Come to think of it, what’s the best way to describe a situation in which an online casino hosts fake games? Is it something we could call “an accident waiting to happen”?
While working on one of those entertaining editorials of ours, the LCB team had to find and play some slot titles to be sure they match the topic perfectly. One of those releases was Emoji Planet by NetEnt.
What raised the suspicions is the fact that this very game can be played at Argo Casino which is no longer available on the provider’s official website. Due to some issues associated with this brand, our team kept on digging, and guess what- it turned out that games are hosted from a pirated server!
Fake Games Alert!
As mentioned in the intro, the entire controversy was revealed quite by accident, while preparing an editorial. While compiling the list of games, we noticed that one of the NetEnt’s hit games can only be played at Argo Casino.
To clear away the doubts, we checked the provider’s official website, and this very game was nowhere to be found. After this, we returned to this operator’s page, to closely inspect not only this but a couple of other releases.
Each of these titles is hosted from the same counterfeit server c27.games.com. Every knowledgeable slot enthusiast knows that games should be hosted ONLY from the operator’s official server, which wasn’t the case here.
Digging a bit deeper, our team found some other irregularities in Argo Casino’s portfolio. This operator servers Aristocrat games that have been discontinued for quite some time.
If in doubt about whether a game is fake or not, a player should simply inspect the server the game is hosted from, or simply turn to our team for help when they encounter something of questionable origin. Aside from this, take a look at visuals, in-game menus, and command buttons. Those found in counterfeit releases differ from those of the original games.
Delayed Payments + Poor Customer Support
Making things even worse is the fact that falsified content is not the only issue associated with Argo Casino. This casino was tested as a part of our “From the Players for the Players” project, and it did not perform well, which was another reason why our team conducted a comprehensive investigation of the games.
What happened?
Our tester registered on October 27, 2021, made a deposit of USD 200 in BTC (received USD 198.85), and submitted ID verification documents on the same day and the next one.
She made a withdrawal request of $513 / 0.0087 BTC on October 27, 2021, but this transaction was canceled. She made another one on the same day $483 / 0.0082 BTC.
In the meantime, it took 36 emails and over 3 monthsof waiting for the operator to credit the money. This happened on February 7, 2022, a couple of days after our report was published. Strangely, the tester received more than she requested- $554, but when the tester asked how to return the excess cash, the casino simply responded:
“I don’t think we’ll bother about it”.
If you are curious to find out more details about the investigation, read our comprehensive Argo Casino test report.
No Improvement on the Horizon
For that reason, players should never risk their time and money with scammers like this, especially knowing that there are so many trustworthy online casinos out there. LCB also offers a super cool tool for players to compare casinos and their key features.
After all those problems our tester had with cashing out and the report going live, one would think that Argo Casino would turn over a new leaf and leave all those poor business practices behind.
But, no.
Instead, they try to get away with copied works of respectable studios such as Quickspin, Pragmatic Play, NetEnt, and who knows how many more games or even releases by Aristocrat that are no longer available. Also, when visiting the operator’s website, players won’t encounter a visible license and they won’t be able to open Terms and Conditions to get acquainted with the rules.
Having all these issues in mind, do you think Argo Casino’s status should be changed from “Warning” to “Blacklisted”? Should casinos like this be permanently banned by gambling regulators, provided that they possess any license at all?
Share your thoughts and impressions with us, we are always happy to hear from you. Gamble responsibly!
marsal
9 months ago
Since the whole controversy was revealed quite by accident, that games are hosted from a pirate server, I wonder how many more such scams may appear. Nevertheless, very good job Lcb. To answer your question, it is of course that Argo Casino's status should be changed from "Warning" to "Blacklist", such casinos should be...
Since the whole controversy was revealed quite by accident, that games are hosted from a pirate server, I wonder how many more such scams may appear. Nevertheless, very good job Lcb. To answer your question, it is of course that Argo Casino's status should be changed from "Warning" to "Blacklist", such casinos should be permanently banned by gambling regulators.
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