REVIEW SUMMARY
SilverSands is a South African casino that’s stocked to the gunnels with games of all kinds, from roulette to slots. Some of these games require players to download specialist software, but there’s also an instant play section containing a cross-section of games including European and American Roulette.
The site is naturally targeted at players who are based in South Africa, but it accepts a range of currencies: US dollars, Euros, British pounds and Rands. Pick your currency, pick your device and then pick how you’d like to play, be it in-browser or on desktop. There’s a bonus worth R8,888 for signing up and a bunch of other promotions to look forward to, should you take the plunge and join the party at SilverSands.
PROMOTIONS
The first line of SilverSands’ promotions page speaks of a special bonus that the casino is running in May. Which May could this be – May 2016? May 1996? Scroll down a little further and it becomes apparent that this is indeed a May 2016 promotion. So the site is only months rather than years out of date then. That’s comforting to know.
Other promotions don’t appear to be limited by date, such as the welcome bonus of R8,888, available when you make your first deposit. This seems to come in the form of a 100% first deposit match, but don’t take that as gospel because it’s hard to tell for sure.
For players depositing funds via Skrill, there’s a 100% bonus available every time up to a maximum of £500. There’s a £10 no deposit bonus available simply for sharing the casino’s page on your own Facebook page. Other promos include Monday Cash Back, with 40% back on all deposits, and Crazy Wednesday, which features a special bonus on all deposits made. Sign up to SilverSands’ newsletter and you’ll also receive a weekly update alerting you to exclusive offers that are in store. Finally, watch out for slots tournaments, with prizes going to the players who’ve earned the most points.
| TYPE | AMOUNT | MATCH | PLAYTHROUGH | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Deposit | R1,888 T&C Apply | 100% | 30x | SIGN UP |
| Second Deposit | R3,000 T&C Apply | 75% | 30x | SIGN UP |
| Third Deposit | R4,000 T&C Apply | 50% | 30x | SIGN UP |
GAMES
The range of casino games to be played on SilverSands varies according to whether you’re accessing the instant play games in your web browser or via desktop using the site’s software. Both options feature a games lobby whose categories include table games, slots, video poker, specialty and progressives.
If you’re here for the roulette, don’t head to the table games section – go to the specialty tab instead. Here you’ll find just 3 games to choose from: Craps, American Roulette and European Roulette. Save for the addition of the double zero in the American game, there’s nothing between the two varieties of roulette.
Slot Action
SilverSands actually has a pretty decent selection of slots. What’s more, many of these titles you won’t have seen elsewhere. The reason for this, of course, is because many of these games are dated. Still, for purveyors of the esoteric and hard-to-find, the slots category will delight and entrance. Try the likes of T-Rex, Voodoo Magic, Wild Wizards and Shark School for size.
There are more slots to be found in the progressive category, although the selection here is more slender: Megasaur and Spirit of the Inca are all you’ve got. There are 3 other progressive games however, which are all poker titles: Caribbean Hold ‘Em, Caribbean Stud and Let ‘Em Ride. There’s more poker to be found under table games, incidentally, accompanied by baccarat, blackjack and a few one-off games such as Vegas Three Card Rummy.
GAME TYPES
Silver Sands Casino is equipped with a variety of games, with American and European Roulette as their speciality, although there are no Live Dealer Games. The casino features several other table games and many 6, 5, and 3-reel slots complete with bonus rounds and progressive jackpots. Slot fans can also participate in Super Slots Tournaments on the more popular games like Loose Caboose and Crystal Waters. There is even a Tutorials section dedicated to newcomers.
SOFTWARE
Silver Sands Casino is powered by Realtime Gaming (RTG), one of the ‘old dogs’ in the industry who have hung in there while many other software providers have bowed out. Their success comes from their massive gaming library and the provision of its platform to many operators across the globe. They were one of the first to offer system-wide progressive jackpots.
SCREENSHOTS
BANKING
There’s a lot of information on SilverSands’ website, but not all of it is relevant. Take the banking page for instance, which is replete with plenty of call to actions urging players to download the casino’s software, but precious little in the way of banking information. The page does disclose that the site uses 128-bit SSL at least, which is reassuring.
Judging by the logos displayed at the bottom of the page, deposit options include credit and debit card, cheque and bank transfer. Choose from Visa, MasterCard, Skrill and Neteller, among others, before you can start playing roulette for real money.
Should you require customer support – say, to ascertain the banking information that’s absent from the casino’s banking page – a freephone number is provided that’s in operation 24/7. While we’re picking faults with the site, by the way, a quick grumble about the casino’s name: on its homepage, it’s stylised as SilverSands, whereas on other pages it’s Silver Sands. Which is the correct form? Don’t ask SilverSands/Silver Sands cos they clearly have no idea.
CURRENCIES
Members of the casino don’t have many options regarding their deposits. They can deposit in just two currencies: American Dollars and Euro. Roulette players can do so by way of bank wire; direct transfer and credit cards (either Visa or Mastercard), and three separate e-wallets. Withdrawals are paid within two working days by bank transfers, Skrill e-wallet, or Visa credit card only. Players also qualify for a 100% bonus on Skrill deposits.
USD
EURO
MOBILE
Players can conveniently play Roulette and all the casino’s other games directly from their Apple, Android, Windows Mobile, or Blackberry device, by navigating the site using the gadget’s internet browser; the Safari browser must be used on Apple devices, whereas Google Chrome is needed on any other smart device. Supported devices include iPhone 4s, iPhone 5, iPad 2, iPad (3rd and 4th generation), iPad Mini, iPod Touch (5th generation with A5 Dual Core chip). All the bonuses are specified in the ZAR currency. When you sign up from your mobile phone you can get free wagering money up to R8888 from your first three deposits.
ANDROID
BLACKBERRY
DESKTOP PC
IOS
MAC
MOBILE
TABLET
WINDOWS
JACKPOTS
Realtime Gaming is well-known for their system-wide progressive jackpots. However, Silver Sands Casino only feature two of their jackpot games, including Megasaur and Spirit of the Inca. The casino also has plenty of jackpot games such as Jackpot Cleopatra’s Gold, Jackpot Pinatas, and Aztec Millions which you will find listed on the homepage along with a list of recent winners.
SECURITY
Silver Sands Casino is licensed by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission and its Random Number Generator is independently verified. The casino’s systems and sites have strict measures to protect against unauthorised use, and all banking transactions are protected by our Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology to guarantee protection against would-be hackers and information theft. 128-Bit encryption is used at all times when transferring any data, including payment card details and banking information via the Internet.
VERDICT
SilverSands is a dismal and badly outdated casino that has little to recommend about it. In its favour is the fact that it’s designed for the benefit of South African players, and offers payment options and bonuses to suit. That and the quirky selection of slots to be sampled are nominally positive points. Against SilverSands is everything else, from navigation to software. If you’re here to play roulette, there are a couple of games to sample at least, and in operation they’re just fine. That’s about the only reason why you might contemplate giving SilverSands the time of day however.
The promotions page is outdated. The banking page is devoid of any useful information whatsoever. The download page is hopelessly muddled, leaving players none the wiser as to whether or not they can download software to their Mac. Then there are the games themselves, which were last current at least 5 years ago. Even within the domain of South African sites, there are way better casinos than this out there. Go find one and play there.
