Melbet Scam Is Real - Avoid This Casino

Written by Edward Howarth |
Reviewed by Mark Dash
 | 

Melbet Casino

575% up to NZ$3,200 + 290 Free spins

Free spins on: Wild Bandito from PG Soft

  • Nice design of the website
  • Decent mobile web experience; mobile app too
  • Lots of slots by lesser known developers
  • Rich live casino section

Melbet Casino Rating

Usability
40/100
? We review the page composition, navigation speed, and mobile responsiveness, and make that into a score out of 100.
Deposits & Withdrawals
1/100
? This grade consists of payment selection, fees, restrictions, and the payout speed we found in our testing.
Games
50/100
? We rate the platform according to game variety, quality of suppliers, and aggregate return-to-player (RTP) percentages.
Bonuses
40/100
? The bonus score evaluates welcome bonuses, frequent promotions, reasonableness of wagers required, and rule transparency.
Customer Support
20/100
? We rank live chat, email, and FAQ comprehensiveness in speed, helpfulness, and availability to create this score.
DashScore
32/100
? This is our weighted meta-score that pools the foregoing five categories to produce one quality measure at a glance.
Aggregated rating: 153.1
Trustpilot Trustpilot: 3.2
CasinoGuru CasinoGuru: 47.94
AskGamblers AskGamblers: 6.9
CasinoOrg CasinoOrg: -

Melbet Casino Pros and Cons

  • Nice design of the website
  • Decent mobile web experience; mobile app too
  • Lots of slots by lesser known developers
  • Rich live casino section
  • Promotes bad games at every opportunity
  • Impossible verification procedure if you’re a winner
  • Popular pokie providers are largely absent
  • KYC is intrusive and slow when you win – light when you lose
  • NZD handling is opaque – think conversions and rounding everywhere
  • Banking looks wide on paper, gets messy in practice
Wagering: x40
Payout time: 0-14 Days
Deposit options: Visa, Mastercard, Perfect Money, Jeton, Sticpay, AirTM, Skrill, Skrill 1-Tap, MiFinity, ecoPayz, Neteller, Paysafecard, and 43 cryptocurrencies
Payout options: Bank transfer, Perfect Money, Jeton, Sticpay, AirTM, Skrill, Skrill 1-Tap, MiFinity, ecoPayz, Neteller, and 43 cryptocurrencies
Paying rate: 96%
Providers:
Pragmatic Play, 3 Oaks Gaming, Spinomenal, Mancala, Betsoft, BGaming, Amatic, Tom Horn Gaming, Winspinity, Gambit, 7Mojos, NetEnt, Holle Games, MGA Games, Red Tiger, PG Soft, Evolution, Mascot Gaming, KA Gaming, NetGame Entertainment, NoLimit City, Eurasian Gaming, Slot Factory, SimplePlay, Mr Slotty, NGM Game, Belatra, Evoplay, Betixon, Platipus, DLV, 5 Men Gaming, G.Games, BF Games, OneTouch, AWG, Espresso Games, 14Win, TrueLab, Zeus Play, Red Rake Gaming, Arrow's Edge, Apollo Games, Aspect Gaming, LGD Gaming, Concept Gaming, PS, Spade Gaming, Gamediaworks, Genesis, Rival, Worldmatch, Swintt, Ortiz, Booming Games, Caleta, Inbet Games, Radi8, OnlyPlay, RubyPlay, Felix Gaming, Super Lotto Games, GoldenRace, Revolver Gaming, Triple Cherry, R.Franco Digital, GameArt, Quickspin, Kalamba Games, Fugaso, Thunderspin, Slot Matrix, Bunjox, Reevo, Vibra Gaming, Playson, Gaming Corps, Netgaming, Creative Gaming, Charismatic, Betsolutions, GameBeat, Endorphina, Zillion Games, Mega7, Altente Gaming, CQ9, Naga Games, Igrosoft, Turbo Games, Amigo Gaming, Boldplay, Funky Games, Bigpot Gaming, FastSpin, TaDa Gaming, TopSpin, AdvantPlay
Game types: Video Poker, Bingo, Online Poker, Roulette, Baccarat, Craps, Lotto, Scratch Cards, Keno, Betting
Pokies games: 2000+
Live games: 500+
Mobile App: Website
Minimum deposit: NZD18
Enstablished: 2012
Licence: Curacao

Melbet is a visually attractive black-and-yellow casino/sportsbook brought to you by the same people as Betwinner and 1xBet, for better or for worse. The pattern is familiar – lots of content, lots of payment logos, but the verification prior to withdrawal is a mare, especially if you win anything meaningful. 

If you intend to deposit at Melbet, read Edward’s review until the end – and decide if this feels like a recommended real-money online casino. Spoiler: I couldn’t recommend it after hands-on testing.

My Playing Experience at Melbet Casino

Timing: 3 hours
Registration: 10 minutes
KYC: Proof of ID, proof of address, lots more documents
Support: Average reply; trained but rigid
Playing time: 3 hours
Deposit and withdrawal: I deposited with Skrill

Registration Process

Melbet really wants your phone number, so this is the first registration method you’re offered. You can register using your phone number, email, Quick Registration again via phone number, or social media.

I chose email registration as I’m conscious about giving my phone number to companies I don’t trust. I don’t want to be called in the middle of the night by a crypto broker offering me a chance to get in on the bull run. I can buy crypto on my own, thank you very much.

Reality check: sign-up itself is fine, but account usefulness is defined by what happens after – limits, KYC timing, and which cashier options you actually get when it’s time to cash out. That’s where cracks show.

How much I deposited and what bonus I got

The deposit options will only be made available to you after you have a registered account. Head to the cashier section and you’ll see a range of options. This is because deposit options are country-specific, so you don’t see them as an unregistered customer.

I got Visa, Mastercard, Perfect Money, Jeton, Sticpay, AirTM, Skrill, Skrill 1-Tap, MiFinity, ecoPayz, Neteller, Paysafecard, and 43 cryptocurrencies. I deposited quickly using Skrill and the money was there instantly.

I opted to not use the bonus as I just wanted to test the games real quick. In hindsight, that was the right call – the bonus ladder looks big, but x40 within 7 days + max bet NZ$9 + exclusions is the opposite of player-friendly for casual testing.

My Playing Experience

Although Melbet has an app I could download, and when I review casinos I usually download an app when available, this time I opted to use the mobile website to see how it goes.

Since Big Bass Splash has decent RTP here, I played that one, to see if I can catch that 5,000x fish that I’ve been chasing for a while. The game worked fine, so did every other pokie I tested, but I was just annoyed that the back button always took me to the main page and not to the pokies lobby. It’s a time-wasting process to get back to pokies.

Other than those navigation issues that are prevalent across the site, I had no other technical problems. Design is fine – the flows aren’t. Too many clicks to resume where you left off. Over a session, that’s friction you feel.

Welcome Bonuses

The welcome casino bonus is up to 3,200 NZD plus 290 free spins.

  • 50% bonus on your first deposit, up to 640 NZD + 30 FS
  • 75% bonus on your second deposit, up to 640 NZD + 40 FS
  • 100% bonus on your third deposit, up to 640 NZD + 50 FS
  • 150% bonus on your fourth deposit, up to 640 NZD + 70 FS
  • 200% bonus on your fifth deposit, up to 640 NZD + 100 FS

This sounds like a lot, but you’ll need multiple deposits to reach the headline numbers. If you can do that, sure – it adds up on paper. In practice, the x40 WR, 7-day window, NZ$9 max bet, and FS locked to Wild Bandito (PG Soft) make it a grind. I’d advise keeping deposits minimal if you must test it, because scaling early just magnifies exposure to fine print.

Key Bonus Terms and Conditions

  • Minimum deposit is 18 NZD
  • Maximum bet is 9 NZD
  • Playthrough is x40 bonus within 7 days of activation
  • All free spins are credited in Wild Bandito (PG Soft)
  • Cryptocurrency deposits can’t get bonuses
  • If you withdraw in the last 24h and then deposit, you can’t get the bonus
  • You must verify your phone number or you can’t get free spins

Comment: blocking crypto from bonuses while advertising a giant method list is confusing at best. The rest of the rules read like a minefield – easy to enter, easier to void.

Games you can play at Melbet Casino

In addition to sportsbook, pokies and live casino, the three staples of online gaming, there’s also so-called fast games (arcade) and crash games. There are scratchies, and even live lotto if you want to try that.

There are heaps of different pokie providers as well as live casino providers, as you can see below. Quantity isn’t the problem – curation is. Finding the “good” titles takes work.

Pokies at Melbet Casino

Careful with the Melbet casino lobby.

You’ll see the Popular slots and New slots, and these represent the pokies that Melbet wants to promote to you and have you play them. They aren’t necessarily good slots.

There are quality slots at Melbet, but you’ll have to find them yourself as they’ll never be at the top of the list by Melbet’s choice. You’d better be an experienced gambler and know exactly which pokie you want to play, otherwise you’ll rely on Melbet’s lists.

Here are the providers that are available, just to give you an overview of what games you can search. You can also search by provider:

Pragmatic Play, 3 Oaks Gaming, Spinomenal, Mancala, Betsoft, BGaming, Amatic, Tom Horn Gaming, Winspinity, Gambit, 7Mojos, NetEnt, Holle Games, MGA Games, Red Tiger, PG Soft, Evolution, Mascot Gaming, KA Gaming, NetGame Entertainment, NoLimit City, Eurasian Gaming, Slot Factory, SimplePlay, Mr Slotty, NGM Game, Belatra, Evoplay, Betixon, Platipus, DLV, 5 Men Gaming, G.Games, BF Games, OneTouch, AWG, Espresso Games, 14Win, TrueLab, Zeus Play, Red Rake Gaming, Arrow’s Edge, Apollo Games, Aspect Gaming, LGD Gaming, Concept Gaming, PS, Spade Gaming, Gamediaworks, Genesis, Rival, Worldmatch, Swintt, Ortiz, Booming Games, Caleta, Inbet Games, Radi8, OnlyPlay, RubyPlay, Felix Gaming, Super Lotto Games, GoldenRace, Revolver Gaming, Triple Cherry, R.Franco Digital, GameArt, Quickspin, Kalamba Games, Fugaso, Thunderspin, Slot Matrix, Bunjox, Reevo, Vibra Gaming, Playson, Gaming Corps, Netgaming, Creative Gaming, Charismatic, Betsolutions, GameBeat, Endorphina, Zillion Games, Mega7, Altente Gaming, CQ9, Naga Games, Igrosoft, Turbo Games, Amigo Gaming, BoldPlay, Funky Games, Bigpot Gaming, FastSpin, TaDa Gaming, TopSpin, AdvantPlay

Pokie RTP Test

I usually test a few Pragmatic Play titles as they’re configurable by the casino, and most keep them at a low RTP level, but Melbet did well in my test.

Always check the RTP of the game you’re playing in the game’s Info screen. If you can’t see the RTP and it isn’t a game you know, err on the side of caution and consider the pokie to have a lousy payout rate.

Game Developer RTP at Melbet Maximum RTP setting
Big Bass Bonanza Pragmatic Play 95.67% 96.71%
Magic of the Ring Wazdan 96.47% 96.47%
Big Bass Mission Fishin’ Pragmatic Play 94.50% 96.71%
Gates of Olympus Pragmatic Play 94.50% 96.50%
Le Bandit Hacksaw Gaming 96.34% 96.34%

Note: the table above is a snapshot, and Melbet’s curation still pushes mediocre titles to the top. If you don’t already know what to play, the “Popular” rail isn’t a reliable guide.

Live Dealer Games

The lineup of live dealer games at Melbet is impressive. Much better than the pokies section, I must say. Here, you got the two top developers in Evolution and Pragmatic Play while Playtech and Ezugi are absent, and there are a bunch of smaller providers: Winfinity, Vivo Gaming, VTV Bet, 7Mojos, Absolute Live Gaming, SA Gaming, Lucky Streak, XPG, Asia Gaming, Atmosfera, GrazGame, Super Spade Games, LiveG 24, ElCasino.

This is a really stunning offer with almost 150 baccarat games – a plastic example of how rich this live casino is. Choice isn’t the issue; trust and cashouts are. A huge lobby doesn’t help if KYC becomes a wall the moment you try to withdraw.

Payment Methods

Deposit

Visa, Mastercard, Perfect Money, Jeton, Sticpay, AirTM, Skrill, Skrill 1-Tap, MiFinity, ecoPayz, Neteller, Paysafecard, and 43 cryptocurrencies

Withdrawal

Bank transfer, Perfect Money, Jeton, Sticpay, AirTM, Skrill, Skrill 1-Tap, MiFinity, ecoPayz, Neteller, and 43 cryptocurrencies

Melbet and its two sister brands will accept any payment method known to man, so whatever you have will usually be available and you’ll be able to make your deposit. There are lots of cryptocurrencies too, I think even more than BC.game accepts.

Does Melbet use NZD natively?

No. They use EUR even if they display NZD to you. They do currency conversion behind the scenes. Telltale sign is the minimum deposit of 18 NZD to get the bonuses – that’s a converted equivalent of 10 EUR, mate. That’s why the number is not round.

Bottom line: the cashier looks generous until you try to leave with your money. Between conversions, method exceptions and the 0–14-day window, the 1/100 on banking is earned.

Customer Support

The customer support service is usually preoccupied with dealing with angry customers who can’t get their withdrawal processed. For other queries they’re quite helpful and knowledgeable. Definitely highly trained. There’s also phone support so you can give them a ring.

But helpful ≠ effective. My interactions were “trained” on the surface, yet policy-bound underneath – quick to quote rules, slow to escalate obvious edge-cases. If support can’t move a legitimate issue forward, it’s theatre, not service.

Melbet Casino Company Information and Licencing

The website www.melbet.com is operated by Pelican Entertainment B.V. (registration number 134359, registered at Dr. Henri Fergusonweg 1, Curaçao, CW) as a License holder (Antillephone license No 8048/JAZ2020-060). Edric Ltd (registration number HE 446653, registered at Demosthenes Severis 23, office 11, 1080, Nicosia, Cyprus) and Faren Ltd (registration number HE 446654, registered at Dimosthenes Severis, 23, office 11, 1080, Nicosia, Cyprus) act as payment agents on behalf of Pelican Entertainment B.V.

This doesn’t mean much – it just means that Melbet runs on an Antillephone sublicence and hasn’t bothered to switch to the newer Gaming Control Board (GCB) licence. That gap matters when things go wrong. Dispute leverage is thin.

There’s no meaningful player protection if things go bad.

How other players rate Melbet Casino

Let me put it this way. A positive review of Melbet is when you manage to get your money after 48 hours and after exchanging 15 emails with customer support and sending screenshots. That’s a good experience with this operator.

The others are horror stories, each in their own right, with a unique way that Melbet didn’t pay them. I’ve tried to make sense of them and see if there are any markets that Melbet exploits, but the problems look universal: Australia, Brazil, Ghana, India, Bangladesh. The last two are most commonly represented in reviews as these are the major markets for Melbet – and also known targets for many brands that squeeze players with bureaucracy.

I haven’t found any New Zealand player reviews. Lack of NZ feedback isn’t reassurance – it’s risk.

Is Melbet Casino Scam or Legit?

It’s possible to get paid by Melbet. Some players get their money. However, with most, the principle is always the same – do whatever you can to not pay them. Delay the verification process as much as you can, ask for impossible verification documents, ask for screenshots of the transaction in hope that the customer didn’t make any, delay the process until the customer gives up.

My conclusion: Melbet doesn’t behave like a casino that wants long-term NZ players. It behaves like a site that treats withdrawals as exceptions to be survived. If you value your time and your bankroll, pick a casino that pays first and advertises second. This one did the opposite in my test.

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Payout rate 98% 96% 96% 95.86%
Withdrawal time 0-2 Days 0-2 Days Instant Instant
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Written by
Edward Howarth
20 years experience Senior Casino Reviewer

With 20-plus years on the casino front line, Edward Howarth blends deep operational insight with academic rigour. After serving as VIP Manager for a multinational casino group, the University of Waikato Social Sciences alumnus turned his focus to player-behaviour research, online wagering and safer-gambling programmes. Edward also holds an ICA Anti-Money-Laundering Diploma (2021) and completed eCOGRA’s Responsible Gambling & Fair Gaming training in 2018.

Expert on: online casinos responsible gambling gambling fair gaming

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Reviewed by
Mark Dash
16 years experience Founder & Lead Statistician

A former professional poker player turned data guru, Mark Dash has devoted the past 16 years to decoding the numbers behind New Zealand’s online-casino scene. A PGDipJ graduate of Massey University, he now heads our analytics team, where he rates NZ casino sites, audits bonus conditions and models RTP performance. Mark’s expertise is reinforced by advanced training in gambling statistics and responsible-gaming practices.

Expert on: poker RTP statistics responsible gaming

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Reviewed Pages
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Casinos Tested
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