Few brands are as massive or successful as Virgin, and there is good reason for this. What they do is always done well, and their online casino is no exception as you’ll be able to see from this review.
Licencing & Security
Virgin’s casino is licenced by the respected Alderney Gambling Control Commission (Although the Poker client is based and licenced in Malta which is also a whitelist jurisdiction – see next). This is one of the non-EU jurisdictions included in the UK government’s “Whitelist” of approved gambling regulators. This is complemented by the fact that the Virgin brand is so well known, that you don’t ever feel worried if it is safe or not to deposit your money with them.
Backing up this trust, is a comprehensive security policy, which includes banking level encryption (128 bit) and keeping your information in a secure database. And there’s no need to worry about the fairness of the games since the random number generator/software is tested independently as part of the licencing process.
What is particularly nice, which seems to be part of the licencing process of Alderney, is that the long term expected ‘return to player’, what we might refer to as a payout percentage is published for each game, usually in the last heading in the game details page.
Software
As we’ve noted elsewhere in this review, Virgin uses Wagerworks as their primary software. Wagerworks are part of a group of companies that produce the electronic gaming machines for some of Las Vegas’ biggest casinos, so they know what they are doing! This means that in addition to the standard table games, you’ll find favourite slot machines such as ‘Cleopatra’ and ‘Wolf Run’.
Virgin also have brought in some of the most popular slots from other software companies, for example they have Tombraider and Thunderstruck 2 from Microgaming and Call of Duty 4 from Cryptologic.
Wagerworks is different from Microgaming and Playtech in that there is no download version of the software. Instead, all games are instant play, meaning that as long as you can get to the internet and log on, you’ll be able to play.
Additional Services
As well as the online casino, Virgin also offer Poker and Bingo as separate services, though it’s easy to miss these tabs at the top of the page (I know they are there, but still don’t register them for some reason). The loyalty scheme is pretty cool too. As you play, you’ll earn V*Points which can be exchanged for other Virgin services such as airmiles on Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Experiences or vouchers and even cash.
Banking
Virgin accepts all the major payment methods, but doesn’t support many of the less well known e-wallets that you might find on other websites. These methods currently include: debit/credit cards, NETeller, PayPal and bank transfers.
Support
There are a wide range of support options available to Virgin members 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. These include Free-phone numbers, Live Chat, e-mail, and even an option where you can send them your number and they’ll call you back!
Summary
Virgin is a great casino from a great brand. Easy to play and to use, the site is well thought out and it’s so simple to get started, just click on the game you want and you’re away, and with new slot games being launched each week, there’s always something new to try.
UPDATED 10/10/11: Added TV advert video
