A world leader in online betting and gaming!
Play Now!Ladbrokes is one of the world’s biggest sports betting and casino websites. With the emergence of dozens of top-quality, brand-new casinos in recent years, it will be interesting to see if Ladbrokes can still live up to that mantle.
Games and software are now provided by the software giant Playtech, so there’s no shortage of quality games and big-money opportunities.
Read the whole review to learn everything you need to know about this massive UK casino.
Games and Software
The banking speed are important, but good online casinos need the right software and game selection if they’re going to retain a large player base. Ladbrokes used to be powered by Microgaming, one of the most revered and respected software providers of all time, but controversially switched their entire online casino to Playtech. In the interest of fairness, Playtech is also a superb software developer.
Slot Selection
The switch divided loyalty among players (and the loss of big-hitting progressives like Mega Moolah hit them hard) but Playtech is still one of the best-performing software developers out there today. One thing that always set them apart from the crowd was their having secured the rights to Marvel films and characters – the Avengers are huge right now, and their slots were also insanely popular. Unfortunately, as of April 1st of this year, Playtech was forced to drop all their Marvel slots over problems with licensing.
All told, there are over 400 different slots at Ladbrokes, ranging from penny-stake fruit machines to big payout progressives. Most of these can be played in demo mode (aka for free!) but you will still have to register, which is a bit of a bummer.
In addition, while some games can be played in-browser using Flash, you’ll need to download their software onto your computer in order to access the full spectrum of games. In 2017, this is a let down – many rivals offer their entire game selection in-browser, on any device.
Table Games
Ladbrokes impresses with the range of table games available, with over 200 alternatives to slots available. Roulette, blackjack and video poker are available in 16, 17, and 24 different varieties respectively, absolutely trouncing most of the competition in this area.
In addition, there are over 100 scratch card and arcade games, for those with a diverse playing palate. All-in-all, the game selection at Ladbrokes is impressive – its only weakness is using a single developer and therefore missing some of the most popular titles for players. However, many casinos are loyal to a single developer, and it’s not a major black mark.
Live Casino
Quite a number of players hail Ladbrokes’ live casino as one of the very best, thanks to their broad game selection and the quality of graphics – and we agree! You even have the chance to play Sic Bo, a rare dice game that very few casinos offer to play live.
Mobile
On the one hand, the game selection is good, with most of Ladbrokes’ titles available on mobile as much as on desktop. The downside, however, is that you have to download the gaming software and can’t play in-browser at all. We hope Ladbrokes will step up their in-browser game availability before too long, as it’s a weakness in the modern gaming market.
Customer Support
The level of customer support at Ladbrokes is as you’d expect with one of the world’s largest and best-known casinos – comprehensive and fast. Ladbrokes offers:
- Online chat – 24-7, all year
- Telephone – Various languages
- Email – Slowest option
Problems tend to be resolved quickly, and the staff are generally knowledgeable and genuinely interested in helping you out. There’s also a Ladbrokes Help Centre where you can find a huge number of FAQs; just navigate to your problem and see if that can help before waiting for customer service.
Banking
You can use all the usual methods including e-wallets (PayPal, Neteller, Skrill), PaySafeCard, debit cards and bank transfers to deposit cash into your Ladbrokes account. You can also use the slightly less-usual method of credit card.
The problem with Ladbrokes’ banking system is in the withdrawals, with an internal processing time of 3-6 business days. In modern online casino, this is absurdly long and acts as a major detractor to many players, especially those withdrawing to their bank accounts as this adds on 2-3 days more.
Conclusion
Ladbrokes’ biggest plus is the large collection of games offered by Playtech, which cover large progressives, popular crowd-pleasers, and plenty of unusual, fun games for players to experiment with. The customer support and live casino are also great, and they are a very trustworthy casino, having been at the top of their game for many years now.
Unfortunately, they were found wanting in a few different areas. The reward scheme is a bit of a non-starter for the majority of players, since it caters only to extremely high rollers, while the long withdrawal times are disheartening. It’s a good casino, but it requires a bit more investment in these key areas before it can really be considered one of the greats as it once was.