Wild Card City sprang onto the online casino scene in late August 2020.

The site is designed for players to use whatever device they prefer - it adjusts to you, not the other way around.

Visitors will find a brilliant and fetching design with an intrinsic narrative based around the brand name. Look for plenty of banking options including favorites in regions like Canada and Australia.

There is a great variety of games and players can try any of them for free before putting in a stake of their own. If you do decide to play for real money you'll find a generous welcome offer, daily promotions, and a VIP room.

Other known gaming sites run by the operators, who do not identify themselves or display a license, have a good reputation for paying players according to the terms and conditions. We are aware of one player in Australia who complained of unauthorized account debits by a new payment processor but we have to assume it was repaid in full as the complainer suddenly stopped posting after the majority of funds had been returned. The complainant used a different name and had slightly different stories at each of the places they posted, but suddenly stopped posting everywhere at about the same time.

When an operator offers services in a closed market, such as in Australia where it is absolutely legal to play but not legal to offer unlicensed services, they sometimes have to get creative to move money in those markets and players should be aware that problems can occur. It can be grossly inconvenient, but simply comes with the territory when the government refuses to license offshore, or in the case of Australia, any online casinos.

One other player complained about not getting paid a good sum of money, but they were not eligible for the cashout as they used a no deposit bonus with a max win amount of $200 which they were paid. This player also posted their complaint at several player advocacy sites and stopped posting when it was proved they did not have a cashout coming.

As of this review, the newest operation has not been in business long enough to establish a reputation among players or affiliates but we can assume that it doesn't matter what name they call themselves if they pay their players according to terms and conditions.

Software and Games

No matter what sort of games you like to play or where you like to gamble, the website delivers it right to your browser on an Android, Blackberry, iPad, iPhone, or Google phone. Laptops and desktops get the same games with higher pixel counts for a fully optimized display.

Navigation is intuitive and the site theme is made for fun travels around it. Look for sections on important features like payment methods, responsible gambling, and frequently answered questions.

The games

There's a very good mix of providers contributing games to the library here with sections for:

• Blackjack - 21 Burn, American rules, European rules, Pirate 21, Pontoon, Single Deck, Super 7
• Craps
• Poker - Pai Gow poker, Poker3 Heads Up Hold'em (3D), Caribbean, Oasis, Ride'em, Triple Edge
• Pokies/Slots
• Progressive jackpots
• Roulette
• Scratch cards
• Table Games - Baccarat, craps, 3-card rummy
• Video Poker - More than 20 titles and paytables

Slots and the providers

The current lineup of game providers here is headlined by Microgaming, Quickfire partners, and Microgaming Studio Partners. Half Pixel Studios has debuted their first game release with the Isle of Man "godfather of slots" here. It's called Retro Galaxy. Get ready for a neon blast from the past enhanced with a good handful of modern mechanics like increasing multipliers on every sequential winning spin.

In total, there are at least 20 studios with games on tap when you enter the city.

If you like to sort and filter your games to only play slots by a certain provider, clickable logos are available on the bottom of the page where you can also sort all games alphabetically if you prefer.

Look for slots with a western appeal, some with Asian-centric high volatility and multi-level bonus rounds, and a host of games focused on players in Eastern Europe as well. Players in several western CIS countries like Russia, as well as EU ascension countries like Bulgaria, are welcomed as well.

Spinomenal slots are skyrocketing in popularity, not only for the killer graphics, animations, and anticipation triggers but because the maths can be downright brilliant. This is no hack-lab cookie-cutter producer with a small handful of engines they paint new images on to call it a new game. They produce amazing titles with advanced feature mechanics, and yes, awesome art.

Look for well known favorite providers like BetSoft, Quickspin, iSoftBet, Habanero, and Wazdan along with NoLimitCity, Tom Horn, Red Rake, and Booming Games.

You'll also find some Australian geckos among the critters here - masters of color change rivaling chameleons. Nucleus Gaming and IGTech have taken the game engines of well-known brands that are no longer available in some parts of the world and created brand new artwork and titles based on the originals. Under the hood, and even in theme, they are identical games to the originals.

Live dealer streams

They didn't offer a great number of live dealer tables upon launch, but every live streaming game you'd want to play is offered. Look for native language tables broadcast from casinos in Bulgaria and elsewhere in addition to the studio feeds.

Evolution leads the world in the unique live gaming experience with placement in hundreds of online gaming sites. Look for Crazy Time if you like carnival or game show action. The game integrates several avant-garde technologies under one title. Look for Random Number Generator (RNG) multipliers, slot-like and video game elements along with augmented reality to mix real life with fantasy gaming.

...or head to the private salons if you prefer to play with the utmost discretion.

RNG table games

If you like table games but prefer to control the pace of your game you can still try your hand at animated RNG table games like blackjack, roulette, poker, and more.

FELT Gaming has faithfully reproduced the feel of the Las Vegas table gaming experience with a shedload of games. The interface is unique and in moments you'll "get it". One great thing about their blackjack and poker variants is that even slot players, who prefer volatility over steady returns, can take the optional side bet and make out like a bandit on a lucky draw.

Blackjack and other games also allow steady betting if you're looking to catch a streak with increased bets and not give the House too much advantage on the bulk of your play - simply stay away from the volatile side bets and enjoy the experience.

Try Relax Gaming's Blackjack Neo - no matter what your skill level is.

"The game includes anticipation features on higher risk hands and our Best Move Indicator™ to assist all experience levels."

Virtual games

Look for virtual bingo, lottery, and other number games along with "sports betting" on 3D virtual greyhound, horse, and moto speedway racing.

Bonuses and Promotions

Don't pass up the welcome offer if you like extra spins on top of a healthy match bonus.

Follow the Wild Card theme with daily matches and more.

The terms are fairly standard with some exceptions such as a max cashout on some offers. Wagering is only counted on bonus spins not real money play and bonus funds are risked first. Winnings from cash bets go directly into your real money account.

Pro Tip: Be sure to check for max cashouts that may be based on high-value deposit matches.

In addition to the welcome offer, you'll find incentives to play for every day of the week as well as seasonal offers and a VIP Room.

Designated VIPs are not restricted to the size of the bets they can make while playing with a bonus. Deposit limits are increased to $5,000 per transaction, and "free chips" come with reduced wagering requirements. Look for a bespoke birthday bonus crafted just for you and a host of VIP-only games from top suppliers that are not available to rank and file players.

Those of us in this category will have to "settle" for nearly 1,400 games to choose from.

Banking and Customer Service

The bank here is set up for hassle-free transactions whichever direction the money is flowing.

You'll need to log in to see which payment methods are available to you. If you are in Australia you might not see Interac and Canadian players may not see local Aussie methods.

Expect 3-5 days for winnings to appear in your personal bank or other account depending on the method you choose to withdraw.

Customer Service

Player support is available around the clock via live chat and you'll find issue-specific email addresses for faster service. If you need a phone consultation just get on live chat and ask for a callback.

Pitfalls

• Owner/operator is non-transparent
• No license listed
• Launched late summer 2020, no documented history to judge by
• UK and US players not allowed

The Final Word

Wild Card City is an operator willing to reach out to players in sometimes underserved areas. The website is super slick and professional. Until you establish a relationship to judge their reputation for yourself, a good reading of the terms and conditions might give comfort in fair play. You won't find "gotchas" or predatory terms - but must pay attention to bonus rules like max cashouts if you want to avoid disappointment.

We find the terms and conditions as well as the bonuses to be very similar or the same as those offered by a few other sites that are well-liked by players.

Notes on new casinos for players in some areas...

Like a lot of operators who just might accept players in certain jurisdictions without player advocates in the government, they don't list the operator or provide a link to their license. That does not mean they don't hold a license. International finance regulations require anti-money laundering and know your customer protocols to be in place. Those requirements are overseen by a licensing entity, whether a link to the license is provided or not. 

Those of us who do candid reviews for our readers have developed certain tradecraft we sometimes employ in order to get the big picture. However, the tools we use are mostly deducive or inferential, based on long years spent in many segments of the realm, first-most as players.

Attendant with the responsibility to deliver the goods, kudos, warnings, praise or condemnation is a responsibility to have each and every stated fact corroborated by evidence and when a dot cannot be connected to another dot with absolute certainty, we won't draw that line without at least two other supporting pieces of evidence. We cannot state unequivocally that Wild Card City is licensed. In about two decades of online gambling, I have yet to see a jurisdiction like Curacao intervene on a player's behalf. That's not their job. Yet there or well over 400 online gambling sites licensed there.

Nobody outside of the operators themselves knows for sure if management has changed, processors will be vetted more carefully, or if they plan to have a presence on advocate forums. In the absence of facts about management's past operations prior to 2018, we have to rely on everything since that time to indicate the potential value to any given player.

If you live in the United States, Canada, Australia, or one of several other jurisdictions that are experiencing a level of profound retardation in the global advance toward online casino regulation with player protections, you already know where you stand. (Unfortunately for players in the USA, licensing agreements between this casino and some of their game providers prohibit them from offering services in the US).

If you've been playing a while, you are accustomed to the fact that while it is perfectly legal for you to play online, your government has chosen not to license offshore casinos.

What's a player to do?

Without a proper licensing regime and robust regulations, we're on our own.

We can try new places that might actually be old favorites under a new skin or they might be brand new indeed. Perhaps they already have a history of handling over a million players a month in our home country.

We can stick to the places that we're comfortable with and hope their websites aren't blocked by overzealous consumer protectors reacting to questionable complaints (usually protecting the market segment they get revenues from if they were absolutely transparent).

We can make an educated guess about the risks of trying something new by waiting for an operation to be around for a year or so, reading honest and candid reviews, and talking with others about their experiences.

We can stick to the online opportunities provided to us by our government if we're fortunate enough to even have those.

We can wait them out in hopes that a free market with true consumer advocates and stringent regulations will eventually be passed into law.

I think most of us proceed under a mix of those possibilities unless we choose to quit altogether.