bwin Backgammon
Bwin has been around for a long time in the online gaming industry and has developed a great reputation. Although their Sportsbook and Poker have been around for longer and have attracted a loyal following, their Backgammon section is growing as well. It’s not busy by any means at this stage, but with what they offer, players would be satisfied with the gaming experience when playing here.
The first thing about bwin Backgammon that players would notice is the fact that all games, including Backgammon are available through an instant play, web-based software. Like at DiceArena, bwin´s software is provided by Jadestone so no download is required, and all games are launched right from where their description appears on the website. Though US players are not welcome, players from many countries are, so bwin also allows players to choose from more than a dozen currencies to play with.
Games and Tournaments
At bwin Backgammon, there’s no such thing as playing for fun; at least not as a separate section in the software. No play money section is offered, so everyone who logs on must be willing to put some money down on the table, unless someone has created a table and set the stakes as free. There are also some options with regards to set stakes so they’re suitable for players with varying bankrolls. At the time of this review, despite the availability of single table games, sit and go tournaments and event tournaments, none of the above was seeing much traffic. At a peak time and assuming that the info on the site is accurate, aprox. 200 players were listed as being online using the Backgammon software.
Bwin of course does offer players to join an existing table when they play a single game or a match, if there’s one already created waiting for a second player; or they can create their own and set the stakes and rules and wait for an opponent. With Sit and Go tournaments, the options can be eliminated, but anytime one is taking place and there’s room at the table, players are welcome to join!
Since bwin Backgammon makes it quite difficult for players to try the games out for fun, this could have some impact on why the number of players are lower. Though “free” is an option under stakes and players might not be familiar with this, so there just aren’t tables available. Many do like to try things out before they make a monetary commitment, and this is just not something that’s available. That being said, with fewer players to choose from and only those who are playing for real money online at any given time – serious Backgammon players are likely to find others of their kind at bwin Backgammon.
Software and Registration
Bwin Backgammon is unique in that it’s instant play in format. Players create their account straight from the website, and then can visit any one of bwin’s pages and then click “play now” in order to launch the software. Finding Backgammon is a little bit more difficult since it falls under the “Games” section and is not listed on the main page, but once players get there the process is easy. Clicking on the “Play Now” button launches the Backgammon Game Lobby, and while the games might not be that busy yet, the software itself is well-designed, attractive and user-friendly, so there’s really nothing against it. The actual game board has a nice design and have easy to understand methods of tracking player rankings as well as statistics for each of the games. There are some features that do allow players to customize their gaming experience, with simple settings that allow them to remove the chat option, and customize the volume of sounds and other visual and aural elements.
Since bwin only deals primarily with players in real money, and doesn’t encourage fun play, the registration process is lengthier. Typically, Backgammon sites only require basic information to register and then takes more details when players make their first deposit. Bwin, of course requires all of the information upfront even if players are only registering to take a look at the software before they deposit. In order to register, players must provide their complete contact information including home address, phone number, country of residence, and even the currency that they’d wish to play in. The other standard information that’s usually required, like email address, password and a login name are of course necessary at this Backgammon site as well.
Promotions
The only promotion that’s offered to Backgammon players at bwin is the opportunity to accumulate points under their loyalty program. There are 4 bonuses that players can attain – which essentially mean that they can only cash in a specified number of points one time. For example, the first bonus that can be cashed in when players accumulate 100 points gives them 5 Euros of play money. The 100 point bonus can only be cashed in one time, and then after that to earn money they must accumulate 300 points to get 15 euro. The structure continues like this for the other two bonuses. It’s a bit of a strange structure, and even players who are used to playing at other online gaming sites like casino or poker will find this an unusual way to manage points. At least they offer a promotion, but it’s a bit convoluted, and not necessarily the most generous.
Customer Support and Tutorials
Bwin lacks in some areas, but they are great when it comes to Customer Support and introducing new players to the game. Their website features a Backgammon school that has written instructions explaining every aspect of the game starting with generally getting used to the software, to Backgammon terms, strategies, and even instructions about tournaments.
Bwin Backgammon also has an FAQ to walk players through any difficulties they may have when dealing with the software, making a deposit, or registering. Email or toll-free phone support is also available, though there is no chat which does bring points against them.
Conclusion
Bwin has a great reputation, but the bwin Backgammon site has a little ways to go to live up to some of the other games that it offers. It’s not yet very busy, though it does have great software and customer support that could be attractive to players. Overall, it’s still fairly average in most regards but stands on a very solid basis to start from, and if it improves in popularity, players could find lots of opportunity to compete against opponents.
