Home » reviews » bitstarz
Alan Draper

BitStarz Casino was founded in 2013. They’re one of the few bitcoin casinos I’ve come across that shares their company and licensing details. Their parent company is Nabelse Holdings Limited and they have a Malta gaming license.

What About Their Software?

BitStarz uses (at least) 2 software companies. One is SoftSwiss, who’s been in the industry since 2010. The second is Amatic Industries, who’s been in the gaming industry since 1993. For anyone who’s played at bitcasino.io, you may recognise Amatic. That’s because Amatic were one part of “Novomatic” before breaking off into a separate company.

BitStarz uses HTML5 software. This means there’s no download; you play from your browser instead. This is convenient because you’re no longer anchored to a specific computer – you can play from any device, from anywhere in the world.

That said, while their games do appear to be mobile responsive (not all bitcoin casinos are), I had a problem when I tried to test one of their games. I opened their blackjack table and the entire screen was dark, minus the cards and the chips. You couldn’t see the table or background at all. I was testing multiple casinos that day too – it wasn’t my phone.

COMPANY INFO

  • Name: BitStarz Casino
  • URL: www.bitstarz.com
  • Established year: 2013
  • Languages: English
  • Accepts US: No
  • Cashout times: Instant
  • License: Malta

PROS

  • Hold a Maltese gaming license
  • All casino games are officially licensed
  • Solid deposit bonus
  • Nice promotions via social media

CONS

  • Do not take USA players (unless you use a VPN)
  • Mobile games seem a bit buggy

Make A Deposit & Get A FREE Bitcoin

BitStarz offers a few promotions. Let’s start with their Welcome Package.

Their Welcome Package is a match bonus up to 1 bitcoin. This is done over 3 deposits:

  1. 100% match up to .3 btc.
  2. 100% match up to .4 btc.
  3. 50% match up to .3 btc.

All bonuses need to be wagered 35x before you can cash out your winnings. This is a reasonable play through compared to traditional online casinos. It’s on par with most bitcoin casinos too.

However, what you don’t want to miss is that only wagers made on slots will contribute 100% towards the wagering requirements. All other games contribute 5%.

That’s pretty bad, even compared to a traditional casino. That means you’ll have to wager as much as 700 bitcoin if you want to play video poker or blackjack. And they expect you to clear the bonus in less than 30 days.

My recommendation? If you’re playing slots, get the bonus. Otherwise skip it.

Here are a couple of other promos BitStarz has running:

iPad / PS4 Drawing – Play 100+ mBTC on their slots games and you’ll be entered to win the device of your choice.

Slots Wars – The top winners during this promotion can win up to 1 bitcoin. The best part? There’s no play through.

Play 40+ Table, Slots & Live Dealer Games

BitStarz offers 42 games. This is a decent selection compared to SatoshiBet and Coin Royale. But I’m surprised they don’t have more since they use 2+ software providers.

What’s more is that when I reviewed their site at least 16 of their games were locked. I couldn’t play or learn more about those games. I reached out to support and this is what they had to say:

The options with the games are limited if you are coming from US (having US IP). If you can access our website trough some VPN provider which would show your IP coming from non US country you would be able to play all games. Example of such software is https://www.tunnelbear.com/ . 

 They still failed to tell me why the games are locked. I also don’t like that their support was suggesting I use a VPN to get around it. If the games are locked, I figure there’s a reason why.

(You can read into that however you want.)

Okay, so what games can YOU play?

  • 7 table games.
  • 29 slot machines.
  • Live dealer games. This includes Blackjack, Roulette and Baccarat.
  • Jacks or Better and Wild Texas video poker.

I like that BitStarz has live dealer games. That’s an uncommon option for US players. And it’s funny that Americans are more likely to find them at a bitcoin casino than your traditional online casino.

Their games work well – they were fluid, easy to figure out and play. My only (minor) complaint is that I thought the slots controls were difficult to find (number of lines, auto spin, winning combos, etc). I ended up finding them in the settings.

They have 26 mobile games too – one of the largest mobile selections of all the bitcoin casinos I’ve reviewed. Too bad I couldn’t see much of anything when I tested them. (Read the software section above if you don’t know what I’m talking about.)

BitStarz’s Banking Details

BitStarz’s min. deposit is 10 mBTC. There aren’t any transaction fees.

The min. withdrawal amount is 5 mBTC. They claim to have instant cash outs, but I’m skeptical about that because they require 6 confirmations. Most other bitcoin casinos quote a minimum of 1 hour (even with fewer confirmations). Whatever the case, it’s still faster than your standard casino. It’s still fast.

But if you have any questions, or run into any issues while playing at BitStarz, you can contact them by email. You can also contact them via live chat during business hours.

All Things Considered, What Grade Do We Give BitStarz?

I give them a B. Here is why:

The biggest hit to their grade comes from that email I got from support telling me how to get around the locked games. It might not be that big a deal. But the way I figure it, if the games are locked there’s a reason for it.

Otherwise I’d rate them a B+ (with BitCasino.io). Because even though they have fewer games, they have nearly 30 mobile games –and– live dealer bitcoin games. That’s awesome, and in my opinion a fair tradeoff for a smaller selection of (overall) games.

Alan Draper

Alan Draper is a highly experienced and knowledgeable gaming expert, who has been involved in the gambling industry for over a decade. He has developed an extremely detailed comprehension of bitcoin gambling through his work as the Chief Editor of Business2Community.com, StockApps.com & InsideBitcoins.com. Alan's expertise extends beyond merely understanding the technical aspects of blockchain gambling, as he is also capable of making gambling strategies easily digestible and writing up honest brand reviews.