Club 178 Review

Club 178 is being promoted as one of the world’s leading online gambling destinations. What makes it stand out is the fact that it is based on a legally operating brick and mortar casino. This somehow lends it more credibility as compared to other online casinos that operate entirely through the Internet. It is also a licensed online gambling operation that promises an excellent combination of technology expertise and experience in the online gaming market.

Club 178 does not provide a wide array of games but its collection offers a good variety of options. Just like what most legitimate and trustworthy online casinos offer, Club 178 also provides player support through multiple channels. Additionally, the games are presented in pages with screenshots and detailed information on the rules.

This online casino accepts various fiat currencies as well as bitcoins. It also supports multiple payment methods, which are mostly through local bank transfers. Club 178 also offers bonuses, although these are not as attractive as what some other online casinos offer.

Get to know more about this online casino through our review. Find out if this is bitcoin gambling site that suits your preferences.

The Club 178 Account Registration Process

This online casino’s account registration form is relatively long. It asks for various information including your birth date, email address, address (including a separate field for the city or town), country, ZIP code, and contact number. All fields need to be filled out. Additionally, you have to pick your currency of choice. If you plan on selecting bitcoins (BTC) be aware that bitcoins are expressed as CNS, which is equal to a thousandth of a BTC (more on this on the Currency section of this Club 178review).

It took us around 30 seconds or so to fill out the registration form and submit it. We were automatically logged into our account as the account was created. There was no email confirmation required. We also did not receive any email from Club 178 to notify us about the creation of our account, like how most online bitcoin casinos usually do. These are not defects in the account registration process but we just want to point it out so you don’t have to expect emails from Club 178 regarding your account.

Account Dashboard and Casino User Interface in General

There’s nothing special about the Club 178 account dashboard. It offers just the basic functions provided by most other online casinos. It does not have a self-exclusion feature but it provides enough of what most online casino players need. It also has a messaging system. Some details like the address and contact number can be edited. Also, you have to update your bank details through the account dashboard if you use fiat currency. If you use bitcoins, you will be entering your bitcoin wallet address at the Cashier page, the Deposit option in particular.

In terms of the overall user interface of this online casino, we can say in this Club 178 review that everything is intuitive so far. The site has a familiar look and feel to it.

The Club 178 Games

Club 178’s collection of games, at the time we did this Club178 review were all live games. They are Baccarat, Baccarat Ins, Dragon Tiger, Roulette, Sic Bo, Fan Tan, Xoc Dia and Belangkai. There are a total of 26 games. There are 2 Disco Pit, 10 Baccarat, 1 Baccarat Squeeze, 1 Baccarat Insurance, 1 Holocrab, 2 Fan Tan, 2 Dragon Tiger, 2 Roulette, 1 Xoc Dia, 3 Sic Bo, and 1 Belangkai games.

The games have their respective pages that present detailed rules and screenshots. They load relatively fast. Game graphics and aesthetics are okay. The live game video feeds, though, are small or of low resolution. We initially thought that there’s no option for higher resolution live game video feeds. We had to do some digging to find out that there’s an option to set the feeds in HD quality. To do this, you need to click on the button on the upper leftmost corner of the game interface. It provides the option to have an HD video feed instead of the default “Gentle” low resolution feed.

We like how the games are presented. All the games on Club 178 can be accessed from any of the game you load. You just have to click on the option at the upper left corner of the game to navigate to the other games available. There’s also a live chat box for players.

We just wish these games are presented in 16:9 or wide aspect ratio since most displays nowadays use this AR. The 4:3 aspect ratio of all the games looks dated.

Club178 Game Software and Fairness

Club 178 appears to be using its own proprietary software for the games. There is nothing mentioned about the game platform or software on the site but it appears to be something self-developed. The software is highly responsive. We have not encountered bugs or problems when we loaded the games.

Obviously, there’s no need for these games to be provably fair since they are all live games that rely on the outcomes of the actual games conducted by Club178. It’s safe to say that the live games on Club 178 are fair.

Club 178 Is Not Mobile-Friendly

Mobile players will be disappointed to know that Club 178 does not have a mobile-friendly website. It also does not have mobile apps for playing the games on iOS, Android, or Windows mobile devices. The games can still be played on mobile devices that support Flash but the gaming experience cannot be considered mobile-friendly. You may need a stylus to properly interact with the game buttons.

Currencies, Deposits, Withdrawals, and Fees on Club 178

Club 178 uses bitcoins and a host of fiat currencies, which include Chinese renminbi (RMB), Hong Kong dollars (HKD), South Korean won (KRW), Indonesian rupiah (IDR), Malaysian ringgit (MYR), Thai baht (THB), United States dollar (USD), and euro (EUR).

On the site, bitcoins are not expressed as BTC but as CNS, which is equivalent to 1/1000 of a BTC. That means a deposit of 1 BTC is being converted to 1,000 CNS. It is basically equivalent to an mBTC.

Bitcoins are deposited as a wallet to wallet transaction, just like how it works with most other online casinos. For fiat currencies, the deposit methods are through local bank transfers.

Similarly, with withdrawals, bitcoins are withdrawn from your Club 178 account to your bitcoin wallet. For fiat currencies, withdrawals are through local bank transfers.

The minimum and maximum amount limits for the deposits and withdrawals are conveniently presented at the Deposit and Withdrawal pages.

Interestingly, Club 178 promises short processing time for local bank transfers. As the Club 178 website states, local bank transfers are processed within 20 minutes and are expected to be in the hands of the player who makes the withdrawal also within 20 minutes. With bitcoins, processing time is pegged at 20 minutes but the bitcoins are expected to actually be in the possession of the withdrawing player within 24 hours.

Club 178 does not impose fees for deposits and withdrawals. However, the banks that process the deposits and withdrawals may charge an amount for every transaction.

Club 178 Bonuses and Other Promotions

Club 178 offers two bonuses. They are as follows:

• 200% Welcome Bonus. This is not automatically given to players. You need to contact customer support before you make your first deposit so you can avail of this bonus. There is no specified maximum limit as to how much you can get as your Welcome Bonus. However, the wagering requirement is rather high at 40x of the sum of your first deposit and its equivalent bonus. For example, if you made a deposit of 1 BTC, you need to wager 120 BTC to comply with the wagering requirement so you can withdraw your bonus and the winnings associated with it. Bonuses can only be withdrawn in the same currency and to the bitcoin address or e-wallet used in making the deposit.
• 10 USD to 200 USD Monthly Bonus. This is a no deposit bonus based on the accumulated bet amount. The corresponding dollar bonus for the accumulated bet amount is presented below. To be able to avail of this monthly bonus, you also need to contact customer support (live chat or email). The wagering requirement for this bonus is relatively low at 15x. However, only the winnings made out of this monthly bonus can be withdrawn. Additionally, as you do a cash out, the bonus amount will be deducted from your account balance. If you are a casual online gambler, we recommend not obtaining this bonus. This monthly bonus appears too onerous.

Club 178 does not have a VIP program or special perks for long-time players and frequenters. However, it has a decent affiliate program that grants commissions of up to 50% depending on the player level as described in the table below:

You need to sign up for an affiliate account to get your affiliate links. Players are not automatically granted access to the affiliate program like in most other online casinos.

Player Support

Club 178 provides a full range of player support channels 24/7. It provides telephone, email, and  live chat support. If you are in Cambodia, you can call +855 885 178 178 or send an email to [email protected]. For players in Thailand, the number to call is +66 888 877 178 and the email address to use is [email protected].  For those in Vietnam, the phone number to contact is +84 979 234 178 while the email address to use is [email protected].

If you are from countries not mentioned above, you can just use the online email sending form or the live chat facility. Live chat support is only available in English.

We tried the quality of live chat support being provided by Club 178. We must say the live chat attendant we were able to interact with was very accommodating although the responses weren’t that prompt or instantaneous. We tried asking if it is okay for us to use aliases and fake addresses and we were told that it’s okay. We’re not sure, though, if that’s correct since most online casinos make it a point that if they ask for player information, they get accurate information. Fictitious player details are usually used as one of the grounds for terminating accounts. We looked for Club178’s Terms and Conditions page but there isn’t any.

No Country Restrictions but Focus Is on the Asian Market

Club178 does not ban players from certain countries. We verified by contacting customer support. It also does not filter IP addresses. Everybody can visit the site and play. However, the site mainly serves players in the Asian region. In fact, the website is available in mostly Asian languages. Aside from English, the site can also be viewed in Vietnamese, Chinese, Thai, and Indonesian languages.

Of course the standard requirements for online casino players apply. Players need to be of legal age and to ascertain that there are no laws in their countries that prohibit the wagering of real money or bitcoins on sites like Club 178.

More about Club178:

Be sure to drop by the FAQ page of Club178 for answers to the most common inquiries about this online casino. Also, the available games on this site have their respective pages that present detailed information about them so be sure to check these pages out to  learn more about the games. The game page links are presented at the footer part of the site.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Based on a licensed brick and mortar casino
• Live chat and telephone support available
• Fast local bank transfers for withdrawals (albeit limited for those near major Asian banks)
• Quick-loading games with responsive and intuitive game interface as well as live chat for players

Cons

• Limited bonuses with high bonus wagering requirement (40x of the sum of the bonus and deposit)
• Limited number of games; only live games offered
• No FUN currency or play money. You can’t try the games out without making a deposit.