Weltbet Casino is an online betting and gambling site launched in early 2020 by Bellona N.V. The site attracts players from Germany with its name (World Bet) as well as players in other regions looking for an all-in-one gambling experience.

The site is licensed in Curacao under Antillephone (8048/JAZ), as are sister sites, Zodiacbet, Selectbet, and formerly, 1bet which closed in April 2018. The term “sister sites” might be too inclusive as some outlets hold out that some properties have the same management but different owners while others claim the same ownership but different management. 

We’ll get to the bottom of that as we continue our review if it becomes relevant. First, we’ll attempt to determine if the casino side of things is safe or not and then decide whether or not to go very deeply into sports betting history. Our task here is to review the casino operations of Weltbet because that is our area of expertise. 

The games

The site provides predictive sports betting, Live-sports betting, table games, a Live casino, and other games. The digital casino games providers list is massive with about 50 well-known providers purveying several thousand titles.

Banking

The cashier facilities offer more than a dozen ways to deposit and withdraw with several easily recognizable and familiar favorite methods for players in most regions. The full list is available in the menu to the right as well as at the hub itself. 

Many currencies are accepted in addition to euros. The site is presented in German, English, Italian, and Russian. There is also a button to toggle easily between “Euro View" and "Asian View".

Bonuses

Beyond the generous Welcome Bonus, daily reloads, and daily cashback there are also daily match bonuses of various percentages, offering mid-week gamblers big incentives too.

The site

An overview of the operation shows us that German players are well catered to as well as visitors from Austria, Finland, Norway, and Switzerland - but that list is not exhaustive. We arrived at this focus scientifically by analyzing web traffic through various metrics as well as levels of player participation in open forums anecdotally.

While we find no direct complaints against the operation, there were initially grumbles such as one about the operators not taking a proactive stance and providing proper responsible gambling tools within the software. Complaints about the self-exclusion policy seem to have been addressed since that time and a deposit limits facility has also been added to the software.

We don’t have enough detail about the site yet to suggest a visit right now. We’ll go over it with a fine-toothed comb and extract any pitfalls players might want to look out for and then render a final word in conclusion. Again, this review will confine itself to the casino side of things and leave sports betting to the experts in that field.

Software and Games

When you visit the site you might notice that it defaults to “sports”, but that shouldn’t scare you off if you want to play real money games. It’s easy to leave the landing page and visit another section from the header menu. We’ll go with “casino” to start with but there are also links for:

• Live betting
• Esports
• Virtual sports
• Live games
• Games
• TV games 
• Promotions

Slot fanatics might find their first impression awe-inspiring.  When we visited, the top of the screen was filled with a Game of the Week - Big Buffalo Megaways by SkyWind Group. The large marquis continued to regenerate with about 10 more pages promoting certain games, deposit bonuses, and cashback offers.

Below that were a few game categories (Video slots, top games, live, jackpot slots, and table games) along with a colorful selection of awesome games and easy ways to sort and filter the selections. 

Exploring a few slots...

Simply scrolling down the page revealed one of the most diverse curations of slot titles I’ve ever seen. The mix was not a  hodge-podge of randomly thrown-together titles, it all made sense or at least seemed to be triggering a desire to play. The scratch for that itch was easy,  I simply clicked “The Paying Piano Club” and a new screen with a Practice/Real Game toggle switch showed me that the game being downloaded was from Play’n GO.

When the splash screen was loaded it cycled through the game features - since I had somehow missed this title previously, I studied and the excitement built. 3x3 slots don’t usually grab me as this one did. The game has great features and real potential to be a bankroll-fattener.

When I backed out of the game, it was no longer in the lineup in the main lobby but had been replaced by Endorphina’s Chance Machine 5. I passed that title and went to another Endorphina game only to have my free-play hopes dashed by a recurring pop-up asking me to register an account.

I clicked on Retro Galaxy next and the splash screen informed me the game was made by Microgaming Studio Partner, Half Pixel Studio. This is another game with progressive multipliers on successive wins along with “rolling reels”. This mechanic simply removes winning symbols after the line has been paid and makes room for another chance that includes a progressive multiplier up to 5x infinitely in the base game. In the free spins bonus, the multiplier doesn’t reset after a lost spin but holds steady until you get another win while increasing up to 15x. It’s also an all-ways game (243 virtual paylines) so if you catch a small win along with two free spins symbols, another scatter can fall in and get the big game going!

Jackpot games

This section is sparsely populated but holds a few timeless classics from Microgaming along with some new classics like Noble Sky, Bounty Raid, Reel Keeper, The Wild Hatter, and Diamond Blitz.

Clicking on Noble Sky, I expected it to be a Skywind game, simply judging by the magnificent artwork of the game icon. However, it turned out to be from another Microgaming Studios partner, Neon Valley Studios. It’s simply an awesome game from the graphics to the maths and mechanics, but the “Grand Jackpot” is not one in the millions of euros, at least not when I visited. The more you bet, the bigger the pots, with the 50.00 per bet pot seeded at 250,000.

Table games

These are mostly animated digital random number generator-based games, but they do throw in a few live tables from Evolution Gaming. We weren’t able to play any of the RNG titles in fun mode, but that could be because too much time and play money was spent on the slots.

Look for classic games from a diverse range of providers. For those who prefer 100% control over the pace of their game, this section offers everything. Various rule sets and pay tables are offered for multiple variants of games such as:

• Blackjack
• Roulette
• Table poker
• Baccarat
• Sic Bo
• Craps

Some variants have side bet options for high variance jackpots and other prizes between 2x to 1,000x the bet. Spin on Roulette x5 to get a free dice roll at the end of the spin that can quintuple your win.

Try any of the First Person series from Evolution if you want an option to GO LIVE at any time and be transported from the RNG games to the live offering without missing a beat.

Live games

Yes, Evolution Gaming has almost every angle covered, but Weltbet doesn’t lock players into one provider. When we visited the site the following live game providers were active:

• Evolution
• Pragmatic Play Live
• Ezugi
• Asia Gaming
• XPG
• LuckyStreak
• TVBet

With this much competition all in one place, players are bound to find favorites. Some of the games are presented in the native language of international players including Roulette Italia, Macau, Russia, and Roulette Turkey. Other games may be presented in multiple languages depending on your location and available hosts/hostesses. 

Ezugi and XPG dealers serve up Andar Bahar, and multiple providers offer streams from terrestrial casino floors around the globe. Big-money side bets are available on at least two versions of Sic Bo, and the game show style titles are growing by the week.

Gonzo’s Treasure Hunt melds community slot play with augmented reality for a fun new way to play. Crazy Time, Monopoly Live, Dream Catcher, Blackjack Party, and Deal or No deal have their own appeal as do the community-style games from Pragmatic.

Note: In order to play BetGames TV-hosted games you’ll need to go to the top of the screen and choose “TV Games” rather than look for the provider in the live gaming section. The Lithuania-based provider/developer was launched in 2012 and stays current with ahead-of-the-curve releases like Poker6+. 

Other games

In the mysteriously labeled “games” section we found well over 50 slots with Asian themes along with a Mahjong title (see table games for Pai Gow poker). While some of these games are no more Asian than a pyramid-themed game is Egyptian, there are several titles with distinctly Asian-centric bonus mechanics including multi-level progressive bonus features.

Look for simple and animated scratch cards in this section too. Some of the providers include:

• Hacksaw
• Pragmatic Play
• Microgaming
• Spinomenal
• Ganapati
• EvoPlay

Casual games here include several bingo titles, numbers games, fixed odds, money wheels, etc., with EvoPlay’s Bomb Squad leading up the instant games in terms of sheer adrenaline production. This is the sort of gambling game that makes me hungry for virtual reality gambling to finally make its way to the masses.

Video poker

There is enough variety offered in this section to satisfy the most hard core VP player. Providers include iSoftBet, Microgaming, Habanero, Wazdan, BGaming, and Play’n GO.

The BGaming titles are not the most advanced in terms of graphics and user interface, but at least the pay tables make sense compared to some of the run-of-the-mill titles from iSoftBet. Fortunately, the game curators have opted for only one title by the provider and Joker Poker offers a house edge of 3.44% - not the best but far better than Tens or Better 4x with an abysmal 87.78% RTP no matter how perfect your strategy may be. 

Bonuses and Promotions

At first blush, this section might seem cluttered with too many offers. Simply choose All, Sports, or Casino Promotions in order to filter for your interests.

Casino promotions

When we visited, the gaming welcome offer was listed. Players have 15 days to complete the wagering requirements which, for slots and other fully weighted games, are 30d+b (deposit plus bonus x 30). 

The maximum allowed bet was stated as 5% of the bonus or 12€, whichever is lower.

Slots, Asian style, scratch, and casual games are all weighted at 100%. Video poker, live dealers, and all other table games are weighted at 5% (WRx20=x600).

Low-risk betting and wagers using the 50/50 gamble feature on slot wins are prohibited.

The most that can be cashed out regardless of the size of your deposit is 3000€

The rules are clearly stated and easy enough to follow without any obvious rabbit holes to step into. Of course, the sports betting rules are much more complicated.

Other incentives on offer when we visited included a reload and a cashback offer as well as a percentage match offer that can be used 3x per day.

Daily bonuses

Each day of the week offers new opportunities to beat the odds for players who don’t mind encumbering their winnings until wagering requirements are satisfied.

The hottest offer we saw was for Saturday deposits. The terms are the same as those for the welcome offer except the match is larger and the max bonus is smaller. However, the max cash out remains the same at 3000€ - which makes it the better option for any player depositing 123.07€ or less.

Banking and Customer Service

Payment methods are somewhat country-specific, but if the option appears in your cashier’s deposit and withdrawal options you should be good to go. However, you won’t need to register an account simply to view your basic options. Simply go to the Payments page, and choose your country and currency from the dropdown menus to see methods, limits, processing times, and fees when applicable.

From our desk in Germany, we found eWallet withdrawals to be instant, crypto payouts could take up to 24 hours, and fast bank transfers, as well as Klarna withdrawals, being processed within  1-5 business days. 

The FAQ covers quite a few major topics with some breakdown to more specific answers provided, but it may be a little too simplified for the newest players. It might be helpful if they separated the information into gaming and sports to make things more clear for novices.

The good news is that live support is available 24/7 via telephone, live chat, or email.

Responsible gambling

The site offers a self-check section, live-link referrals for helping organizations. Parental control tools, and a responsible gambling dashboard from within the casino which allow players to set their own deposit limits and periods. However, it appears as if these limits can still be changed at any point in time - if that is not the case, perhaps they should rewrite the information.

In order to self-exclude, players who are experiencing trouble will need to contact customer service. Exclusions can be set for any period of time, however, they can be canceled after only a 24-hour cooling-off period.

Pitfalls

• Weak responsible gambling tools
• Newer operation potentially associated with poorly rated former ‘sister sites’
• Capped max payout on bonuses not commensurate with deposit amount (€3000)
• Not compliant with ISTG 2021 (Only slot providers can be licensed, no table games, etc.)
• Weak licensing jurisdiction with no dispute resolution services (Curacao)

The Final Word

Weltbet Casino offers players in Germany and elsewhere, including Austria and the Nordic region, a vast landscape of gambling opportunities. The game selection is not only well-rounded and deep, it is well curated with only the top games from most providers in any given category.

With well over a year of operations, we don’t find any complaints, but we didn’t take a deep dive into the sportsbook review sites either. The gaming operation seems to be operating smoothly with no market friction between the purveyor and consumers. 

While there are some indications of foul play by other sites operating under the Bellona NV banner in the past, we don’t find any of their brands to be under fire presently. The company has been associated with several other sites in the past according to other sources but there is no cohesive list, so those have to be taken with a grain of salt. Curacao allows owner/operators to only display one operation per license, unlike Malta, which mandates that all domains be included on a single license.

The bonus scheme should be attractive to players who like an extra boost to their bankroll with offers on tap every day of the week. The welcome offer would appear to have limited value to big depositors due to the maximum conversion of €3000 no matter whether you deposit the minimum €20 or the maximum of €1000. The current Tuesday and Saturday offers may present better value for players as the bonus-to-max-cash ratio is much higher.

The payment facility is well organized for players in diverse locations with country-specific options and Bitcoin for everybody. Unfortunately, crypto withdrawals can take up to 24 hours whereas eWallet withdrawals are stated as instant.

There is one subset of players we would not recommend this gaming site to, and that is anyone who may have impulse or other gambling control problems. While they brought their responsible gambling policy into line with what is required under their gaming license, the limiting tools provided on the dashboard are not robust and aside from self-exclusion appear to be able to be changed on a whim.

Since the only viable tool is valid for 24 hours (self-exclusion) and it is not easy to ascertain exactly which brands may be sister-sites, in conjunction with the following term: 

3.4. A Customer may open only one account on the Website and with the Company...

We don’t consider this site to be focused enough on social health to give it any sort of responsible gambling endorsement.