Planet 7 Scam
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Our effort to bring you the most honest reviews of online casinos continues with our look at Planet 7 Casino. This casino has taken us on a roller coaster ride of emotions trying to determine if it is worthy of our players’ money.
We have scoured the internet and our own top-secret insiders to bring you the most detailed review.
Who is Planet 7 Casino?
Planet 7 Casino has been around since 2009, but tracing the ownership of the casino isn’t exactly straight forward, which is already a bad sign. We understand that not many online casinos can be very forthcoming with their ownership information, especially if they are accepting players from countries like the USA, but these guys have one hell of a shell game going on.
Our investigating has led us to the following: Planet 7 is owned and operated by the Ace Revenue Group, which was formerly the Crystal Palace Group, which itself is a subsidiary of the Virtual Casinos Group. Got that straight? There’s a reason for the layers of companies; Virtual has had a bad name in the industry for a long time. However, they remain one of the largest operators in the game.
Other casinos owned by Ace Revenue Group include Silver Oak Casino, Royal Ace Casino, Slots Madness Casino and Captain Jack Casino. In fact, when we registered our account at Planet 7, we were given the option of signing up at Royal Ace at the same time (a smart marketing move if not a little on the shady side).
Planet 7 Oz Casino Review. Designed originally to appeal to New Zealand players Planet 7 Oz Casino offers up a decent selection of pokies, table games and more from the ever-popular Realtime Gaming (RTG) developer. Planet 7 Casino Review Planet 7 Casino is a member of the Ace revenue Group of casinos and has been in operation since 2008. The casino offers a downloadable casino client as well as browser-based gaming with no software download required. Players at Planet 7 have access to ten of these Network Progressives, and at the time of writing this review, those games had a total of over $2,200,000 in jackpots available to be won. Here is a list of the games that feature a progressive jackpot.
Planet 7 is licensed in Costa Rica, which is to say that they basically do not have anything that legitimate. The licensing procedure in Costa Rica is simply to apply for and receive a Business License. There are not gaming-specific licenses in the country, which is why it has been an attractive jurisdiction for many online operations since the late 1990s.
Enough about their background…let’s get into this review.
The Ugly Stuff
Well, this is probably a good indication of where we are going with our review. Usually we would leave the ugly stuff until the end of the review, but in this case, we feel we have to deal with the negatives right away. It is no secret that Planet 7 and their partner casinos have had their share of negative feedback. In fact, the Virtual Casino group have been called out as scammers for years.
At the heart of this negativity is the problem that Planet 7 have had with slow or no payouts. To us, payouts are the most important part of any casino experience – you pay your money, play your games and then want to withdraw winnings in a timely fashion. It seems that Planet 7 doesn’t agree with the last part of that statement. Several online forums have posts from frustrated players who feel like they have been ripped off by the group. In many cases, players have waited for several months for payouts, and only when taking the issues public did some of them find any solutions.
Let’s get this out of the way right now: WE DO NOT TRUST THIS CASINO. Until they can show the world that they are serious about paying players quickly and without issue, we would not make any deposits on this casino. Having said that, we know everyone has a choice, so we will continue with the review!
The Bad Stuff
As we work towards the positive parts of this review, let’s continue down the road of things we don’t like about Planet 7.
Withdrawal Limits
This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who read the last section. Planet 7 Casino has a very complicated withdrawal process, filled with rules about what you can withdraw from money earned via bonus, maximum cashout limits and more. We are going to highlight one of these tedious rules here – the rules for receiving checks as a cashout. As per the Planet 7 Terms and Conditions page:
- When you receive payment by check, you must deposit said check to a financial institution within 30 days of issue. Any delay could result in the check no longer being valid. In this event the company is not responsible and a reissue of the check payment will not be made.
- Checks must be deposited to your bank account and not cashed.
- Checks may not be endorsed to a third party.
- Under no circumstances should you mention that the checks are related to online
- If any of the above conditions regarding checks are not met, the company will not be held liable; check payments will not be reissued.
So, as you can see, Planet 7 is giving themselves every chance to cancel your withdrawal if you make any error once you receive their checks. Not cool, guys…not cool.
Clearing Bonuses
We hate complicated bonus clearing terms. It’s usually a sign of a casino that doesn’t really care about your loyalty, but more a site that wants you to lose your money before you ever convert bonus dollars into cash.
We would go into detail about the Bonus Terms and Conditions at Planet 7 Casino, but that might break the record for the length of one our reviews. You can see all the different rules on their website, but we’ll summarize a couple of them here:
- In general, the wagering requirements for bonuses are 30x deposit and bonus for slots games, and 60x for “approved table games.”
- Bonuses are not able to be cleared at Planet 7’s Live Dealer games
- If you make a withdrawal request that includes cleared bonus money, the maximum amount that can be requested is half your balance (i.e. to make a $300 withdrawal, you must have at least $600 in your account)
Most of these rules add up to a lot of bullshit. In basic terms, if you want to earn bonus money, be diligent, and plan on making several withdrawal requests to get your money sent to you.
The Good Stuff
Ok, now that we have dumped all over these guys, if you are still reading this review, it must mean you are contemplating playing at Planet 7 Casino. While it could be a risk, there are some decent parts of this casino that we will cover for you here.
Customer Service Options
Well, this one is a bit shocking, even to us and we have seen everything in this industry. Planet 7 Casino boasts of having excellent customer service and is giving its players email, live chat and TOLL-FREE phone options to reach them. This is pretty bold considering all the crap they take for slow playing players, but we assume their position is to get out in front of the complaints before they escalate too far into the mainstream.
On the occasions that claims have made it on a forum site, there appears to be a customer service representative who responds on behalf of Planet 7. In most cases, there are a lot of excuses being thrown around (come on, being “swamped” is no excuse these days) but at least they aren’t going silent. This is most likely the reason that Planet 7 hasn’t been blacklisted by every review site, and is definitely a factor in our ranking of their casino.
Software
We have to give Planet 7 Casino credit here. As a U.S. facing online casino, their options for software suppliers is limited, but they have a relationship with one of the best out there in Real Time Gaming. RTG are one of the original software vendors in the industry, and they have never wavered from their acceptance of players from the United States at their licensees’ brands. With the extensive history in the business, RTG has built an excellent suite of games which we will outline a little further down.
It is somewhat shocking that they would continue to allow questionably-run operators on their platform. Maybe they have some sort of control over these sites which ensures that at the very least they will be paid their royalties; being able to run the casino off at any point should be enough control. One industry insider let us know that the RTG folks have a long-standing relationship with the owners of Virtual Casino Group and they are constantly keeping this group in check and trying their best to make sure casinos like Planet 7 are above board with their players.
Jackpots
One added bonus for being a casino in the RTG network group of operators is that Planet 7 gets access to the Network progressive games. These games are built to take a contribution of each bet and put that towards a progressive jackpot that could be won by any player playing at a casino featuring the game.
Players at Planet 7 have access to ten of these Network Progressives, and at the time of writing this review, those games had a total of over $2,200,000 in jackpots available to be won. Here is a list of the games that feature a progressive jackpot:
- 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
Game Selection
As we told you earlier, Planet 7 Casino uses the Real Time Gaming casino platform, which gives them access to some of the best slots and table games on the market. Let’s break down the offering for you now.
We are always thrilled to find a casino using the RTG slot catalog, as these games are built with gorgeous graphics, and their choice of themes aren’t so convoluted that we freak out while playing the games. The RTG lineup of slots includes well over 100 titles, but we are focusing on the games that have the big jackpots and the best overall graphics and gameplay. Here is a list of the best slots you will find at Planet 7 Casino:
Top Rated Slot Machines
- Aztec’s Treasure
- Aztec’s Treasure ft. Guarantee
- Bonkers
- Caesar’s Empire
- Cleopatra’s Gold
- Coyote Cash
- Diamond Mine Deluxe
- Ghost Ship
- Goldbeard
- Hen House
- Hidden Riches
- High Rollers
- Incan Goddess
- Lucha Libre
- Megasaur
- Orc vs. Elf
- Paydirt!
- Pharaoh’s Gold
- Popinata
- Secret Symbol
- Texan Tycoon
- The Elf Wars
- Triton’s Treasure
- Year of Fortune
Table Games
I personally much prefer table games to the slots, and Planet 7 also features a full suite of options from RTG. Having played their software at many other casinos, I am comfortable with all the table layouts, and I am very impressed with the speed of the games in both the download and instant play casinos. Also, I am a sucker for Pai Gow, and RTG’s version of the game is one of the best on the market. I could sit for hours playing that game, although I am not sure my bankroll would tell me the same!
Planet 7 breaks their table games lobby up into two sections: the standard versions of the table games, as listed below, and Specialty games, where you will find some more exotic versions of your favorite titles. Here’s a full list of the table games available for you at Planet 7:
- Baccarat
- Blackjack
- European Blackjack
- Face Up 21
- Let’em Ride
- Match Play 21
- Pai Gow Poker
- Perfect Pairs
- Pontoon
- Red Dog
- Suit’em Up
- Super 21
- Texas Hold’em Bonus Poker
- Tri-Card Poker
- Vegas Three Card Rummy
- War
Specialty Games
- 5 Diamond Blackjack
- American Roulette
- Bonus Bingo
- Craps
- European Roulette
- European Slot Poker
- French Roulette
- Hot Dice
- Keno
- Lucky 8’s
- Magic 7’s
- Multiplayer Roulette
- Roaring Twenties Bingo
- Sic Bo
- Treasure Tree
Video Poker
Who doesn’t love a good video poker machine, whether it’s at a gas station in Las Vegas, or on the fringes of a big casino (usually bolted into the bar) or in the comfort of your own home? Most people who play video poker have their own favorite version of the game (mine is Bonus Deuces Wild), and Planet 7 does not disappoint when it comes to video poker variants. They currently offer 16 different video poker games which should give even the most experienced player something to cheer about. Here’s a list of all the different video poker variants at Planet 7:
- Aces and Eights
- All American Poker
- Bonus Deuces Wild
- Bonus Poker
- Bonus Poker Deluxe
- Deuces Wild
- Double Bonus Poker
- Double Double Bonus Poker
- Double Double Jackpot Poker
- Double Jackpot Poker
- Jacks or Better
- Joker Poker
- Loose Deuces
- Mystery Bonus Poker
- Pick’em Poker
- Sevens Wild
Promotions
We talked earlier about how difficult it seemed to be to both clear bonuses and to withdraw any winnings earned from bonus dollars, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t a load of bonuses available to choose from at Planet 7 Casino. Let’s review some of our favorites:
Match Bonuses
Rather than promote some ridiculously high welcome bonus that no one ever thinks they are going to clear, Planet 7 has gone the other way, offering its players a bonus on every deposit they make. To give even more choice, they have a separate bonus code for players who play slots or Keno.
The standard deposit bonuses for players are 100% for general deposits or 200% for Slots and Keno players. All the bonuses have the same wagering requirements (remember we talked about those earlier in The Bad Stuff portion of this review). I for one like clear, simple deposit bonuses, regardless of how difficult they may be actually to achieve. Planet 7 Casino couldn’t make it any easier for their players.
Crazy Days daily bonuses
This is the kind of detailed bonus structure that I do enjoy. A casino that takes the time to present a new promotion for every day of the week is one that knows they need to deliver excellent promotions to all their players, but also know that segmenting their database is going to allow them to be more aggressive with their offers.
Planet 7 has a series of daily bonuses that they call Crazy Days, and these bonuses change during the year giving the casino an even fresher feel for loyal customers. Here’s an overview of the current Crazy Days promotions:
Monday Happy Hour: between 5 pm and 7 pm get an extra 50% bonus on your deposit (you must call the casino to receive your extra bonus)
Twofer Tuesdays: Make a deposit of $50 or more, get a 250% bonus, and if you lose all your money before you clear the bonus, you can call the casino and get a 100% refund of your deposit back into your account to try again!
Wednesday Triple Threat: If you have made a deposit on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday then you get a bonus $100 chip to play with after you contact the casino.
Thursday Thriller: Deposit $50 and get $160 in bonus cash, on an unlimited number of deposits on Thursdays.
Friday Freebie: Make a $50 deposit and receive a free entry into their $5000 Paydirt! Slot tournament.
Saturday SpinORama: Make a $50 deposit and get a 290% No Rules Bonus, and 50 free spins on certain slots titles.
Sundays with a Cherry on Top: Come play Sundays and receive a free chip based on the total amount you deposited during the week
As you can see, there is an excellent assortment of different bonuses during the week, with something for everyone. All of these bonuses are designed to create loyalty at a small deposit level, which I think is a perfect way to keep players active and coming back on a daily basis. I hope that Planet 7 continues to come up with great ideas for their Crazy Days promotion.
Accepted Countries
Normally when we do a review of a casino, we simply list the countries that are restricted from creating accounts and playing games. In the case of Planet 7 Casino (and the roster of RTG casinos) it is actually easier to list the locations that ARE allowed. If you live in one of these places, you are good to go:
- ÅLAND ISLANDS
- AMERICAN SAMOA
- ANDORRA
- ANGUILLA
- ANTARCTICA
- ARGENTINA
- ARUBA
- AUSTRALIA
- AUSTRIA
- BAHAMAS
- BARBADOS
- BELGIUM
- BERMUDA
- BONAIRE, SINT EUSTATIUS AND SABA
- BOUVET ISLAND
- CANADA
- CAYMAN ISLANDS
- CHILE
- CHRISTMAS ISLAND
- COOK ISLANDS
- FINLAND
- GERMANY
- GREECE
- GUAM
- ICELAND
- JAPAN
- SOUTH KOREA
- LUXEMBOURG
- MARSHALL ISLANDS
- MARTINIQUE
- MAYOTTE
- MEXICO
- MONACO
- MONTSERRAT
- NETHERLANDS
- NEW CALEDONIA
- NEW ZEALAND
- NIUE
- NORFOLK ISLAND
- NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS
- NORWAY
- PORTUGAL
- PUERTO RICO
- SAN MARI
- SINGAPORE
- SOUTH AFRICA
- SPAIN
- SWEDEN
- SWITZERLAND
- TOKELAU
- UNITED KINGDOM
- UNITED STATES (excluding NY, MD, KY, MO)
- UNITED STATES MI R OUTLYING ISLANDS
- URUGUAY
- VATICAN CITY
- VENEZUELA
- VIRGIN ISLANDS, BRITISH
- VIRGIN ISLANDS, U.S.
Banking
Planet 7 has several banking options for its player, and as it is a casino that accepts play from the United States, this means that they do take direct credit card payments. We have seen that withdrawals (assuming you get one haha) can take up to 15 business days to receive depending on the chosen method. Here’s a list of the deposit and withdrawal methods available at Planet 7 Casino:
Deposits
- Visa
- Mastercard
- American Express
- Bitcoin
- Neteller
- Person to Person (Moneygram/Western Union)
Is Games Planet A Scam
Withdrawals
- Neteller
- Physical check
- Bank Wire
- Bitcoin
Planet 7 Casino also features something called the Players Reward Card, which appears to be a white label 3rd party payment method that can be used only at Virtual Casino Group properties. It can be funded with a regular credit card, but the PRC gives you a unique 16 digit card for “generic cash” which can then be used at these casinos with less chance of being declined. You can find out more details on this card and its benefits here.
Would I Sign Up At Planet 7 Casino?
Well, this is a complicated one for me to answer. My gut tells me that personally, I wouldn’t sign up for an account at Planet 7 Casino right now. Given their history of payout issues and the ties to the Virtual Casino Group ownership, the risk of getting screwed by these guys is currently too much for me to make a deposit. Having said that, if you are willing to take the risk that you may have problems down the road, the casino does offer some great games, and you will be able to access their customer service team 24/7. I am really hopeful that these guys are starting to turn things around with slow payment as I really like the promotions they do offer on a daily basis, and I can see a way that I could try to maximize their offers to create a little bit of an edge in my favor.
So, while I sit on the sidelines not creating an account here, I’d like to ask a favor of our readers. If you choose to play at Planet 7 Casino, please leave us a comment or send us an email with your experiences and we will be sure to update this review page with any information we receive, good or bad. Maybe I’ll see enough positivity that I will let Planet 7 take a gamble with my cash!
This review was made by: LegitGamblingSites.com Rating: 3.9 out of 5
This review was made by: LegitGamblingSites.com Rating: 2.3 out of 5
Designed originally to appeal to New Zealand players Planet 7 Oz Casino offers up a decent selection of pokies, table games and more from the ever-popular Realtime Gaming (RTG) developer. It's not just restricted to Kiwis however, as players from the USA are more than welcome to join up, along with residents across much of Europe, Canada, South America and more..
Alongside the great range of games, there’s some impressive bonus offers, including an outstanding re-deposit offer, happy hours and plenty more to keep bankrolls topped up each and every day.
Pokies
By incorporating the Realtime Gaming range, Planet 7 Oz is able to provide their players with around 140 pokies which can be played on PC’s and mobile devices with no download needed, although there’s an option to download software if that’s preferred. RTG are based in Atlanta and Costa Rica, and their games are without doubt the most common ones featured across online casinos that face the US market. They have proved incredibly popular since the first games were released way back in 1999.
While some of these pokies are still included in the range and seem a little dated now, there’s many more that have been introduced over the years with more advanced graphics and features, but players shouldn’t bypass the classics, as they still have lots to offer, like free spins, multipliers and some pretty spectacular progressive jackpots.
As well as diverse bonus features and payouts, the RTG pokies cover a huge range of themes, so anyone into their dinosaurs will want to spin the reels of Megasuar and T-Rex, while sci-fi fans will certainly be drawn to Nova 7’s or Outta This World. Anyone looking to scoop huge jackpots needs to play the progressive pokies like Seven’s And Stripes, Coyote Cash, or The Three Stooges, where a small percentage of all wagers is put aside for one lucky player to collect when they hit the right symbol combinations. Other major hits from the RTG range that players should check out include the following, but these are just some examples from the collection at Planet 7 Oz Casino –
- Aztec’s Treasure
- Crazy Vegas
- Mayan Queen
- Orc vs Elf
- Year of Fortune
- Texas Tycoon
- Boy Kings Treasure
- Field of Green
- Naughty or Nice
Other Games
Although the list of pokies is pretty extensive, that’s not all on offer at this casino, as there’s a decent selection of other games as well. These range from the most traditional table and card games such as Roulette, Blackjack and Baccarat, through to an impressive collection of video poker titles, and like the pokies, they all come from the reliable and trusted RTG developer.
Sharp graphics and bright colours bring the games to life, and while there’s no live dealer tables, they all still have a realistic look and feel to them, even down to the sound effects. Some examples of the top games include the following:
- American Roulette
- European Roulette
Vegas Three Card Rummy
European Blackjack
Red Dog
Texas Hold’em Bonus Poker
There’s around 16 different video poker games provided, and along with the ever-popular Jacks or Better and Deuces Wild there’s other less well-known variations such as these:
- Loose Deuces
- Mystery Bonus Poker
- Joker Poker
- Seven’s Wild
- Double Double Jackpot Poker
Completing the line-up at Planet 7 Oz Casino, we see a selection of speciality games like Keno, Craps, Sic Bo and Hot Dice.
Bonuses
Although the pokies and other games are found in many online casinos, what sets Planet 7 Oz apart from the crowd is their 100% deposit match bonus offer. This wouldn’t be anything special if it was just for new players on their first payments, but this deal applies every single time customers top up their accounts, and there seems to be no upper limit to how much they can claim.
Planet 7 Oz Casino Bonuses and Promotions
Wagering requirements can be a little steep though, with players needing to turn over 30X the amount on the pokies and 60x on other games before withdrawing any winnings made using bonus funds, but anyone happy to wager the bonus funds exclusively on pokies and Keno can pick up an even better deal and have 200% added to their deposits. High rollers can be offered VIP status, or ask to be awarded it, which brings certain benefits such as a dedicated VIP manager and an even higher deposit offer, with 300% added on each time funds are paid in.
If all that isn’t enough, then how about the Crazy Days promotions that run throughout the week? There’s even more bonuses on top of any listed above, free entry to pokie tournaments, free spins on selected games, bonus chips on a Wednesday and Sunday, plus insurance on deposits made on a Tuesday, cashback and more. It all adds up to an exceptional schedule of promotions, and although there are obviously terms and conditions attached to these, there’s nothing unusual or too restrictive about them.
Is Planet 7 Casino Legit
Software Options
Planet 7 Scam
Planet 7 Oz doesn’t offer any games outside the Realtime Gaming package, but they have most of the bases covered with a range that should be fine for most players. There’s no need to download the software, and most games can be accessed on mobile devices across a wide range of platforms including Android, iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, Windows and Kindles.
Banking Options
Credit and debit cards, online e-wallets and even crypto-currencies can be used to deposit and withdraw funds at Planet 7 Oz Casino. It’s not the widest selection ever seen, but the vast majority of New Zealand based players will have access to at least one of these options.
International players may find the rules are slightly different in their countries, so it’s worth checking what can be used before signing up to a particular provider, or buying your Bitcoins. Deposit options include:
- Visa
- MasterCard
- American Express
- Neteller
- Bitcoin
When it’s time to take out winnings, or to simple withdraw some deposited funds, the following options can be used:
- Neteller
- Bank wire
- Bank checks
- Bitcoins
The Bottom Line
The Realtime Gaming software package can be found across many online casinos, but it’s popular for good reasons, namely the decent variety of games, reliability, ease of access and the fact that punters from around much of the world can legally access them. The real unique point of Planet 7 Oz is the exceptional range of bonuses on each deposit and across every day of the week, which provide their customers with lots more chances to get some wins across much of the range.
Although it isn’t made clear on their website, the casino is fully licensed by the government of Curacao, which is the standard for a site running on RTG software, but perhaps Planet 7 Oz should highlight this fact, as many potential customers could be put off, incorrectly thinking it’s an un-licensed and un-regulated operator.
A quick check with their customer support team confirmed that this license was in place, and they proved to be helpful, knowledgeable and quick to reply when the live chat option was used. They can be contacted 24/7, which is useful for a site that draws in players from around the world, including New Zealand.