Casino Mania is an online Italian casino licensed by the Customs and Monopoly Agency (ADM). The site was launched by Ludas Cristaltec in May 2021 after coming to an agreement with the Gauselmann Group to rebrand the former Merker-win.it website.

The original site debuted in 2008 and saw Merkur become one of the first companies to earn a license in the Italian online gaming market.

The site, along with terms and conditions as well as support are all delivered in the Italian language for Italian players. Visitors who have attained the age of 18 or more years with an Italian fiscal code card are welcome to register.

The gaming is site is designed and produced by Cristaltec and marks the company's entry into the online marketplace.

The operators have been developing custom gaming solutions since their first high-end cabinets were introduced in 2004. By 2008 they were undisputed leaders in the Italian AWP market and began to service the Spanish markets from their base in Portugal as well.

Now the operators not only provide their own advanced remote game server architecture to the online market, they also develop and provide games.

We still find the Merkur name on the website, and Cristaltec continues to develop games for the terrestrial market. As locally popular games are made ready and released for smartphone casino players and desktop users in Italy, new titles are also being created for online players as well.

Play here should be 100% friction and hassle-free since the site is certified by the AAMS (Autonomous Administration of State Monopolies) along with all of its games including live dealer streams.

Visitors will find the game selection headed up by familiar Cristaltec games as well as homegrown favorites from Cape Cod and Tuko along with widely popular European best-loved games from top producers like Microgaming, NetEnt, and of course, Merkur.

In sum, there are at least thirty game providers supplying upwards of 2,000 titles at any given moment. Live dealer streams are open around the clock as well.

The site offers a lot more than simply casino games though, it's a full-service betting venue catering to nearly every gambling desire with sports betting (website, mobile website, or dedicated app) and poker (download client and instant play on the People's Poker Network).

Look under the "Other Games" tab to find card games, horseracing, virtual racing, and other 3D-animated sports games.

Promotions are ongoing and include a welcome bonus that you have up to 90 days to unlock all parts of with 10% given upfront for all games. Many of the offers are based on a cash-back scheme, but weekly, monthly and seasonal promotions are also offered.

Banking is made as convenient as possible with up to half a dozen options. PayPal is the quickest and most convenient deposit/withdrawal option for many players.

Since the state monopolies have approved all aspects of banking and gaming here, there's no reason to worry about the mechanical aspects, or anything else except, perhaps, bonus rules - and we'll cover those further along in our review.

The operator's integrity and honor are assured.

Software and Games

The site is simple to navigate, even for someone who has never deposited and played online before. All of the relevant sections are well-marked and most have in-depth explanations or descriptions.

For those who are interested in more than casino games it only takes a click or two to segregate yourself in a world of sports or virtual games. Poker players can "play now" as well, but most prefer the download client.

You can use an app for sports betting or playing slots on your phone but you don't need to - it's simply provided as a convenience for those that prefer.

All games and sports are available in your web browser - whether you visit on a desktop with a wall projector, a Mac or laptop, or prefer mobile devices such as tablets or your personal phone.

We'll review the browser version as it is designed to respond to whatever device you are using.

Sports bettors and casino players who prefer a mobile app and poker players who choose the download client will find simple step-by-step directions on the venue website.

The gaming sections found on the main page include the following:

• Casino - Slots, etc.
• Live Casino - Roulette, blackjack, punto banco, etc.
• Poker - People's Poker Network Microgame
• Other Games - Cards, National horse, & virtual sports
• Betting - Sports
• Megaways Slots - Feature games
• Mobile Apps - Android & iOS (casino/sports)

Within the same menu area, you will also find buttons for Home, Promotions, and Blog.

Casino

If this is where you have ventured, you can simply scan the games to find one that calls to you - or - refine your search further by choosing one of the following: Latest releases, More popular, Roulette, Blackjack, Table games, Jackpot, Live games, Bar Slot, Slot Machine, All Games.

Without going into so much detail that we risk losing the elegance of the simplicity of the game filtering and sorting here, we will mention that choosing a game type, such as slots, you will then see a list of game providers in that category as well as a selection of titles that correspond to your choice.

The default view is one of medium-sized game icons, but you will also find a yellow and white switch on the right side of the page that will convert the display into a list or lists depending on your screen display size.

In list view you will also be presented with three icons; Real Money, Fun Play, and Info. Unfortunately, not much information is available from the main screen so you'll have to open the game in most cases to see paytables and the theoretical return to player percentage (RTP).

Slots

Some of the games, such as those provided by Cristaltec, allow an option to change language within the game so all elements are in Italian or in English.

As of review time, we find three titles of the seven released so far by Cristaltec. These include :

• Egyptian Hen*
• Ghost Castle*
• Genius*

• Diamond 7
• Arizona
• Gallina Degitto
• Vampire

Games from the company labeled as "coming soon" included: Classic Blackout, Big Dragon, Monster Club, Raven, Billy the Kid, London, and The Magic Illusion.

Live games

Evolution Gaming provides live dealer feeds here with some tables available in the native language.

Whether you prefer low or high-stakes on classic tables, prefer social games with others, or want to play some of the big-money game show titles, the live games suite has everything covered.

Roulette, blackjack, craps, baccarat, poker, and Sic Bo all provide real-time gaming opportunities here.

We find a total count of 45 table games and interactive game show titles. Money wheels like Dream Catcher and Crazy Time have special rules that can make the games much more profitable than their land casino counterparts.

Deal or No Deal Live, Mega Ball, and Monopoly Live offer increased entertainment value as well as extra gambling options.

Poker

Look for freeroll tournaments with cash prizes to boost your bankroll without risking your own money.

Cash games, tournaments, and sit'n goes for Texas Hold'em, Omaha, and Omaha Hi-Low.

Players will find over 100 events every day. Over half a million euros are distributed as prizes every month across the network.

Poker Platform Features:

• Easy to use, safe and reliable Software
• Wide player base
• Gaming schedule customized for Italy with cash games and around the clock tournaments
• Guaranteed rich prize pools

Other Games

Card games, national horse racing, and Virtual sports

Cards

There are currently 19 different real money card games including Italian Broom, Rummy, Solitaire, Scopone, Trassette, and many more.

Briscola Premio Matto from Gioca Online is just one of the games. All titles have demo play mode enabled and many offer a tutorial so you can be sure ot know the rules before you start to play. Tips and tricks are sometimes provided.

More games...

• Five-Card Poker 
• Burraco
• Scale 40
• Trump
• Cirulla
• Peppa
• Beast
• Ace Takes All

When enough players are logged in "crazy prize" random jackpots are created for special versions of the following games:

• Tresette Matto Award
• Scala Quaranta Premio Matto
• Burraco Premio Matto
• Briscola Premio Matto
• Broom Premio Matto

You won't have to wait for friends to get together in order to play your favorite games. Now you can use a desktop computer or your mobile phone to execute your favorite strategy and reasoning and beat the luck now and then.

All of the games from this Italian provider are certified by the AAMS and statistics are checked from time to time to make sure nothing has changed since the original or subsequent audit.

The cards are dealt with the help of a random number generator (RNG) that acts as a virtual shuffler - except the results are akin to it shuffling the cards hundreds of times.

Megaways Slots

This slot feature is sweeping the world. The Megaways game engine was patented by Big Time Gaming (BGT) and changes the reels on a virtual slot machine with every spin.

These usually 6-reel games randomly change configuration with each spin. You won't see five spinning reels with three visual positions on each and a set number of pay lines.

With every push of the spin button, the symbols on each reel grow or shrink to cover more or less of the reel. The fewest number of symbols that can appear is two and the most are seven.

Since there are no traditional pay lines, all it takes to form a winning combination is to land three matching symbols on the first three reels from leftmost to right.

The way the maths work, seven reel positions on six reels create an amazing 117,649 possible ways to win. Add mechanics like unlimited increasing win multipliers on free spins, mystery symbols, re-spins, and every other slot feature mechanic you can think of and it's easy to imagine winning up to 50,000x your bet!

Jackpot games

If you seek life-changing wins you will either need to be very lucky on a Megaways slot or very lucky on a progressive jackpot slot game. Thankfully, Casino Mania has a good selection of jackpot slots from Cape Cod, World Match, and Octavian.

As we mentioned earlier, you can refine your selection further once you are into the jackpot games and select only one provider.

We chose Octavian and found their Zombie Lab game. It was delivered over the World Match engine but the splash screen confirmed it is from Octavian Gaming Solutions of Bussolengo.

Unfortunately, it's not a progressive jackpot slot. It is a fine game with 50 pay lines and features up to 100 free spins, but it is not a jackpot game. In fact, after looking at all of the games from WM and Cape Cod, it appears as if your best bet for a life-changing win here is either by playing Megaways slots or live games with side bets like Super Sic Bo.

Bonuses and Promotions

The welcome bonus here is set up like a poker bonus, except you need to play slots to release 90% of it. Any game will free up 10% but only up to 10 euros. To get the full 100% up to €500.00 you'd end up releasing €490.00 at a rate of €0.03 for every €1 wagered. It's nice to know you have 90 days to release it all!

The above (3% differential) is only for slots. Other games release €1 for every €100 wagered.

The bad news is that the bonus funds are released in €5 increments and there's no facility provided to "put them away" in order to use them all at once. In effect, that makes it a 3% cashback scheme. That's unusual, to say the least.

Promotions are constantly changing here, so the only way to know what you'll get is to visit the promo pages. We found a two-day slots race with €3000 up for grabs and a 10% cashback up to €250 and none of the terms seemed to conflict with the welcome bonus.

The balance of the offers was for sports betting, save one, which was a live quiz game with €25 for the first right answer over 10 scheduled 'applications'. An "application" occurs when a question pops up randomly in live chat when you are playing any Evolution Gaming title.

Banking and Customer Service

There are several payment methods for depositors and a few ways to collect your winnings. Prior to completing identity and document verification, you will only be able to deposit using PayPal, Poste Pay, or a credit card.

Visitors to Italy that haven't applied for and received a "Social Security" number (Codice Fiscale) will not be able to withdraw winnings. All other residents of legal age will likely have a fiscal code.

Credit and debit card deposits of as little as €5 are accepted with the PayPal minimum set at €20. The minimum withdrawal amount is €20 to PayPal but no minimum for direct bank transfer is listed, as far as we could find. It might also be assumed there is no maximum withdrawal limit via bank wore as we couldn't find that either.

Winners can count on their funds remaining pending for up to 48 hours prior to processing with payout processing times in the financial system taking another 2-5 days depending on the method used. Maestro Circuit Cards aren't eligible for withdrawals.

Customer care

The Help and Support section (found through a link at the bottom of the web page) contains everything you need to know about every element of conducting business with the casino.

All terms and instructions are spelled out succinctly in common terms.

In addition to detailed information about deposits, withdrawals, and document verification, you will also find a very comprehensive FAQ page.

Customer service is active and available by phone, email, or an online contact form weekdays from 10:00 to 17:00 and weekends from 14:00 to 18:00.

Pitfalls

• Only available to Italians with tax code and local bank or PayPal registered address
• Website, lobbies, and most games only in Italian
• Unusual welcome bonus (poker 'release' model)
• Limited support hours

The Final Word

Casino Mania offers an extended selection of online gambling opportunities to people in Italy.

The site is so highly focused on the local market that not even casual visitors, physically domiciled in the country can play without a tax number and at least a PayPal account with a local registered address.

Along with that, those limits come with special perks, but only for Italians. The site, support, and even most of the games are presented in the native tongue - but that's not all.

Several local and regional studios and providers join the Casino Made in Italy to offer their homegrown AAMS-certified games. Tuko Productions, Gioca Online, Cape Cod, Octavian, and Ludas Cristaltec, along with game maker and Padova-based provider World Match are all heavily represented. The poker client is even provided by Rome's Microgame on the People's Poker network.

In fact, even the delivery platform is provided by Cristaltec through an agreement with Merkur Interactive Italia SpA.

While the site may not be the oldest sports and casino operation in the country, it is one of the first to earn the honor of being certified by the state monopolies (AAMS).

The game selection provided by Italian companies, along with native language tables from Evolution Gaming would be quite an offering in its own right but there's a lot more to the operation.

Leading European and international game studios bolster the offering anchored by Italian providers. All told, there are nearly 30 cutting-edge, state-of-the-art individual studios and game providers.

Many of them are behemoths with their own deep list of subsidiary studios or aggregation partners (i.e. SG Interactive, Microgaming) which raise the number of providers significantly.

As the entire system is secure and fair from the first visit to receiving a cashout, Italian players should have no worries playing here.

The bonus system is unique and seems to be modeled on poker and some sportsbook offerings rather than the more common match scheme with funds encumbered by wagering requirements.

This is more likely down to the licensor's focus on social health than it is to the operator's business decisions. In the end, it is a sort of comp point system that is self-managing - players are awarded loyalty bonuses up to the amount of their initial deposit in small increments.

The upside to this system is that player funds are never encumbered or lost trying to meet wagering requirements. The downside is that you can't simply extend playtime or double your wagers in hopes of hitting a jackpot or a highly profitable winning streak.

All told, the bonus system is probably better for players overall as well as being equal and fair to all.