How We Rate & Our 21-Step Process

Our online casino rating system is based on a number of highly important factors, with security being at the forefront. The best rated online casinos must absolutely provide the necessary safety mechanisms to protect their customers’ data and finances, as a minimum requirement. When undergoing our rating, online casino sites are also inspected in terms of the games they offer. There needs to be a large enough selection of games to choose from, and these games need to be from reputable providers, who also have a proven track record of fair play.

Safety and Trust

No matter how attractive and intuitive the design, no matter how impressive the game selection – if there is any risk for players to be gaming on a certain platform – it must be avoided at all costs.
1. Casino License
Having an active license is an absolute must for any casino to even be allowed to function, let alone be considered by players. And getting a license is only half the job. Maintaining it is a different story, and it’s not uncommon for casinos to lose their licenses after they fail to continuously meet the same requirements of the regulator.
2. Regulated by Independent Authority Body
The entity that has issued the license for a given casino is also important. Some are less reputable than others, and we prefer to be dealing with casinos that are regulated by respected, independent authorities. Examples of such highly regarded gaming regulators include the Malta Gambling Authority or MGA and UK Gambling Commission, licenses from both of which are widely considered among the most prestigious to have.
3. SSL Encryption Certificate
SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer, and it’s a form of digital encryption that is used to protect data from prying eyes. We check that the casinos listed on our site use the latest SSL encryption certificates to ensure that users can deposit and withdraw money to and from casinos, respectively, and not worry about their financial details or login credentials being stolen.

Is it safe?

 

Players’ safety and their security at any online casino is the number one priority. And safety includes a number of different aspects, which we take all into account when determining whether a certain site is in fact reliable or not.

✔ 3 of 21 Checks Completed

Game Selection

4. A Wide Selection of Games
Selection is just as important as having quality games. Players want variety. And, as a casino, if you want to cater to a wider target audience, you need to be able to meet a larger spectrum of demand in terms of the products (i.e. games) you offer. So the bottom line is, we make sure that there is at least a decent amount of different games for players to choose from.
5. Progressive Jackpots
Progressive jackpots are always attractive due to the often eye-watering sizes they can reach. And online casinos that feature progressive jackpot games will usually try to make this known right off the bat. You can commonly see the progressive slot advertised on the homepage, for example. Hence, many players are interested in the availability of this particular type of games. And so we take them into account, as well.
6. Available Free Demo Games
It’s always nice to be able to try out a new or unfamiliar game for free before you invest real money into it. Oftentimes this option depends on the game provider, but also needs to be facilitated by the respective online casino site. Either way, demo mode availability is always a plus.
7. Game Software
Game developers are of importance, as well, as they determine the quality of the games offered on a given gaming platform. And typically we look out for well-known manufacturers, such as Netent, Microgaming, Playtech, etc. Speaking of which, some players even search online casinos specifically by software provider, so you can check out or list of those if you have a preference for particular developers.
8. Fair RTP
RTP or the Return to Player percentage is an important factor to consider when choosing a game. The higher the RTP – the better. Many manufacturers are quite transparent about the RTP of their games, and so we try to include this information when available.

Games & Software

 

Although safety comes at the forefront, at the end of the day – we’re interested in playing games and having fun at online casinos. So the type of games, the number of titles, as well as the game providers are a pretty big deal, too. So we take a complex approach towards assessing the games available on a given gambling platform, as well.

✔ 8 of 21 Checks Completed

Payment Methods at Online Casinos

Payment methods are important for the obvious reason that if you can’t pay – you can’t play. But there are a number of different factors that we examine when it comes to the payment methods.
9. Straightforward Deposit Process
Making your payment at a given online casino is a means to an end. It’s a technicality, to a certain extent, that you need to go through in order to get on with gameplay. So it’s necessary for this process to be easy, fast and very straightforward. Nobody has time to deal with lengthy, complicated depositing, which among other things is also suspicious.
10. Security of Your Bankroll
This is also tied to the general security mechanisms that the casino must have in place, which we mentioned in the very beginning of this article. Having sophisticated encryption technologies not only protects your data from prying eyes, but it also protects your funds.
11. Fast Withdrawals
We’re very big on fast withdrawals, and it’s not only about convenience. Fast payouts can only continuously be offered if a casino has enough liquidity, has a reputation to build/maintain and it cares about its customers. We have an entire separate article dedicated to fast paying casinos and have listed the best ones in this category, so be sure to have a look.
12. Swift Processing
Every casino needs some time to process payments, as this is usually done manually. There are checks involved to ensure that requested withdrawals are good to go through. But sometimes these processing times can take very long, and so casinos with faster processing times have an advantage.

Payments

 

Payments are one of the crucial factors we look at when reviewing an online casino. A wide variety of deposit methods and fast withdrawal times are among the top checks we perform. We also research the casino for past withdrawal problems in gambling related forums or other publicly available websites.

✔ 12 of 21 Checks Completed

Casino Bonuses

Casino bonuses are another focus that we’re very particular about and we make sure that the top rated casinos listed here offer fair, as well as exciting enough promotions and bonuses. And we also check how casinos treat their customers and how efficient their support is. Here’s a little more insight into some of our criteria.
13. Welcome Bonuses
Welcome bonuses are perhaps the most popular type of bonus offers. Obviously, they are aimed at attracting new customers, and so it makes all the more sense to list these on a site where you’ve come to browse online casinos. Welcome bonuses are usually given upon your first deposit in the form of bonus money, but there are plenty of other options, such as no deposit bonuses and free spins for certain slot games.
14. Fair Terms & Conditions
When it comes to their terms and conditions, not all bonuses are made equal. Some may have very high wager requirements, if, for instance, it was a no deposit bonus. Some may allow longer time for you to wager them, whereas others may expire quickly. We make sure to list bonuses that have reasonable terms and give players an actual chance to benefit from them.
15. VIP & Loyalty Programs
If welcome packages target new players, then VIP and loyalty programs are designed to cater to existing customers. We believe this is a very important aspect of any online casino and a good loyalty program that rewards returning players can be well worth staying at a given site in the long-term.

Casino Bonus

 

Casino bonuses are a big deal for any online casino, just as much as they are for players. There are many different types of bonus offers, with different value and varying conditions, aimed at different players. So we do our best to list the most attractive and worthwhile promotions.

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Customer Care & Support

16. Data Protection
Apart from having all the necessary security mechanisms and encryption certificates, which is highly important, online casinos need to guarantee that they can adequately protect your data. And that also means not sharing it with third parties, unless you explicitly agree to that.
17. Responsible Gambling
Responsible gambling is another aspect that showcases a casino’s investment in the wellbeing of its customers. Gaming should be about fun and entertainment. Once it crosses over into the realm of unhealthy behavior, the online casino must be able to adequately respond and take the measures necessary to help the situation.
18. Easy to Reach Support
Support must be readily available to assist players, preferably at any time during the night and day. 24/7 customer support is always a sought after feature at online casinos. But we also check for the means that the casino provides to get in touch with its representatives (e.g. phone, live chat, email).
19. Fast and Responsive Support
After you’ve sent your query to customer support, it’s important that you receive feedback within a reasonable time frame. And the quality of the feedback is just as important, too. After all, the casino’s representatives are there to solve issues whenever they arise.

Customer Support

 

Customer support is the face of any online casino, and players can form their opinion largely based on their experience with representatives of the site’s customer service team. Aside from the kind of treatment users get, though, there are other ways in which the casino demonstrates its attitude toward customers. And of course, we put them all under the microscope.

✔ 19 of 21 Checks Completed

 

Online Casinos Mobile Experience

20. Optimized for all Devices
When assessing mobile casinos, we make sure that they offer the same kind of experience – regardless of whether you access them via your smartphone or on your desktop computer. It’s important that all the games work and have the same graphics quality. And you should also be able to easily access all of the same functions and site sections on any device.
21. Sleek App Experience
Many casinos have their own apps these days, and so the same criteria applies. The games need to be optimized to work perfectly on your smartphone or tablet, they need to be just as fast as their desktop counterparts and nothing should eat away at the overall gaming experience.

Mobile Responsiveness

 

Many of us prefer to gamble on our mobile devices simply because oftentimes it’s just more convenient. And so most online casino sites have made their platforms accessible across all kinds of gadgets and operating systems. The same is also true for the different game developers, most of which release games that can easily be integrated on any site and work on any device.

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Rating and Conversion Rates

Aside from assessing qualitative data, we like us some hard numbers, as well. And it just so happens that there are ways to measure a casino’s popularity with users – rather precisely at that. What we have in mind is something known as a conversion rate. And in our case, it measures the number of players that actually register and/or deposited at a certain online casino after they’ve visited our site. We believe the higher that number, the higher the level of user satisfaction, and therefore the higher the value of a given platform.

Advertising Fees

We offer our services to users free of charge, and do our best to deliver those services at the highest possible quality. But in order to afford it, we do charge advertising fees from the casinos listed here. Or to be more precise, we receive a fee when users of our site sign up, deposit or play at any of the casinos we’ve listed. And while those fees may sometimes have an impact on the positioning of the casino, they are by no means the deciding factor in our reviews and ratings. We will never list gaming platforms that are unreliable or we deem untrustworthy, the same way that we will never mention casinos with profusely negative user feedback.

Our Goal – Accurate Casino Reviews

Rating and reviewing casinos is no easy feat and it’s not an exact science. But we guarantee that our reviews are completely honest and fair. Our goal is to provide users with a comprehensive overview of gaming platforms, in order to help choose the right casino for them. And we encourage you to also take others’ opinions into consideration and not just rely on us as your sole source of information.

Keep in mind also that the ratings and evaluations provided here are “as-is”. Therefore we disclaim any guarantees regarding the information stated on this site. Our team puts in a great deal of effort to keep all promotion details and other casino aspects up-to-date, but in an ever-changing industry and with so many listings, we might not always manage to cover everything. So it is every user’s own responsibility to double check casino bonus terms and other such information.

Author: Jonathan Cortis
Chief Editor
Jonathan Cortis was an avid online casino player. He had already been sharing and discussing experiences with a group of like-minded friends that had the same interest. And so it seemed only natural to take a fun hobby to the next level. Jonathan decided to create a website where he and his friends could publish reviews of the casinos they've played at.