Dara Casino may only have launched in November 2024, but it made a good impression on us when we put the casino to the test. 

There were a number of factors we liked about Dara Casino, such as the solid range of Gold Coin bundles, as well as progressive jackpots and a generous welcome bonus. The casino also scored very well when on its Trust & Safety score, with the Responsible Gambling section proving particularly impressive.

As Dara Casino is a new business, it is bound to have blind spots here and there. Fortunately the casino has worked hard to minimize these as much as possible, so the overall user experience is solid. This has resulted in the casino scoring well across numerous areas of its website. 

Licensing and Legal Compliance

Dara Casino operates without a license, which is typical for sweepstakes casinos as long as they comply with regional sweepstakes laws which Dara Casino does. We could easily find its business address, which added credibility. However, it’s restricted in numerous states, including Connecticut, Hawaii, Idaho, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Tennessee, Vermont, and Washington, with geofencing tech blocking access from these areas.

Signing up is simple, requiring basic personal info like email, date of birth, and location, with standard age and territory restrictions. KYC checks apply for large withdrawals (up to 10,000 Sweeps Coins daily) or before redeeming Sweeps Coins for cash prizes, which is normal for such platforms.

Score: 18/20

Encryption and Security

While Dara Casino doesn’t allow for totally anonymous gambling as there are no crypto payment methods available, the casino is nevertheless able to effectively protect its players’ privacy and data.

The site is covered by the latest high-grade SSL and HTTPS encryption software, and both forms of software protection receive regular updates as soon as they are made available. As well as this, Dara Casino also employs high-quality geofencing technology to ensure that bad faith actors are unable to access the website. Both of these measures ensure that players are able to focus on enjoying the website, safe in the knowledge that their personal and financial information is protected.

Score: 18/20

Reputation & Customer Reviews

Dara Casino’s frankly poor reputation may have a fair bit to do with the fact that the casino is very new at the time of writing. Its social media following isn’t great, with only around 2,200 followers on Instagram. Their Facebook following is better, however, as their page has 27,000 Likes and 30,000 followers.

The casino has a very poor Trustpilot score of just 2.3 stars, but this isn’t as bad as it appears. While we would normally encourage you to be wary of an online casino with such a poor score, Dara Casino has only received 52 reviews, which is nowhere near big enough to be considered an accurate reflection of the overall user experience with the site.

We should note here that although improvements definitely need to be made, we had no problems using the website itself. Getting around was easy, and the casino worked as well on a mobile device as it did on a desktop.

Score: 15/40

General Terms

The terms and conditions are fairly standard, including that it is the player’s responsibility to prevent others from accessing their account. Withdrawal limits are also laid out, and the banking options are also clear. Put simply, there are no hidden surprises at Dara Casino, although we would like Gift Card redemption options to be made available.

The wagering terms are in line with what we have come to expect from a sweepstakes casino. All Sweeps Coins must be wagered at least once before they can be redeemed. What’s more, there is a decent selection of bonuses that allows players to claim Sweeps Coins without any deposit needed. This is a good sign, as it shows that Dara Casino is attempting to strike a balance between rewarding customers and not giving everything away too easily.

Score: 15/20

Dara Casino’s bonuses are good where they exist, and there is enough available to fuel players’ account balances after they have used up their welcome bonus. While this might require persistence on the players’ part, we appreciate the fact that regular Sweeps Coins bonuses exist regardless.

Welcome Bonus

The welcome bonus at Dara Casino is quite solid, offering new players 100,000 Gold Coins + 2 Sweeps Coins. While this is not the biggest welcome bonus we have encountered, there is easily more than enough here to explore the games library properly. This is especially true given the small size of the games offering in its current state.

However, the first purchase bonuses that Dara Casino offer outshines the standard welcome bonus. Players can choose from one of three options to get a Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins reward, with larger amounts naturally being tied to the more expensive options. Of the three bundles, we believe that the deal that rewards 400,000 Gold Coins + 40 Sweeps Coins for $20 is the best option, as it strikes a balance between value and affordability.

Score: 25/30

Ongoing Promotions

While Dara Casino offers a solid welcome bonus to players, we were pleased to see that the casino also offers its existing players several ways to get their hands on both Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins. In particular, we like the ease and stability that is offered by the Daily Login bonus, as players can get 10,000 Gold Coins and 0.25 Sweeps Coins every day they log in. This is incredibly simple and ensures players regularly have Coins available to enjoy what the casino has to offer.

Besides this, players can also acquire both Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins by taking advantage of Dara Casino’s social media promotions, although the exact availability and size of prizes may vary. Additionally, the casino offers a very generous Mail-In bonus of 5 Sweeps Coins, although getting this reward requires a high degree of patience from players. 

Aside from this, there are a number of one-time and ongoing promotions that players can take advantage of. These include 15,000 Gold Coins and 1 Sweeps Coin when players connect their account via Facebook or Gmail, and the chance to win 50 Sweeps Coins in Slots Races. 

Score: 20/25

Loyalty Program

Unfortunately, there is no loyalty program available to Dara Casino’s customers at the time of writing. 

We hope to see this fixed in future, as it would provide an excellent incentive for players to stick around. Simply offering ongoing promotions does not do enough to reduce the chances that players will jump ship for another sweepstakes casino.

Score: 0/25

Wagering Terms and Conditions

Blending in with the crowd might not always be a good idea, but it definitely is where wagering Terms and Conditions are concerned. We were pleased to find out that Dara Casino sticks to the industry standard when it comes to both wagering requirements and the value of its Sweeps Coins. 

All Sweeps Coins come with a 1x wagering requirement, and are pegged to the US Dollar at a rate of 1:1. 

That said, we do have to knock a couple of points off here, as the minimum redemption requirements are quite high. While most sweeps casinos have a minimum requirement of 50 Sweeps Coins to redeem a Cash Prize, the minimum threshold at Dara Casino sits at 100 Sweeps Coins, which we feel is very high. 

Score: 18/20

Purchase Methods

The deposit methods at Dara Casino were predictably restricted. The casino only allows three deposit methods in Visa, Mastercard and American Express, although the availability of the latter was a surprise. However, deposits across each of these methods are instant, so players don’t have to wait before they can check out the casino library.

While deposits are not necessary, we were pleased to see the array of Gold Coin bundles the casino provides. Including the three first purchase bonus deals, there are 10 Gold Coin bundles available ranging from $0.50 to $500. What’s more, each one comes with a Sweeps Coins bonus attached, which gives players greater freedom to pick the bundles they want.

Score: 12/20

Redemption Methods

While the deposit methods are already restricted, the withdrawal methods are even more limited. Players can only make a redemption request via Bank Transfer, and require at least 100 eligible Sweeps Coins to do so. What’s more, as there are no cryptocurrency or eWallet withdrawal options available, players face a wait of up to 5 days to receive their winnings.

While most withdrawals will likely not encounter any issues, you may have to pass additional KYC checks if you are making a large redemption request. The maximum amount you can withdraw may vary depending on your location, so it’s important to check your state’s limits when you sign up.

Score: 14/25

Transaction Security and Fairness

Dara Casino transactions are kept secure thanks to up-to-date SSL encryption software, and the support of online Bank Transfers provides an additional layer of security. Visa, Mastercard and American Express also employ stringent security measures, so players can rest assured that their financial details are kept secure regardless of whether they make a deposit or request a redemption.

What’s more, the casino’s 1x playthrough requirement on Sweeps Coins reassures users that the casino is playing fair, as there are no insane wagering requirements that make acquiring enough eligible Sweeps Coins nearly impossible.

Score: 20/25

Website Design & Navigation

Dara Casino knows the importance of a smooth user experience, and consequently have designed their website to work well on both desktop and mobile devices.

The site is clean, loads with near-instant speed, and players can access the games library, their account and the Promotions section easily from the home page. What’s more, getting in touch with customer support is straightforward, as there are two Contact Us buttons, with one being found at the bottom of the website and the other at the top of the landing page.

The casino games menu is clearly displayed on the landing page, so players can access their preferred games much faster than if they were to rely on the standard sweepstakes casino method of a search bar.

That said, there are a number of flaws in the website’s design. The most glaring example is the apparent duplication of the Jackpot game The First Emperor, as this makes the website feel less polished than it should. 

Score: 20/25

Mobile Gaming

Unfortunately Dara Casino is unable to offer players a mobile app, but this is not a major problem. The casino works just as well on a mobile device as it does on a desktop, so players should have no issues getting the most out of what the site has to offer.

We also can’t hold the lack of a mobile app against Dara Casino for a number of reasons. The first is that the casino is very new, so is unlikely to have perfected everything. But more importantly, many sweepstakes casinos do not provide their players with the ability for mobile app gaming, so to expect this of Dara Casino would be very unfair.

Score: 17/20

Customer Support

Although the customer support offering at Dara Casino has its drawbacks, it is overall quite good, which we were surprised by given the casino’s newness. 

We were particularly impressed by the existence of a Live Chat feature.  Most sweeps casinos that we have encountered do not provide this feature, which inevitably causes longer wait times to get problems solved. 

Players can also reach out via Dara Casino’s social media channels. While this took a bit longer to get a response than Live Chat, the replies were very helpful. 

That said, we do believe there are areas of the customer support offering that need improvement. We would like to see the FAQ page expanded, as we feel it is quite basic in its current form. On top of this, we found that the response time for an email query to be even longer than we have come to expect, as it took several hours to receive a reply.

Score: 27/30

Responsible Gaming Measures

While sweepstakes casinos are not held to the same standards as licensed casinos, we like the fact that Dara Casino is clearly committed to ensuring its players practice Responsible Gambling. 

Players can reach out to customer support to request a time out. Although we would have preferred to see the casino offer players the chance to do this themselves, we do like the fact that players can set their own temporary exclusion limits. Allowing players to choose how long they need can make it more likely that they will choose the time-out limit honestly. On top of this, players can also impose Reality Checks of varying lengths, which can help them stay in control of how long they spend on the website. 

Finally, the casino prevents unauthorized access through geofencing technology as well as identity verification requirements, both of which ensure that only legal players are able to play on the casino website.

Score: 22/25

Taking everything into consideration, we are happy to recommend Dara Casino to potential players. The bonuses are solid, the games are highly entertaining, and the overall user experience is highly enjoyable.

Granted, the casino has its flaws, such as the limited payment options and an over-reliance on Slots, but these are easy fixes, so they are not enough to detract from what was a highly enjoyable overall experience.