Online and now, to an increasing extent, mobile casinos, eliminate the need anymore to travel anywhere to play your favourite games. You can access them on your computer at home, on another computer, if more convenient, and even on your cell phone in the doctor’s office, on a bus, in a restaurant, or wherever you happen to be. The only thing that might be missing in many of these casinos, aside from the social comraderies you get in real casino is the sense of adventure. Particularly if you are visiting a casino for the first time or one that is a long way from home, getting to your destination and seeing what surprises await you there contribute to the exhilarating experience almost as much as the games themselves.

This comprehensive, brand new for 2024 River Belle Casino review will tell you all about an online casino that is as exciting to play at as a real casino. It even has live dealer games.

River Belle Casino Australia, an interesting juxtaposition of old and brand new, is not only noticeably different from the average casino online in that you won’t feel at all confined playing there; to any frustrated player seeking a change for the better, it will feel like a breath of fresh air. Pretend you were off on a vacation right now to some exotic destination. Can you think of any more pleasurable and relaxing way to spend your time than to take a leisurely gambling cruise on a luxurious riverboat? Assuming your work or family responsibilities won’t let you get away right now, how about a River Belle Casino virtual cruise instead?

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Why Choose River Belle Casino?

Every online casino has to start out at some point as a brand new venture, and hopefully work out the kinks and improve with time. However, instead of risking your hard-earned money on a casino that is still at that stage, a much smarter course of action is to go with a casino that has already stood the test of time and proven itself. River Belle is such a casino. There is no way it would still be in business for as long as it has, especially with all the competition from other casinos, if its customers did not feel they were getting a fair deal.

Over the nearly two decades that the River Belle Casino online has been operating, it has maintained an exemplary record and has garnered consistently favourable reactions from players and professional reviewers alike. River Belle Australia is owned and operated by Digimedia and licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority. Both of these names might already be familiar to you since they are associated with multiple other highly regarded online casinos as well. River Belle Casino is also a founding member of the Interactive Council.

Another strong indication of the trustworthiness of River Belle Casino is its certification by eCogra. The eCogra seal of approval is only given to those casinos that meet the highest standards for integrity, safety, fairness of games, and prompt payment. The random number generators (RNGs) used by River Belle Casino have been reported by eCogra to be fair and random and, every month, players receive even more assurance with a newly updated report of the average game payouts. The findings are published on the website, so you can check them anytime, just as we did when preparing this River Belle Online Casino Review and found the latest average payouts for all games combined to be 95.87%.

Play for Free or for Real Money

At River Belle Casino, there is no pressure, and if you feel more comfortable testing the waters first, playing a game for free, before putting up real money, that is your prerogative. However, real money players have nothing to worry about either because the combination of the latest encryption technology and the casino’s partnership with Datacash, Ltd. means that every account is fully protected. Players also have the option to review their onsite game play and financial activity, and to control their spending by establishing deposit limits. More good news is that at River Belle, unlike many online casinos, when you request a withdrawal, you are never kept waiting and wondering. While the amount of time until you receive your money varies with the method, in general, withdrawals are super fast, with an average payout time of 48 hours or less.

Hundreds of Great Games and Three Great Ways to Play Them

When River Belle Casino was launched, back in 1997, it might not have had a choice in the all-important task of selecting an online gambling software provider. If there were any other reputable companies in the business besides Microgaming, it still would have made perfect sense to go with the oldest and the best. Microgaming has been around even longer than River Belle (since 1994), but today, even in a crowded field of many online gambling software companies, it has maintained its frontrunner position as the biggest and one of the finest. It has done that by continually updating and improving its software in accordance with the latest technological knowhow and by creating new games with advanced customisable features that make them highly entertaining. It is no surprise that River Belle Casino has continued to rely on Microgaming exclusively to power all of its games, not only for its casino online, but for its mobile casino as well.

Not the Most Colourful Casino Online

The riverboat theme is a great one for an online casino. It makes you want to hop aboard for the ride immediately. But why black of all colours was chosen for the site’s background is a mystery. A colourful website, really playing up the riverboat theme to the hilt, would be so much more inviting.

Be that as it may, décor is only a small part of what distinguishes an excellent casino from a mediocre one, and in many respects, this detailed River Belle Casino Review shows it to be an excellent casino.

Three Convenient Ways to Play

There is not a trace of 1997 software at River Belle Casino, as proven by the fact that at River Belle, like at most modern online casinos, you can access the games in your choice of any of three convenient ways. Regardless of which type of play or combination you prefer, you are entitled to the same generous Welcome Bonus when you sign up and later, if you play regularly, to the casino’s loyalty rewards and promotions. Here are your three convenient ways of playing:

A Mobile Casino Built for Today

As long as you are probably carrying around a cell phone or tablet or anyway, instead of getting more impatient by the minute every time you find yourself waiting around with nothing to do, here is another idea. Put that extra time to good use and, hopefully, pick up some extra cash, too, playing your favourite pokies and other casino games. At many mobile casinos, unless you have the specific device called for, benefiting from this suggestion may be a lot easier said than done, but as a River Belle mobile player, you should not have a problem. Instead of spending a lot of time searching for the specific app you hope will work on your device, you can get to the games of your choice instantly. River Belle mobile games are playable on virtually every device currently on the market. In other words, you can play on your iPhone, iPad, Android, Blackberry, or Window device, or any other major device.

It is not clear from the website how many of the River Belle games have been adapted for mobile play or whether the type of smartphone or tablet you own makes a difference in which games you can access. More detailed information would be helpful. Instead, the casino puts the responsibility in your hands to make this determination. Before installing any game on your device, you are advised to double check that it meets the game’s minimum system requirements for it to run properly. Also keeping in mind that the mobile games are pared down versions of similar games online, some features might be slightly different from what you are accustomed to in your online play. If you have any questions or encounter any difficulties, Customer Support is available to assist you 24/7.

Just as River Belle Casino is continually adding more games to its vast online collection, it is doing the same with its mobile casino. At the present time, the available games include some of the casino’s most popular pokies like Break da Bank, Tomb Raider and Thunderstruck, just to name a few, along with the progressive jackpot pokies Major Millions and Mega Moolah. In addition to pokies, various other games are offered as well, including blackjack, roulette, Jacks or Better, Dragon’s Fortune, and Royal Derby. Speaking of Mega Moolah, one River Belle player won one of the biggest jackpots of all time, €6.3 million, playing that game on his mobile. We all dream at times of our ship coming in, but at River Belle Casino, the highly improbable can and does happen!

Online Games

The online games are where River Belle Casino really shines. No riverboat with a casino probably offers anywhere close to the 400+ games at River Belle, and even some land-based casinos pale by comparison. More importantly, with Microgaming the sole provider for all of the games, as much attention is paid to the quality as to the quantity.

By quality we are referring not only to the fairness of the games, which is a must, but also to the inescapable reality that they are highly entertaining. River Belle Casino is a fun place to play.

It is also a place where being bored is inconceivable. At River Belle Casino, there is more than enough variety to suit any player. In fact, with so many fine games available, deciding what to play first won’t be easy. The good news is that there is not a bad game in the bunch, so it is highly unlikely you will be disappointed. However, as already mentioned, if it makes you more comfortable and if you are not sure if you want to want to play a particular game for real money, the casino won’t mind if you start with play money. You can do this with multiple games, if you wish, then continue playing for real money only the games you like best. This option is available to you with all games except the live dealer and progressive jackpot games.

Pokies

Pokies are No. 1 with Australian casino players, and they are the number game at River Belle Casino, too. More than half of this casino’s games are pokie machines, but since dedicated pokies fans can never have too many of these games, the River Belle collection keeps growing even larger as every month Microgaming introduces some of its newest creations.

If you playing pokies back in 1997 when River Belle Casino first opened, you may recall that the games were much simpler then with nowhere near as many options as are available today. Those who like the simple classic 3-reel games can still play them. But for those of you who are seeking a more exciting game, River Belle Casino caters to you, too. Your other choices include fruit machines (patterned after those in the UK pubs but updated for today’s players), video pokies (an Aussie favourite), MegaSpin pokies (if you can handle more than one game at a time) and progressive pokies, where the top jackpots reach the stratosphere.

Video and Progressive Jackpot Pokies

The video pokies, which are by far the biggest category, are where you get to experience first-hand some of the latest capabilities of 21st century cutting edge technology. These games bear little resemblance to the slots of 20 years ago. The graphics, sounds, and animations are nothing short of superior, but that is just the beginning. These machines are loaded with all kinds of extra features like expanding wild symbols, multipliers, and highly interactive bonus games that not only give you many more ways to win, but make playing so much fun, it is hard to stop. Some of the games that are especially popular with River Belle players are Tomb Raider, The Dark Knight, Hitman, Hellboy, and Thunderstruck 2. But even though playing these and other familiar favourites never gets old, another exciting option you have at River Belle Casino is to try some new games that you haven’t played before.

At River Belle Casino, another fun option for video pokies fans is to see how you fare in the free pokie tournaments that this casino offers weekly. You can select either a scheduled tournament or a Sit ‘n’ Go. Winners can choose either cash credits to their account or a free entry into a bigger tournament with a chance to win a lot more. See the website for additional information.

Or take a shot at a progressive jackpot. While winning a mega-size jackpot is a longshot, as mentioned in the mobile section of this River Belle Casino review, it has been done, so it is bound to happen again. The reason why these jackpots are so ginormous is that River Belle participates in the Microgaming multi-casino shared jackpot network. Will you be the next winner of LotsaLoot, Tunzamunni, Major Millions, or Mega Moolah? Only one way to find out!

Other Games

Even if pokies are your favourite casino game, as they are for many Australian players, part of the appeal of a big online casino like River Belle is that you are not limited to one type of gambling. You can also experience the fun and excitement of some of the casino’s many other games like video poker, blackjack, roulette, and craps. Or try your hand at another game you might rarely play or have never played like baccarat, table poker, Sic Bo, Red Dog, Casino War, keno, and scratch cards.

If you have had the opportunity to travel to different casinos in Europe, Las Vegas, and other parts of the world, you may have come across different versions of the game like Classic Blackjack, or European, Atlantic City, or Vegas Strip Blackjack, but never all in the same place. However, River Belle Casino offers all of these blackjack variations and many more. Blackjack tournaments with guaranteed prizes provide more opportunities to win. As with the slot tournaments, you have a choice of daily freerolls and regularly scheduled qualify or buy-in tournaments and Sit ‘N’ Gos.

Live Dealer Games

Throughout this online casino review, we have conveying how in many ways this innovative site combines much of what you love about playing in a real casino with the undeniable convenience of playing online or on your mobile device. But the one way more than any other that River Belle bridges the gap between online gambling and playing in a real casino is with its live dealer games. Through state-of-the-art video streaming technology, even though you are playing on your desktop or laptop, possibly miles away from any brick and mortar casino, you feel like you are right there.

Taking your virtual seat at a live dealer blackjack, roulette, or baccarat table at River Belle Casino is like playing the same game at a real casino. You not only get a close up view in real time of the wheel in motion or every card as it is being dealt out, but you can carry on a conversation with the dealer and other players, just like in a regular casino. Another way these games are more like the games in a real casino than other online games is that all bets must be made in real money.

Bonuses and Promotions

Unless you are brand new to online casino gambling you are probably familiar with the practise of most online casinos nowadays to offer first time customers a Welcome Bonus as an incentive for joining. River Belle is no exception, and since it is a generous one, up to AU$800, even high rollers won’t be disappointed.

Unlike some sign-up bonuses which are given out in full with the first deposit, this one is spread out over your first three deposits. This is how the three-part River Belle Welcome Bonus works.

• First deposit: 100% match bonus up to AU$200 on a deposit of AU$200 or more
• Second deposit: 25% match bonus up to AU$250 on a deposit of AU$1,000 or more
• Third deposit: 50% match bonus up to AU$350 on a deposit of AUD$700 or more

Playthrough requirement for withdrawal:50x bonus

Pokies (including progressives), keno, and scratch cards all count 100%. The only other permitted games are blackjack and video poker. However, most varieties of these games only count 10%, and classic blackjack and All Aces video poker only count 2%. Because these other games contribute so negligibly, for all intents and purposes, this bonus is best treated as one for pokies only.

All three deposits must be made within 7 days of registering.

Minimum deposit: $10

Maximum time to clear bonus: 2 months

Only you can decide whether you can afford the maximum bonus and the sizeable deposits ($1,900 or more in one week) and hefty wagering requirement ($40,000) associated with it, or if you should deposit less and take a smaller bonus. The minimum deposit is only $10. If you were to deposit the minimum each time instead of the maximum, your total bonus would amount to $17.50 and your total wagering requirement would be $875.

While the 50x playthrough requirement (which is common at Microgaming casinos) is high, the two months you are given to complete it is very reasonable. The likelihood that you will temporarily have to limit yourself to playing pokies only (until the bonus is cleared) should not be a problem if these are some of your favourite games anyway. Besides, if you are really lucky, you might even win a progressive jackpot! In any case, as soon as all of the required wagering is completed, you are free to withdraw your deposit, bonus, and all of your winnings.

• Kjartan L
  Sports Bet
  $10,116
• Daniel S
  Premier Multi Hand...
  $11,291
• Linda J
  Thunderstruck II
  $11,041
• Ruben K
  Sports Bet
  $21,873

Loyalty Program

Assuming your first River Belle experience is even more enjoyable than you expected, and we can’t imagine why it wouldn’t be, this is a casino you will want to come back to often. If you do, you will happily discover that player appreciation doesn’t stop with the Welcome Bonus at all, but continues every time you visit. Every time you play for real money, you earn loyalty points, and as soon as you accumulate at least 200 (or any multiple thereof), they are exchangeable for free credits to your account. Depending on the game, every $10 you wager is worth anywhere from 1 to 3 points. Every 200 points is ultimately worth 1 casino credit ($1).

Games Worth 3 Points for Each $10 Wagered

• Traditional pokies
• Keno
• Scratch cards
• Sic Bo

Games Worth 2 Points for Each $10 Wagered

• Video and progressive pokies
• Roulette
• Pai Gow
• Casino War

Games Worth 1 Point for Each $10 Wagered

• Video poker
• Blackjack
• Craps
• Baccarat
• Red Dog

Accordingly, you will receive $1 in free play each time you give the casino anywhere from $667 to $2,000 in action. While getting this reward back in cash with no additional play required would be better, the nice feature about the program is that your points never expire, so you are under no pressure to earn them quickly. As long as you have enough, you can redeem them no matter how long it takes.

In addition, some players may qualify for weekend percentage match bonuses. (The website is not specific about what you need to do to qualify or exactly how this benefit works.) Everyone can participate in the casino’s special themed monthly promotions with the chance of possibly walking away with a nice prize. Prizes vary and include everything from bonus credits, loyalty points, and free spins to invitations to off-line events or real cash.

What would make the loyalty program better

At the beginning of this River Belle online casino review we indicated our ratings for this casino in 10 different categories. In the Bonus and Promotions category, we gave a rating of 8. One reason we could not give a higher rating was the apparent lack of either a tiered loyalty rewards program or a special VIP program for top players. Tiered loyalty programs are very popular, particularly with a casino’s more frequent players, for the simple reason that the higher their tier, the bigger and better their rewards.

We have done enough online casino reviews to know that some casinos are much more high roller friendly than others. Most high rollers should be very happy with an AU$800 Welcome Bonus (and not mind depositing $1,900 and giving the casino $40,000 in action to get it), so in that respect River Belle looks like a good fit. However, for anyone who keeps playing regularly at that level (or higher), it is not unreasonable to expect that the substantial rewards will continue and certainly be a lot more generous than just casino credits and percentage deposit match offers. If that is all that is forthcoming at River Belle, high stakes players cannot be blamed for wanting to look elsewhere. There are other online casinos that treat their premium players like royalty.

24/7 Customer Support

Customer Support is available 24/7 via live chat or phone to assist players with any questions or concerns . For your added convenience, the service is offered in multiple languages. Live chat and phone support are a lot faster than email, where you have to wait for a reply, but for those customers who like the email option, it should be noted that no address for email support is given on the website, so that option might not be available.

For a Great Casino Online, Pick River Belle Casino

No online casino is perfect, and in various sections of this River Belle review we have indeed pointed out certain ways that this particular casino could be better. But when you weigh the hits and misses together, the many features that make this casino a great place to play clearly stand out. How could you not be impressed that an online casino that was established 20 years ago is not only still operating but a big hit with discerning gamblers from all corners of the globe? How could you not be impressed with an online casino that clearly wasn’t created yesterday but is as 21st century ready as the newest casinos on the Internet? If you are looking for a safe and fair casino where you can play your favourite pokies and other casino games to your heart’s content in a relaxed and fun and utterly non-intimidating atmosphere, you should sign up with River Belle today.