CarbonGaming - Honest Review
When an operator starts off with a single stream operation, whether it be sportsbook, casino, or in this case poker, the other elements can look like they have been bolted on and can seem like a bit of an afterthought.
The question for this review was to find out if this was the case here, and you can find out what we discovered when you read the rest of this Carbon Gaming review. What we can say, is that Carbon Gaming is a recent inclusion on our
blacklisted bookies. Something which doesn’t bode well for this operator. Let’s take a look why this is the case…
However, before we get started, we need to look at a few key points in the Carbon Gaming journey:
- 2004:
Poker.com is launched
- 2007:
Re-branded as Carbon Poker
- 05/07/2021:
Carbon Poker becomes Carbon Gaming
So far then, this Carbon Gaming review has found some areas of concern and others that are more generic, yet no less worrying. Before you can look at any of these in greater detail, however, you will need to register.
Registration at Carbon Gaming Site
There are certainly no surprises here and if you’ve signed up for anything online before this will pose no problems for you. There seems to be little in the way of verification at this point, however, we should mention that you will need to provide the usual identification before you can withdraw any funds.
Carbon Gaming Payment Methods
Withdrawals, of course, are a little further down the line and you will need to make a deposit before you can play anything on the site for real money. There are limited options of credit card and e-wallet, although you probably won’t be allowed to deposit from US banks.
There is a very high minimum deposit of $50 for credit cards, but to take full advantage of the bonuses we discussed earlier you would do better to deposit a bit more than that. Bear in mind that alternative digital payment technologies are implemented on illegal sites like this so as to avoid traditional payment limitations. The ability to bypass US bank checks is the core reason why these payment methods features here.
Carbon Gaming Withdrawals
As mentioned above, you cannot make a withdrawal until you have verified yourself by providing the usual documentation. You may already be familiar with this process, but people opening an account for the first time will need to show a government-issued ID such as a passport or driving license. This might have to be backed by a recent domestic bill, mortgage, or tax statement, usually from within the last three to six months months.
You can’t blame Carbon Gaming here, as this process is almost universal, so would have to be done wherever you opened an account. Once it is done, however, Carbon Gaming will email a pin which you can then enter on your account page, so you can withdraw funds via your preferred payment method. Unfortunately we found that withdrawal times were very slow and we’ve noticed that many other gamers are still waiting to be paid their winnings.
Carbon Gaming Mobile
While you will find poker, sportsbook, casino, and horses at Carbon Gaming, one of the things you won’t find is a mobile app.
The dark truth about carbongaming.ag
While we were taking a closer look at the website, however, we did have questions regarding the domain name. Normally the operators we look at will be a .com – however, Carbon Gaming has an .ag domain. Despite everything else we’d seen, the first thing that occurred was to ask is Carbon Gaming is legit?
A quick online search found that this meant the site was registered in Antigua and Barbuda. All good and well but not good enough for the US market. Thus, alarm bells started ringing. Without a reputable license from the US, it’s difficult to recommend this platform. As such, we’re set on outlining that it’s far better utilizing a recognized platform rather than an off-shore site.
Looking at what we have seen so far, what we had on our hands was a pretty lame operation with just the slight ups and many downs (average mobile design as something in-between, poor bonuses as a negative) that comes with using an offshore site. What we needed to look at next, was to see if Carbon Gaming had anything that was innovative, or made it stand out from the crowd.
Live Betting
With the rise in live or ‘in-play betting within the last couple of years, this is normally a good place to start. As this (along with esports, which we’ll look at in a moment) is a fast-growing area, any operator that is serious about their future would be looking to have a strong presence with live betting.
With around half the betting on many sporting events now taking place after it has started, having the structure in place to cope with this demand is something an operator needs to get right. From what we have seen here, the live betting element at Carbon Gaming is not strong.
Limited eSports betting options
Unfortunately, there is currently not the same focus on esports, which is another expanding area of sportsbook betting. This currently just sits much lower on that same menu, between politics and table tennis, which is a further indication that this operator is not quite sure what they are doing in this area just yet.
Carbon Gaming on social media
Another area that appears to be a work in progress is the social media presence. While there are a few left-overs from their days as Carbon Poker, not much appears to be going on for the last five years. This is confusing, as the obvious expansion that this operator has made in that time could have only benefited from the fanfare that a social media presence brings.
Mobile poker room
Carbon Gaming customers are using their mobile devices for something though, and it’s probably the mobile poker room. The real focus of the mobile interface, as you might expect, is the poker. The poker room is designed for an on-the-go poker experience, and this is where the expertise of the operator should have been shown. However, while you can access Texas hold-em and Omaha cash games, ‘sit and go’s and tournaments, it’s actually a pretty lame effort. Just because the poker room is better than the other sections of the site, doesn’t mean that there’s much to write home about.
Carbon gaming customer service
There is also a focus here on betting trends, which doesn’t really do the job of an FAQ section by any means but is a useful tool to those starting out or with a continuing interest in the betting world. There is a ‘help’ option that does take you to a FAQ section of sorts, but the process is a very circular one that many people might find frustrating.
Support is almost entirely focussed on email, which does mean there is 24hr help, but it will not have the same immediate results as live chat or picking up a phone.
