Merlin Casino

The author's opinion about Merlin Casino

Come with me on a magical journey to Merlin Casino! From the first time I opened the website of this online gambling house, I was enchanted by its theme - wizards and wizardry. It has a hand-drawn mascot, the wizard Merlin. He is found throughout said website casting spells, brewing magic potions and so on. I love casinos with fun mascots and a bit more personality, as that is usually a hallmark of a higher level of quality. This turned out to be the case here, too. The casino impressed me with its strict license and its fun games library. Also, I did like the plethora of payment methods available. On the other hand, I also disliked a couple of features about the casino. Mainly, that the withdrawal policies were so vague. I prefer houses which are upfront about them instead. Additionally, the casino's exploration of the wizard theme did start and end with its mascot - there was not much more to it. Overall, this makes Merlin Casino a serviceable place to gamble, and I did have a good enough time checking it out. But I am not sure whether I can recommend the house over other options out there.

David Johnson, online casino expert

Merlin Casino was launched in July of 2023, which makes it fairly fresh. It is run by Versus Odds B.V., an online gambling house operator who was behind many houses we've featured on our website. So, it's fair to say that we had certain expectations going in. However, we are not sure if the casino managed to meet them. It has a couple of excellent features, and a couple of good ones, too. But there's also a bunch of bad aspects to its services.

To start off with the positives, it features a bunch of exciting games. There are Slots, table games, live gaming experiences and even a couple of Crash games. We should also mention the robust Sportsbook that Merlin Casino features. The bonuses of the casino are also great, and have no wagering requriement. The regulation over the house and its deposit conditions are fair enough. They are exactly what we expected to see – a reliable license and a decent amount of means of deposit.

On the other hand, the withdrawal policies here, one of the most important aspects of the policies of any casino, are pretty vague. We just can't get behind that. Also, there's a clause which has to do with the confiscation of bonus winnings in certain circumstances, which we are not fans of either. All in all, we need to examine the house is a bit more detail, to see whether it's a good place to bet or not. Let's do that, in the full review of it, which we have prepared here:

Bonuses

We would like to start off with the promotions of the casino. It features a decent amount of them, and their conditions are excellent. There's a Welcome package of four bonuses. And there is also a bunch of promotions you can claim afterwards, to stock up on bonus cash and free spins. Here's an outline of all of the bonuses:

Before we cover them in-depth, we should mention their most defining feature: The bonuses do not have a wagering requirement! If you are wondering what that means, most casinos nowadays allow you to withdraw their promotions. However, before doing that, you need to play through them a certain amount of times. This is the so-called wagering requirement. Usually, it is between 30x and 40x. As for Merlin Casino, all of its bonuses are wager-free. This means they can be cashed out right away.

Also, any bonus with the casino which needs you to deposit to withdraw it has a certain cash out limit. Said limits are also commonplace with most casinos. The one here is of 10x the bonus amount, which we find to be decently high. The cash out limit is actually even more competitive, when we take into account the lack of wagering requirements, too.

With that in mind, let's examine the Welcome Bonus Package:

• As we said at the start, this is a bundle of four bonuses, which you can claim over the course of that many deposits. Let's start off with the First Deposit Bonus. It adds 120% of the respective deposit, up to $240 to your account. That said, you need to cash in $20 to be able to make use of the bonus. Such a minimum deposit requirement is fairly commonplace for similar promotions, which is great. There are also 100 Free Spins which you can get from the promotion on top of all that!
• The Second Deposit Bonus will then become available. Once again, it requires a fairly low minimum deposit amount of just $20 to claim. Then, you can get the 110% cash bonus, up to the maximum of $220. This time, there are no Free Spins as part of the promotion, but we do find that its cash component is fair enough.
• Next, there is the Third Deposit Bonus Merlin Casino offers, with a 100% multiplier for the respective deposit. It has the lowest maximum of $200, but comes with a staggering bundle of 200 Free Spins. The minimum deposit required of the player is the same low amount you have probably come to expect at this point.
• Finally, to round out the promotion, there's the Fourth Deposit Bonus. What's notable about this promotion is that it is tied with the First deposit bonus for the highest multiplier – it adds the same 120% of the qualifying deposit to the player's account. Also, its maximum is $240, which is also tied with the First bonus in size. To claim it, you need to just cash in $20 or more.

All in all, the casino's Welcome package adds up to $800 to your account, as well as 300 Free Spins, which is fairly sizeable. And after you are done playing with it, there's also a bunch of Recurring bonuses you can get. Let's take a look at them, too:

• The Tuesday Free Spins bonus allows players to get three different bundles of Free Spins, by depositing on Tuesdays. Cashing in $20 gets you 25 Spins, $50 awards you with 70 Spins, and depositing $100 grants you the maximum prize of 150 Free Spins. These are all fairly sizeable bundles, and we are happy to report that the casino allows you to claim them all, as long as you make three deposits.
• The most significant of these recurring bonuses is, without any doubt, the Friday Bonus. It features an absolutely massive maximum bonus amount of $200. And what's more, 100% of the deposits you make count towards that maximum. The promotion allows you to get it if you cash in the fairly low minimum of $20.
• Then, you can get the Saturday Bonus for even more bonus cash. Once again, you need to deposit $20 or more. 50% of that will be counted towards the bonus, up to an even bigger maximum of $300. This is excellent!
• Finally, there is a bonus called Unlimited Cashback. It is not really true to its name, though. Cashback bonuses are only awarded based on player losses. This promotion counts your bets and gives you 1 Magic Point for ever $10 you wager, regardless of the outcome of the bet. Then, you can exchange that money for real cash – at a basis of 25 Magic Points for $1.

The casino has no Sports deposit bonuses, but features a bunch of exciting Special Sportsbook Features. These are different ways to engage with the sportsbook, and enhance your winnings. Let's take a look at each of these:

• Accumulator boost: This is a reward for using the bet builder feature, which is fairly common with online casinos nowadays. Winning between 3 and 10 bets in a single slip, with odds of 1.5 or greater will award you with between 10% and 60% of the winnings. The more bets in sequence you get right, the bigger your bonus. The winnings from the boost are treated as your own winnings, and have no cash out limits or wagering requirements.
• Multibet of the day: Every day, the casino will make a custom multibet slip for the player to use. There will be five sections in it. And betting on all five will entitle you for a 30% boost for any winnings within the slip!
• Multibet Cashback: Similar to the accumulator boost, this promotions relies on players making a certain amount of bets. However, unlike the Accumulator boost, it awards you a certain percentage of losing bets back. Once again, the amount you get depends on how many bets are within your multibet slip – it is between 5% and 60% for 3 bets and 10 bets, respectively.

Finally, please note that any bonuses which are not cashed out within 45 days will have their winnings confiscated:

We don't like that policy. The bonuses of Merlin Casino are sticky. This means they count towards the player balance. So it is difficult to tell how much of your winnings will be taken away. If the casino simply confiscated the bonus that would be fair enough. As it stands, we don't believe the house actually applies this clause to player accounts often, but we would have much preferred it if there was no such a restriction in the first place. It somewhat spoils an otherwise great approach to bonuses!

License

Let's take a look at what the casino has to say about its license:

It claims to be operated by Versus Odds B.V. and to be licensed in Curacao, by the Antillephone. This is actually the case, too, and one can easily verify the regulatory status of the casino via the Antillephone Digital seal. This Seal needs to be implemented in any regulated casino's website and is visible in the previous screenshot. It is the orange button to its left side. Clicking it brings us to the following page of the register of the Antillephone:

It confirms what Merlin Casino has to say about its regulation. It is important to note that the regulator in question is one of the most popular jurisdictions for casino operators nowadays. It has managed to achieve an impressive balance between the interests of players and the casino operators, so that it protects the former without restricting the latter too much. Let's take a look at the protections Merlin Casino will be able to guarantee for you, on account of this license:

• Tested Games: How can you know the games you play are not manipulated to give the house an unfair advantage? Well, licensed casinos are only able to source their games from licensed Suppliers. These Suppliers undergo extensive testing for their products, which ensures there is no foul play. Everything you can bet on from the catalog of a licensed Supplier is provably fair, because of said extensive testing.
• Responsible Gambling Policies: These are at the forefront of the efforts of regulators to make the online gambling sector a safer environment for everyone. To do that, online casinos need to follow certain responsible gambling policies. Among them are the requirements for the house to offer sufficient information to players on what problem gambling looks like, as well as where they can seek help, should they decide they need it. Also there are certain self-exclusion features which you'd have access to. For instance, you can set custom limits on how much you can deposit, or even close down your account if you feel like it.
• Data protection measures: Due to the nature of their business, casinos nowadays have to collect a lot of information about their players. This includes who they are, where they live in and so on. The reasons for collecting all of that are pretty reasonable. After all, casinos do need to prevent money laundering and other illicit activities. However, you don't want that kind of info on you falling into the wrong hands. That is why license issuers from all over the world mandate that casinos encrypt it, making sure it is stored safe, and inaccessible for hackers.

Overall, there are many reasons why players would prefer licensed casinos to their unregulated counterparts. We are happy that Merlin Casino operates under a reputable license. But let's get back to our coverage of the house. Here's a list of the languages you can view its website in, alongside one of the countries where the services of the casino are not available:

Languages: English, Spanish, Norwegian, German, Turkish, Finnish, French, Portuguese

Restricted countries: Australia, Netherlands, Show All, American Samoa, Aruba, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, China, Saint Martin (French part), Sint Maarten (Dutch part), United States, United States Minor Outlying Islands, Virgin Islands, British, Virgin Islands, U.S.

Deposit and Withdrawal

When it comes to payment methods, Merlin Casino did manage to impress us with a pretty large variety of them. Players can use many convenient means of deposit – from credit cards, through e-wallets, to crypto. Here's a list of the accepted means of deposit and the currencies you can use to top up your account:

Currencies: Australian Dollar (AUD), Brazilian Real (BRL), Canadian Dollar (CAD), Euro (EUR), Norwegian Krone (NOK), Polish zloty (PLN), Turkish Lira (TRY), US Dollar (USD), Binance Coin (BNB), Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Tether (USDT), Litecoin (LTC), XRP, Dogecoin (DOGE)

The minimum deposit amount was just $20. Even though some casinos are able to process lower amounts, we cannot really complain, as $20 is a fair enough entry cost. What's more, there are no fees for depositing at all. Almost no casino nowadays charges them. But if there are any third party charges, which are applicable to your transaction to the house, you will be responsible for covering them. We consider this to be a fair enough policy!

Now, let's also examine the withdrawal conditions of the casino:

Before you can cash out, you need to turn over your deposited funds once. That is a common anti money laundering policy, which does not surprise us. What surprised us was the complete lack of any information about the withdrawal minimums and maximums per transaction with the house. We do know that players are limited to cashing out $20 000 per week and $50 000 per month, but that's not sufficient at all.

The processing times are said to be up to one day, which is excellent. In fact, there's only a couple houses out there which boast such impressive processing times for withdrawals. No mention is made of there being any fees either, but we don't expect Merlin Casino charging players for withdrawals. This is also very uncommon nowadays. But third party charges, be it by your bank or by crypto miners will be up to you to pay. Once again, this is a fair policy.

There is a clause which deals with inactive accounts, which we'd like to take a look at:

The house does not charge them anything, which is the way most casinos handle such inactive players. Instead, it closes down accounts and remits the money to the player, which is more than fair.

Games and Game Suppliers

A list of the Game Suppliers with the casino is available here:

Game providers: 1x2gaming, 2BY2 Gaming, 3 Oaks, 5 Men, Amatic, Amigo Gaming, Atomic Slot Lab, AvatarUX, Betixon, Betsoft, Betsolutions, Big Time Gaming, Blue Guru Games, Blueprint, Booming Games, Caleta, Candlebets, CT Interactive, Dragon Gaming, Endorphina, ELK, Evolution, Evoplay, Fantasma, Fazi, Felix Gaming, Felt Gaming, Foxium, Fugaso, GameArt, Games Global, Gaming Corps, Gamomat, Gamzix, Givme, Golden Hero, Ggames, Habanero, Hacksaw, Iron Dog Studio, ISoftBet, Just For The Win, Kalamba, Mascot, Leap-Gaming, Mancala, Merkur, Mr Slotty, NetEnt, Nolimit City, Novomatic, OneTouch, Oryx, Petersons, PGSoft, Platipus, Play'n GO, Play Pearls, Playtech, Playson, PragmaticPlay, Push Gaming, Quickspin, Rabat, Red Rake, Red Tiger Gaming, ReelPlay, Relax Gaming, Revolver Gaming, Salsa Technology, Skywind, Slotmill, Smartsoft Gaming, Spade Gaming, Spinmatic, Stakelogic, Swintt, Thunderkick, Tom Horn, TPG, Vibra Gaming, Wazdan, Wizard, Yggdrasil, Other

There's truly a lot of them here, way over 50! And with massive names like Pragmatic Play, Hacksaw and Play'n Go on the list, you can probably guess how many excellent options players will have to bet on. Let's take a look:

• Slots: There are countless slots with the casino, divided across several categories for ease of browsing. These include Jackpot slots, Bonus buy slots and Megaways. If you are looking for the latest or the most popular games with the house, you can filter those out too. Here's a bunch of the more recognizable Slots you can play with Merlin Casino: Sweet Bonanza, Elvis Frog, Mustang Gold, Big Bass Bonanza, Book of Dead, Wolf's Gold and others.
• Table Games: There are both live and virtual dealer versions of table games, which you can find in the catalog of the casino. These include all-time favorites like Baccarat, Poker, Blackjack, Roulettes and more.
• Game Shows: Merlin Casino has partnered with the premier developer of Game Shows, Evolution Gaming. This means that you can play Funky Time, Crazy Time, Cash or Crash, Crazy Coin Flip and more. But there are also Pragmatic Play's game shows, too, like Sweet Bonanza: Candyland.
• Crash and Fast: This section of the casino includes various instant games, like Frog, Aviator, Mines and so on.

As for Sports betting, Merlin Casino has a truly magical sportsbook. Within it, players can find all of their favorite events at a glance. For instance, you can wager on thousands of Football games, from all over the world. But even less familiar sports like Biathlon are available for betting. For the gamers in the audience, you will be happy to hear that the esports of the casino are found within a separate section of its sportsbook and contain many popular MLG events from top games like LOL and Valorant. Live and pre-match betting is available for all of these!

Conclusion

Overall, Merlin Casino is more than reliable in every way, but its withdrawal policies. If the operator behind the house manages to clear up the confusion by the lack of a clear outline for withdrawals, we can recommend the casino at a heartbeat. But, for the time being, it might be best to check out our other reviews instead, if you don't want to deal with this fairly serious flaw.