The Grand Virtual Group is one of the oldest casino operators found on the net and has been running online casinos since around 1998; although that might not sound that long ago it is in terms of online casinos! During the past 10 years, they've built up a solid reputation amongst online players. And yet a good number of people have never heard of this group. The reason for this is that US players have never been accepted by Grand Virtual. However, non-US players may well be interested in the casinos operated by this group and so I decided to give Imperial Casino a once over.

Imperial doesn't operate via a no-download interface and as such a player firstly has to download the 300k installer. This installer then requests further files from the internet and sets the casino up ready-to-run from a player's computer. The whole process is pretty hassle free and an impressive feature is that the casino can be installed to operate using over 12 different languages. This highlights the European / Asian focus of this casino and will certainly appeal to those who do not have English as a first language. Once installed a player can have a dabble using 'play' chips or can fully register so as to experience the full casino offering. Sign-up is easy and within a few minutes a player will have a fully-fledged account ready to play. As stated earlier, US players cannot sign-up here although bizarrely all play at Imperial takes place using the US Dollar. I suppose this is a currency that's very well known although still slightly odd since no players will use dollars as their native currency! 

The final thing to test was Imperial's support and sadly this is still an area that I think is lacking. Support is only available via email which in today's 'want it now' society is slightly short-sighted. Emails can take up to 24 hours to receive a response and although the support team is good, I do think telephone or live chat support would be a great addition to this casino.

In conclusion I enjoyed my play at Imperial and was certainly impressed with how much this casino has developed since I last played there. A good selection of games is available including many that simply cannot be found elsewhere - 500-hand Video Poker games and Solitaire are two that immediately spring to mind. The financial handling side of this casino is great and the low minimum deposits and rapid withdrawal processing policy should keep everyone happy. The only downside to playing here is that support is not the best is could be - players should understand that if they have problems they are not likely to get immediate assistance. Generally though, I've not really known players to have problems with Grand Virtual casinos and as such for those looking for somewhere different to play, I'd definitely say give Imperial a try. With the great $100 sign-up bonus and attached bonus policy, players really can give this casino a try without risking too much of their hard-earned cash!