Harrods Casino Review

The name Harrods is one that most people are quite familiar with, just not when we are talking in the context of internet casinos. No, this is a brand that has built its success off its Terracotta Palace in Knightsbridge. In fact you may even think more society matron than online gamer when you see that familiar logo. Well, Harrods is hoping to change all that with the introduction of their very own online casino. That’s right, when you log into this site for the first time, you will be met with that very familiar green and gold you have come to know so well. This move is not all that surprising when you look at today’s trend of brand extension. It seems as though everyone is coming out with their own bottled water, perfume, or clothing line, so why not a casino? We thought that we would go check things out and decide if this was one for the record books or the trash bin.

We knew that this was something different when our two gender choices were, “Lady,” and “Gentlemen.” This is a good way to describe the overall look and feel of the new site. Harrods has kept their design team busy by challenging them to design a site that meets the high fashion standards of their brick and mortar empire. This top shelf feeling was carried throughout the introduction and registration, making players feel as though they were joining something special rather than just another online casino. All the extra style did not add any unnecessary time to the sign-up though so we were in and out in no time. Now, where are the games?

The trend in online casinos is to power your site using big brand software like Cryptologic or Microgaming. Never one to follow the crowd, Harrods has instead decided to use the Kismet software package for their site. As of now they are the only UK casino that has gone with Kismet, and we are sure that is just the way they like it. Kismet does not turn out to be a bad choice however as they offer strong performance from both their downloading and non-downloading options. Players who choose the more deluxe downloadable version will find that they get the chance to pick and choose which games they want to load. This is a nice alternative to being forced into everything all at once. We also applaud the fact that the non-downloading package is available for a wide variety of systems, including Macs. When you make your way down to the casino floor you will find a select group of offers that is a bit smaller then what is advertised else where. However the games that are here are very high quality and there is the written promise to expect more very soon. Everything loads into a single well integrated console so you will not be fighting several windows on your screen. Take sometime to walk through and look in on the different game tables and in some cases the special rules they operate by. Every example we found put the odds more in favor of the player which is a nice change.

While promotions are out there for all players, the real winners at Harrods are the VIP customers. Now seeing what Harrods in known for in the real world this should not be shocking news to anyone. But life for a VIP at Harrods is certainly good. For starters all Harrods VIPs will be entitled to 5% cashback on all their losses, as if that wasn’t cool enough, they can also request custom games. That is one service we would love to try! Unfortunately our boss laughed in our face when we asked for the $10,000 it takes to earn VIP status. We just couldn’t convince him that it was a business necessity.

Now any good retail store worth its salt should know a thing or two about customer support. After all isn’t that old mantra, “the customer is always right,” still in play? We found some good and bad in this area, but overall felt that it could do with some work. First support is available by freephone, e-mail and live chat. The freephone does have operating hours of 5pm to midnight GMT so check the clock before you call. Also all e-mails are guaranteed to be answered in less than 12 hours if they are not VIP. We tried this out and did find that our questions came back much faster than that. And we wanted to try the live chat, but it was unexplainably closed during our visit. The options are fine; it just feels like there are too many restraints on using them.

Harrods online casino does a nice job for their first venture into the virtual world, much less their very first casino. We can see some definite room for growth in areas like customer support and games selection. But there are some very positive things going on here as well. The Kismet software performs beautifully, delivering the games with a smooth class. And the house odds we found at the Blackjack and Baccarat are some of the best up and running on the internet today. Not to mention all the great perks extended to those VIP players. At Harrods it’s important to remember that they have already promised improvements in one of the two key areas we found fault in, game selection. This is one you need to see to believe. They have a commitment to overall quality that is hard to beat. If you are a fan in the real world, you will be happy to know that they have carried over the same high standards to their casino. Try things out for yourself and let us know what you thing. We think you might just be impressed.