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We Found the Most (and Least) Annoying Online Casinos

Online casinos love promotions. Free spins, deposit bonuses, reload offers, contests, and other deals can give players a reason to keep coming back. But at some point, promoting those offers becomes annoying.

I wanted to find out which casinos can strike the balance between enticing players and aggravating them. To test them, I created new accounts at ten online casinos and tracked their marketing practices for one week. I counted the emails and text messages they sent, looked at how aggressively they promoted offers, and even whether they contacted me directly while I used the site.

What “Annoyance” Metrics Are We Tracking?

There isn’t necessarily anything wrong with a casino sending promotional messages. Players who are interested in online casino bonuses and promotions may even appreciate being told when a worthwhile offer becomes available.

The problem is when useful marketing turns into spam. Rather than simply counting how many messages each casino sends, we’re looking at four different aspects of the marketing experience. Each category receives a score from 0 to 5, with five points representing the least annoying experience.

The Approach

I’m approaching this experiment from a new player’s perspective. I’ll create new accounts at all the casinos we’re testing rather than using old and outdated accounts that may rarely get messages.

The experiment will run for seven days after registration. During that time, I’ll record every promotional email and SMS message received, along with notable onsite advertising and any unsolicited communication the casino initiates.

I won’t deliberately contact customer support to see whether an agent tries to sell me something. Instead, I’ll use the casinos normally and record any promotional contact that occurs naturally during the experiment.

I’ll also avoid deliberately clicking promotional emails or taking other actions designed to generate additional marketing. The goal isn’t to influence casino contact. We want to see what happens when a new player signs up and uses each site normally for a week.

Each casino can earn up to five points in four categories for a maximum score of 20. Higher scores represent a less intrusive marketing experience.

The Online Casinos We’re Testing

I’m testing the same ten casinos that I recently examined in my customer service experiment. This allows me to look at another part of the player experience while also comparing some very different operators. This is similar to how our reviewers rank online casinos. 

For this experiment, I’m starting each casino with a clean slate. A site that sends frequent promotions can still score well if those offers are useful and aren’t intrusive. Likewise, a casino doesn’t automatically earn a perfect score simply because it leaves me alone.

On the Hunt to Find the Most Annoying Casino

Ducky Luck

Ducky Luck was fairly standard in their contacts. They contacted me only via email, once a day, every day except Sunday.

I didn’t find the messages from this casino that annoying, as it was just a simple email per day, with no extra pressure once I logged into the casino.

Lucky Rebel

Lucky Rebel took a somewhat hands-off approach to marketing. I received four emails during the week, and that’s it. All emails came directly from customer service.

I received two additional reminders about the welcome bonus during the week, and that was it. When I played on the website, a prominent banner promoted the welcome bonus when I logged in, but that was it.

TheOnlineCasino.com

TheOnlineCasino was the only casino that contacted me by phone during this test. Around 6 pm on the day I registered, I got an unknown call and let it go to voicemail. The message was from an agent who welcomed me and reminded me about the welcome bonus. 

The casino did not contact me at all during the week via email or text. When I logged into the site, the only low-key nudging I experienced was the site automatically redirecting me to the cashier. Some might view this as helpful, but I find it a bit pushy.

Overall, the test left me feeling that this casino doesn’t really care. After a courtesy phone call, if we don’t deposit or interact, they just let it ride. 

Wild Casino

Wild Casino sent me more emails than any other casino on this list. They contacted me every day of the week, and twice on Day 3 of the test.

When I played on the website, it redirected me to the Cashier to remind me about the welcome bonus. However, it didn’t give me an easy way to get off the page. This felt both pushy and manipulative.

From personal experience playing at Wild Casino, I can tell they’re diligent about contacting players, so these frequent contacts were expected. However, they bordered on annoying and pushy.

Las Atlantis

Las Atlantis focuses heavily on promotions, but they do nothing to nudge players toward them. The only contact I received after signing up was the traditional welcome email on the day I signed up. After that, nothing.

While the site obviously isn’t annoying with its promotions, it does make me wonder if they actually care that I’m a customer.

Bovada

On the website, the only reminder was a prominent banner at the top of the homepage reminding me about the welcome bonus. Overall, the site started a bit pushy, but calmed down after the first couple of days.

Ignition Casino

Ignition Casino took a similar approach to Bovada, with multiple contacts early on. On the first day, I received an email and a message in my website inbox reminding me about the welcome bonus.

On Day 3, Ignition tried to sweeten the welcome bonus offer by tacking on 100 free spins. I liked this, as it was an extra nudge that might help some players make that first deposit.

Besides the inbox message on Day 1, the only other reminder given on the website is the welcome bonus banner on the homepage. 

I had mixed feelings here. While I like the extra boost for the welcome bonus, six messages in three days was excessive.

JacksPay

JacksPay made a mild attempt to contact me after I signed up, but quickly dropped the chase. I received a message the day I registered reminding me about the welcome bonus. The next day, I received two messages reminding me of the same.

That was the extent of the casino’s contact. No texts, phone calls, or reminder banners appeared on the website. 

Slots Paradise

Slots Paradise kept their contact exclusively through the casino website. The site did not email, text, or call me during the week.

I played along, and a chat with an account agent started. Ultimately, I determined that the “special signup bonus” was merely the welcome bonus with an extra $10 tacked on. If you’re going to bug me with a forced chat message, at least make it worth my while.

SlotsandCasino

SlotsandCasino’s approach is similar to that of Bovada and Ignition. The site sent me two emails on the day I signed up. One was a general welcome message and promotion reminder, while the other promoted the welcome bonus. The next day, I received another welcome bonus promotion.

Other than emails, SlotsandCasino didn’t reach out, and its site had no intrusive banners or customer service messages.

A Comparison

Casino	Email/SMS Marketing	Onsite Promotions	Unsolicited Contact	Marketing Quality	Total
Ducky Luck	5	5	5	4	19/20
SlotsandCasino	4	5	5	4	18/20
Lucky Rebel	4	5	5	2.5	16.5/20
JacksPay	4	5	5	3	17/20
Bovada	3	5	5	3.5	16.5/20
Ignition Casino	3.5	4	5	4	16.5/20
Wild Casino	2.5	5	3.5	3.5	14.5/20
Las Atlantis	1	5	5	2	13/20
TheOnlineCasino.com	0	3	4	2	09/20
Slots Paradise	0	3	2	2	07/20

Slots Paradise Is the Most Annoying Casino Because of Its Forced Chat

Slots Paradise didn’t bombard me with emails or text messages. In fact, it didn’t send me any. Instead, it delivered one of the most annoying marketing experiences of the entire test with a single forced chat.

Both Slots Paradise and TheOnlineCasino lost points because they didn’t make the customer feel appreciated. The lack of communication sends the wrong message to customers and ultimately leads to an “out of sight, out of mind” mentality.

Also, both forced an interaction with the site. TheOnlineCasino pushed me to the cashier to prompt a deposit. In the end, Slots Paradise became the most annoying because they wasted my time.

Pushing me to the cashier is one thing, but if you’re going to interrupt my casino experience with a forced chat, the offer needs to be worthwhile. The welcome bonus with $10 on top is hardly worth my time and ultimately pushed Slots Paradise to the bottom of my list.

And the Least Annoying Is Ducky Luck

Ducky Luck found the best balance between keeping me informed and leaving me alone.

I received one email per day except Sunday, which was enough to remind me that the casino existed without flooding my inbox. Most promoted the welcome bonus, although one also provided useful information about cryptocurrency banking and the additional benefits available to crypto users.

More importantly, the marketing stopped when I entered the casino. No forced chats, aggressive pop-ups, automatic cashier redirects, or other attempts to pressure me into depositing.

Ducky Luck wasn’t the casino that contacted me the least. It was the least annoying because its marketing stayed where I expected it and never got in the way of using the site.

The Nerd Verdict

This experiment showed that the number of promotions a casino sends doesn’t necessarily determine how annoying its marketing is.

Some casinos barely contacted me. Las Atlantis sent only its initial welcome email, while TheOnlineCasino.com followed its unusual welcome phone call with virtually no communication. While not annoying in the conventional sense, it was annoying that they didn’t reach out to potential new customers. Wild Casino took the opposite approach. It contacted me more than any other casino, and while the frequency bordered on excessive, at least it kept trying to engage me.

The best approach was somewhere in between. Ducky Luck contacted me regularly without becoming intrusive, while SlotsandCasino also did a good job of sending different offers instead of repeatedly pushing the same bonus.

Ultimately, I’d rather receive a reasonable number of useful promotions than be ignored or constantly pressured to deposit. The casinos that handled marketing best weren’t necessarily the quietest. They were the ones that gave me a reason to return without getting in the way of the experience.