Red Dog Casino Review | Why To Avoid This Blacklisted Casino

Emma Trotter

Updated by Emma Trotter

Editor

Timothy Lewoc

Fact Checked by Timothy Lewoc

Last Updated 6th Sep 2024, 04:19 PM

 

Like many rogue casinos, Red Dog gives the impression of being a wholesome gaming platform. But this Comoros-licensed casino is anything but that. From shady licensing and often withheld payments to misleading promotions and questionable game fairness, Red Dog is one platform USA players should avoid at all costs. You’re better off playing at literally any regulated and licensed casino that we recommend on this site.

Does Red Dog Casino Have a License?

Well, yes and no. Red Dog doesn't have a license from a US state regulator, such as the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement or the West Virginia Lottery. What you'll find is a Comoros license, which is ranked among the smallest and most untrustworthy licenses in the online gaming space. Besides its credibility issues, a Comoros license isn’t valid in any state of the USA. So, ultimately, Red Dog isn’t safe for USA players.

However, the lack of a credible gaming license is not all that’s wrong with Red Dog. Going by its privacy policy wording, the site may engage the services of third-party service providers to provide technical support, process its players’ online transactions, and maintain their accounts. So accepting Red Dog Casino’s terms and conditions gives third parties unchecked access to your personal information. For a site operating outside US jurisdiction with the least credible license, that’s not a good look.

Platform Usability

All of the best con jobs succeed because the con artists find a way to blend bells and whistles into the scam. Red Dog’s user experience is one way the platform lures unsuspecting players. The mobile-friendly casino boasts a clean and attractive design, and its well-organized navigation menu makes exploring the site easy across all devices. It’s also pretty functional, as the pages and the games load much quicker than I expected.

But here’s the thing. The site’s above-average user experience serves as a distraction from the risks gamers face when playing on the platform. 

Warning Banner IconPlayer Safety Warning: This casino has been placed on our blacklist
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Operating offshore without a U.S. license, this casino lacks regulatory oversight, which can lead to unsafe gaming conditions and unfair practices. Your security and privacy are at risk when playing on this platform. For a secure and fair gaming experience, please consider using one of our recommended licensed casinos.

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Deposit and Withdrawal Issues

According to its website, Red Dog offers a handful of deposit options, including Visa, MasterCard, Flexepin, and a couple of cryptocurrencies. However, support for a payment method, and whether you can actually complete your casino deposit with that payment method are two completely different things. Let me explain. The US banks that your Visa or Mastercard are linked to will not allow a transfer of money to an illegal gambling site. They are legally obliged to block this kind of transaction. So, even though it looks like you could use your card to fund a Red Dog account, any US bank worth its reputation will not allow the transfer. 

In addition, you won't find cryptocurrencies at licensed, reputable US casino sites because crypto has not yet been given the legal nod for gaming transactions. Interestingly, Red Dog offers more cryptocurrencies than traditional payment methods. Wanna know why? It's simple. As we mentioned, US banks don’t permit Red Dog casino transactions. So, the online casino employs alternative, anonymous ways to get players' money to the site.

Withdrawals are said to be processed within 3-5 days, depending on the chosen method. Now, that’s another bone of contention. The cashout transaction channels are fewer than the deposit options, and the site reserves the right to make the final decision about which method it uses for you. Then there’s the unreasonable $150 minimum and $2500 maximum withdrawal amount. 

But it gets worse. You may have to wait weeks, if not months, to receive your withdrawal. When it eventually comes, you may only get paid part of the sum. Expect to receive tiny installments of your funds while undergoing repeated, rigorous "verification" checks, which are effectively delaying tactics.

Customer Support Experience

Red Dog Casino’s customer support is available via phone, email, and 24/7 live chat. However, the supposed availability is a charade, as what the agents offer is anything but support. I tried getting some info about the site's ownership, and the live chat agent I spoke with claimed that the casino operates independently and that no company owns it. Can you beat that?

I got no help when I had issues claiming my Red Dog Casino bonus. The customer support agents came up with bogus claims that I wasn’t verified even when I presented evidence to the contrary. This back and forth dragged on for weeks, and suddenly, all I got was radio silence.

Gaming Fairness Concerns at Red Dog

I can’t vouch for Red Dog’s game fairness as I couldn’t find any information on the site’s page to confirm its commitment to fair play. Interestingly, there’s an RTP tracker in the Red Dog Casino website footer. 

But when I clicked on it to learn more about the games, I got another shocker. Instead of showing me the RTPs for all the games, I was redirected to a page where I was told that the page content was “coming soon”  via RedX, the site’s courier. But that’s just one of many red flags I found on the site. There’s more!

Community Feedback and Reputation

Here’s where it gets very messy. I decided to see what other gamers had to say about Red Dog, and it turned out that the platform had a bad reputation. Going by the casino’s Trustpilot score of 1.4 stars, it appears no one who has played there has anything good to say about the site. 

Topping the complaints about the casino are the shady validation processes, which take forever to complete. When the players finally get verified, the site delays the withdrawals and only sends partial payouts instead of the full withdrawable funds. Some players claim that Red Dog charges high deposit fees, with the deposit fees for Bitcoin being as high as 15%.

Conclusion: Is Red Dog a Legit Casino?

No, it’s not. It's bad enough that the platform doesn’t have a license from a reputable gaming authority, but the other red flags I found gave me real trust issues. So what if the site has an above-average user experience and its incoming and outgoing data are protected with 256-bit SSL encryption? 

Why would a trustworthy site for US players have more cryptocurrencies than any other payment method? Why is the verification process so tedious and protracted, if not to frustrate players into forfeiting their funds? Then why do players who work through the validation process only get tiny installments of their withdrawable funds? There are just so many red flags and inexplicable issues, all of which point in one direction — Red Dog is a rogue casino. Run for the hills.

Other Casinos we DON’T recommend 🚫

Safe Gambling Guidelines

It’s one thing to point out unscrupulous gaming sites like Red Dog Casino, and another to spot them in the wild. So, I’ve put together these metrics to help you find the regulated sites that are safe to play at. 

  • License: All US-regulated gaming platforms flaunt their licenses on their sites. Always look out for New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, Michigan Gaming Control Board, or West Virginia Lottery licenses before signing up.
  • Security: What are the security measures deployed by the site? Look for information about SSL encryption and secure payment processors before creating an account. 
  • Fairness testing: Legit casinos feature a link to the agency, which tests their games for fairness. The certification should be clear via a link on the casino. 
  • Ownership: Every legit casino offers information about its operator in the website footer. Avoid sites without such information.
  • Payment methods: Avoid casinos offering cryptocurrencies as payment methods because regulated real money online casinos don’t provide crypto payments in the US.
  • Bonuses: Run away from sites offering bonuses and promotions that are too good to be true. Avoid casinos offering no deposit bonuses of more than $50 or maximum deposit match bonuses over $2,500. For instance, the Red Dog offers a welcome offer of up to $8,000.

Casinos we DO recommend âś…

So, where SHOULD you play instead of Red Dog? The good news is that you have plenty of safe options. We've listed a selection of safe, licensed casinos below. The list is location-sensitive, so if you're in New Jersey, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, or Michigan, you'll see the top real money casinos available in your state. And if you're not in one of these states, we will show you the best social and sweepstakes casinos available to you. 

At our recommended casinos, you can trust that your safety, privacy, and security are our top priority. They are also regularly scrutinized by the licensing authority. So go ahead, spin those reels, deal those cards, or place those bets - and have a blast doing it!

Warning Banner IconPlay Safely Here: We recommend these safe casino sites
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The casinos below are fully licensed to operate in the US. These casinos are regularly audited, work with licensed payment providers, and adhere to state regulations to ensure online security and fair play.

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Meet The Author

Emma Trotter
Emma Trotter
Editor Editor

Emma Trotter is a Senior Editor at Casinos.com. Emma has worked as a staff writer and editor for nearly two decades, extensively covering celebrity news and the Las Vegas entertainment, casino and tourism scenes. She spent several years in in-house roles at Caesars Entertainment and Wynn Las Vegas before stepping into iGaming affiliate site content.

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