Royal Panda Casino Review (NZ)

Royal Panda Website

During our assessment of the Royal Panda Casino, we were very interested to read their mission statement. Indeed, it brought tears to our eyes. Here’s an extract:

“…with more than a decade’s experience of this exciting industry… it still surprises us how poor the user experience often is at online casinos. Know what we mean? (Um, yes)

• Customer service that doesn’t care
• Dime-a-dozen, generic promotions
• Hidden, non-transparent bonus conditions
• Websites that are difficult to use

…what if we were to launch an online casino that really cares; a place where players truly feel appreciated and entertained like at no other casino, and where ease of use is a top priority.”

Finally, an operator who actually acknowledges the deficiencies that bedevil so many online casinos. So how does RP measure up against its own lofty expectations?

Royal Panda Casino Bonus and Promotions

With the above spiel firmly in mind, we felt it our duty to go through Royal Panda’s promotions section with a fine-tooth comb. This is what we found:

Royal Panda’s welcome bonus promises a 100% match on all first deposits up to NZ$100 – not a bad opening gambit all things considered but hardly unique. Unfortunately, it’s also subject to dime-a-dozen wagering rules of x35, although these only apply to bonuses.

Any winnings are added to player accounts but must be played through thirty-five times before anything can be withdrawn. So there’s nothing particularly new there then.

A loyalty points system is also in place which offers the following redemption rates:

• Pokies: NZ$10 = 1 Loyal Panda Point
• Roulette/live roulette: NZ$25 = 1 Loyal Panda Point
• Table games: NZ$50 = 1 Loyal Panda Point
• Video poker: NZ$50 = 1 Loyal Panda Point
• Live casino: NZ$50 = 1 Loyal Panda Point
• Scratch-cards: NZ$10 = 1 Loyal Panda Point
• Soft games: NZ$10 = 1 Loyal Panda Point
• Sport bets: NZ$10 =1 Loyal Panda Point

At first glance, it would appear that the above rates are rather harsh. For instance, 450 points are required for a NZ$10 bonus (we’ll leave you to do the maths). Nevertheless, it is worth remembering that loyalty schemes are primarily intended for regular gamers with large budgets. So in comparison to some of the gruesome reward schemes we’ve come across, RP’s offering should be appealing to many players.

Visitors will also find an excellent range of luxury ‘gifts’ that they can exchange points for. These include luxury items like iPhones, iPads, Mac Books, and even Las Vegas holidays. A weekly ‘bamboo bonus,’ which increases deposits of up to NZ$100 by 50%, is also available every Friday.

Yet another promotion is laid out for customers in the form of ‘Lucky 21’. Aimed at Blackjack enthusiasts, NZ$210 is up for grabs on the 21st of every month. The offer applies to Royal Panda Live Blackjack and Royal Panda Live Blackjack VIP and requires players to hit a blackjack during play.

Some aspects of Royal Panda’s casino promotions are almost as generic as the ones it rails against in the ‘about’ section (wagering rules). The promo section isn’t that easy to follow either with information about the two welcome bonuses placed at the top and bottom of the page. With these criticisms aside, every single promotion is accompanied with clearly laid out terms and conditions. The loyalty reward system is also competitive while the Lucky 21 promotion offers some degree of originality. In summary, there’s nothing wrong with the promotions offered by Royal Panda Casino compared to those peddled by other casinos. They’re just not quite as original as they make out.

Promotions are correct at the time of writing this review. Visit Royal Panda for up-to-date promotions. Full T&Cs Apply.

Royal Panda Casino Games

Royal Panda features an outstanding collection of casino games that numbers well over 2000. They’re located in a no-frills game lobby which consists of a six-column thumbnail layout. It’s split into the following categories:

• Blackjack
• Classic pokies
• Hot and cold pokies
• Jackpots
• Live casino
• More
• Most popular
• Roulette
• Soft Games
• Table games
• Video poker
• Video Pokies

The games are played in a simple Flash-based overlay and may be sorted alphabetically or according to popularity. Autocomplete search functionality is also provided for easier browsing.

Royal Panda Casino Pokies

Casino pokies are split into ‘classics’, ‘jackpots’, and ‘video pokies’. There are 30 classic games, 17 jackpot titles, and far too many video pokies for us to count without feeling giddy. The enormous collection includes popular titles such as the ubiquitous Gonzo’s Quest, Divine Fortune, Raging Rhino, Butterfly Staxx, and Koi Princess. Like all casino games on the site, each one can be played for fun before real money has to be deposited.

Live Dealer Games

The live section features the usual group of ill-looking female croupiers smirking back from a large promotional header. Beneath the off-colour femme fatales are 19 live casino games including variants of baccarat, blackjack, roulette, and poker. All are broadcast from live studios and streamed in TV-quality HD. Every dealer is also trained to the same standards required of land-based casinos.

Royal Panda Casino App and Mobile

Royal Panda provides a dedicated website for mobile and tablet devices which strongly resembles the desktop version. During our visits, there was no hint of lag and the games ran without incident. The reduced number of casino games (220) should also be more than enough to be getting on with unless players are sheltering from a nuclear winter or some such prolonged calamity. In addition, the live suite is also available on both mobiles and tablets which isn’t always the case.

VIP Scheme

A tiered VIP package is available on the Royal Panda website and runs in conjunction with the Loyal Panda scheme. It’s structured the following way:

• Bronze (Entry Level)
• Silver – Minimum of 15,000 points accumulated
• Gold – Minimum of 45,000 points accumulated
• Diamond – Minimum of 120,000 points accumulated

RP isn’t too keen on divulging the benefits which come with these VIP levels but they assure customers on the website that they’ll be treated like royalty. So that’s good.

Customer Support

The Royal Panda website continually bangs on about its high levels of customer care. We were therefore more than happy to kick the wheels of its support section so see what all the fuss is about. In fairness, RP is entitled to wax lyrical because they include an FAQ section, live chat, an email form, email address, and a dedicated ‘hotline’ telephone number. All of these are manned daily from 9 am to 12:30 pm – that’s a long time to be dealing with irate, confused, and/or hysterical gamblers.

Royal Panda Casino Review Summary

It’s easy to see why Royal Panda has become such a popular destination among gamers. While they’re not quite as unique as they think they are, we couldn’t find much, if anything wrong with their offerings. The platform looks good across all devices and retains the kind of visual consistency required to build and retain trust. Despite the wagering rules on bonuses, most of their promotions are pretty competitive too – we particularly liked the loyalty shop. So in conclusion, it seems that Royal Panda isn’t going to become extinct any time soon.

Royal Panda FAQs