When I sit down to review an online casino, my goal is to write as objective and honest of a review as I can possibly write. I want you to be able to read a comprehensive review of a site and be armed with all the information to be able to make your own decision about whether or not to make an account and deposit.
I do, however, understand that players can and will make their own choices regardless of what information is presented. While I believe that everyone is entitled to make up their own minds, in the case of Royal Ace Casino I would be remiss if I didn’t change up my review process a little.
I simply cannot recommend this casino in good faith. If you continue to read this review, you will get a clear picture as to why, along with an honest discussion of some things I like about the casino. At the end of the day, the choice is yours, but consider yourself warned.
About Royal Ace Casino
Royal Ace Casino is owned by the Ace Revenue Group. This group is listed as the owner of many other casinos, all of whom seem to have black marks on them. I did some further investigating and found that the Ace Revenue Group are in fact themselves part of the Virtual Casino Group. This is a huge red flag; I have had personal interaction with Virtual on and off over my 20 years in this business, and I can tell you that they are as shady as they come. Every online gambling venture they get involved in seemingly ends up being blacklisted, and yet they somehow manage to survive and even thrive by bringing in new business. If you Google Virtual Casino Group, you can see for yourself how horrible they have been for the online casino industry.
Royal Ace is licensed in Costa Rica, which is yet another red flag. Costa Rica has no gambling licenses; all an operator needs to set up shop in the country is to acquire a standard business license. The fact that Royal Ace doesn’t have a license from one of the more common jurisdictions is likely because there is no way after some due diligence that these guys would ever be approved.
Who Can Play at Royal Ace Casino
Not surprisingly, there are very few restrictions on who can play for real money at Royal Ace Casino. These guys will take deposits from basically anyone, and in fact, they are using payment processors that will accept the highest percentage of cards. That is not to say that you SHOULD play at Royal Ace, however, if you are tempted, you will probably be able to make a deposit quite easily.
Software Suppliers
Here is one right choice the Royal Ace Casino management team has made: they have selected Real Time Gaming as their software provider. Now, this may very well be because RTG was the only option left who would consider taking their business. Whatever the reason, at the very least Royal Ace is using a software company that has been in the industry for just as long as they have. I have to assume that the software bill is the only one that Royal Ace keeps up to date so they won’t be shut off.
Real Time Gaming’s software platform is robust and features an excellent array of table games and slot machine titles. The casino is available for play in both download and Instant Play formats. Also, many of the instant play games have been modified for mobile browsers so if you like to play on the go then you will be able to seamlessly at this casino (or at any other RTG-powered brand). The company continues to upgrade their platform, so hopefully, all of their games will be mobile-friendly in the coming months.
The Good Stuff
This was a very tough category for me to write for this review. Given what I know about the ownership group, I personally don’t want to give you any reason to play here, but in the spirit of being objective, I will discuss a couple of things that are going right for Royal Ace.
Progressive Jackpots
By using Real Time Gaming’s platform and agreeing to contribute to the network’s progressive jackpots, Royal Ace gives their players the chance to cash in on millions of dollars of possible jackpot wins. There are several RTG network progressives, a couple of which are at the time of this review ready to burst. I always like to play slots games that have excellent bonus games or a massive progressive jackpot. I am forever hopeful that it is going to be me holding up the oversized check with the jackpot amount printed on it.
Royal Ace does not have all the RTG Network Progressive games available at their casino; here are the ones they do have (see if you recognize any of the names!)
- Aztec’s Millions
- Caribbean Draw Poker
- Caribbean Hold ‘Em
- Caribbean Stud Poker
- Jackpot Cleopatra’s Gold
- Jackpot Pinatas
- Let ‘Em Ride
- Megasaur
- Shopping Spree II
- Spirit of the Inca
The Ugly Stuff
Well, they seem to slow-pay players. A lot.
It doesn’t take much digging on the casino forum sites to find players complaining about how long it takes Royal Ace Casino to pay out winning players. There always seems to be some sort of excuse as to why the delays are occurring, or there are false promises of payments that end up with apologies but no payment.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, I have a history with the ownership group of Royal Ace Casino. Unfortunately, I can confirm that they have been up to these tricks since I first encountered them in the early 2000s. I have no idea how they continue to get away with these slow-pay tactics, but I guess people have a short memory when it comes to them.
…And they sometimes reverse winnings from your account.
This is the kind of thing that is just unacceptable. While I understand there can be some RNG malfunctions along the way, the days of players being able to corrupt the system on their own are long gone. Most software companies have threat detection built into their games, and owners are alerted when a player reaches a certain amount of winnings so their play can be monitored.
To see Royal Ace Casino (and their sister casinos) take legitimate winnings out of a player account is unacceptable. Yes, the casino can hide behind their general Terms and Conditions, but unless there are proven instances of cheating taking place, then no one should be making a deposit at this casino until they change their ways.
Game Selection
Slots
Real Time Game offers players a large number of slots that feature quality graphics and themes. No matter what type of game you like to play, how many reels or paylines you like, or denomination you want to bet, you are going to find it at Royal Ace Casino. AS mentioned earlier, many of the slots have progressive jackpots, making them even more enticing to a player.
A partial list of the slots games available at Royal Ace Casino is below:
- Achilles
- Aladdin’s Wishes
- Aztec’s Millions
- Aztec’s Treasure
- Aztecs Treasure Feature Guarantee
- Bank on It!
- Basketbull
- Big Shot
- Bunko Bonanza 2
- Caesar’s Empire
- Cash Bandits
- Cleopatra’s Gold
- Coat of Arms
- Count Spectacular
- Coyote Cash
- Crazy Vegas
- Crystal Waters
- Derby Dollars
- Diamond Dozen
- Diamond Mine
- Diamond Mine Deluxe
- Double Ya Luck
- Dream Run
- Enchanted Garden
- Enchanted Garden II
- Eternal Love
- Field of Green
- Food Fight!
- Football Frenzy
- Glitz & Glamour
- Goblin’s Treasure
- God of Wealth
- Goldbeard
- Golden Glove
- Golden Lotus
- Golden Retriever
- Green Light
- Hairway to Heaven
- Happy Golden Ox of Happiness
- Haunted Opera
- Hen House
- Hidden Riches
- High Fashion
- Incan Goddess
- It’s a Mystery!
- Jackpot Cleopatra’s Gold
- Jackpot Pinatas
- Jazz Time
- Jumping Beans
- Lucky Tiger
- Medal Tally
- Megaquarium
- Megasaur
- Mermaid Queen
- Mice Dice
- Mister Money
- Monster Mayhem 50-Line
- Mystic Dragon
- Naughty or Nice: Spring Break
- Naughty or Nice?
- Ninja Star
- Nova 7s
- Paris Beauty
- PayDirt!
- Penguin Power
- Pharaoh’s Gold
- Pirate Isle
- Polar Explorer
- Prince of Sherwood
- Return of the Rudolph
- Roberta’s Castle
- Ronin
- Rudolph’s Revenge
- Snowmania
- Spirit of the Inca
- Sunken Treasure
- The Nice List
- The Three Stooges
- Triton’s Treasure
- Victory
- Vikings Voyage
Video Poker
I love video poker and have spent many hours playing the RTG game offering. These games are robust, have excellent pay tables and play very quickly, which I especially like when I am playing the multi-hand games.
Here are all the video poker games offered by Royal Ace Casino:
- Aces & Eights
- Deuces Wild
- Aces & Eights (multi-play)
- Double Bonus (multi-play)
- Joker Poker
- Joker Poker (multi-play)
- All American (multi-play)
- Bonus Poker Deluxe
- Bonus Poker Deluxe (multi-play)
- Jacks or Better (multi-play)
- Double Jackpot
- All American
- Jacks or Better
- Bonus Deuces Wild
- Double Bonus
- Double Double Jackpot
- Sevens Wild
- Sevens Wild (multi-play)
- Pick ‘Em Poker
- Loose Deuces (multi-play)
- Loose Deuces
- Bonus Deuces Wild (multi-play)
- Double Jackpot (multi-play)
- Double Double Bonus (multi-play)
- Double Double Bonus
- Double Double Jackpot (multi-play)
- Deuces Wild (multi-play)
Table Games
Royal Ace Casino has all the standard table games you would want to see in a casino lobby, as well as some titles you may not have heard of before. All the games have helpful rules pages, so if you are looking to try out a new game, then you can get up to speed very quickly.
Here are all the games you are able to find in the Royal Ace Casino lobby:
- Baccarat
- Casino War
- Caribbean Stud Poker
- Red Dog
- Roulette
- European Blackjack
- Craps
- Let ‘Em Ride
- Pai Gow Poker
- Vegas Three Card Rummy
- Sic Bo
- Pontoon
- Blackjack with Perfect Pairs
- Caribbean 21
- Caribbean Hold’em Poker
- Face Up 21
- Match Play 21
- Super 21
- Texas Hold ‘Em Bonus Poker
- Tri Card Poker
Promotions
The promotions at Royal Ace Casino are pretty straight forward. They are broken up into two categories: First Time Deposit Bonus, and Daily Ongoing Promotions.
Welcome Bonus
Royal Ace has a very aggressive Welcome Bonus. On your first deposit, the casino will give you a 100% Match Bonus with an unlimited ceiling. This means that no matter what you deposit, they will match it. This bonus is, however, a double-edged sword. The fact that you can make a massive first deposit and not have a cap on the bonus dollars sounds fantastic, but if the casino isn’t paying its players or taking a very long time to do so, your money is constantly at risk.
Daily Promotions
I do like when a casino makes an effort to change things up on a daily basis for their players. Royal Ace has accomplished this by way of a series of promotions they call the “Crazy Days.” The casino offers a different promotion each day, with a hope that loyal customers will come back multiple times a week to play and receive their offer.
Here’s a quick synopsis of the current Crazy Days promotions at Royal Ace Casino:
- Monday Happy Hour
- Twofer Tuesdays
- Wednesday Triple Threat
- Thursday Thriller
- Friday Freebie
- Saturday SpinORama
- Sundays with a Cherry On Top
Banking
There is a whole other range of deposit options, but you need to call their finance department to discuss these. To me that seems a bit shady; why would a casino not want to give you all the information to make it easy to deposit at once, versus having to drag it out.
As for withdrawals, the casino offers players bank wires and checks as their most common form of payout. Of course, it’s hard to say how long it will take for you to get your money (their site says that checks can take between 24 and 42 days to be received. Six weeks? That is ludicrous enough, but then if you don’t see the check you have to listen to all the excuses the casino comes up with for the delay.
Comp Program
The Comp Program at Royal Ace Casino is similar to many of the casinos that are partnered with Real Time Gaming. The program is quite simple; you earn comp points at a rate of 1 for every $10 wagered (Terms and Conditions apply). This rate can be accelerated based on your VIP status (see below for more details). These points can be redeemed for real money at a rate of 1 cent per point, with a minimum required to cash out of 100.
It is always my recommendation that players redeem their comp points the second they reach the 100 point plateau. There is no reason to keep them in your account, and the extra money is basically a tiny edge in your favor, so you should get those bonus dollars to work for you as soon as you can earn them.
VIP Program
The Royal Aces VIP Program gives their players benefits in exchange for loyalty. For what it’s worth, I think their program is decent compared to some of the VIP programs I have seen at some of their competitors’ websites.
The VIP Program at Royal Ace Casino is open to everyone once an account and deposit have been made. It consists of 5 levels, all of which are outlined here:
Level 1 – Jack
- Earn 1 comp point for every $10 wagered
- Access to exclusive VIP member bonuses and promotions
- Monthly Insurance paid at the start of every month
Level 2 – Queen
- Earn 1 comp point for every $7.50 wagered
- Access to exclusive VIP member bonuses and promotions
- Monthly Insurance paid at the start of every month
Level 3 - King
- Earn 1 comp point for every $5 wagered
- Access to exclusive VIP member bonuses and promotions
- Monthly Insurance paid at the start of every month
- $10,000 Casino Balance Insurance
- Specialized Gifts on your Special Days
Level 4 – Ace
- Earn 1 comp point for every $5 wagered
- Access to exclusive VIP member bonuses and promotions
- Monthly Insurance paid at the start of every month
- $25,000 Casino Balance Insurance
- Specialized Gifts on your Special Days
Level 5 – Royal Ace
- Earn 1 comp point for every $2 wagered
- Access to exclusive VIP member bonuses and promotions
- Monthly Insurance paid at the start of every month
- $50,000 Casino Balance Insurance
- Specialized Gifts on your Special Days
Customer Service
Amazingly, considering how many players must contact them on a daily basis with issues around their balances, Royal Ace has a toll-free telephone line for their Customer Service department. I would imagine that they could package and sell some of the recordings of their calls and people would love to listen.
You can also contact Royal Ace via email (they list several email addresses on their website), but at this time the casino does not offer Live Chat as an option.
Would I Play at Royal Ace Casino?
I would never spend my own money at Royal Ace Casino or any of their sister brands. Until the Virtual Casino Group cleans up their act and proves themselves as a worthy, honest ownership group, I cannot recommend Royal Ace Casino to any of our readers. If you are a fan of the Real Time Gaming software, I have given positive reviews to many of their other partners – check out our other reviews to find one that won’t scam you in the long run.