Candyland Casino is a place to place your favorite online games like slots for real money from almost any place on earth. Residents in the USA are welcome here, as are players from Canada, the UK, and countries near New Zealand. The minimum age to play is either 18+ or 21+, depending on your local laws.

The Bitcoin-friendly gaming site launched in 2022 and appears to be related to NewVegas, a site launched in 2020. Like the assumed sister site, we don’t find a linked license shield or the name of the operator. The two sites may only share chat support, it’s not clear.

Research has shown anecdotal evidence that both properties are “licensed” in Costa Rica. I’ve been playing at an online gambling house with that distinction for over 20 years and have always been paid. However, it should be noted that there is no such thing at this time as a Costa Rican casino license. The country only issues business licenses including server licensing for international commerce.

Side note: More operations will likely be moving from the Curacao licensing jurisdiction to Costa Rica, Aruba, and other Caribbean nations as well as Seychelles and even Montenegro as the Kingdom of the Netherlands have used the threat of withholding Covid relief from Curacao if they didn’t agree to completely rework their licensing regime which they have. It could take as long as two years for the migration to be complete, but keep your eye out for new gaming sites to either display no license or begin displaying the shields of newly minted regulators.

For now, visitors can expect to find a great selection of more than 600 games for mobile and desktop from top game providers at Candyland such as the following:

• BetSoft
• Rival
• Saucify
• Tom Horn Gaming
• Arrows Edge
• Fugaso
• Fresh Deck Studios
• Dragon Gaming

Players in some locations, such as the USA may be restricted from playing games by Fugaso and Tom Horn Gaming. However, live games like roulette, blackjack, and baccarat are available from the Fresh Deck Studios clearinghouse for players in all allowed countries.

Deposits are quick and easy with Visa, Mastercard, Zelle, or any number of available cryptocurrencies. As long as your favorite isn’t an exotic coin, it is probably accepted - Dogecoin, Ripple, Ethereum, and BTC are among those accepted.

Cashing out can take 1-7 business days depending on the method after documents are approved. When we visited, the minimum deposit and minimum cashout amounts were set at $10.

Bonuses are player-specific but all new customers will find a variety of match offers and maybe even some already-funded spins to get started. Please see above to claim any exclusive bonuses we may have negotiated for our readers. When I visited the cashier there was a range of offers beginning at 250% up to 700% with max cashout terms offered. If you cash in your comp points you can cash out winnings of up to 100x the comps awarded.

Customer service is available around the clock and throughout the year.

With such a young site at the time of this review, it’s difficult to talk about the collective experience of the player community to determine the potential value of joining the site. Since it is not clear that it is owned and operated by the same company that runs NewVegas it wouldn’t be fair to borrow praise or blame from the elder operation's history and reputation.

However, since the likelihood is high that there is a deeper relationship than chat support and possibly marketing, we will spend a measured amount of time exploring the NewVegas standing among the community based on valid complaints filed with mediators and marketing partners.

What we find overall is a mixture of minor and invalid complaints along with a valid one of some weightiness and a plethora of happy players who felt like sharing their experiences after winning or simply enjoying a session.

We’ll start with complaints.

One highly trafficked site has one (player)scam report and the other is from a player who was paid their first win within 24 hours and was expecting all future payments at the same speed. She was paid within 3 days and closed the complaint.

Another well-traveled site had three resolved complaints spanning a little over 2 years. The first was a delay in a small deposit showing up and was resolved when it registered - The next was a complaint by a player who had won a five-digit sum and was not happy with the metered payouts, but contact was made and the issue was resolved. The last one involved a third-party processor delay on a Bitcoin withdrawal for a mid-3-digit sum. It was eventually paid.

Here’s where it gets more difficult. We found another site with complaints about NewVegas. One was a repeat of the last one mentioned but it had a lot more detail. The operator didn’t respond in public but was in the wrong to delay the payment by what we can glean from a one-sided conversation. Another player claimed they were never able to collect on a free chip win and that after a month the operator closed their account. Not knowing the player, even by reputation, we aren’t able to give that complaint any gravity or levity.

I’m loath to include those two issues for two reasons - the first being that I am not 100% certain it is the same operating company - the next is that there was no direct feedback from the operator on either one so we’re left with “if it’s false they would have said so” - and that is not empirical by any stretch. However, since we do find associations via tradecraft that can’t be divulged, the only responsible thing is to make these mentions.

All other things being equal, over two years the assumed sister site seems to have only generated one complaint of any real importance that was settled in the player's favor and one we don’t have enough information on to make a judgment.

In all fairness, especially since there may be some distance between the actual management of Candyland and NewVegas, we’ll take a look at some of the glowing praise we find for both sites to provide balance and complete transparency.

Players in the US have mentioned that they like Candyland and noted that they got free spins after registering an account. They also mentioned the variety and diversity of games including Rival and Saucify.

Comments favorable to the sister site include some that are simply too “gushy” to distill objectively, and these, from veteran forum posters of 7 years or more who seem to shoot straight and call out a site if they feel it isn’t performing properly.

In aggregate most players were happy with a one-day payout on their first win, while others mentioned that document verification took longer than expected. Grumbles about free chips having a max cashout of $100 were common among lucky players who got to gamble with house money.

Some players mentioned that any bonus that appears under your promotion tab is yours for the taking and reported that the same offer remained even after already claiming it and cashing a 4-digit sum.

Quite a few players mentioned how they liked the ‘layout’ as well as the great support. A recurring theme was a desire for faster Bitcoin payouts. A player in the USA mentioned fast payouts and great customer service (another recurring theme), while a Brit decided it was an illegal site without a license - which is a fair call as it is not whitelisted by the UKGC and does accept players from Great Britain.

A player in New Zealand enjoyed the game selection and immediate responses from the live chat as well as familiar and comfortable banking methods. Players in the USA and other countries weren’t too excited about the bonuses having max cashout terms, but some were happy to take the bonuses anyway because of the high match percentages and relatively low wagering requirements.

A player in America and another in Russia mentioned that they had won large amounts of money and would report back if they ran into any problems. Both posts were over a year old and there were no follow-ups.

Well, there you have the background research! From here, we’ll take a closer look at the software and games, dig deep into the bonus terms and conditions and give you an overall view of the value of the deposit incentives and any free chips. In a section on banking and customer service, we’ll examine their stated payout times and revisit the actual time it takes as reported by players.

At that point we should have a good grasp on any potential pitfalls players may need to look out for and then we’ll wrap it up with a final word or two on all we’ve learned. Please feel free to skip around or just hit the highlights or whatever you want to do. You have our full attention.

Software and Games

The site is built on a fresh new modified version of the Rival Powered platform. The soft pastels give way to more vibrant shades that “do purple” well without being garish or “in your face”. One word to describe the interface would be “smooth”.

It’s also far more intuitive and well organized than the legacy Rival instant play platform was.

Navigation and options

Developers have conformed to a modern layout with easy-to-recognize categories that are labeled and have familiar icons. On the first visit, it might take a second to locate the Game Search input field in the upper left screen - to realize the ‘down caret’ to the far right will open a dropdown menu usually found under a hamburger (3 horizontal lines) menu. Who looks for a hamburger in a candy shop anyway?

The lobby navigation menu is always accessible and contains divisions as follows:

• New Games
• Popular Games
• Slot Games
• Live Dealer
• Table Games
• Poker
• Jackpot Slots
• Casual Games
• All Games

As the site ages, the New Games section will contain more and more new releases. Upon launch, the headline titles were the freshest and newest, but not too far down the page slots you recognize will appear for now.

When we visited, Dragon Gaming’s IScream was the top dog followed by Rival’s Vintage Vegas - always a fun game with a retro take on Sin City’s Neon lights, showgirls, mobsters, and even sleazy lounge singers. Pack in super wild multipliers on up to 60 free spins in the bonus and it’s easy to see why this classic still occupies an upper berth among player favorites.

Betsoft games like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Fruit Zen, and Dragon Kings occupied the rest of the top tier followed by a couple of Rival titles and then Saucify’s 7-Chakras.

Tap or hover your mouse over any of the game icons to bring up the choice to play or find more info.

Choosing “Info” will bring up a screen with a description of the game including the layout (5x3 etc.) line count, and an explanation of the game's features. If you are logged in you can rate the game with 1-5 stars or even write your own review of the game to help other players in the future. When you’ve seen enough you can either hit the new “Play Now” button or use your browser’s back function to return to the lobby you entered from.

Slot Games is a category with filtering options. You can filter by popularity, choose only video slots or only 3-reel games, or choose to see only jackpot slots. Some of the jackpot games display the progressive prize amount, but the Betsoft and Tom Horn jackpots can only be seen by entering the game. Lastly, from this page, you can also choose to only see games from a specific provider such as Arrow’s Edge, Betsoft, etc.

Unfortunately, no sorting facility is provided so viewing games by a certain provider will always be sorted alphabetically ascending A-Z.

Live dealer games

Clicking on Live Dealer brings up a portal page with a lone dealer ready for you at a single table - don’t let that scare you off. Under that picture is a button to “Play Game”. Activating the button will bring up a dialog explaining that the live dealer games will open in a new window (tab). From there you will choose a Username/Alias and enter the Fresh Deck Studios live gaming space.

Your regular cashier account (balance) is securely linked to the suite and there’s no need to cash in or cash out from the live dealer studios - your regular finds are simply available wherever you go in Candyland.

The Fresh Deck lobby allows you to view all games or filter by game type. The game types are blackjack, roulette, and baccarat. Table limits range from $0.50 roulette to $1-$1500 a hand baccarat, $10,000 per hand blackjack, and roulette capped at $15,000 per spin.

While Fresh Deck is a newer provider you’ll find the same games and professionalism here as you would in any Vivo Gaming or LuckyStreak lobby. Hallmarks of the Fresh Deck experience include engaging dealers against an atmospheric professional backdrop, a user interface rich in features without being cluttered, full-screen HD video, and crisp clear audio without buffering or caching lag.

RNG table games

There isn’t a lot on offer in this category but it will satisfy some appetites. Look for blackjack, Card Clash (war), and Let it Ride Poker. Whereas the next category “Poker” offers 6 Rival video poker paytables from 10s and Jacks or Better Double Double Joker Poker.

Bonuses and Promotions

Since this is a modified/evolved Rival platform, bonuses are tailored to individual players. You’ll find directions to this part of the cashier (which now appears separately) under the down caret menu prompt in the upper right corner of the screen.

Please be sure to claim a bonus before depositing because it’s not likely that customer service can add it for you after depositing.

Be sure to check the terms for any disqualified or differently weighted games. We found Dragon Games to only count 10% toward wagering making the 35x (deposit+bonus) playthrough become 350x in reality - unheard of and certainly out of whack with RTP and volatility or smart players would simply deposit bonus free and turn the Dragon Games filtered page into their own personal ATM.

Blackjack counts 1/25 with some bonuses but that is not out of line due to the game's high churn and low margins.

All of the offers in my account had max cashout provisions ranging from 10x and 15x deposit on 250% bonuses down to 3 times the deposit for a 700% bonus on deposits between $70 and $450. With an odd range such as that you know they have run the offer through a risk/cost/benefit analysis with half a dozen fine-toothed combs somewhere in the works.

Depositing $450 would create a bankroll of $3600 and a max cashout of $1350 after a playthrough of about an eighth of a million dollars, making this offer more about extended playtime than profit potential.

My pick would be for the CandyMatch at 250% on deposits of $50 to $2500 being fully aware that Qora, Tom Horn, and Dragon slots only count ⅕ toward wagering, and Arrows Edge slots count 1/10. That would leave me with blackjack at 1/10, Ride ‘Em Poker at ⅕ as well as Betsoft, Rival, and Saucify slots fully weighting with each dollar bet deducting a dollar from the wagering requirements.

The max cashout on CandyMatch is 15x deposit. This is the best bonus I was offered. Your mileage may vary.

Jackpot slots cannot be played with a bonus.

While it may be worth the risk (I’m not saying it is or not) for the entertainment-focused player to take this offer for decently extended playtime and a chance at a nice enough cashout, I would not do it for the maximum bankroll of $8,750 due to the following term and experience of it happening mid gameplay in the past: “The following games and any variants may have different table limits while this promotion is active:” and it covers pretty much all games.

There is a max bet cap of $10 written into the bonus terms. However, they can, and do lower your bet limits if it starts to look like you are on a streak - expect your $10 or $8 a hand blackjack bets to drop to $5 or even $2 if the algorithm tells the manager you are about to cost them money. As far as anyone outside Rival or the operators knows, the AI can ratchet your bet limits itself with no human intervention.

If I am going to pitch $2500 into the ring in hopes of pulling out $37,500 or even $250 in hopes of cashing out $3750, I want to know before sitting down to play just how long I might need to be sitting before I can cash out. The max bankroll of $8,750 requires at least $306,250 in playthrough and that is if I stick to slots weighted 100%. Arrows Edge slots would require over $3m in playthrough. I think the most I would deposit with this offer would be $200. Algorithm be darned, I could sit that out no matter how low the stakes went.

Be sure to look for an introductory free chip if you aren’t familiar with some of the games on offer here. It’s a great mix in my estimation and the max cashout on free chips is relatively generous.

Banking and Customer Service

Candyland offers a variety of deposit and withdrawal options including eWallet, credit cards, and a variety of cryptos like BTC, ETH, Dogecoin, and more. All deposits have to be wagered at least once in order to cash out.

The minimum deposit is currently low as is the minimum withdrawal at €/$10. However, the weekly withdrawal limit is relatively low at $2,000.

Document verification in accordance with money laundering laws is required for all withdrawals and includes a selfie holding a government-issued ID at a minimum. Some players will be asked to do a video conference call for identity verification but that shouldn't affect many new users, especially in the US.

Withdrawals to Zelle and credit cards (Visa Mastercard) need a utility bill and a recent bank statement, and credit card withdrawals require a copy of the card with the last 4 digits visible.

The finance department aims to authorize all withdrawals from verified accounts within 48 hours so with processing time included players should see withdrawals within 1 to 7 business days.

We don't find many specific banking terms for high rollers, but those are usually negotiated in private anyway. One mention is that of faster than 24-hour processing for VIPs.

We also find this term: "...global weekly withdrawal limits tend to start at $2,000 per request and rise dramatically from there based on available withdrawal methods and account status."

Players who deposit without a bonus can kick up the $2000 withdrawal limit to $10,000, making that option highly competitive, especially for most of the markets served.

The use of a VPN or other masking tech can cost your entire balance. The minimum age to deposit and play is 18+ or 21+ depending on your local laws.

Since it is a Rival-platformed operation you can be bonus banned for taking advantage of no deposit bonuses across the platform, or lose your winnings if you have tried to defraud another Rival operator.

Sweet Spot: Comp points are a function of the cashier system and are redeemable instantly. The max cashout from comp points is 100x the value redeemed.

Customer service is stated as being available 24/7. However, no telephone support is listed as available.

Pitfalls

• No license listed
• No telephone support
• Limited banking options (credit card/Zelle/cryptos)
• No loyalty scheme (comps redeemed in cashier)
• Relatively low starting withdrawal limit ($2,000 weekly)

The Final Word

Candyland looks like a soothing place to play mellow mid-volatility and low-volatility games. The bonus rules and banking limits also seem to favor the gambler out for a good time with the hope of an occasional jackpot. The bonus scheme is very generous for extended playtime and the possibility of a larger cashout.

Players who prefer higher-risk/higher-reward games will probably not want to use deposit bonuses because cash players can withdraw up to 5x more per week than bonus players. I'd personally stay away from the jackpot games here myself as they seem, by the terms, to not be exempt from the weekly cashout limits. While watching $10,000 magically appear in my bank account every week would be wonderful, if I won a million dollars I wouldn't necessarily want to wait 2 years for the final payment.

The bonus scheme is all over the place and includes some nonsensical restrictions such as Dragon Gaming slots only counting 10% toward wagering requirements. That said, each bonus you are offered in the promotions area has all of those types of terms spelled out clearly so it's easy enough to shop for the type of bonus you want.

I do like the personally crafted bonuses and am more likely to take a 50% match now and then with a low playthrough and a high limit or no max cashout. But some days I might just want to play and could be tempted by a huge percentage match with a lower cashout.

While not exactly "cash back" I do like the comp points being instantly redeemable and the ability to cash out up to 100x the redemption - that's almost like real cash back.

The game variety is unique to some Rival operators and it's a good mix. There's a lot of variety for players that might feel they are in a rut with RTG slots and who want to play in live dealer streams. The Rival single-hand blackjack rules are generous and some of the video poker titles offer great payables.