CasinoKix compares online casinos and earns a commission when some readers sign up through our links. Because of that, we publish the rules we use to review and score every casino, so you can see how a rating is reached and judge it for yourself.
A listing on CasinoKix is not permission to play in your country. A casino licence only covers the markets its regulator allows. Always check the operator’s current terms, cashier and country rules before you register.
Table of Contents
What we check in every review
Every review follows the same structure. We record what the operator publishes and what the official licence register shows at the time of writing. We do not invent deposits, chat transcripts or test results.
Licence, checked on the official register
We take the licence number and company name from the casino’s footer or terms, then look them up on the register of the authority that issued the licence. That might be the Malta Gaming Authority, the UK Gambling Commission, the Curaçao Gaming Authority, the Anjouan licensing register or the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, depending on what the casino names.
The check passes only if the company name, the licence status and, where the register lists it, the website address all match. A seal in the footer is not a licence. A company registration number from Costa Rica, for example, is not a gambling licence. An expired or provisional entry is not treated as a live licence.
A Curaçao or Anjouan licence is a real licence when the register confirms it, but it offers players less than a UK, Maltese, Swedish, Dutch or German licence. Complaint routes, advertising rules and player protections are different, and an offshore licence gives no right to accept players from a country that blocks the brand.
Who runs the casino
We look for a named company, a licence holder that matches the register, and terms and conditions that anyone can read before signing up. If the owner is not named, if company names conflict, or if the terms cannot be read, the Trust score is held down (see the scale below).
Bonus terms and wagering
We describe the welcome offer the way the operator presents it: match percentage, free spins, how it is split across deposits, minimum deposit, wagering (on the bonus only or on deposit plus bonus), game weighting, maximum bet, maximum cashout and expiry. The headline percentage is not the whole offer. If the terms could not be read, we say so rather than quote unofficial figures.
Withdrawals and limits
We record published withdrawal times, minimum and maximum cashouts, daily, weekly and monthly limits, fees, and whether you must withdraw to the method you deposited with. We only call payouts instant if the operator’s own cashier says so, and we point out that identity checks usually come before the first withdrawal.
Identity checks
Asking for documents before a first withdrawal is normal. We note what the operator says it needs. Specific, repeated reports of accounts being locked after a win without explanation count against Trust.
Support
We list the support channels the site actually shows, such as live chat, email or a contact form, and the languages it names. We do not make up response times.
Games
We describe the lobby the operator offers: slots, table games, live dealer games, sports betting if any, and the named game studios. Game counts change constantly, so treat a “5,000+ games” claim as marketing until you see it in the lobby.
How the scores work
Each review carries four scores from 1 to 5, in whole points: Trust, Games, Bonus and Support. The overall rating is the average of the four.
| Score | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 5 | Excellent, and the evidence still holds when we check again |
| 4 | Strong, with ordinary caveats a careful player can accept |
| 3 | Usable, but with clear drawbacks such as an offshore licence, tough terms or a documented gap |
| 2 | Weak: unverified claims, heavy wagering, slow or capped withdrawals, or thin support |
| 1 | Fails on this point |
Trust
Trust is scored from our check of the official licence register, together with the company details and terms the casino publishes. In the overall rating it counts the same as the other three scores. The difference is what happens at the bottom of the scale: a casino that scores 1 on Trust is not listed in any of our rankings, and its review opens with a clear warning.
- No matching register entry, a revoked or inactive licence, or a fake seal: Trust 1. The casino is taken out of our rankings and its review carries a warning.
- Provisional or expired entry, or a status that is not clearly active: Trust 2 at most.
- Owner not named, conflicting company names, or unreadable terms: Trust 3 at most.
- Curaçao, Anjouan, Kahnawake or a similar licence that matches the official register: Trust 4 at most.
- A UK, Maltese or other European licence that matches the official register, with a clearly named company: Trust can reach 5, as long as the terms are readable and the identity checks are explained.
A high Trust score is not a promise about how a casino will treat you. It reflects what the licence and the published terms show.
Games
We look at the size of the lobby, recognisable studios, live tables where offered, and whether search and filters are easy to use. A lobby full of unbranded titles does not score like one with well-known studios such as NetEnt, Pragmatic Play or Evolution.
Bonus
We score whether an ordinary player can realistically complete the offer, looking at wagering, game weighting, time limits and the maximum cashout. A 500% offer with 50x wagering on deposit plus bonus and a low cashout cap scores worse than a smaller match with clearer rules. Offers without published terms score low.
Support
We check for visible contact channels, published hours, the languages offered, and whether responsible gambling tools such as deposit limits, time-outs and self-exclusion are easy to find.
How often ratings are updated
- Licence: checked again whenever we edit a review, and at least every 90 days for any casino on a top list.
- Bonus and cashier figures: these change often, so reviews describe them as they stood at the time of writing. Check the casino’s cashier and promotions page for the current version.
- Top list removal: as soon as a licence check fails because the licence is revoked, inactive or cannot be matched.
- Full rewrite: when the owner, the licensing authority or the welcome offer changes, or when we find a contradiction in the review.
What we will not publish
- Claims that we deposited, played or withdrew, unless we have a dated record of doing so. Our reviews are based on the operator’s published pages and the official registers.
- Scores or ratings borrowed from other review sites or player review platforms.
- Any advice on getting around self-exclusion schemes or country blocks, including the use of a VPN.
Affiliate disclosure
CasinoKix earns a commission when a reader signs up through some of our outbound links. That relationship does not change the licence check or the score. Casinos with a revoked or unverifiable licence are not promoted, whether or not we have a commercial agreement with them.
Responsible gambling
You must be 18 or over, or older where the law in your country requires it, to gamble. Gambling is entertainment, not a way to make money. Use the deposit limits, time-outs and self-exclusion tools that casinos provide. In the UK, GamStop lets you block yourself from all UK-licensed gambling sites, and GamCare and BeGambleAware offer free support. For help elsewhere, see our responsible gambling page.
If a casino pressures you to deposit again, delays your documents without explanation, or stops answering after a withdrawal request, stop playing there and contact us with the details. We will look into it and update the review.
