REVIEW:

Established in 1996, the 5Dimes Group has distinguished itself as an online gambling operation through its commitment to integrity, versatility and customer service. 5Dimes.com, the flagship site of the 5Dimes Group, is a casino, poker room, sportsbook and lottery. In addition, 5Dimes.com offers customer service online and via telephone 24/7/365 in an array of languages. Recently, 5Dimes upped its game again by adding live dealers, which is notable since 5Dimes.com is one of the only such casinos accepting US-based players.

5Dimes Live Dealer Casino

All of the live dealer games at 5Dimes are browser-based, so the client logs in via the website, and then the game launches from there. As far as browser-based games go, this is one is relatively undemanding, and it should run reasonably well on older computers. Like most modern live dealer setups, this one uses a combination of video feed and GUI. Clients have the option of expanding the video stream and going GUI-light. 5Dimes does not have HD streams, but the video quality is quite good, and they use oversized playing cards to increase visibility.

Our Experience

Overall, 5Dimes is a solid experience. The attractive female dealers perform admirably considering they’re using oversized cards, and they all speak fluid English clearly. The 5Dimes live dealer casino is powered by Global Gaming Labs, located in San Jose, Costa Rica. As mentioned, 5Dimes accepts USA players and as you might expect, because of this the traffic levels can get high. Nevertheless, 5Dimes does a superb job of balancing that load, and although we did wait for a spot on a table on occasion, it was never very long at all.

Blackjack is by far their most popular game. Some of this is due to the hubbub about them having insertion policies favorable to card counters. According to the policy, they insert at 75 percent, but they can insert earlier. Most casinos insert at about 50 percent, and according to our observation, 5Dimes was typically at 60 percent, at worst. It’s nice to believe that there’s a card-counting paradise out there for blackjack players, but of course, that business wouldn’t be able to stay in business very long at all.

If we have any gripe at all with the live dealers at 5Dimes, it’s with the roulette. For one, we prefer the French bets, which 5Dimes doesn’t offer, and the game boasts an awkward interface. On the plus side, view of the wheel and the spin is exceptional, so if you’re willing to play in the maximized view, the GUI issues mentioned aren’t as much of a problem.

5Dimes Live Dealer Games

Currently, 5Dimes has live dealers for baccarat, blackjack and roulette. For baccarat, the bet range is $5 to $250, and for blackjack and roulette, it is $5 to $500. All three games only support U.S. currency, and the only language available is English. Roulette uses an American wheel (0, 00), and blackjack is a 7-seat multiplayer setup dealt from a 6-deck shoe.

5Dimes Bonus

5Dimes offers a 50 percent welcome bonus on first deposits for casino clients. The minimum deposit is $50 for clients in North America, and $100 for all other clients. The bonus pays out on deposits up to $250, so $125 is the largest bonus that’s claimable through this method. Unlike many online casinos, the promotion does not trigger automatically. Since 5Dimes offers so many welcome packages, a client has to open an account, make the deposit and then choose the specific package via live chat or email.

All 5Dimes bonuses pay out as the client clears them, and 5Dimes awards it in 10 percent increments. In other words, each time the client wagers the amount of the first deposit, 5Dimes deposits 10 percent of the bonus into account. For example, if a client deposited $250 to take advantage of the full casino welcome bonus, 5Dimes will deposit a $12.50 bonus each time they’ve wagered $250.

In addition, 5Dimes offers a “Play $25 On Us” promotion specifically for the live dealer aspect of the casino, and clients can combine this with the bonus described above. So after a client has opened the account, made a deposit and selected a welcome package, they should enter the live casino and play $25. Win or lose, contact customer service via live chat, and they will deposit an immediate $25 bonus into the account.