Interview with Trada Casino’s Head of Casino Rachel Morgan
Today is a special day because we publish the first of a series of interviews we’ve held with key persons of online casinos listed on Casinokings.club. We publish these interviews on our site to give (potential) players more insight in how online casinos operate and what their view is on online casino related issues. As we all know there are many shady online casinos out there, but fortunately there are also online casinos that take their operation and players very seriously and feel they have a responsibility in offering each and every player a fair and enjoyable online casino experience.
The first online casino is Trada Casino represented by Head of Casino Rachel Morgan. The casino is online since 2011 and has a license from the UK Gambling Commission. Trada casino carries the Casinokings.club Reward of Excellence which emphasises this casino to be fair and trustworthy by meeting all the listing conditions of Casinokings.club with an 8 or higher.
First a little bit more about Rachel:
- Name: Rachel Morgan
- Job Title: Head of Casino
- Location: Dublin, Ireland
- Years in the industry: 8
- Age: 30
- Favourite Movie: I Am Sam
- Favourite Song: Feel it Still – Portugal. The Man
- Favourite Place: Calahonda
- Favourite Restaurant: Rules, London
1. What is your take on how online casinos get treated in some countries compared to the already legal land based casinos?
I believe there are definitely instances where governments strike the wrong balance here. For example, Australia recently issued an outright ban on online casinos offering their services without a license. The problem is that there is currently no framework to apply for a license in Australia. This means that the option to play safely online has now been taken off the table for Australian players. Land based gambling still remains in Australia, and you can play slots anywhere from your local pub to a huge land based casino.
Unfortunately, as a result of this ban all the licensed and regulated online casinos have pulled out of the market. This leaves unlicensed/unregulated online casinos to scoop up the players who still want to play online. I believe that an outright ban does not effectively protect players, it simply pushes them towards rogue operators whilst excluding the casinos who want to operate within the law.
2. Can you state your view on protection of gamblers and what your company does in this regard?
Trada Casino have always run the business in accordance with our tag-line ‘Fun, Fast, Fair’. This means that we always put the player first, and ensure everyone has the tools they need to gamble responsibly and within their means. Whilst our license conditions are already very stringent, we go above and beyond what is required of us in order to improve the player experience. Some examples of services we offer that are not required by licensing authorities:
- Manual flushing (via live chat/email)
- Fast withdrawals (within 6 hours)
- Instant self-exclusion (available on-site, 24/7)
- Instant limit settings (available on-site, 24/7)
- Max bet rollback (If a player breaks the maximum bet on a bonus, we set their balance back to the level it was at immediately prior to breaking the rule and let them continue to play)
3.What is your view on making manual flushing mandatory for all online casinos?
So many new laws/regulations have come into play over the years, and I cannot believe manual flushing is not one of them. In particular, where casinos can take days (sometimes weeks!) to process a withdrawal, and the player is not allowed to flush it. We have offered this service since day one, and will always do so.
“The industry needs to move in the direction of ‘live’ and ‘interactive’ game-play to stay ahead of the curve.”
4. What is your view on a ban on the ‘max bet buttons’ on all casino games? In our opinion it is a pointless button that can easily get pressed by accident.
It is an utterly pointless button. We have had a small number of players who accidentally hit ‘MAX BET’ and came onto live chat explaining their mistake. If they were regular customers who never usually placed big bets, we refunded them.
5. What is your view on a centralised database where players can register their cool off period (temporarily or permanent) to prevent them from opening an account on any other online casino. This way players can opt-in to be registered when they choose to. Would you connect your casino to such a database?
We are already connected to GamStop in the UK, as is required by our license. I believe that this is a brilliant idea in principle, but there are some drawbacks. The biggest downside for me is the fact that only licensed operators are included in the database. Being blocked on this centralised system doesn’t stop players signing up to rogue casino operators.
6. What measures do you think governments could take to give the illegal online casinos a harder time to practice their shady operations?
Honestly, I don’t know. It’s a tough nut to crack. Aside from blocking their web address completely (e.g. as some governments have succeeded in doing for illegal torrent sites) I cannot think of another solution. They can send as many fines/sanctions as they want, but who is going to force them to pay?
7. How do you see the future of online gambling? We read a lot about the younger generations having less interest in casino games. But on the other hand online gaming is still growing.
The industry needs significant innovation over the next 10 years to avoid reaching a plateau. You mentioned the younger generation, just look at how they consume information and interact with content compared to the generation before them! “Influencers” on platforms such as Snapchat/Instagram are the new billboard. Younger people are consuming content increasingly through social media, and traditional methods of advertising are falling by the wayside. Take a look at Twitch as an example, people who live stream their game-play are becoming increasingly popular with players, and these streamers have a significant impact on where their viewers decide to spend. The industry needs to move in the direction of ‘live’ and ‘interactive’ game-play to stay ahead of the curve.
We want to thank Trada Casino and Rachel for their cooperation with this interview. If you want to know more about this casino and what it has to offer its players, you can click here.
