Reputation can be a delicate, even tricky business, particularly on the casino side of the iGaming industry. The majority of UIs resources, servers, and domains are public nowadays, courtesy of technology, personal skills and regulations. Thus, when we see games of reputable providers in the online jurisdiction that cannot have them — which is the case with Novomatic slots offered by Spinamba Casino with the Curacao license — it raises a question.
The most apparent notion is remindful of Caesar's comment on reasons for divorcing his wife in the outcome of the Bona Dea scandal.
Pompeia got embroiled in disgrace that stemmed from the intrusion of a man — Publius Clodius Pulcher, a Roman patrician and politician — into rites solely reserved for women, held on Caesar's premises, with apparent intention to seduce her. The imposter disguised as a female but was discovered on time and failed to accomplish his goal. The violation resulted in Pulcher's trial on a capital charge that dragged for months, while the outrage caused the suspension of most public businesses in the city.
Caesar, the chief high priest in ancient Rome, divorced Pompeia on the grounds of illicit behavior, feeling he has to protect his dignity. When people questioned the decision, he famously said: "My wife ought not even to be under suspicion."
The saying has been in use ever since to underline that public figures must not even appear to look suspiciously of any wrongdoing. The same should be with online casinos.
So, when our investigative team noticed Novomatic games in a Curacao licensed casino, we felt obliged to deploy. We unearthed reasons that make us believe Spinamba Casino uses fake Novomatic games, and what follows are conclusions which include unsuccessful attempts to get the other side's comment as well.
According to public information on their site, this casino holds the CIL (5536/JAZ) sub-license issued by one of four master license holders in Curacao.
Interestingly, though…
…there is no license seal on the casino's website, which is the only way to honestly know whether the casino has a proper Curacao jurisdiction license or not. Of course, this can be a simple oversight, although it's somewhat telling.
Spinamba offers a myriad of table games, online slots, and live games from several reputable providers, in addition to online sportsbooks available on desktop and mobile platforms.
The site’s Terms and Conditions (T&Cs), in effect since 2017, resemble general information one can see in other interactive hubs. A drill-down of players' management covers patrons' accounts, KYC procedures, deposits methods, withdrawals limits, list of games for active bonuses, inactivation period, and other usual details.
The two most noteworthy particulars are that the casino does not accept US-based players and that "the Company is not responsible for the content of resources that can be found on the Site of the game club."
Furthermore…
…when it comes to the limitation of responsibilities, T&Cs let the casino off the hook for any conceivable assurances, guarantees, and incurred losses on players’ behalf.
On the other hand, patrons are "obliged to compensate all costs or expenses fully, including judgmental enforcements, as well as any other costs […] to recoup the damages, defend the interests of the Company, its non-brand partners and their respective companies, as well as their relevant officers, directors, employees from any claims, demands, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, and expenses."
Of course, it's nothing new to see such a one-way T&Cs these days, but they surely resemble potentially searing heat. (Besides, what on Earth are judgmental enforcements? Even Google is helpless on this one which looks like a highly flexible term.)
All of the above especially come into perspective when one stumbles into the questionable game's content. It's old news that "online casinos licensed by Curacao cannot offer Novomatic software" to anyone; this usually implies that something's not right.
And, that appears to be the case at Spinamba Casino.
So, we reached out to them, looking to get a comment. After all, appearances can be deceiving, and LCB Network strives for ultimate objectivity. Unfortunately, as of this writing, we have not received any feedback on their behalf.
Moreover…
…the domain hosting Novomatic games at this casino is not an official Novomatic/Greentube domain. When our engineers took a closer look at the Book of Ra slot, they've learned that the infingame.com domain hosts this content.
Finally, there is a legitimate UI question — where is the Help button, present at all Novomatic games?
To substantiate…
Questionable Book of Ra game at Spinamba Casino
As far as we could tell, only Novomatic games are potentially problematic. Notwithstanding the licensing matter between this provider and Curacao, the situation with the hosting server and UI raises suspicions.
And, to be precise — this is the only doubt at this moment. Other games in Spinamba Casino appear to be quite all right, and while we can have opinions on T&Cs of each casino, it's entirely in their right to create ones that serve their purposes the best.
All of this is to underline again the notion that we have reason to believe Novomatic games are fake, for the purposes we elaborated above.
Additionally, it's rather sad that we were denied the casino’s side of the case in our investigative effort.
That’s why Caesar's remark comes to mind. For what it's worth, Pompeia did nothing particularly wrong, except being embroiled in the unsuccessful Pulcher's attempt. And yet, she was judged by the highest possible standards, even though they might have been a bit too harsh.
The lesson, though, prevailed to this day.
Those in public works have to appear honest; they must not be suspects of any wrongdoing at any time. Online and land-based casinos certainly fit into this category. Hopefully, Spinamba Casino will take note and act accordingly.
Otherwise, players might opt to disengage — just as Caesar did — if for no other reason than for the sense of security and protection against what might appear to be some fraudulent activity, even if it's not the case with other games or practices.
And, that's why reputation matters. The only exclusion from this rule is if one intentionally dents its reputation to build a better character. When it comes to Novomatic games, with any luck, that's what we'll see in this casino soon.
Until then, though — have this Rogue Report in mind.