What a review here is for
A review on this site tries to answer one practical question: if you deposit with this operator today, what is likely to go right and what could go wrong? The headline bonus matters far less than whether the licence is real, whether withdrawals arrive, and what happens when there is a dispute. Every review is written against the same checklist, so a score for Stake can be read next to a score for bet365 or Shuffle without guessing what was measured.
We cover three broad groups: regulated casinos and sportsbooks such as 888 and DraftKings, crypto-first casinos, and hybrids that sit somewhere between. The checklist is the same for all of them, but the questions bite differently. A brand holding a UK Gambling Commission licence has already passed checks that an offshore crypto casino may never have faced, so for crypto brands we spend more time on the licence register, payment history and complaints.
We do not deposit large sums, invent test results or quote players we cannot trace. Where a fact depends on an account check we cannot make, such as the exact bonus offered in your country, the review says so and tells you to check your own account.
The checks behind every score
Each review works through the same steps, in roughly this order. If a brand fails one of the first two, the rest of the review becomes a warning rather than a recommendation.
- Licence on the register. We find the licence number the operator names, then look it up on the regulator’s own register: the Curaçao Gaming Authority, the Anjouan register, the UK Gambling Commission’s public register, or the relevant US or Canadian regulator. A logo in the footer is not evidence. Our guide to crypto casino licences explains how to do this yourself.
- Status in 2026. We search 2026 news for hacks, outages, closures, ownership changes and regulatory action, newest first. Older facts are written as history.
- Payments. Which coins and networks the cashier supports, minimum withdrawals, fees, limits and the verification triggers that can pause a payout. The background is in our deposits and withdrawals guide.
- Bonus terms. Wagering multiple, what it applies to, maximum bet, game weighting, expiry and caps on winnings. We work through at least one worked example with the maths checked.
- Complaints and ratings. Trustpilot scores and the substance of recent complaints, plus any cases on independent dispute sites. We read what people complain about, not just the star rating.
- Games and fairness. Studio list, live tables, house games and whether provably fair results can be verified.
- Safer gambling tools. Deposit limits, time-outs and self-exclusion, and how easy they are to find.
How 2026 incidents change a review
A review is only as good as its most recent check, and 2026 has produced several events that changed scores overnight. Three examples show how we handle them.
Hacks and outages
In late September 2026 Duelbits took its site offline after a co-founder reported a hack of about $7 million from its hot wallets. The operator says player balances are unaffected and withdrawals will resume when the site reopens, but no date had been announced by mid-October. Our review carries a status warning at the top and its score dropped. We will not restore it until withdrawals are working again and the cause has been explained.
Expired licences
Licences lapse quietly. On the Curaçao register published on 12 October 2026, the licence of the company named as TG.Casino’s operator is listed as expired. Punkz and Betpanda rely on Anjouan licence entries that had passed their listed expiry dates in 2026 with no renewal shown. In each case the casino was still taking deposits, which is exactly why the register check matters: a working cashier tells you nothing about regulatory cover.
Market exits
Operators also leave markets. In September 2026 Stake stopped serving players in Ireland after contact from the new Irish regulator, and Brazil’s provisional measure took licensed betting sites offline from 6 October 2026. When that happens we update the review and the country pages so nobody is pointed to a brand that no longer accepts them.
If a review you rely on is more than a few weeks old, check the operator’s licence on the regulator’s register and search its name with “2026” and “withdrawal” before depositing. That takes five minutes and catches most of the problems above.
What the ratings mean
Scores run from 0 to 5. They summarise the checklist, but they are not a precise measurement, and two brands a tenth of a point apart are effectively level. The bands below are how we read them.
| Score | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| 4.5 to 5.0 | Licence verified on a register, consistent withdrawal reports, fair and readable bonus terms, no unresolved 2026 incidents |
| 4.0 to 4.4 | Sound overall, with one or two clear weaknesses, such as heavy wagering, a smaller cashier or slow support |
| 3.5 to 3.9 | Usable with care: thinner licensing, a pattern of complaints, or a recent incident still being resolved |
| Below 3.5 | Serious concerns, such as a licence we cannot verify, an expired register entry or unresolved withdrawal disputes |
A high score does not mean a brand is right for you. A US player can only use books licensed in their state, and a player who wants low wagering will care more about the bonus section than the game count. Read the verdict and the cons, not just the number.
Reviewed but not listed
Some brands have a full review but do not appear in any of our listings or country rankings. That is deliberate. People search for these names, and an honest review explaining the problems is more useful than silence. As of October 2026 the main examples are:
- TG.Casino: the operator’s Curaçao licence is listed as expired, it lost its main Telegram bot in 2025, and 2026 complaints about withheld withdrawals are frequent.
- Cryptorino: we could not verify a gambling licence on any register.
- Punkz: the Anjouan licence was listed as expired in August 2026 with no renewal published, and no independent dispute service is named.
- Betpanda: the group’s Anjouan licence entries had passed their listed expiry dates in 2026.
- 1win: its licence renewal is unresolved and several regulators name it as unauthorised.
A brand can move back into the listings if the problem is fixed, for example when a renewed licence appears on the register. We do not accept payment to change that decision.
Where crypto brands are listed
Listing a crypto casino in a country is a separate decision from reviewing it. We only list a crypto brand in a market where the operator says it accepts players, and we never list crypto brands in Sweden, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Australia or Brazil. In Great Britain and the United States we list only brands licensed there. In Canada, crypto brands are not listed for Ontario or Alberta, which run their own regulated markets. Our coverage page shows the result market by market. Never use a VPN or false details to reach a brand that does not accept your country: it breaks the terms and gives the operator grounds to keep your balance.
How often reviews are updated
Every review shows the date it was last checked. We revisit the whole set at least every few months, and sooner when something changes: a hack, a licence entry changing status, a market exit, a new welcome offer or a run of new complaints. Bonus figures are the fastest to go stale, so treat any number in a review as a guide and confirm it in the cashier before you deposit. If you spot something out of date, the about page explains how to tell us.
Gambling is paid entertainment, not income. Before signing up anywhere, set a deposit limit and read our responsible gambling guide.