Discovering Trada Casino in 2020 is unlike the experience found at many online gambling websites. It's also quite a bit different today than it was when launched with Viaden games in 2011 or for many years thereafter.

First-time visitors are not met with a flashing light show, adverts offering a bonus, or much of anything else many players are accustomed to when visiting a new site.

Visiting from a desk in Canada we found a slimmed-down, facts-driven initial offering. Reading the footer of the page we find the site is now operating on the Aspire Global (AG) platform. However, the casino is still owned by TradaGames (Jersey) Limited, of St. Helier, Jersey, in the Channel Islands, as it has been for many years.

The operations are licensed in the UK for players in Great Britain under UKGC guidelines and in Malta for Europe as a whole and elsewhere. Prior to the November 2019 platform change, the games were licensed by Jersey and the Gambling Commission in the UK.

In addition to highly regulated markets, players from Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa are also welcomed here.

As the owner's history shows them to be one of the most revered gaming sites online, some players were understandably hesitant about the transition to a new platform.

For the most part, those that understood that the company was simply moving to a new operations system and not being acquired by the platform provider, simply found a new user interface and experience along with enhanced game offerings, a new loyalty system, and some automation in customer service and bonus provenance.

They also found new bonus terms common to most, if not all, AG operations. 

One new bonus term was introduced which we'll visit in the section below. It relates to taking bonuses at multiple AG sites, and there are many of them, over 70 by today's count. Helpfully, they provide a link to their Malta license which lists all operations on the platform so players can check to see if they might be signing up at too many Aspire sites for bonuses.

Software and Games

All games are delivered for mobile or desktop play. The platform provides the already successful and experienced team with licensing, customer retention services, localized payment processing, customer support, and of course, 3rd party game providers.

All games are played in a web browser with no need to install additional softwater. A browser and connection to the internet are all that is needed.

The AG platform is certified in 6 jurisdictions - more than any other we know of. 

Games on Offer

One thing AG doesn't seem to have quite worked out yet is geolocation for game display. Prior to logging in we were able to see references to "Canadian Online Casino" as well as Canada-specific payment methods such as Interac e-Transfer, yet no games appear after clicking "casino games".

Oddly enough, there is no longer a list of slot providers listed on the site and no way to sort by the provider when searching for specific slots - but - from Canada, we were able to type in "Starburst" in the text search field and the game appeared. NetEnt games were not available at Canadian offshore casinos.

Of course, players in regions where government-run online casinos don't force providers to place moratoriums on their games will be able to find a full selection of titles from top-tier and up-and-coming developers.

Once we created an account all of the color and glory of the original site were apparent. However, we were still served NetEnt games but didn't try to play one for real money. Aspire operates in regulated markets and NetEnt would not allow them to offer games to Canadians. It's just a bit of slop in the AG system that could easily be taken care of.

Again, just briefly, we'll mention that it is not possible to sort games by the provider as there is no developer category and text-searching brands such as Red Tiger or NetEnt does not produce any results.

Main Navigation

We'll mention a definite positive observation of the sign-up process... the very first choice a player is presented with is whether or not to set deposit limits. Whilst you can bypass this in unregulated jurisdictions like Canada, we find it to be proof of the company's commitment to responsible gambling.

 Casino, Live Casino, and Scratch Cards are the top-level categories for game search and should help most players drill down as deeply as they need to in order to find a game of their liking.

Less important suggested categories under "Casino" include:

• Featured
• New
• Video Slots
• Classic
• Casino Games
• Scratch Cards
• All and Recent
• Video Slots

Look for a great selection of games here with new releases rolling out fresh off the studio floors. The brand is highly focused on the European markets and the game selection shows that. Localized and regional choices include games from EGT, Synot, Blueprint, Gaming1, and Barcrest highlighting the flexibility of the games library.

Games from Foxium, ELK, Quickspin, NetEnt, Thunderkick, and others appeal to users across all borders (where available).

Some of the most heavily promoted games are from Play'n GO.

Live Casino

Ezugi and Evolution Gaming (by location) offer two complete suites of live dealer table and card games. 

Banking and Customer Service

Players will find a great list of payment options with deposit and withdrawal timeframes clearly listed for each currency. Most deposit methods are instant with the exception of Interac e-Transfer and wire transfers. Withdrawal methods are all stated as at least 3 days when available. Some players who have had their documents approved already report same-day cashouts.

Customer support is on staff 7 days a week from 06:00 GMT to 23:00 GMT. They can be reached via telephone, e-mail, or live chat. Depending on the time of day and the method used most players can expect a response within 24 hours. Live chat is the best bet for a speedy resolution to any problems.

An informative customer complaints section is available at the bottom of the page outlining procedures for players in any region.

Bonuses and Promotions

The welcome bonus and easily found terms seem generous and attractive. A wagering requirement on the low end of the spectrum along with the fact that wagering only applies to the bonus funds makes this one of the best offers currently out there.

Or is it..?

The link to their Canada-specific bonus terms returned a 404 error (doesn't exist) 

But the UK link - whether in force or not - is still there at http://download.gamesrv1.com/Resources/External/bonusterms/tc_eng_GBP.html

In this, we see that AG is still using a "gotcha" on wagering requirements. Some slots count 0% toward playthrough, one counts 10% and 422+ of them only count 50%.

Any way you slice it, that's just not right. You first have to go to their licensor and sort through more than 70 gaming sites to know if you can even take a welcome bonus, and then nearly 500 games either don't count or only count 50%. In 2020 there is no excuse for not implementing a software solution if the platform intends to weigh their games like this for bonus play.

Note: We have excluded the list of NetEnt games from those numbers as they aren't available in Canada anyway and there is no filtering available to use in order to count them for players elsewhere.

Now, on to the welcome bonus caveat mentioned earlier in this review:

"By claiming this welcome bonus offer at TradaCasino, you are prohibited from claiming a welcome bonus at other Aspire Global's brands."

Again, the list of brands is here.

Not all players read all terms and conditions so it behooves us to mention that here. 

Pitfalls

• Marginally predatory hidden terms on game weighting, max bets, and denial of winnings from multiple welcome bonuses.

The Final Word

The white-label or partially managed model can be a good thing for operators and players alike. In this case, one of the most highly regarded operations has become almost just another platform participant with the same terms and conditions as all others (70+) on the label.

While representatives from the owning company still engage with players on the forums - and they are consummate professionals - Trada is as good as a new entity with outsourced support, payment processing, etc. The name and reputation are most of what differentiates them from most others on the same platform.

That said, the game selection is excellent, those who prefer not to play with a bonus (or don't mind digging deep to understand terms) might find a perfect fit with this online casino. Loyal players will find seven distinct levels of exclusive VIP treatment with most player levels offering an express cashout process.