Lucky Tiger Casino is a 2020 entry into the USA, Australia, and other underserved online gambling markets.

Although a relatively new casino, the operational team behind it has been in the business for decades. Some of their highly-rated sister-sites include 888 Tiger, 24VIP, Rich Palms, and of course, Superior.

The slot gaming suite here is 100% Realtime Gaming and features longtime Aussie slot favorites like Achilles, Cleopatra's Gold, and Alladin's Wishes as well as a modern redux of the games and a bevy of Asian themed pokies with multi-tier bonus rounds.

The live dealer casino is operated by industry veteran, Visionary iGaming (ViG) and offers blackjack, baccarat, and roulette with minimums bets starting at $1.

You won't find a live-link to their Curacao license on the site, but that's understandable for a site that serves players in jurisdictions where local regulators don't provide player protections.

We have to rely on the reputation of any Caribbean-licensed offshore gaming site rather than regulatory dispute resolution because this jurisdiction simply doesn't get involved in player complaints.

Curacao simply makes sure an operator has the funds needed to remain solvent, isn't staffed by unsavory characters, and that the site adheres to international AML and KYC requirements including no underage gambling.

The operator's current management has been at the helm for several years now. Any complaints from the earliest days when they may have been co-managed by Rival have all but disappeared from the search engines.

The rare complaints we find in the last few years have been resolved quickly and amicably. The vast majority involved taking up to three days to approve documents on a first cash out (AML/KYC). That is something players in many jurisdictions are accustomed to these days.

Look for a huge welcome bonus, plenty of payment processing options including Bitcoin, and new slot games at least once a month when you visit the Tiger.

Software and Games

The website uses web browser-based coding to deliver an animated, colorful, and well-themed gaming hub. Android, iOS, tablet, laptop, and desktop users all share the same experience with no downloads needed to play.

For those who want all of the RTG slots, including a few that haven't been converted to HTML5 yet, there is a download version for Windows with classic games that simply aren't available for web browser play anywhere yet.

If you want to try the games in demo mode to see how fast the HTML5 delivers slots on your device, simply visit the casino and click "Practice" rather than "Play Now" when you select a game.

If you see a no deposit bonus on this page, click through to try real money games without risking your own money.

Navigation is a sort of fun journey...

in itself with the option to follow the images through a slider screen or use a hamburger menu.

Bonuses, Games, and Payments are tabbed separately along the top with a dropdown menu for bonuses.

Using the menu opens up more possibilities including Lucky League (loyalty scheme), Tournaments, the Tiger's story, along with a well-written comprehensive FAQ that covers basic, bonus, and payment questions well.

The games lobby

Once you log in, the game lobby opens up with new, more distinct choices.

The Home screen takes you to Lobby Central with special adventures that we'll get into later, bonuses, and tournaments.

New games, tables games, slots, video poker, specialty, and progressives round out the offering, depending on your location. Favorites, live dealers, and "last played" are also available when logged in.

New Games

RTG picked up and left Australia a few years ago when the gambling amendments were updated. Yes, the law allows each state or territory to license online casinos, but none do.

Since somebody has to offer online casino games to players Realtime Gaming closed its Australian operations and moved, just like they did from their offices in Atlanta when the US decided players didn't need regulatory protections.

The company continues to create fresh games with new and exciting bonus features with RTG Asia heading some of the development.

About half of the new games are Asian slots, the balance is a mix of traditional five-reel titles with random jackpots, games with higher RTPs that don't use a jackpot mechanic, new-age reactor and multiway games, novelties, and Asian-centric slots - some with multistage bonus rounds and very high volatility.

Another sort of sub-category is reimagined titles. Games like Alladin's Wishes, Achilles, Hillbillies, and Secret Garden have been released with variations on the popular themes and some of the newer features found in games released from 2020 and beyond.

One thing you can look forward to is at least one new game per month and sometimes more.

Table Games

All of the old favorites are in this library with more than half a dozen blackjack variants including Pontoon; Caribbean poker games with optional progressive jackpot side bets; Let 'Em Ride; pai gow poker, Tri Card Poker, Three Card Rummy, and baccarat.

If you prefer to control the pace of your own game, use wild bet swings, or simply prefer animated random number generator table and card games, this is the section for you.

Slots/Pokies

The games are ordered alphabetically by default, but if you switch from the icon view to the list view, you can sort them in other ways including the number of pay lines and jackpot value. The multimillion-dollar progressive slots are ion the list too, but might not be active, depending on the sort of bonus you choose, if any.

Across the top you'll see that you can also filter the list by 3, 5, or 6 reel games; bonus rounds, floating symbols, or to only show progressives.

The majority of 5-reel slots feature random local progressive jackpots, but those are all mixed in with non-jackpot games when filtering for progressives - only the network-wide games like Aztec's Millions, Megasaur, and Spirit of the Inca will show up under this filter.

Line counts in the 5-reel section range from 8 fixed lines on the low variance Wild Hog Luau to the 3,125 All Ways Pay Mermaid's Pearls with everything in between.

While we're on the subject of pokies...

There is an 88 line slot here with the same name as the gaming site. I gave it a shot on my first visit and did okay. I have to admit I'm partial to Lucky Tiger, it gave me my career-best win not counting progressives or random jackpots. Today's win was only a little over 100x total stake, but still welcome, and a lot of fun based on the title.

Three-reel slots

If you haven't visited this section for a while, you may be in for a pleasant surprise or two. There is only one traditional 3-reel, 1-line game in here - 7's and Stripes -the balance comprises modern low or medium volatility games and most of them are in the Real Series, so they have their own random jackpots.

Jumping Beans and Santastic are often overlooked new classics with plenty of bells and whistles - literally in the case of Santastic where the feature is triggered so often you might want to turn down the sound effects. The jackpot on this game is small and it falls often.

Video Poker

There's not much new here if you are familiar with RTG video poker games. The graphics and user interface are not as clumsy as they were in the 1990s when most were released. You can change the coin size without reloading the whole game from the server now. Most of the paytables are "okay" with Aces & Eights' 8-5-4-3-2-1 returning 99.78% using optimal strategy.

Jacks or Better - (8-5) - 97.29% 
Sevens Wild
Aces & Eights - (8-5) - 99.78%
All American
Bonus Deuces
Bonus Poker
Deuces Wild
Double Bonus
Double Double Bonus
Double Double Jackpot
Double Jackpot
European Slot Poker
Joker Poker
Jacks or Better - 10 play
Jacks or Better — 52 play
Jacks or Better - 100 play
Loose Deuces

Specialty

In addition to roulette, craps, and keno, this is where you'll find a couple of casual games like the animated scratch card-like Treasure Tree and the adventure-trail Banana Jones.

Progressives

Along with network-wide progressive slots like Spirit of the Inca with "must fall by" Boiling Point jackpots, this is where you'll find Let 'Em Ride, Caribbean Stud, and Caribbean Hold'Em Poker. Let 'Em Ride's $1 side bet can be worth about $30,000 as of this writing while the Caribbean games share a jackpot worth about a quarter million.

Live dealer games

Most people come to play pokies or random number generator games like blackjack and video poker, but this is also one of the rare RTG sites that offer players live dealer action.

Licensing issues as well as corporate risk considerations keep the biggest players like Evolution and Playtech from offering their game streams in markets where it is perfectly legal for players to bet at offshore casinos, but not legal to process their deposits, withdrawals, or sometimes even offer games.

Visionary iGaming doesn't have any corporate ties in countries like the USA or Australia, so they can't be held at bay with laws or penalties that don't apply as long as they stay offshore. Players in those countries have no restrictions on playing at offshore sites.

Visionary iGaming has been streaming live casino tables since 2008 from their state of the art studios in Costa Rica. Look for Cammegh wheels, Shuffle Master card machines, and standard-sized Bee brand cards - only the finest.

One thing to mention about live dealer banking here is that when you enter the live lobby you'll need to choose an amount or all of your Tiger funds to transfer into the live bank. One click in and one click back out to your casino funds is all it takes - no complicated chip exchange inside the cashier is asked of you.

More than a dozen tables with limits from $1 to $2500 per hand are available, including:

• Blackjack HD (unlimited bet behind)
• Blackjack Early Payout (unlimited players)
• American and European Roulette, auto or dealer served
• Live Baccarat (with Super 6)

Bonuses and Promotions

The welcome package here was quite generous upon launch. Please see above or Visit Casino for up to the minute offers.

• Welcome offer
• Daily Quests
• Tournaments
• Loyalty

The new player offer included not only a super match percentage way higher than 100% but 100% cashback on the first deposit. The second one was fat and juicy as well with an even larger percentage match and 100% cashback. The third deposit offer was a measly 300% match with "only" 50% cashback.

Wagering was a bit high at 30x deposit plus bonus, the bonus chips are removed at cashout and the most you can win is 20x your deposit. But that's okay for some players!

Why?

It was a new site and none of the random jackpots had built up through the roof yet. The upper limit was generous with a $2,600 match on a max $1,000 deposit, and $20,000 would take a while to cash out anyway.

You might be wondering...

How does that look with a minimum deposit?

The least you could deposit to get 260% was $25. That would give you a balance of 25+65 or $90 to play with. Make the wagering requirements (turn that over 30 times win or lose) and the most you could cash out would be $500. A $100 deposit could net $2,000, etc.

The most you could deposit on the first three transactions is 1k+1k+1k for $3,000. The max bonus would be 2.6k+2.8k+3k for $8400 or a total bankroll of $11,400.

Daily Quests

These particular offers are bound to change over time, but we found a treasure trove of super-high percentage matches and extra spins - the daily offers have 30x wagering and NO MAX CASHOUTS.

On the weekend you can claim 3 matches one after another and each with a higher percentage, free spins, and no max cashouts.

Special, holiday and new game adventures offer special bonuses as well.

Tournaments

You can use bonus funds to compete in tournaments here and you don't need to download the desktop software to enter the games.

Enter a tournament and convert your balance into tournament chips at 20:1 (VIP players can get better ratios).

Chips are awarded for the top five finishers in most tournaments. If you get lucky while playing and cash out your winnings before the tournament is completed you will be removed from the leader board.

The number of players participating determines the size of the promotional pool with the biggest non-holiday or special occasion pool being $1,000.

Lucky League (VIP)

Rise up the ranks to become a Master of Luck and get a $1,000 loyalty bonus, monthly cashback, weekend cashback, no bet limits, and a 10:1 comp point ratio.

There are six steps on the ladder beginning with Enlightened Apprentice status. Achieve this level for $75, monthly cashback, and a comp point ratio of 18:1

Banking and Customer Service

Payment options could change from time to time and may be different in one location than another. Bitcoin is accepted everywhere for deposits and withdrawals. POLi and Neosurf are onboard. American Express, Visa, and Mastercard direct deposits are welcomed, and if you have trouble with your card, Instant Gift Cards are available for deposits.

Upon launch, withdrawals were being processed via AmEx, Visa, Mastercard, BTC, and bank wire.

The minimum deposit is $25 and the minimum withdrawal is $100. The daily withdrawal limit is $500 and the weekly max is $2,000. We hope that changes soon, but those are the current limits.

Processing will go faster once you get your documents verified. Taking a look at the bonuses, there's a good chance you will win sooner rather than later, so we suggest you take care of getting your account verified at your earliest convenience.

All payout requests are processed within 2-7 days with BTC wallet withdrawals being the quickest.

All verification documents needed for withdrawal are available for download right on the website. Look in the T&C or request guidance from a customer service representative.

Customer care

Phone, email, and live chat links are found on the site. Live chat answers right away and handled our request within a couple of minutes.

Responsible gambling

Resources such as links to help are available onsite. Guidance and suggestions are presented. Account limits, cool-off periods, and self-exclusion are handled by customer support. Contact information is available in the RG section.

Pitfalls

• No verifiable license (Curacao)
• Low daily withdrawal limit ($500)
• High minimum withdrawal ($100)
• Max cash out on some welcome bonuses (20x deposit)

The Final Word

Lucky Tiger Casino offers the first RTG gaming site with "gamification lite" for those who want it. They bring the jungle theme alive through daily quests, tournaments, and leaderboards.

In addition to the generous welcome bonus, the regular daily bonuses are bountiful and don't have caps on the amount you can win. The downside of winning a lot of money is that you will need to practice self-control because payouts are throttled to $500 per day and $2,000 per week unless you can make a VIP deal.

The game selection is sort of one dimensional as all of the RNG games come from one provider. However, every type of online casino game is offered and the live dealer suite is a definite plus.

Aussies will find several locally favorite deposit and withdrawal methods, and even Americans with stringent debit card rules can buy an instant gift card to deposit if they have a bank account to land their winnings in. BTC may be the best option for everybody, especially with bonuses like 300% BTC matches.

The bonuses and games are offered to players in other jurisdictions as well, we've simply highlighted AU and US because players in those regions can lack reliable, safe, and secure places to play since their governments don't regulate gaming with player protections.

The operators have a long history of fair play. We will reiterate that you may want to get your documents approved prior to making a cash out to avoid any potential frustration as it can take up to three days for the security department to approve them.