How we test: the method behind every ranking on this site
This page exists so the rest of the site can be checked rather than believed. It sets out who builds it, the six weighted areas that decide an order, the figures we refuse to print, and how the site earns money. If a page here ever disagrees with an operator's own published terms, the terms win and we correct it.
- 12 brands tracked
- Operator terms over marketing
- Ranked before any link exists
- Licences read at the register
The six areas, and what each one weighs
Every review runs in the same order and each area carries a fixed weight, so the result of a review cannot depend on which fact someone happened to notice first. The weighting is published here rather than described in general terms, because a method you cannot see is not a method.
Licensing carries the most weight because it is the one area where a failure cannot be offset by anything else. A brand whose licence we cannot confirm on the regulator register is not scored low - it is not listed.
What this site will and will not print
The useful part of a casino list is not the list. It is the discipline about what goes into it, because every figure on a page of this kind is easy to invent and hard for a reader to check. These four rules are the whole of it, and they are the reason some columns on this site say "not confirmed yet" where a competitor prints a number.
The awkward consequence is that we publish less. There is no per-brand payout stopwatch table here, no no-deposit amounts we have not read at the source, and no bonus codes we have not entered ourselves. A gap we are honest about is worth more than a figure nobody checked.
- The licence, at the register
Every brand is looked up on the regulator register rather than trusted from a badge in its own footer. A licence we cannot confirm removes the brand from the board.
- The terms, in the operator's words
Wagering multiples, minimum deposits and what the multiple is charged on are read from each operator's published terms and re-checked on rebuild.
- No figure we have not seen
We do not publish per-operator payout stopwatch times, because we have not run those tests. Where a fact is unconfirmed the page says so instead of estimating.
- The ranking is set before any link
Scores and order come from the weighting below. A commercial link is attached afterwards and cannot move a position.
How the site earns money, plainly
Some links to operators are commercial: if you open an account through one, this site may be paid a commission. That is disclosed on every page carrying such a link, and it is the only way the site makes money - there are no paid reviews, no sponsored positions and no advertorial dressed as editorial.
What a commission cannot do is change an order. Scores come from the weighting above, applied before any link is attached, and no operator is told its position in advance or given a chance to improve it commercially. A brand can rank above one that pays us more, and several do - which is the only test of the claim that matters.
Nothing on this site is financial or legal advice, and nothing here is a promise about how an operator will behave. Gambling is a form of entertainment with a negative expected return, and every page is written on that assumption.
About this site: the questions we are asked
Method, money and corrections, answered directly.
Who writes this site?
A small editorial team based in Ontario, working to one published method rather than to individual opinion, with Jordan Mercer as reviews editor responsible for what goes on the board. The name on a page is not what makes a figure true, which is why every figure also carries where it came from: the regulator register for a licence, the operator's own published terms for a bonus.
How is the ranking decided?
Six weighted areas, fixed in advance: licensing 25 per cent, bonus fairness 20, banking and withdrawals 20, games and providers 15, mobile 10 and support and player tools 10. The weighting is what stops a large welcome offer from pulling a brand up past a licence problem, and it is applied before any commercial link exists.
Where do the licence and bonus figures come from?
Every build re-reads the licences on the regulator register and the bonus figures in each operator's published terms, so a figure on this site is one that was confirmed at the source rather than copied from marketing. 9 of the 12 brands we track currently hold an AGCO Ontario registration.
How do you make money?
Some links to operators are commercial and pay a commission if you open an account. That is the whole business model, and it is disclosed on every page that carries such a link. What a commission does not buy is a position, a score or a recommendation: the order is set from the weighting before a link is attached, and an operator cannot pay to move up.
What do you do when an operator disputes a figure?
We re-read the source. If the published terms have changed, the page is corrected on the next rebuild and the figure changes with it. If the terms still say what we printed, the figure stays. Anyone can send a correction through the contact page, operator or player.