Poker, Red Dog, Roulette, Blackjack, and Sic Bo all accounted for.
Video poker is also well represented, with variants such as Aces Eights, Louisiana Bonus, Jacks or Better, Deuces Wild, All Aces, Double Bonus, and Joker Poker in the mix. On top of the table game action there’s a solid number of slots to play. Hippodrome Casino made the right call when it decided to work with software development heavyweight Microgaming. It makes a welcome change from all those gambling giants (looking at you Coral, Sky and William Hill) that chose Playtech .
With games like Game of Thrones, Mega Moolah Isis, Tomb Raider II, The Twisted Circus, The Dark Knight, Hellboy, Thunderstruck II, and Avalon, if you like your action on the reels, Hippodrome Casino has you covered. The game selection at Hippodrome Casino is of a high standard, to the point where it can rival any of the industry’s leading lights (like LeoVegas, Mr Green, Rizk and Casumo) on this front.
As one would expect from a top real-world venue (if not an online upstart), the live dealer games on offer are top quality, encompassing roulette, blackjack, baccarat, three-card poker, casino hold’em, and Caribbean Stud. That’s because it’s built on the Evolution Gaming platform – by far and away the leading live game supplier. All games are presented in high definition, navigation via the lobby is easy, and the user interface is highly intuitive.
The classy site design does justice to the Hippodrome name, with blacks and greys dominating, and slick transitions easing you from one category to another. Clutter is kept to a minimum, one of the plus points at playing at a specialist casino site, so it’s always easy to find the type of game you want to play. The one downside is that this means that the whole site is graphically heavy, which also means that – unsurprisingly – navigation can get clunky at times.
Mobile App
As more and more of our time online is spent on smartphones, it’s become increasingly important that any ambitious operator offers a high quality mobile casino.
There are hundreds of games available at the Hippodrome mobile casino, with Microgaming powering the software and ensuring a high quality gaming experience on any device. This is still fewer than the 450+ games available on the desktop version of the casino. Still those games that are ported across include your favourite Microgaming slots like Jurassic Park and the much-celebrated progressive jackpot game, Mega Moolah, as well as some exciting versions of classic table games like roulette and blackjack.
The welcome bonus stands at up to £50 across the first three deposits (it’s the same bonus as offered on the full site), and you can trigger it with deposits on mobile as well as on the desktop site. The mobile site is accessible via any mobile browser, so there’s no need to download any apps. You can simply head over to the site and complete the registration process in less than two minutes.
The mobile casino looks nice, and carries the same luxurious design as Hippodrome’s desktop site, and indeed their London flagship. If you‘re a fan of the full Hippodrome Casino desktop experience (and we are), you’ll likely find this mobile companion just as enjoyable.
Promotions
The range of promotions available once you’ve signed up makes up for the slightly lacklustre welcome offer, thanks to a willingness to mix things up a little. During our time onsite it was the offer of 20 bonus spins every Sunday that really caught our eye. The great thing about this promotion is a) you get 20 spins EVERY Sunday and b) you have to do very little to qualify. Hippodrome give 20 spins to each and every player that has simply deposited and staked £50 or more in the last 60 days.
This promo is a great way to try new slot games (& Hippodrome tends to release new slots titles every week) but even if slots aren’t your thing, then you’ll be glad to know that you can use any winnings you generate on ANY game of your choice.
Support
Customer support is available 24 hours a day throughout the year. The team can be contacted by freephone, email and live chat.
Review Summary
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Hippodrome Casino isn’t your ordinary online casino. The land-based roots of the site come through loud and clear through pretty much every page in a similar way to the Genting Casino site. This is a platform that strives to create a luxurious atmosphere. It can’t be easy to reflect the Hippodrome’s brand identity in an online context but it’s a largely successful attempt.
Does Hippodrome Casino push all the right buttons? Clearly not. But what it does represent is a good example of an online casino that has taken a reputation built with bricks and mortar, and made it mean something online. For us Hippodrome is a solid 8/10 casino – make the welcome bonus more user friendly and some games from other software houses and this mark could easily be pushed up to a 9.
New Customers Only. 18+. Wagering requirements and T&C’s Apply