Best Slots with a Hint of Nostalgia

It’s unusual to see such a mid-sized portfolio of featured games from more than a dozen different developers. On top of NetEnt’s products, you’ll also see those launched by Scientific Games, IGT, Pragmatic Play, iSoftBet, Barcrest, and GameCo to name but a few, as well as games developed in-house and exclusively available on sites managed by the 888 Group. NetEnt fans will doubtlessly enjoy Blood Suckers the original and the sequel, Guns N’ Roses, and more recently released Halloween Jack playing with spooky Walking Wilds and Jack’O’Lector which unlocks additional Wild features. NYX contributes with Gorilla Go Wild, Foxin’ Wins Again, Esqueleto Explosivo and more than a few other popular titles, while Eyecon provides Howling Fun, Sugar Train and White Wizard plus a number of other fan-tastic slots. Players will also find Barcrest’s Rainbow Riches and Snow Leopard, IGT’s Siberian Storm, The Pig Wizard by Blueprint Gaming, PariPlay’s Sharknado and Scrolls of Ra from iSoftbet, along with a range of proprietary slots such as A Nightmare on Elm Street and Shopping Frenzy. As far as I can tell, Arcade Spins offers a single classic slot. There is no dedicated Jackpots section but you’ll still find close to 20 games offering an opportunity for a single-spin massive win.

Other than slots, there’s not much to do around here – blackjack fans will be disappointed as the game isn’t offered. As far as table games go, there is a single baccarat variation, standard and low-limit Texas Hold ’em, but attempting to play poker variants brought back the message saying the game wasn’t found and I should try something else.

What you will find is Deuces Wild Video Poker, few Slingo games, and a generous choice of scratch cards, including games playing with the same kind of mechanism – such as Noughts & Crosses and fun Cosmic Candy Heist dubbed “the intergalactic match 3 mayhem”. Not being offered a single roulette game is both surprising and disappointing.

Live Dealers not Found at the Site

Arcade Spins is not the destination for those who prefer to play against a live dealer. The site doesn’t have a Live Casino section, and seeing how strongly they focus on slots, I think it’s unlikely they’ll ever add it.

Arcade Experience On-The-Go

Access Arcade Spins via a web browser of your smartphone or tablet and you’ll find that the same gaming site looks even better on a small screen. What’s even more surprising is that, instead of shrinking, gaming portfolio seems to have expanded. Suddenly the casino also offers European and American Roulette, Keno and Top Spin Snooker, and I’m pretty sure I have spotted a few slots missing in the desktop version. Furthermore, one can also filter games using Mega Jackpot, Scratch Cards and Table Games tabs. Not sure what’s the logic behind this difference, but I wish I could see the same on my PC monitor.

Table Limits to Fit Low and High-Rollers

Some sites cater to players with smaller budgets, others aim to appeal to high-rollers by offering high-limit games, and there are those trying to please just about everybody. In this sense, Arcade Spins would fall into the third group. Fans of slots will be able to bet as little as 9c while playing NetEnt’s Dead Or Alive and pay only 10c to spin the reels of Starburst and Ray Of Light. That’s pretty much as low as you can get, as long as you’re looking to play all available paylines (as you should). Those of you that find penny bets unworthy of their time have plenty of other titles to choose from. Secrets Of Shanghai slot allows wagers of up to $250 per spin, Ray Of Light Jackpot will offer you to bet a maximum of $400, Aztec Realm Jackpot up to $450, and Wild Saloon as much as $480. A single Baccarat game lets you choose limits between $1-$100, $5-$500, and $10-$1,000. Many of the scratch cards come with minimum limit of 10c and a maximum one of $10 or $20, but Foxin’ Wins scratch lets you bet only 1c and up to $100 per round, and Dr Love scratch allows an investment as big as $250.

RTPs and Payout Rates

How much importance to do you attach to a game’s RTP? Does this information influence your decision of what to play or not at all? Even if you’re choosing to ignore it, it should be a rational choice rather than the result of ignorance. By playing casino games with higher RTPs, you’ll theoretically lose less. I apologise if the phrasing bursts your bubble, but casinos always have an ad-vantage over players; they have to, otherwise it would be impossible to cover their operating costs and we’d have no place to gamble. However, house edge is not the same on all games, even within the same category, and the lower the edge, the more confident you can be of generating a profit ra-ther than a loss. In most cases, one can find RTP information within the game itself, but Arcade Spins makes it even easier; its website provides access to Instant Games RTPs expressed as a percentage of total winnings to the total amount wagered by all players within the respective month.

High RTP slots are considered to be those with a theoretical return of 97% and more. In the long run, they should pay $97 as the result of $100 wagered, while those with 95% RTP pay only $95. It may or may not seem like a huge difference, but imagine if you were $2 short of triggering a lucrative bonus round or claiming a progressive jackpot. Heck, a bet of less than $1 sometimes does the trick. That’s why you may want to consider titles such as Jackpot 6000 (98.90%), 1429 Uncharted Seas (98.50%) and Blood Suckers (98.00%), and manage your bankroll extra-carefully while playing 4th Of July, Café De Paris and Viva L’Italia, all with an RTP of 91.80%, and Fluffy Favourites Fairground Mega Jackpot (92.90%). RTPs over 98% are truly rare and it’s quite common to find slots with return lower than 90% but Arcade Spins Casino doesn’t seem to carry any. If you’re a fan of scratch cards, maximise your chances with Gorilla Go Wild (95.53%).

Arcade Spins Software

Arcade Spins Casino website, powered by Dragonfish, uses electric pink and purple to create 80’s arcade feel. Home page features simple layout with game filters available on top, standard T&C, FAQ, Help and other common tabs positioned on the bottom, and a menu icon de-signed as a spectacled smiley offering access to promotions, loyalty, the player’s account and withdrawal section. Help tab conveniently sticks to the right side of the screen while you’re scrolling up and down, making it easy to view FAQs and choose one of available contact options. Games are instantly accessible online but not before you open an account and fund it. Since Arcade Spins Casino serves almost exclusively slots, there is no category filter. Players can display all games or those newly added, search for their favourite one by name, or let the casino’s Random Game Selector surprise them. There is also an option to create a list of up to 10 slots and thus easily access them during your following visits.

Games are accessible via all popular web browser, they load at an average speed and play without interruptions of any kind, even those incorporating heavy graphics and audio. Many of them come with the signature of one of the pioneers and leading developers of the online gaming industry with an exceptionally wide distribution. NetEnt was founded in 1996 and has since created an amazing portfolio consisting of visually impressive slots with innovative features, comprehensive choice of table, video poker and specialty games. The provider’s live dealer suite is almost as successful as that powered by Evolution Gaming even though the range is signif-icantly smaller. NetEnt uses Adobe Flash technology so you can access its games online, and the mobile gambling platform NetEnt Touch makes the experience just as rewarding when playing on mobile devices as when using a PC. It’s a pity Arcade Spins team didn’t take advantage of the diver-sity of NetEnt’s portfolio but at least it made sure to include some of the company’s biggest hits.

Good marks for diversity of video slots and providers, bad marks for choice of different game types. It’s ok to position yourself as a slots specialist but only when you’re able to provide an impressive range of titles and attach multiple user-friendly search options. Arcade Spins still has some work to do.

Who’s Running the Show?

Arcade Spins brand is owned by Tau Marketing Services but the site is operated by Cassava Enterpris-es, a subsidiary of 888 Holdings plc. 888 Holdings Public Limited was founded in 1997 and has since grown into one of the world’s most popular online gaming providers. The company provides its part-ners with localised online gaming products players can enjoy in a safe and secure environment.

Interesting Facts About 888 Holdings

The Group manages two lines of business, one being B2B and the other B2C. The latter operates 888 brands such as the award-winning 888casino, 888poker, 888sport, 888ladies and Wink Bingo. Casino-on-Net was its first proprietary product launched the same year the company was founded. Dragonfish is an independent B2B division of 888 which allows clients to choose between a turnkey service package and a skin solution which can be fully integrated with their own services and back office. The Group is headquartered in Gibraltar and also licensed in Ireland, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Romania, Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware.

With the vision to “exceed its customers’ expectations and provide the most enjoyable online gaming experience possible”, 888 Holdings went out to collect a number of prestigious awards, including multiple titles of eGaming Review Casino Operator of the Year, Global Gaming Awards Best Digital Operator in 2014, and Gaming Intelligence Casino of the Year in 2015. In 2005, 888 Holdings was listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange.

Customer Support Available via Phone and Email

The Arcade Spins website offers a good deal of useful information across various sections but their FAQ list is one of the shortest I’ve seen. It will tell you how to claim free spins, make withdrawals, and inform you about security measures implemented to safeguard your payment details. New Zealand players in need of further assistance can give the customer support team a call using a toll-free number operated 7 days a week between 10am and 2am. An alternative is to send an email via contact form available in Help section. The operator promises to answer all email queries within 4 hours which is decent enough. It’s unusual for a company of such size and experience to omit Live Chat as a direct contact option, considering the majority of players find chatting to be the most convenient way (not to mention fastest) to obtain the information they need. What’s more, those outside of New Zealand will hardly appreciate not being offered a single alternative to email.

Keeping Gambling Safe and Fun

To start with, Arcade Spins boasts two highly reputable operating licenses – one issued by the UK Gambling Commission and the other by the Gibraltar Gambling Commissioner. Both organisations feature high standards and rigid procedures their licensees need to comply with, thus protecting the interests of registered players. Arcade Spins website also displays eCOGRA Safe & Fair logo as a further proof that games deliver fair outcomes, the operator behaves honestly and respon-sibly, players are protected and deposits safe. Complaints can be raised with the operator’s customer service department at [email protected].

Dedicated to providing a responsible gaming environment, the team is doing their best to help prevent compulsive usage and underage access. The operator’s training program teaches employees how to recognise compulsive gaming and instructs them about appropriate actions. Players can set their own daily, weekly and monthly deposit limits, take a break and suspend the use of your account for a certain period of time, and there is an easy to use self-exclusion pro-gram which automatically cancels their membership and prevents them from entering the site. Parents are offered a list of software solutions which will prevent the computer from accessing online gambling websites, such as Cyber Patrol, GamBlock, Net Nanny and Gamban.

Bonus Points to Award Accomplishments

Arcade Spins has so far won no awards to brag about, and to be brutally honest, I can’t imagine them claiming any until the team implements serious upgrades. The operator started off well, choosing good developers, including some rarely featured, and mixing in exclusive titles one can’t find everywhere. No wagering daily free spins, awarded as part of the casino’s loyalty scheme and available as of level 1, are highly appreciated, and same goes for having of a program which rewards members for making deposits.

• Awards . 0/3

• Promotions . 1/3

• Special Games . 2/2

• Loyalty Scheme . 1/1

• Extras . 0/1

• Bonus Points . 4

However, the above-mentioned loyalty program doesn’t offer as many tangible perks as one would expect, and the gaming library will not please fans of any other games except those in love with video slots. Even the latter may find poor filtering options a bit frustrating. As far as bonuses go, you’ll be treated to a welcome freebie followed by daily spins on the house – that’s about it for the time being. I’ve awarded a few bonus points as recognition for efforts the team has invested so far but hope to see further improvements in not-too-distant future.

Arcade Spins: Work in Progress

Gaming sites operated by 888 Holdings generally receive positive reviews, and operating licenses is-sued by the likes of UKGC and MGA are a huge asset as far as credibility goes. Arcade Spins Casino has partnered up with several of the most popular software developers and made its assortment different to that of its competitors by including the operator’s proprietary games. The casino offers a decent choice of payment options, among which Maestro, Skrill, Neteller and Wire Transfer, as well as PayPal and Apple Pay. Minimum transaction limits are exceptionally friendly across the board (typically $5 for both deposits).

I have promised an objective review so let’s also tackle the negatives. At this point, Arcade Spins Casi-no looks like work in progress. Having visited numerous sites operated by the same renowned compa-ny, I found this one to be a tad disappointing. Not because I don’t care for video slots but due to a be-lief you should either focus on one area and make a fantastic job with whatever you decided to spe-cialise with, or diversify and make sure there’s a bit of something for everybody. Arcade Spins is cur-rently doing neither. The casino’s promotional section is pretty modest, withdrawals take a bit longer than at competing sites, and Live Chat is sorely missed as a direct contact option. While this gaming website works on upgrading its offering, you may want to check Grand Ivy casino review.

FAQ

As always, I tried to supply all relevant information to help you decide whether the reviewed online casino is worth your time and money. If you find anything has been left out, send an email to [email protected] and tell me what else you’d like to know. In meantime, here is what I’ve been asked so far.

Can I play live games at Arcade Spins casino?

Unfortunately, no, you can't play live games at the casino currently. Whether or not this is likely to change in the near future is uncertain, so be sure to check back for updates often. In the meantime, you can check out our overview of the the available games.

Is Arcade Spins available on mobile?

Yes, Arcade Spins can be played on mobile. Unlike other casinos, you won't have to download an app, and instead can play in your device browser. For full details, take a look at our mobile guide to Arcade Spins.

Who owns Arcade Spins?

Arcade Spins is owned and operated by 888 Holdings, who also own and operated 888casino and Wink Bingo. For more details, you can read our overview of the site's company information.

Is Arcade Spins safe?

Yes, Arcade Spins is a safe and secure gambling site. It holds a valid license from Britain's Gambling Commission, and utilizes encryption software to guarantee player data security. For the full low-down on its security credentials, you can read our Arcade Spins security breakdown.