Who’s Klaas?
As co-founder of The Casino Wizard and the man responsible for incorporating new casinos into the website, Klaas has the biggest gambling experience out of every member of the team. As an avid traveler, he’s been to Las Vegas on multiple occasions, which makes him a very keen-eyed person when it comes to finding quality casinos, both online and land-based.
His experience in the gambling industry goes far beyond simply visiting casinos, though. Among the team, he has a reputation for knowing “when to strike”, always knowing which games to play as he hunts to claim the biggest available prizes – especially when it comes to any version of roulette.
Even though Klaas was always more of an old-school, land-based gambler, he has grown into an iGaming industry expert since 2017.
Casino & iGaming Trajectory
Before launching The Casino Wizard, Klaas had amassed incredible expertise in the world of gambling, being a prolific gambler and frequent Las Vegas visitor himself. Although he was well-versed in the global casino scene, his work in the online gambling world wasn’t of significance.
However, he didn’t need it to begin with. His focus, when The Casino Wizard started, was solely directed at establishing business relations with online gaming brands and deciding which casinos were worth reviewing for our platform. Over the years, and thanks to his expertise as an entrepreneur and multi-business owner, Klaas came to understand the principles of what makes or breaks a casino.
Now that he also focuses on writing reviews and content for the site, his marketing knowledge became an invaluable asset to the team, as well as his more recently-found understanding of the online gambling industry.
As you can see when looking at his expertise, Klaas role has been pivotal since the beginning - even before he started publishing his own content on the site.
The Casino Wizard
- Co-Owner, Writer & Editor: Feb 2020 - Present
- Co-Owner (No Writing Affiliation): Aug 2017 - Feb 2020
WW Affiliate
- Founder & Marketing Expert: Nov 2017 - Present
First Compare (EerstVegelijken)
- Founder: Oct 2015 - Jan 2017
webCentral B.V.
- E-Commerce Manager & Managing Partner: Jan 2013 - Jun 2014
Education & Studies
Klaas is a Master of Science in Business Administration at the Erasmus University, Rotterdam School of Management. He has been a frequent casino player for over fifteen years, having tested hundreds of casinos since he first started playing and before The Casino Wizard made its debut.
Chances are that you’ll come across Klaas at any of the world’s top iGaming summits, where he’s a regular visitor.
He frequents SiGMA Conferences in Western and Eastern Europe, and he’s an ever-present attendant to iGB Live! Events.
How Klaas Stays Up to Date
Due to his involvement with the incorporation of new casinos to The Casino Wizard, Klaas is the most in-the-know member of our team. He puts a lot of effort into developing an understanding of player needs, as well as the global developments of the online gambling world. To do so, he partakes in different activities and events.
- As a frequent attendee to iGaming summits in Europe, Klaas is always up to date with iGaming developments. He attends at least three conferences per year, including all major iGaming summits held in The Netherlands and SiGMA events held in Malta.
- Klaas is active on Reddit gambling forums. He engages with gamers worldwide, which allows him to expand his horizons and keep up to date with what truly interests players from around the world.
- You’ll often find Klaas reading the latest industry news by visiting sites like iGamingBusiness.com and GamblingInsider, two of his favorite iGaming sources.
Klaas’ Best and Worst Casino Experience
Best Casino Experience
Klaas’ best experience in a casino came in 2015 at The Venetian, one of Las Vegas’ smaller “hotel and casinos” that many people overlook due to the existence of more popular places at the Strip. During one of his vacations, Klaas stayed at The Venetian and decided to try his luck at the casino’s poker tables.
This casino allows for much smaller bets and offers a $5 max rake on all tables. Klaas spent three hours playing medium-stakes poker and walked away with a $2,230 net profit, as well as a stroy that he’ll likely be telling his grandkids when they’re old enough to gamble.
Worst Casino Experience
Even someone as experienced as Klaas isn’t immune to the occasional nightmare gambling experience. Back in 2017, during one of his trips to Las Vegas, Klaas decided to explore another lesser-known casino just off the Strip, much like he had done a couple of years prior at The Venetian (we’ll refrain from mentioning this other casino, for obvious reasons).
This time, Klaas wanted to play roulette. However, he noticed the dealer’s odd behavior almost immediately: she was distracted, taking longer than usual to process bets, and even made a mistake when paying out winnings.
But the worst part came after Klaas hit a $25 bet on a single number, only to have the dealer claim his bet wasn’t valid because it had supposedly been placed after the spin.
He contacted the manager, but he decided not to check the security footage and insisted that "house decisions are final."
What Does Klaas Do for The Casino Wizard?
Klaas’ expertise has proven to be crucial in shaping the current TCW structure. As an avid player himself, he knows what people want when they visit online casinos.
His job serves as the backbone for The Casino Wizard’s work, as he takes charge in key roles like:
- Writing in-depth and thoroughly-researched casino reviews
- Looking for casino bonuses and assessing their quality based on his experience
- Writing, tweaking, and improving the site’s poker & blackjack strategy guides
- Sharing information about game RTP and changes made to return rates in online casinos
- Planning for future additions to The Casino Wizard to enhance reader QoL
Must-Know Facts About Klaas
Know-How & Expertise
Klaas has proven, time and time again, to be a key member of The Casino Wizard’s team by being great at translating his global gambling expertise into his content. His gambling resume includes the following:
- Gambling in Las Vegas Casinos like Caesar’s Palace and the MGM Grand
- More than ten years of online gambling experience
- 15 years of gambling in sports, having played in many land-based and physical gambling establishments
- Playing in online poker rooms since the early days of PokerStars in the early 2000s
- Being an avid fan of casino bonuses since 2012, when he claimed his first casino reward – the first one of more than 100 bonuses that he’s claimed since then!
Klaas has also been interviewed by Great.com, where he’s shared his thoughts on what The Casino Wizard is all about.
The Embodiment of a Gaming Enthusiast
Klaas, in his many journeys, has managed to see many faces of the gambling world. He’s gotten used to trying new slot games in land-based and online casinos alike, but his passion for the game of blackjack has been fueled by his burning desire to visit as many poker rooms as possible.
Every time he walks across the doorway of a new casino, he’ll have his eyes set on the establishment’s “21” tables.
You can’t leave behind his love for poker, either. In fact, it’s all but common for Klaas to bump into Matt in their favorite poker casinos!
Knowledgeable on Every Front
Being successful in the gambling industry is always a challenge, but Klaas’ ability to make the best of any situation helps him know how to make the right decision – even when presented with a stressful situation.
His resourcefulness is as helpful in business as it is in his personal life, and his drive to succeed is all but a fantastic addition to such ability to make the calls when the pressure is on.
Klaas’ Recommended Casino Events
- Sigma Summits are Klaas’ favorite iGaming events. He sees them as the ideal opportunity to be in the know about the latest casino developments and partake in networking activities with other industry members.
- EGR Global Summits and casino award ceremonies are also on Klaas’ list of recommended events.
A Q&A with Klaas, Co-Owner of The Casino Wizard
What made you decide to start The Casino Wizard?
It was a mix of my passion for gambling and wanting to challenge myself in one of the most competitive niches in the online marketing scene. As a marketer myself, and having founded over five different companies since 2010, seeing this project grow into a successful venture has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career.
How do you decide which casinos are worth featuring on the platform?
I pay attention to how casinos operate, and I do this by speaking to their personnel. Since I always reach out to casino workers before we add a site to The Casino Wizard, the way our interactions go gives me a good idea of what to expect from the gambling site. Let’s call it natural intuition, if you will!
How do you spot a good online casino versus a bad one?
I usually check their games, available payment options and global accessibility. It’s important that the casinos that we recommend on our platform are sites in which we would play ourselves. That’s why we try them out before recommending them, even if they look good at first glance and have plenty of positive reviews.
Do you have a favorite destination for combining travel and gambling?
Las Vegas, for sure. I try to go there at least once a year. That’s where I’ve had my best and worst gambling experiences, but I wouldn’t change it for anything else. There are far too many great casinos, with limits that adapt to all sorts of budgets, which makes it a great destination for gamblers regardless of the money that they’re willing to spend.
As an added benefit, you get to enjoy one of the craziest and most hectic cities that I’ve ever been to. I recommend it to everyone.
What do you think is the future of the iGaming industry?
I think we’re at the brink of a new game type making it big into the worldwide gambling scene. We already saw what happened with crash games after Spribe revolutionized the industry, so it wouldn’t surprise me if we saw something similar soon enough. I also expect new casinos to come up with better bonus types that we haven’t seen before,
