Every casino on UK Online Casino gets five marks out of ten. Each mark has a fixed weight, the weighted marks are added up, and the total is rounded to one decimal place. The sum is printed at the foot of every review so you can check our arithmetic.
| Mark | Weight | What we look at |
|---|---|---|
| Fairness of terms | 25% | Welcome offer wagering, caps on winnings, expiry windows, payment methods excluded from offers, dormancy fees, withdrawal fees and limits |
| Banking and payouts | 20% | Range of payment methods, minimum deposit and withdrawal, charges, and the withdrawal times the operator publishes |
| Licence and safer gambling | 20% | Status on the Gambling Commission public register, published enforcement action against the licence holder, and safer gambling tools that go beyond the legal minimum |
| Games and software | 20% | Size and quality of the lobby, number of live casino suppliers, exclusive games, how easy it is to find things |
| Support and usability | 15% | Contact channels and opening hours, mobile apps, site design |
What the numbers mean
We use the whole scale, which is why you will not see rows of 9.8s here.
- 9 or above: the best in the British market on that point
- 8: good, with nothing that should put you off
- 7: fine, with one clear weakness
- 6: notably weak
- 5 or below: poor
An overall score in the low eights is a strong result. A seven is still a licensed, usable casino that we think is beaten by others for most people.
Why terms carry the most weight
A big lobby is no use if your winnings are capped at a small sum, or if the bonus you took quietly excluded the payment method you used. The terms decide how a casino treats your money, so they get a quarter of the score. Casinos that have dropped wagering requirements altogether score highest here. Casinos with a deposit match, wagering, a win cap and a short clock score lowest.
How regulatory action affects a score
The Gambling Commission publishes the penalties and settlements it agrees with licence holders. We read the register entry and the Commission's announcements for each casino. A recent, large or repeated penalty lowers the licence and safer gambling mark, and the review says what it was for. An older penalty under a previous licence holder is disclosed and counts for less.
A clean register entry is not a guarantee of anything. It is simply the absence of published action.
What a desk review is, and is not
We do not open accounts, deposit, or time withdrawals, and we do not write as if we had. Our reviews are built from four kinds of source: the public licence register, the operator's own terms and help pages, the game lobby, and reputable published reviews and trade press where an operator's pages cannot be read. Each review ends with the list of sources used and the date they were checked.
That has limits. We cannot tell you how a support agent behaves at two in the morning, or whether a payout really arrives as fast as promised. When a claim rests on someone else's reporting, the review says so.
What gets a casino listed at all
One thing: an active remote casino licence from the Gambling Commission covering the website in question. We check it on the register. Sites without one are not scored, linked or ranked, and that includes offshore casinos that accept British players. Our pages on casinos not on GAMSTOP and the UKGC licence explain why.
Keeping scores current
Offers and payment lists change all the time. Each review carries a "facts last checked" date. We re-check a review when we learn of a change to its offer, cashier, ownership or regulatory record, and in any case at least every three months. If you spot something out of date, the corrections page tells you how to reach us.
Questions people ask
Why are your scores lower than other review sites?
Because we use the whole scale. An eight here means a good casino. Marks are lost for regulatory penalties, withdrawal fees, slow published payout times and awkward bonus terms, which many sites do not count at all.
Can a casino pay for a better score?
No. Commission is the same question as whether we link to a casino, and it has no input into the five marks. Several well-known brands that pay commission sit in the bottom half of our table.
Do you test casinos with real money?
No, and we say so on every review. Ours are desk reviews based on the public licence register, published terms, help pages and the game lobby. Where we quote a payout time it is the operator's own figure.
How often are scores updated?
Each review shows the date its facts were last checked. We re-check when an offer, payment list, owner or regulatory record changes, and at least every three months.