ThunderPick

Thunder Pick has a cool sounding name, but it’s one of those names that might not necessarily tell you what they’re hawking if you’re unfamiliar with the brand. Could it be guitar accessories, weather detectors, or something a little more adult-oriented? It’s one of the above, and I swear, it’ll all make sense once you start making some picks of your own. Hopefully you win some money while you’re at it.

ThunderPick.io is for adults only, but it’s not the usual grab bag of blowjob vids and lesbian scissor scenes I usually write about here at ThePornDude. They’re an online casino and sportsbook, so you’ll be pulling virtual slot levers instead of the fleshy thing you keep in your pants. I’m currently resting up between my morning fap session and my afternoon shoot for PornDudeCasting, so it seemed like a good moment to see if I could win some cash. Let’s see if that post-nut clarity can work any magic…

Gambling into the Future Like a Cyborg Wizard

I have to touch on that title again, because ThunderPick is a hell of name. Sure, it’s vague at first, but it sounds badass, doesn’t it? They could have used the name for a comic book or a video game, which is why the front-page visuals are such a good fit. Between the superheroes, the sword-wielding warriors, the robots and the monsters, it seems like they’re catering to the gamer demographic a lot harder than your average internet gambling den. If I had to guess, I’d say esports betting is the biggest draw here.

Sure enough, they list esports betting in front of the regular sports and the casino games. Speaking as a video-gaming nerd and the dude who runs BestPornGames.com, I certainly appreciate the attention! The front-page quotes hype the esports betting rather than the other offerings, and they’ve devoted a fair amount of space to listing esports partners like Heroic and HLTV.

While the colorful characters may be a draw for the biggest geeks out there, they’ve still got the regular draws you expect from an online casino. ThunderPick.io is currently offering a deposit bonus of 100%, plus a whole page full of other promos. I always recommend checking out the promo page at any casino, because the bonuses ain’t always listed out front. Right now, ThunderPick is running a contest to win an expensive CS2 skin, giving away a couple mil with Pragmatic Play, and giving out monthly gift cards, just to name a few perks.

ThunderPick suggests using cryptocurrency for the fastest, most efficient gambling, but they offer a nice range of banking options, both crypto and fiat. You can use Apple Pay, Google Pay, Visa and Mastercard, and play with a variety of “real” money like USD, CAD, INR and AUD. It is worth mentioning, though, that ThunderPick settles wagers in EUR as the base currency.

If there’s one immediately apparent downside to gambling at ThunderPick.io, it’s just that they’ve got a fairly long list of restricted countries. Worse, I couldn’t even find that list on their website and had to do some Google homework on my own. Players in the US, UK, France and Spain will have to look elsewhere, as will gamblers in New Zealand, Poland, and the expected Muslim countries. You can always try signing up for an account to see if you get shut out when you pick your country. I’ve got a list of VPNs ranked and reviewed here at ThePornDude, but be warned, you can lose all your winnings for using one.

Watching Esports and Stacking Paper

After scoping out the lay of the land, I headed to ThunderPick’s main esports betting area. The interface is gorgeous, full of important data without looking cluttered, boring and ugly. They show you who’s playing, what they’re playing, what the odds are, and when it starts.

As I type this up, there are some Valhalla Cup FIFA games going on, and I clicked the video icon to tune in. ThunderPick.io has a great baked-in video player for watching esports, so you can do all your gambling and viewing in as few tabs as you prefer. Personally, when I get going, I usually have a few open--one for each bet.

They’ve got a great spread of games to wager on, too, though you can probably guess most of them if you’re into esports. Counter Strike 2, League of Legends, Call of Duty 2 and Valorant are just the tip of the iceberg. This place is catered to geeks, after all.

That said, their regular sportsbook is just as full-featured as the esports section. There are actually a lot more matches to gamble on, too. While they’ve got currently got nearly 200 esports matches listed, the regular sports events total closer to 650. All your usual bases are covered, too, from soccer and basketball and martial arts, to that one with the bases that need to be covered. I think it’s called coverball or something.

And a Little Casino in the Back

Moving along to ThunderPick.io’s Casino section, I noticed a couple things right away. For one thing, they’re working with the usual game providers you want to see on any reputable gambling site, like Platipus, Yggdrasil or Booming Games. Don’t worry if you don’t immediately recognize these brands, but you might recognize some of their games. There’s a reason so many of these joints feel similar.

The other thing I noticed is that, well, the casino is a little bit understocked compared to a lot of the other platforms out there. This site’s emphasis is clearly on the sportsbook, but they do have a couple thousand slot machines. It’s the other categories that are kind of lacking.

Take the table games, for example. They’ve currently got 18 table games, most of which are just variations on blackjack and roulette. Some might argue that having a hundred variations of the same handful of games is overkill, but gamblers appreciate variety. You’re not getting much of that around here.

Near the bottom of the Casino page is a Live Casino section, and the selection isn’t exactly a selection. In fact, it’s exactly one game. You know what else? It’s not even a live game. It’s a fantasy-themed slot machine that seems to be referencing the classic Golden Axe side-scroller that some of the old video gamers will recall fondly. The fact that they’ve got a Live Casino section at all suggests they’re going to put some games there, so maybe this is just a placeholder. Live games typically come from the same handful of reputable game providers, similar to slots.

Honestly, if you’re mainly interested in casino games, ThunderPick probably just ain’t the joint for you, at least not right now. Casinos usually expand their offerings as they mature, and based on the rising traffic, I think it’s safe to say the casino will improve with time. At this point, though, I think it’s just a sideshow to the sportsbook. You know, a little something to do while you’re waiting for the match to play out if you don’t have the patience to watch the ball going back and forth or the army guys fall down.

There is some silver lining to the casino here, though: you can get a much bigger welcome bonus than if you’re heading straight to the sportsbook. That 100% deposit bonus I mentioned earlier maxes out at €600 if you’re putting money down on matches, but can go as high as €2000 if you’ll be pumping it into the slots. While it might not be the most well-stocked online casino in the world, I know that fat bonus is going to grab some players who appreciate the perk.

At the end of the day, ThunderPick.io is easiest to recommend to esports gamblers thanks to the platform’s emphasis on the genre. They don’t make as much noise about the regular sports betting out on the front page, but the site’s also a great option if you’re into betting on the more traditional stuff like ball kicking and face punching. Check out the games and take a peek at those odds. I think you’ll know right away whether this is your kind of online gambling den.