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How We Rate Online Casinos

Advertiser disclosure: we earn a commission when you sign up through some links on this page, at no cost to you. Rankings come from our own research and are never sold. The casinos we list are licensed offshore, not by a US state regulator. 21+ only. How we make money.

In shortWe score every casino out of 5 using seven checks: licence and owner, bonus terms, wagering maths, banking and fees, payout rules, games, and support and complaint history. Payout rules and bonus fairness carry the most weight. We take every figure from the casino’s own pages and publish the date we read it.

On this page
  1. What are the seven checks?
  2. Why does payout speed matter most?
  3. How do we judge a bonus?
  4. Where does our information come from?
  5. How often do we re-check?
  6. What we will never do

What are the seven checks?

Check What we look at Weight
Payout rules Stated withdrawal times by method, minimums, maximums, weekly caps, verification steps 25%
Bonus fairness Wagering multiple, what counts toward it, max bet, max cash-out, expiry 20%
Banking and fees Crypto coins, cards, vouchers, deposit and withdrawal fees 15%
Licence and owner Licensing body, operating company, years online 15%
Support and complaints Live chat hours, response quality, public complaint patterns 10%
Games Game count, providers, live dealer, published RTPs 10%
Mobile and usability Mobile site speed, clear cashier, easy terms to find 5%

Why does payout speed matter most?

A bonus is only worth something if you can withdraw what you win. A casino that pays crypto in a day beats one with a bigger bonus that sits on withdrawals for two weeks.

So payout rules carry a quarter of the score. We record the fastest stated method, the minimum and maximum withdrawal, and any weekly or monthly cap.

How do we judge a bonus?

We ignore the headline and work out the wagering. A $1,000 bonus at 25x wagering means $25,000 in bets before you can cash out. A $500 bonus at 10x means $5,000. The smaller bonus is often the better deal.

We also check the max bet while wagering, which games count, the max cash-out and the expiry date. A no deposit bonus with a $50 cash-out cap is still worth taking, but only if you know the cap first.

Where does our information come from?

  • The casino’s own bonus terms, banking page and general terms.
  • The footer licence statement and, where possible, the licensing body’s own register.
  • US state regulators, for anything about what is legal where.
  • Public player complaints, used as a pattern signal, never as a single deciding story.

How often do we re-check?

We re-read the terms of every ranked casino at least once a month, and straight away when a reader reports a change. Each casino card shows the date its terms were last checked.

What we will never do

  • Sell a ranking position or a review.
  • Show a star rating or review count we made up.
  • Hide the fact that a casino is licensed offshore.
  • Recommend a casino to anyone under 21 or anyone who has self-excluded.