Drake Casino Review

Drake Casino is a gambling site that appears to be a clone of Gossip Slots, an online casino we have reviewed earlier. Except for the different logo and color theme, the two websites are almost completely similar. However, we gather that it is not created as such simply to “plagiarize” content or to put up something without making any effort. Most likely, the goal of this site is to offer a similar experience but to a different group of players or to players not reached by Gossip Slots.

We are not sure which one came first. Was it Drake Casino or Gossip Slots? Unfortunately, at the time we were doing this Drake Casino review, there was no live chat support available to quickly clarify things for us. However, what’s certain here is that they are very similar, from the infinitely highlighted Tournaments tab to the links and icons shown on the footer. The collection of games available is also the same. It’s safe to say that the highlight features were only renamed and that the two are related. We found several circumstantial proofs that the two are related. For instance, they share the same external VIP rewards program website. There are also news bits mentioning the two together.

Still, we are reviewing this online casino with a fresh perspective although we will be mentioning impossible-to-ignore similarities as we go along. Get to know more about this online casino and find out if it has any difference from Gossip Slots.

Account Registration on Drake Casino – No Shared Player Database with Gossip Slots

Before signing up for an account, the very first thing we did was to try if the login we use for Gossip Slots works on Drake Casino. We have encountered similar instances before wherein the login for one online casino that belongs to a network of gambling sites works across all sites. Alas, it’s not the case here. You really have to sign up for a new account. This somewhat confirms our assumption that the site is intended for those who have not signed up with Gossip Slots.

Anyway, just like in Gossip Slots, there’s a quite lengthy online registration form to fill out. You need to provide your account ID, password, title, name, date of birth, email address, address (in separate fields: country, state/province, and postal code), and two contact numbers (day phone and mobile phone number). As the Terms and Conditions page mentions, you need to accurately fill out the details required or else you will be risking the possibility of having your account and winnings terminated in case it is discovered that you entered false or misleading account details.

For this Drake Casino review, we also tested the peculiarity we encountered with Gossip Slots. We found out that it is also possible to register for an account through a computer or IP address in a banned country but you can complete the registration process and sign in. A message will be flashed on your screen telling you that “…you are unable to play with us” but you can still proceed to viewing the account dashboard and games.

Account Dashboard

Surprise, surprise!  Drake Casino’s account dashboard is exactly just like the one on Gossip Slots. It’s feature-rich. It enables the modification of some account details. It has a convenient messaging system. If you go to the Cashier section, the promotions/bonuses you can avail are readily presented. It’s impossible to miss on getting bonuses with this feature on the account dashboard. It’s generally intuitive.

The Games

Again, the games on Drake Casino are the same ones you can find on Gossip Slots. We asked player support about any possible difference to save us time examining everything. We were told that everything’s basically the same. We asked for an explanation why they had to have two different websites for basically the same online casino but we received no pertinent response except for the comment that Gossip Slots and Drake Casino are essentially similar.

If the games are to be counted as they are listed in the different categories shown on the right side, there are more than 200 games. However, we think the actual number is close to 160 since many of the games are listed under multiple categories.

Drake Casino offers 5 reel 3D slots, progressive slot games called Super Slots, classic 5-reel and 3-reel slots, standard and high roller table games, single-hand and multihand video poker games, as well as varieties of keno, scratchcard, and virtual racebook.

The games load in pop-up windows, just like in Gossip Slots. Game loading time is not fast but you will be rewarded with the good graphics (for the BetSoft games). The BetSoft games on Drake Casino come with Play for Fun versions so you can try them out without spending real money yet.

Drake Casino Software and Game Fairness

As mentioned, Drake Casino’s game collection is basically the same collection being offered by Gossip Slots. They are supplied by BetSoft and Arrow’s Edge. We have no issues with Betsoft since it is an online gambling software provider used by other leading online casinos such as mBit and BetOnline Casino. Arrow’s Edge is a less popular and relatively new gaming software provider but we haven’t found anything seriously bad about its games except for being somewhat behind the times.

House Edge

Drake Casino mentions or implies its house edge for some of the games. They are as follows:

• Blackjack – 0.5% to 0.6%. This range is not specifically what Drake Casino claims as its house edge for its Blackjack games but the idea is that it has a house edge that is at the very least better than what brick and mortar casinos have.
• Craps – 1.36% to 1.67%. The lowest house edge is for “Come” and “Don’t Come” bets while the highest is for the “Buy 10” bets.
• Baccarat – 1.06%
• Mini Roulette – 7.69% to 3.85%. The house edge is lowered with the institution of the La Partage rule, which allows players to get back half of their money on losing even bets that land on 0. This house edge is considerably high considering that the average for European or French roulette is only around 1.35.

Drake Casino Is Mobile-Friendly

Just like Gossip Slots, Drake Casino has a mobile-friendly website, which provides an intuitive way for navigating the site and playing the games. It requires Flash but shouldn’t be a problem for most mobile devices at present. It’s not the more preferable HTML5 but still works well for mobile gaming. Drake Casino does not have Android or iOS mobile apps for playing its games.

Currencies and Payment Methods

Drake Casino appears to focus on North American players. The amounts on the site are expressed in US dollars but other fiat currencies and bitcoins are also accepted. They are automatically converted to dollar amounts based on the exchange rate at the time the deposits are processed.

Deposits methods available include Visa and MasterCard credit cards, Direct Cash, Quick Cash, Skrill, and Neteller. The recommended deposit methods, as stated on Drake Casino’s site, are Visa and MasterCard since they don’t charge fees. Their minimum deposit is $25 while the maximum deposit amount is based on the player status. If you encounter issues, there’s always the Live Chat button you can click to ask for assistance. Anyway, for other deposit methods, the minimum deposit is as low as $10 while the maximum can be as high as $2,500.

For withdrawals, there are a number of options you can use: bitcoin, bank wire, Back2Card, Check by Courier, Direct Cash, QuickCash, Skrill, and Neteller. The minimum withdrawal amount is from $50 to $300 while the maximum ranges from $600 to $5,000. You can quickly see these maximum and minimum amounts on the Cashier page so we don’t think it’s necessary elaborating on these in this Drake Casino review. Interestingly, though, the Check by Courier withdrawal option is available on Drake Casino. This was labeled as an unavailable option on Gossip Slots.

Drake Casino Promotions

The following are the bonuses and promotions being offered by Drake Casino. They are presented differently but they are roughly similar to what Gossip Slots offers.

• 100% First Deposit Bonus of up to $2,000
• 100% Second Deposit Bonus of up to $1,000
• 100% Third Deposit Bonus of up to $2,000
• 75% Tuesday Reload Bonus. Code: WIN75.
• 50% Thursday Reload Bonus. Code: NOW50.
• 100% Saturday Reload Bonus. Code: SAT100.
• 100 Free Spin Mondays for every $50 deposited.
• 10% Weekly Casino Rebate available during Tuesdays. Every week, Drake Casino returns 10% of a player’s losses within a week.
• VIP Rewards Plan. This is the VIP Rewards Plan that is accessible through a different website (www.viprewardsplan.eu), the one we mentioned that somewhat confirmed the connection we suspected between Gossip Slots and Drake Casino.
• Drake Club. This is the Drake Casino counterpart of Gossip Slots Club. The details are similar (shown in the image below).
• Social Media Bonus – $5 Bonus for Liking or Following Drake Casino’s social media accounts.
• Exclusive promotions sent via email.

The first three bonuses are comparable to the 100% Welcome Bonus of up to $5,000 on Gossip Slots.

Oddly, Drake Casino mentions a bonus for following its Facebook account but we couldn’t find a Facebook account or page that can be associated with it.

Wagering requirement for bonuses is 40x unless stated otherwise.

Drake Casino Customer Support

Drake Casino provides player support via email, telephone, and live chat. However, this is not on a 24/7 basis. It is only available from 10 in the morning to 12 midnight EST, from Monday to Sunday. Email inquiries or request for support will of course be accepted anytime but the response will only be on the day after.

Send emails to [email protected] for general support, [email protected] for concerns related to withdrawals or cashouts, [email protected] for questions and clarifications regarding the rewards and promotions, and [email protected] for inquiries or assistance on new sign-ups.

For telephone support, dial the following numbers: 1-800-613-8090 (North America) and +599 (9) 733-1206 (International). Drake Casino also has a fax number: +1 (514)-221-3610.

The live chat facility can be accessed through the live chat button under the Contact Us page.

Are there Banned Countries?

We tried the live chat support facility of Drake Casino by asking about whether or not the site bans certain countries from signing up for an account. Actually, this is one of the things we do when we review an online casino so at this point in writing our Drake Casino review, we already realized that Drake Casino very closely resembles another online casino we already reviewed: Gossip Slots. Unfortunately, the live chat support system was offline at that time so we couldn’t get a confirmation as to whether or not Drake Casino and Gossip Slots are related. The site also does not mention anything about it being related to other online casinos.

We have encountered other similar gambling sites that seemingly mirror other sites in their entirety. These sites are usually intended to serve specific regions that are not being served by the other sites they mirror. We are just not sure if Drake Casino is aimed at a particular region or it is just a clone of Gossip Slots created to expand the reach of the gambling sites where Gossip Slots and Drake Casino belong.

UPDATE: We were able to finally access live chat support so we wasted no time asking about the country restrictions. Just like most other online casinos we reviewed before, there’s the hesitation to reveal the list of countries that are banned from the site. We don’t really understand why customer support reps are trying to hde However, we reckon that players from the following list of countries are indeed not allowed on Drake Casino: China, Curacao, Antigua and Barbuda, Myanmar, Libya, Nigeria, North Korea, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Syria, Israel, the Philippines, and other Asian countries. We also think that players from the following US states are not allowed to play on Drake Casino: Kentucky, Missouri, Maryland, Kentucky, New Jersey, Washington, and District of Columbia.

Drake Casino License, Regulation, Privacy, and Security

Drake Casino is an gambling site licensed by Curacao eGaming, just like Gossip Slots. The regulatory body responsible for it is the government of Curacao.

Be Sure to Drop By the Following Pages on Drake Casino

Drake Casino’s Terms and Conditions page is one of the most important content you need to carefully read to avoid violating the site’s policies and rules. Also, read Drake Casino’s official blog for updates or new information you need to know about the site. You can also get updates about or send messages to Drake Casino through its official Twitter account.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Good selection of games, especially for the video slots
• Responsive live chat support
• Accepts US players except for those from some specific states
• Mobile-friendly

Cons

• Support is not available 24/7
• Games are not provably fair
• Not available in major online gambling markets such as China, The Netherlands, and many parts of Asia.