How We Review Online Casinos

By the Casinofy editorial team · Updated June 2026 · 18+ · Please gamble responsibly

Casinofy is read by people deciding where to deposit real money. That responsibility shapes how we work. This page explains who reviews each casino, what we test, how we score, and how our commercial model fits in. If anything here is unclear or out of date, contact our editorial team.

Reviewed by: [Editor name] · Last updated: [Date]

Our editorial principles

Independence

Casinofy earns commissions when readers sign up with operators through our links. Those commissions do not influence which casinos we recommend, what scores we give them, or where they rank. Operators cannot pay to appear on a "best of" list, change a score, or remove a negative review.

Hands-on testing

Every casino we recommend has been signed up to, deposited at, and played at by a member of our review team. We use real money — not demo mode — because bonus terms, payout speeds, and support quality only reveal themselves on live accounts.

Real withdrawals

We do not publish a final review of a casino until we have requested and received at least one withdrawal. Sites that delay, request excessive verification, or apply undisclosed limits at the withdrawal stage are scored down regardless of how strong the welcome offer is.

Transparency

Our scoring categories, weights, and methodology are public on this page. When a review is updated, the changes are dated. When we get something wrong, we correct it and note the correction.

What we test

Every casino is assessed across eight categories.

1. Licensing and safety

Valid licence from a recognised regulator (MGA, UKGC, Gibraltar, Isle of Man, Curaçao, Kahnawake, AAMS/ADM, KSA, AGCO).
Operating company traceable to a real legal entity.
SSL encryption and verifiable security on deposit and withdrawal pages.
T&Cs that don't contain predatory clauses (confiscation rights, vague "irregular play" definitions, etc.).
Track record on player-complaint forums and regulator decisions.

2. Game library

Total game count and provider diversity (top-tier providers: Evolution, Pragmatic Play, NetEnt, Play'n GO, Microgaming, Hacksaw, Nolimit City, ELK and others).
Live dealer offering: which studios, which tables, what limits.
RNG game range across slots, table games, video poker and instant win.
Game filtering and search usability.

3. Welcome bonuses and ongoing promotions

Headline value vs effective value after wagering requirements.
Wagering multiplier, game weighting, max bet during wagering, time limit, max cashout cap.
Existence of ongoing promotions for existing players (reload bonuses, free spins, tournaments).
Whether bonus terms are written in plain language or buried in unreadable T&Cs.

4. Payments — deposits and withdrawals

Range and reliability of deposit methods (cards, e-wallets, bank transfer, crypto, local methods).
Minimum and maximum limits per method.
Withdrawal processing time tested with real cash-out requests.
KYC and verification process — proportionate or obstructive.
Existence of withdrawal caps and how clearly they are disclosed.

5. Customer support

Live chat response time during peak and off-peak hours.
Email response time and quality.
Knowledge level of agents on bonus T&Cs, payment issues and responsible gambling tools.
Coverage hours and language support.

6. Mobile and platform performance

Mobile site usability and loading speed.
Native app availability and quality where offered.
Game performance on mobile (live dealer, slots, table games).
Account management tools (deposits, withdrawals, limit-setting) on mobile.

7. Responsible gambling tools

Deposit, loss, wager and session-time limits.
Reality checks and time-out functionality.
Self-exclusion options, including integration with GamStop (UK) or equivalent national schemes.
Visibility and ease of access of these tools.
Quality of links to support organisations (GamCare, BeGambleAware, Gambling Therapy, national equivalents).

8. VIP and loyalty programs

For our VIP and high-roller focused reviews, we additionally assess:

Tier structure and whether progression criteria are disclosed.
Cashback percentage, frequency, and wagering requirements on cashback.
Withdrawal limit increases by tier.
Personal account manager threshold and what that role actually delivers.
Downgrade rules — what triggers tier loss.
Whether "exclusive" offers are genuinely better than public promotions, or marketing copy.

How we score

Each casino receives a score out of 10, calculated from weighted category scores.

Category	Weight
Licensing and safety	[20%]
Payments	[15%]
Welcome bonus and promotions	[15%]
Game library	[12%]
Responsible gambling tools	[10%]
Customer support	[10%]
VIP and loyalty	[10%]
Mobile and platform	[8%]

What the scores mean:

9.0 – 10.0 — Top tier. Strong across every category, no significant weaknesses. We deposit our own money here.
8.0 – 8.9 — Solid recommendation with one or two areas worth checking before signing up. Trade-offs are flagged in the review.
7.0 – 7.9 — Acceptable for the right player, but a clearly better option usually exists. Read the review before depositing.
Below 7.0 — Not currently recommended. Either improving operators we re-review periodically, or sites with issues we won't ignore.

How we handle commercial relationships

We are paid when readers sign up to operators through our links. We are open about this because it is how independent review sites stay free to read.

What commercial relationships do not do:

Operators we will not recommend. Some operators are excluded from our lists regardless of commercial offers — including sites with confirmed unfair-T&C complaints, sites that have refused legitimate withdrawals, and sites operating without a recognised licence in jurisdictions where one is required.

What we don't accept

Sponsored reviews. We don't publish operator-paid review content.
Operator-supplied copy. Our reviews are written by our editorial team. We don't republish marketing copy provided by casinos.
Comped or gifted bankrolls outside our test budget. Our reviewers test with funds from our editorial budget.
Reviews of unlicensed sites in regulated markets where promoting them would be illegal or harm readers.

How often we update reviews

Core "best of" lists: reviewed quarterly at minimum.
Individual casino reviews: reviewed every six months, or sooner if there is a material change (licence loss, ownership change, T&C change, regulator action).
Bonus values, wagering requirements and withdrawal limits: monitored monthly because these change frequently.

Every review carries a "