Casino.me Casino Review

Casino.me is a relatively new online casino that opened in 2020 exclusively to Japanese players, although the site can be accessed from most countries around the world. It is a sister casino of Casitabi, also a Japanese-language-only site, both run by the same company Sweetspot N.V., registered and licensed under the gaming laws of Curaçao.

Casino.me is heavily Japanese-themed, featuring a neo-futuristic anime character that welcomes you (yes, this is the kind of theme modern-day Japanese people are used to, instead of the samurai/ninja/geisha stuff that appeals to the rest of the world).

That being said, the site comes with all the popular games that are available at normal English online casinos, from the newest slot machines to live dealer games powered by the industry-leading game developers such as Pragmatic Play, Evolution Gaming, Quickspin, Play’n GO, NetEnt, Microgaming, and many more. Meanwhile, there’s also an exclusive slot machine only available at Casno.me!

But that’s not it. Aside from the 3,000+ casino games, the site also features a sportsbook and a mahjong room, all accessible from the same casino account. Casino.me is the only online casino that offers mahjong play for real money!

Casino.me offers a very generous welcome bonus for new players too. And a cashback program and a lucrative VIP system awaits you after you go through the initial offer.

So let us walk you through this hidden gem of an online casino in this review. We’ll cover Casino.me’s game selection, promotions, cashing methods, safety measures, and pros and cons.

Casino.me Bonus Overview

Unlike its elder sister casino Casitabi that only features cashback and no real casino bonuses, Casino.me is rather traditional when it comes to the welcome offer. After the initial deposit bonus though, the campaigns become more personal, with a cashout and VIP system but no daily/seasonal promotions or tournaments offered regularly.

Welcome Bonus - Welcome bonus offer at Casino.me is a series of deposit bonuses spanning over the first four deposits. You’ll also be rewarded with 77 free spins after your initial deposit.

Deposit Bonus - Bonus percentage and max amount differ on each deposit:

• 1st deposit: 100% up to $377
• 2nd deposit: 30% up to $200
• 3rd deposit: 20% up to $100
• 4th deposit: 10% up to $100

  General bonus terms apply to each:

• Minimum deposit required for the bonus and free spins: $20
• Wager requirement: 20x bonus
• Maximum bet during bonus play: $5
• Bonus expiration: after 30 days

Free Spins - Free spins bonus on designated slots will be automatically credited once you make your first deposit of $20 or more. 11 spins each on different games will be credited every day, for the first seven days from the day of the deposit:

• Day 1: Sweet Bonanza
• Day 2: Moon Princess
• Day 3: White Rabbit
• Day 4: Vampires Gone Wild
• Day 5: Note of Death
• Day 6: Fruit Party
• Day 7: Jammin Jars 2

  You will be required to wager 20x of the amount won from free spins, before becoming eligible to cash out. All free spins expire after 30 days from the date the initial deposit is made.    

Other Campaigns Available at Casino.me - Casino.me does not offer seasonal or daily, monthly promotions and tournaments that are normally offered at traditional online casinos. Instead, a cashback program and a VIP system are in place for each player.

Cashme (キャッシュミー) - Casino.me offers a cashback program called Cashme for every player.  0.3% of each bet (win or loss) is accumulated until a total of 1,000 bets are made, in which case the cashback becomes available as a bonus. Once it becomes available, player shall move the amount to the account balance (お財布残高) within 30 days. 20x wager is required to cash out the cashback, just like a normal bonus. Other rules for Cashme:

• Cashback rate increases depending on the player’s VIP status
• Maximum cashback amount per bet is $1
• Some games account for lower rates (e.g. Blood Suckers, The Wish Master, RTG baccarat: 0%, live casino games: 10%)
• Bonus play accounts for 10%

VIP at Casino.me - Casino.me offers three levels of VIP status. Once you reach VIP Casino player status, you’ll have the privilege of enjoying support by exclusive VIP staff, higher cashback rates, special gifts and bonuses, and even invites to VIP-only tournaments. Here are the requirements to become a VIP member on Casino.me:  

Casino.me Games Selection

Although an exclusive site designed for the Japanese market, Casino.me offers a full library of more than 3,000 casino games popular at global online casinos, from slots to table games, instant games, and live dealer games. Major game providers such as Pragmatic Play, Evolution Gaming, Quickspin, Play’n GO, NetEnt, Microgaming as well as relatively unknown ones are in the mix, so surely there won’t be any shortage of games to keep you entertained for a long time. By the way, if you’re a fan of specific game providers, you can filter their games out at the casino game lobby. The site also offers an exclusive slot and mahjong, both only available for play at Casino.me. We’ll touch on these below.    

Slots at Casino.me

Online slots are the most popular genre of games at online casinos, so most of the 3,000+ games at Casino.me fit in that category. Not to mention the massively popular ones like the Book of Ra series, Mega Moolah variants, Megaways games are all available at Casino.me, but there’s even an exclusive game that is only available here! Note of Death is the title of the game, developed by a relatively minor game provider called Yolted, in collaboration with Casino.me. An homage to the cult classic manga/anime Death Note, the game actually went the distance and hired real Japanese anime voice actors! So you already know how devoted the developers were when creating this (literally) one-of-a-kind slot machine only to be available at one online casino. This 5-reel, 10-line slot features a free spin bonus round. But first when you open the game, you will be asked to choose between the female character Maria or the male, Akira. Whoever you chose will stand next to the game screen and root for you during the normal spins. But once a free spins bonus round is triggered, the choice of character will come into play. Maria will help you rack up big wins by producing special expanding symbols, while Akira locks up all the wild symbols during the duration of free spins. Note of Death is available from only $0.10 a spin, with a relatively high RTP of 96.22%, so it’s definitely worth checking out!    

Blitz Feature - Ever get tired of waiting till a slot spin is over? Even on fast mode? Then say hello to Blitz mode. Blitz mode is only available for a short list of online casinos including Casino.me and its sister site Casitabi, along with a few other sites mostly dedicated to the Japanese market. It enables you to play slots 6 times faster than the original speed. Naturally that cuts off the animation of the reels and other effects, but it takes you back to the original screen once a big win is hit or a bonus round is triggered. So if you are an impatient gambler who cannot stand watching all those losing spins, the Blitz mode just might be the thing you’ve been looking for. The aforementioned Note of Death also comes with the Blitz option, in case you’re not the kind who appreciates an anime character rooting for you during game play. Not all slots are equipped with this feature though, even at Casino.me, but they can be filtered out by typing “blitz” in the search box at the casino game lobby.    

Live Casino

If you’re a fan of old-school casino table games rather than slots, Casino.me has a lot to offer. Live casino dealer games are available 24/7, spanning over more than 300 tables at peak hours. Evolution Gaming, Pragmatic Play, Bombay Live, OnAir, Ezugi, and Asia Gaming all provide livestream from their respective studios all over the world. That means there’s almost never any waiting time for the ever-popular blackjack, or baccarat and roulette. Another advantage of having so many game providers is that there’s a wide selection of “game shows” to choose from. Each provider has come up with something unique in this genre, for example Evolution’s Monopoly Live, Pragmatic Play’s Boom City, BetGames’ Wheel of Fortune, and so on.    

Mahjong (麻雀) - Some say the history of mahjong goes back over 2,000 years in ancient China. But did you know they are widely popular in Japan too? It’s been decades since the game has passed the peak of popularity, but you’ll still see mahjong rooms (just like video poker rooms in North America) all over in Japan. For a long time, mahjong had not been available for real money play for regulatory reasons, but Casino.me somehow made it possible. At the 麻雀 lobby consisting of three different levels, you can hone your mahjong skills. Scheduled tournaments are available too, for a chance of bagging bigger prize money.    

Safety and Security

Casino.me is devoted to protecting player safety. The casino provides you with fair gaming (meaning the payouts of each game are closely audited), a secure payment system, and a government-issued license to operate gambling services on the internet. Cutting-edge encryption technology is also used to protect sensitive information such as personal and payment information of players.

Licensing - Casino.me is operated by a company called Sweetspot N.V., registered and licensed under the gaming laws of Curaçao. Gaming licenses are only issued and renewed for online gambling sites after they pass a series of audits on fairness of the games, safety of the payment processor, and financial status of the operating company and the casino itself.

Responsible Gaming - Casino.me is also devoted to protecting the players from gambling addiction problems. On their “play responsibly” (責任あるプレイ) page is a list of self-examination questionnaires for players. Players also have the option to self-exclude themselves from Casino.me for a certain period of time or permanently, by contacting casino support.

Support - Casino.me support is available in both Japanese and English. Live chat is the convenient option, though hours are limited from 14:00 to 01:00 Japan time. For other times, support can be reached by email through their contact form on the Casino.me official website.

Although the account currency is limited to USD, Casino.me accepts more than enough payment options that are available in Japan for online gambling transactions. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies are also available for deposit and withdrawal, along with several e-wallets specific for online gambling use. Casino.me does not charge any fee on deposits and withdrawals on their end.

All deposit payments are processed instantly with the exception of bank transfer, which may take up to 3 business days to appear in your casino account.  

General rule is that the same payment method used for deposit is to be used for withdrawal. However, cash outs from online casinos cannot be paid back to any credit card issued in Japan so a different method has to be chosen in that case. Withdrawals are usually processed within 24 hours.  

Our Verdict

Casino.me is a unique online casino that caters specifically to the Japanese market. But that doesn’t mean you have to speak Japanese to try it out. In fact, there are reasons to be checking out this online casino.

First of all, the welcome offer that totals $777 is too good to pass on, considering its wagering requirement is only 20x the bonus, well below the industry standard. And it comes with 77 free spins too!

Second reason is the regular cashback program (Cashme). You can increase the rate by becoming a VIP. That means the more you play, the more you get back in cash.

And lastly, the exclusive games. Note of Death is a slot machine not available anywhere else. Especially if you are a fan of anime, there’s no way you don’t check it out!

And this is more niche so it’s irrelevant to most casino players, but just for the record, Casino.me is the only online casino that offers mahjong for real money play.