Online casino reviews
We only review casinos whose licence we can find in a public register. Each one carries its licence number, the date we checked it, a measured withdrawal time and bonus terms worked out in dollars. Order comes from the criteria below, not from commission.
How we review
Four stages, each with its own verification date.
- 1. The licence. We find the operator in the public register, record the licence number, its scope and its status. If it has lapsed, been suspended or never existed, the casino gets no sign-up link. We still publish the review, and say why.
- 2. Registration and identity checks. We open a real account. We record how many steps registration takes, which documents are requested and how long approval takes.
- 3. Deposit, play, withdraw. We fund the account, play and cash out. The withdrawal time we publish is the one we measured, not the range in the terms.
- 4. Bonus terms. We work out the wagering in dollars, the deadline, the maximum stake allowed while wagering and the game weighting.
The criteria and their weights
Criterion | Weight | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
Licence and regulation | entry condition | validity, scope, self-exclusion scheme |
Withdrawals | 25% | measured speed, fees, limits, reliability |
Bonuses | 20% | value after wagering, clarity of terms |
Game range | 20% | number of titles, certified studios, live casino |
Safer gambling | 15% | working limits, time-outs, self-exclusion, visibility |
Support and usability | 20% | response times, mobile, accessibility |
The score is calculated from these weights. Nobody types a number in.
Two licences, two different promises
A national licence and an offshore one are not the same protection, and this edition covers the second kind. A regulator in your own country can order an operator to pay you, fine it and take its licence away, and it usually runs a self-exclusion register that covers every site it licenses. An offshore regulator can revoke a licence and little else.
That is the first thing to check, and it is not on the casino's own website. It is in the register, and the country editions of this site carry the local one.
What separates one casino from another once the licence is settled
Operators under the same regulator follow the same rules, so the licence tells you a site can be used, not which one to pick. The differences that remain are these.
- Withdrawal speed. The widest gap in the whole market. Some operators pay e-wallets within hours; others take three working days on everything. You will withdraw far more often than you will claim a welcome offer.
- Wagering requirements. A $50 bonus at 10x is worth more than a $200 bonus at 50x. The first asks for $500 of turnover; the second asks for $10,000.
- Game weighting. Slots usually count 100% towards wagering. Roulette and blackjack often count 10%, sometimes nothing. If table games are what you play, a slots-weighted bonus is worthless to you.
- Live casino depth. Operators licence live tables from a small number of studios, and the difference between a site with four roulette tables and one with forty is real.
- Support that answers. We time it. A live chat that opens at nine and closes at five is not much use to somebody playing at eleven at night.
When a casino loses its sign-up link
The link disappears automatically when any of these happens:
- the licence lapses, is suspended or is revoked;
- the operator stops accepting players from the market;
- the commercial agreement ends.
The review stays up. Knowing that a casino lost its licence is more useful than finding a blank space where it used to be.
Frequently asked questions
Which online casino is best?
There is no single answer, and anyone who gives you one is selling something. Someone playing live roulette needs a different site from someone wagering a slots bonus. Use the filters above and sort by the criterion that matters to you.
How long do withdrawals take?
E-wallets are usually same-day; cards and bank transfers one to three working days. The first withdrawal takes longer because identity checks are completed then.
Do I have to verify my identity?
Yes, at any licensed operator. Where the regulator is strict it happens before your first deposit; elsewhere it happens before your first withdrawal, which is the worse moment to find out.
Is a casino licensed where I live?
That is a different question from whether it holds a licence at all, and it is the one that decides whether you have anywhere to complain. The country editions of this site answer it market by market.
Are these reviews paid for?
Ranking and scoring are not. We hold commercial agreements with some operators and label them. The score comes from the criteria, not the agreement.