Royal Panda are part of the new breed of online only casinos who believe that good customer service, unique and transparent bonuses, and usability are the cornerstones of a successful casino site. I must say I am inclined to agree, and judging by Royal Panda’s customer retention rate I am not alone.
You may notice that Royal Panda tailor their bonuses in order for them to be applicable to the regular everyday casino player rather than those with lots of money to throw around. This is a theme that carries through the casino in general, with a high value loyalty scheme and genuinely attractive interesting regular deals.
Showcasing 1000+ games they certainly have plenty to offer their players in terms of diversity, too. For the average players among us who want to spend £10’s not £1000’s a week there is no better casino site.
- Honest Brand For Normal Players – Rewarding players at all levels
- No Baffling Terms – Clearly value their customers
- Great Software – Full Microgaming and NetEnt catalogue plus others
Software and Games
With a cracking range of over 900 titles, Royal Panda Casino is a true paradise for slots players. They cover everything from the latest releases, classic favourites and popular franchises. That’s not to say they don’t also have a fantastic array of table and live casino games, but for anyone looking for quality and masses of variety in the slots arena there are few that can compete.
The casino runs games from several major software providers including the entire catalogue’s from the goliaths that are Microgaming and NetEnt. It’s not common to find casinos that host all games from both of these world class developers, making this a perfect one stop shop. Royal Panda also hosts games from NYX (absolutely loads), Play’N GO, Genesis, NextGen, Evolution, Elk, and Rabcat.
This means that as well as classic 3 and 5-reel slots such as Starburst and Gonzo’s Quest, and the licensed heme titles from Marvel and other top film and TV studios, you get access to the big jackpot titles from NetEnt (such as Mega Fortune), and Microgaming (such as Mega Moolah), all in one place. If you are a fan of big jackpots then Royal Panda have possibly the best selection around. I did a quick count when writing this page and at the time there was, cumulatively, over £30 million in jackpot prize money waiting to be won.
Other categories include a respectable number of table games, scratchcards, and soft games.
Hot and Cold
I really like this feature, and it shows again how Royal Panda are thinking about things from the players’ point of view.
This game search system allows players to see which games are hot (paying out at the moment) and which are cold (currently hoarding cash). You don’t see this kind of service at most casinos, do you?
The benefit to you is that you can choose your tactics – go for small quick wins on a hot slot or try for a monster win on a cold slot that is due a big payout. You can fiddle with the payout numbers and time frames too if you want to really zero in on what you think your best winning opportunity might be.
Live Casino
As well as plenty of other variations from Evolution Gaming, Royal Panda also runs exclusive live roulette and blackjack (including VIP) casino tables from a very professional studio. On top of this there are further live games from NetEnt and Microgaming platforms. This means you get a lot of live gaming choice with the Royal Panda live casino, although there are bigger ones out there.
For most people, though, the games on offer here will be more than enough; as well as the usual blackjack and roulette, you can also play Dreamcatcher – which is proving very popular at the moment – as well as poker, baccarat, and a fun little game for the sports enthusiasts called Football Studio.
There’s nothing to complain about in terms of streaming quality either, and the dealers will chat happily to you as you play and keep you entertained. I have even caught them taking requests and singing in the past.
Using the Website
Royal Panda was born in a time of fast connections and multiple internet enabled devices. This means that, unlike some of the older casino sites, they are not shackled by history and have developed a very attractive, fun, and ultimately usable site straight out of the box. The colour scheme and overall vibe make it really ‘feel’ like a casino, as well as a place full of possibility. It may not suit players who take themselves and their gaming more seriously, but I love it.
With games principally provided by high-end developers, Royal Panda can offer graphically intensive games that suit the colourful and vibrant website as a whole. No page feels crowded, all text is accessible, clear, and easy to read, and games are well spaced out and easy to look over. Plus, once you get off the homepage there are none of those annoying flashy promos either, it’s just games games games.
Navigation is key to a successful website, and Royal Panda have designed theirs in such a way that nothing is ever more than a click or two away. The expandable help tab is ever present and once the casino is loaded there are no more page loads to deal with, everything is built into the interface. They have done a good job of organising a lot of content and making it look easy.
Finding Your Games
You have quite a few options when it comes to browsing and organising your gaming library.
If you like to get to know a select group of games well and play them time and time again then you can create a favourites list, granting you instant access. Otherwise, you can break the games into categories like video slots, classic slots, table games etc.
Oddly, though, there is no tab for jackpots…
Given that there are 900+ titles the search bar could come in very handy indeed, and thankfully you can use it to search by provider too; this option isn’t otherwise available, but it’s one I like to use a lot when browsing, so the search bar saved the day.
Once you have chosen a category there is no way to lighten the load further, unfortunately, you just have to scroll scroll scroll. This is only really a problem with video slots, but i’m guessing that’s what most of you will be wanting to play at least some of the time, so they could do with a better way of breaking their massive collection down a bit.
In general, however, games are easy to find and you can be playing withing a matter of seconds after logging in.
Mobile Website
Because Royal Panda has been designed from inception to provide seamless play between any types of device, you will find the mobile version of the site one of the better mobile casinos you may encounter. It gets a lot right.
It is very similar to its desktop counterpart in the way that it functions, and in terms of games you lose very little by playing on the small screen, almost all of them are still available and they look great.
It doesn’t quite carry the same energy or sense of excitement but it does its best, and when you think about it, what matters most on any mobile casino is that the product is fast, reliable and easy to use – Royal Panda ticks all of those boxes.
I ran across the same categorisation issue when browsing games, they could do with a scrolling menu of some sort to remedy this, but the load speed was minimal and we were spinning the reels in seconds.
However, I couldn’t find any sort of help or contact section which is a potential problem if you have an urgent query while on the move, and just be aware that you can’t be logged in to the desktop site and the mobile site at the same time.
Overall I would definitely recommend their mobile offering, with the caveat that it could do with one or two tweaks to perfect it and a coat of paint to freshen up the bland menu buttons.
It’s easy enough to download so give it a look yourself and see what you think.
Promotions and Loyalty
Good value, interesting and unique existing customer promotions and loyalty schemes are by far Royal Panda’s strongest suit. They have only been around for a short time comparatively, but they already have one of the highest customer retention scores of any online casino, and this is largely down to how well they treat their customer base.
Every promotion is fair with clear conditions spelled out in open language; there are no hidden features or limits to try to catch you out, just good honest offers. They tend to keep the terms the same, too, so you don’t have to worry about minor discrepancies when new promotions come along.
Royal Panda run a ton of seasonal and one-off promotions, too, there are usually at least a few of these each week and more around big holidays. Bonuses and freespins are often involved, and therefore the promotions page is worth a quick visit every time you log in in order to get the very best value out of your session.
It is however the loyalty club that really stands out at Royal Panda.
Loyal Panda Program
The Loyal Panda Program is a great club for rewarding all types of players from low to high stakes, and it couldn’t be easier to use and understand.
It’s all based on your playing activity on the site so your reward level will reflect this, but it’s free to join so you can’t lose out.
The number of points you are awarded as you play varies from game to game, but however you earned them they can be exchanged in the Royal Panda shop.
You can trade them in for goodies such as spins and bonuses, but also top level electronics, tech, merchandise – you can even get two tickets to Las Vegas or a Rolex watch as one of the options.
Points do not expire unless you are inactive for a 12 month period and there are no sneaky minimum stake, activity, or deposit limits that will invalidate your balance.
Panda VIP Scheme
They wouldn’t be able to call themselves ‘Royal’ Panda if they didn’t offer a VIP scheme, would they?
VIP is linked to the loyalty program and works on a tiered system. As you earn points you will move up through the VIP levels, earning more and more benefits as you go.
As you climb the ladder you could get enhanced Panda points as well as bespoke hospitality and exclusive offers that regular players won’t be eligible for. Very la-di-da.
Money Makes the World Go Round
| Method | Min Deposit | Min Withdrawal | Fees | Withdrawal Time |
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This is a seriously easy section to write and a testament to the clarity and openness of the team at Royal Panda. There are very few casinos who are so honest with payment and banking methods.
All payment methods have a £10 minimum deposit with clearly stated maximums that vary from £10,000 to £50,000 depending on method. If you are a high roller don’t panic, you can make multiple deposits, this is just a single transaction limit. There are a score of supported payment types, too, so you won’t struggle there.
The news is equally positive when it comes to withdrawing your winnings, with all methods carrying a fair £10 minimum and maximums varying. Within any 24 hour period they will only ever allow you to withdraw £50,000 unless you have spoken to them first, but again, this isn’t a deception of any kind and the team are easy enough to get hold of.
Processing times are quick with all transactions processed within 24 hours of you making a withdrawal request. This means if you use an eWallet quite often you will get your funds on the same day.
Payouts are limited at £1,500,000 excluding progressive jackpot games, so you are fairly safe there then.
Mayday! Mayday!
Support isn’t quite 24/7 just yet, but between the hours of 9am – 12:30am each day you will be able to reach someone via live chat, phone (including a call back service) or email; and of course, the old school postal option exists. Shorter opening hours are common with standalone casinos, and to be fair, Royal Panda have covered a good chunk of the day here; but what’s more important is that customer support itself is nothing short of world class. There is a genuine customer focus at this casino and I don’t think I’ve ever spoken to agents who were more polite, engaging and ultimately knowledgeable in all the years I have been playing casino games.
I contacted them recently with a query about return to player rates for some of their games, the response I got was fast (within 2 minutes), comprehensive and personal. I have a lot of time for Royal Panda because they treat players as human beings not just numbers – another common trait of standalone’s.
The help section/FAQ is integrated with the site itself and minimizes to keep it out of the way but still instantly accessible. This works wonders when you just want to quickly check something, as the FAQ is detailed enough to be helpful without overloading you with info and jargon, and the contact options are right there alongside if you need them.
Major brownie points scored, then, in what is arguably one of the most important areas for any casino or casino player.
Royal Panda Who?
Royal Panda could still be classed as a newbie having only launched in 2014, although that is an unfair label considering how far they have come and how strong they have become in just a few short years.
Royal Panda are based in Malta, the European iGaming powerhouse. They hold a full UK licence but also accept players from many other countries.
The company was established in 2013 by a group of entrepreneurs and professionals from the Netherlands who between them boasted decades of iGaming experience, both as players and industry professionals. Many of these guys worked for years on casino sites and gaming products but became frustrated with the ‘same old’ ethos of the industry. This would lead them to set up a new type of site that allowed them to cherry pick the best aspects of online gaming and bring it all together to create Royal Panda.
The panda encapsulated what the company’s founders wanted the image of the brand to be, laid back, approachable, and entertaining. However, things went so well that 3 years after launching another animal entered the picture – the lion. LeoVegas acquired Royal Panda in October of 2017.
Doing it Their Way
This is a standalone casino company operated by Royal Panda Limited, which means they are not restricted by corporate hierarchies. This allows Royal Panda to deliver a unique experience to players that is notably different to many other sites.
Being independent has allowed Royal Panda to make all of their own decisions, a key one being choosing their own software, an area in which they have excelled by selecting two of the best in Microgaming and NetEnt. They are also able to offer bespoke promotions, banking, loyalty, and customer care – all areas in which they consequently impress.
Players shouldn’t praise Royal Panda simply because they are independent, rather, players should praise them because Royal Panda have used that independence to grow into a genuinely honest, caring, and customer facing company. This, in turn, has meant that customer retention has been high, so the business model is clearly working.
They started the business because they thought they had a good idea of what players want – all of the evidence so far shows they were right.
Contact and Licence Information
UK Licence Number: 39221
- Name: Royal Panda Casino
- URL: www.royalpanda.com/
- Licenced Name: Royal Panda Limited
- Phone: 0203 808 3530
- E-Mail: [email protected]
- Address: Level 2, Tagliaferro Business Centre, High Street c/w Gaiety Lane, Sliema, SLM 1551, Malta
- Twitter: @royalpandacom