Scores Online Casino Review
Scores online casino went live in 2017 and operates under the Borgata’s gaming license in New Jersey. Today’s Scores NJ review will begin with a little background information and then work through a detailed play-by-play of deposit bonuses, gaming options, software quality and much more. We’ll be sticking to the facts today so you can decide for yourself if this is the right casino for you.
Snapshot: Scores Online launched for New Jersey players in 2017. A heavy emphasis on slots makes this an obvious choice for slots players, but other gamblers should be aware the table games section is lacking in variety. A no-deposit bonus, 100% match bonus and frequent daily promotions all await new Scores Casino customers.
Editors note: Scores Casino seems to have quietly closed, without an announcement. Links on the home page advertising the bonus offer are now directing users to Stardust Casino, we have reached out to the company for further information and are waiting for a reply.
Pros
Variety of Slots$25 No Deposit BonusRegular PromotionsCons
Limited Table Game SelectionUnorganized Game LobbyLimited Customer Support OptionsFor anyone who may recognize the name, this is the same Scores known for its enterprising gentlemen’s clubs that achieved prominence in the 1990s and that still operate to this day. Scores Online NJ does not make any reference to that other aspect of its brand name. This Scores is entirely dedicated to adult entertainment of a different type: gambling.
Rather than building an online casino from scratch, Scores is based on the platform developed by fellow NJ gambling site Pala Online. The interface, game selection and software are all almost identical that of Pala Online other than this casino being adorned with Scores imagery. The differences between Scores and Pala are entirely cosmetic – even the bonus offers are the same.
Scores also holds an active license with the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement. Like Pala, Scores must adhere to all licensing conditions and is a safe, legal place to play real money games in New Jersey.
One more thing to note is If you already have an account at Pala Casino, you will not be able to sign up for a new account at Scores Online. You can log in with your existing Pala account at Scores (and vice versa), but cannot register a totally new account. Scores functions basically as a skin of Pala Online and therefore one account is all you need to access either casino.
Scores Online Casino Bonus
Scores Casino offers two welcome bonuses to all new customers. First is a no-deposit offer that gives you $25 worth of casino credits. Just sign up for an account to claim that offer. Second, you can make a deposit to get a 100% bonus for up to $500 extra for use in the casino.
$25 No Deposit Bonus
Signing up for an account will get you a $40 welcome package before you even make a deposit. Use this money to try the casino out without risking anything up front. You will have to meet some clearing requirements before withdrawing the bonus or any winnings, but at no point is it absolutely mandatory to make a deposit.
Clearing Requirements: The no deposit casino bonus and any winnings earned by wagering the bonus money must be cleared by wagering 20x those amounts before the bonus or winnings may be withdrawn. For example, if you wager the no deposit casino bonus and win $10 for a total of $20, you would need to wager 20 x $20 = $400 before withdrawing.
Additionally, only slots play counts 100% towards the clearing requirements. All other games except craps count 20% towards the wagering requirements. Craps bets do not count towards the rollover at all.
Deposit Bonus Up To $500
Your first deposit at Scores Casino will be met with a 100% bonus to effectively double your starting bankroll for up to $500 extra. This means a $20 deposit would get you $20 in additional bonus funds. You can max out the bonus by depositing at least $500 to get the full $500 in bonus money.
No special bonus code is necessary to claim this offer. Scores Casino does ask if you have a bonus code when you sign up, but that’s just used to track marketing campaign. All players receive the same bonus. Just make a deposit of $10 or more and the bonus is yours.
Clearing Requirements: The original deposit plus bonus amount must be wagered a total of 10x before a withdrawal may be made. For example, a $200 deposit receiving a $200 bonus would require a total of $4,000 in wagers before you may withdraw.
You also have the option to forfeit the bonus and bonus winnings any time, which means your original funds are never locked in (i.e. Scores does not make it impossible to withdraw your own money even if you don’t clear the bonus – you just can’t keep the bonus/winnings if you withdraw early).
Daily Promotions
In addition to the welcome offers for new customers, Scores Online also holds ongoing promotions each day of the week from Monday through Saturday. Each day of the week brings with it a new reward from Scores.
On Mondays, you can make a deposit with the bonus code MULTIPLY to receive:
- Deposit $10 to $99: Get double reward points for all bets placed at Scores Casino
- Deposit $100 or more: Get triple reward points for all bets
On Tuesdays, you can earn 10 free spins on the Million Dollar Slot by earning 250 points in the casino that day.
On Wednesdays, you can earn 25 free spins on the Million Dollar Slot by making a deposit of $25 or more using the bonus code SPINSWED. Any winnings earned on the Million Dollar Slot come with a 20x wagering requirement.
On Thursdays, you earn triple reward points on all wagers placed through the iOS or Android mobile Scores app that day.
On Fridays, you can earn a 50% deposit bonus worth up to $50 using the promo code FRIDAY50.
Daily Million Dollar Slot: The $1,000,000 slot I keep referring to is a special slot machine that awards a variety of casino bonuses and a chance to win a $1,000,000 grand prize. Scores Casino customers may spin the Million Dollar slot once a day for free for a chance to win one of the following prizes:
- $1,000,000 grand prize
- $1 bonus
- $5 bonus
- $25 bonus
- $100 bonus
- $1,000 bonus
All bonuses come with a 20x playthrough requirement, but the grand prize is awarded with no strings attached. To be eligible to win the grand prize, you must have deposited at least $50 over the past 30 days and have a cash balance of at least $10.
Scores Privileges Rewards Program
Scores Privileges is a loyalty program that rewards you for your play in the casino. The more you play, the more valuable the rewards. The loyalty program is a bit complicated for what it offers, but it is entirely free so it’s not a bad deal overall.
As you play real money games at Scores Online, you earn two different types of points: status points (SPs) and reward points (SPs).
Status Points: SPs are earned by playing real money games at Scores Online. These points serve two purposes. First, the act of earning SPs also earns you RPs. Second, the number of SPs earned is used to determine your ranking in the five-tier loyalty program.
Reward Points: RPs are earned by earning SPs. Your RPs can then be spent on rewards from the Points Store. The more SPs you earn, the more RPs you earn. The higher you rank in the loyalty program, the more RPs you earn per SP earned.
To summarize, you earn both SPs and RPs when you play online at Scores. The more SPs you earn, the higher your loyalty ranking and the easier it gets to earn even more RPs. After you accumulate a nice stockpile of RPs, you can head over to the Points Store for some free merchandise.
Scores Privileges also offers monthly milestone bonuses of $100 if you earn 50,000 SPs in a single month and $500 if you earn 250,000 SPs in a month.
SPs and RPs are earned at the following rates:
Game | SPs per $20 Wagered | RPs per $20 Wagered |
Slots | 20 to 86 | 32 to 138 |
Video Poker | 4 to 39 | 7 to 63 |
Table Games | 4 to 52 | 7 to 84 |
Scores Casino Game Selection
Game variety at Scores covers all the bases in terms of major types of casino games. This includes slots, table games and video poker. Of these, the biggest category by far is slots. At last count, Scores Online has over 200 slot machines from a diverse range of software developers such as NetEnt, Everi, Spins, NYX, IGT and more.
Table games and video poker suffer somewhat from a lack of variety in comparison to the slots collection. In the table games category, you’ll find a couple of blackjack variations plus Let It Ride, craps, roulette and three card poker. The video poker selection is similarly limited, although not to the extent that table games are. Here, you’ll find all the video poker classics such as Jacks or Better and Deuces Wild.
The full collection of games on offer at Scores Online includes:
- About 220 slots / video slots / jackpot games
- 8 video poker machines
- 6 table games
Scores Casino Download
If you’re playing from a PC or Mac desktop, there’s no need to download anything to play at Scores Online. Just visit the website, log in and you’re good to go. You can also download the official Scores mobile app for your Android or iPhone.
The Scores interface could definitely use some work. developed the platform entirely in-house and the quality of work there is clearly a step below the more established software providers out there. Navigation and overall presentation is seriously lacking as you can see from the lobby screenshot below.
Games are not arranged in an intuitive manner with the platform simply listing all games in long, horizontal rows with no additional sort or navigation features. This isn’t a problem for video poker and table games since there are so few of those, but it can be tough to navigate through a list of 200+ slots with this layout.
The good news is that individual games are held to a much higher standard by their software developers. Scores Online does not design its own games; all are contracted out to experienced gaming companies that have been involved in gambling for years. Once you get past the lobby and actually in a game, you’ll be back to feeling like you’re at a quality casino.
Scores Online Slots
Scores Online is a slots-heavy casino with more than 200 individual slots on offer. Pala Interactive (which powers Scores Casino) has contracted with numerous outside companies that specialize in designing both online and real-world slots. As a result, you’ll find quite a wide variety in terms of style, design and gameplay.
Video slots, progressive jackpot games and old-fashioned reel slots are all on offer, although the emphasis is clearly on video slots. Scores has quite a few of the latest generation games from providers such as NetEnt that look and feel more like video games than the slots you would find at any brick-and-mortar casino.
Of progressive jackpots, there are a few but not a ton. The biggest progressive game I’ve found to date was Jackpot Shores, which had a $165,107 jackpot at the time of this review. Other games have smaller fixed jackpots that are still significant. For instance, the Bloodsuckers slot by NetEnt pays as much as 7500 coins if you’re lucky.
One thing that I’ve noticed with Scores Online is they do a good job offering many of the exact same slots titles that can be found at real casinos across the country. This is a fairly new development for the USA because previously, the only casinos that served the US market were unlicensed offshore casinos that were unable to offer popular real-world titles.
As a licensed and regulated gaming site, Scores is able to feature titles developed by the same companies that make some of the most popular real-world slots. Games by providers such as Konami, Everi, IGT and Williams Interactive have all ported some of their top real-world titles for online play at Scores.
Scores Casino Table Games
The table games selection at Scores Online includes just a handful of old casino staples: blackjack, roulette, craps, Let It Ride and three card poker. The casino lobby makes it look like there are four blackjack variations, but in reality, it’s just micro, small and high stakes blackjack. There’s also a multiplayer blackjack game that adds a fun social element to the game.
What table games Scores does have are high quality, but there’s just so few of them. Scores could stand to add at least 20 more table games just to beef things up a bit. It’s actually surprising just how few table games they have right now.
Scores Casino Video Poker
The video poker situation at Scores isn’t as dire. At first glance, it looks like there are only eight video poker options, but you’ll find some of the games actually offer multiple variations all in one game.
For instance, the game titled Five Play Draw Poker Multi-Hand gives you a choice of nine variations once you run the game. In this one game alone, you have:
- Jacks or Better
- Bonus Poker
- Bonus Poker Deluxe
- Double Bonus
- Double Double Bonus
- Triple Double Bonus
- Deuces Wild
- Deuces Wild Bonus
- Joker Poker
From the main lobby, you have these eight options (some of which offer multiple variations once you enter the game):
- Jacks Or Better
- Triple Play Draw Poker Multi-Hand
- Deuces Wild
- Five Play Draw Poker Multi-Hand
- Deuces and Jokers Wild
- Bonus Poker
- Double Bonus Poker
- Double Double Bonus Poker
Scores Casino Deposit Methods
Once you have an account with Scores, you can choose from a variety of deposit methods to fund your account and play for real money:
If you have any issues depositing with a card, Scores urges you to call customer support or try a different deposit method.
Scores US Operations
Scores Casino is owned and operated by the Pala Band of Mission Indians, the same group that operates fellow NJ gambling site Pala Casino. This is one of the smaller operators on the market today and the odds of a significant, nationwide expansion seem minimal at this point in time.
As other major operators snag up partnerships with casinos in other states, the odds of Pala finding partners decrease as well. However, the Pala Band did manage to establish Scores Casino NJ all the way from California – which goes to show they do have the know-how to enter new markets.
One state in which we could safely predict the expansion of Scores and/or Pala Casino would be California, home of the Pala Band. In California, the tribe operates Pala Casino Spa & Resort. If California legalizes online gambling and/or sports betting, we can expect to see the group launch at least one gambling site.