How We Rate Online Casinos

Last updated: 24 June 2026

Every casino on Candyland gets a single score out of 5, and that number isn’t a gut feeling — it’s a weighted average across seven criteria that matter to players. The weighting puts trust and your money first and marketing last. This page sets out each criterion, what it covers, how we score it and how much it counts, so you can see precisely what a rating means.

How the score is built

We grade each of the seven criteria below from 0 to 5 based on the evidence from our hands-on testing (see How We Test), then combine them using fixed weights. The same weights apply to every casino, whether or not we have an affiliate relationship with it — that consistency is the whole point, and it’s backed by our Editorial Policy and Affiliate Disclosure.

1. Trust & licensing — 25%

The biggest single factor. We look at licensing status and how much protection it really offers, ownership transparency, complaint history and how the operator resolves disputes. For UK players we also assess honesty about licensing — an offshore site that falsely implies a UKGC licence, or hides that it is not on GamStop, loses marks here. A clean, verifiable licence and a clear complaints record score highly; opacity or a pattern of unresolved disputes scores low.

2. Payouts — 20%

Getting paid is what ultimately matters. We score the real withdrawal time we measured, fees, limits (including weekly caps), how smooth verification was, and whether any tricks like reverse withdrawals exist. Sub-24-hour e-wallet payouts with no fees score at the top; slow, fee-laden or capped payouts pull the number down sharply.

3. Bonus fairness — 15%

We reward transparent, achievable offers and penalise traps. Wagering at or below x35 on the bonus, a window of 14 days or more, a workable max bet and clear game weightings score well. High multipliers, bonus-plus-deposit bases, tiny max bets and hidden caps score badly — we’d rather flag a bad bonus than dress it up.

4. Games & providers — 15%

We score catalogue depth and quality: the number of slots and live tables, the range of studios, the presence of leading providers, and real-world stability and load speed. A broad library from recognised providers that runs smoothly scores high; a thin lobby or one padded with obscure studios scores lower.

5. Responsible-gambling tools — 10%

Player safety is weighted deliberately high for an entertainment product that carries risk. We check for deposit, loss and session limits, time-outs, reality checks and self-exclusion, and how easy they are to find and use. Strong, accessible tools score well; missing or buried tools cost marks. The detail behind this criterion is on our Responsible Gambling page.

6. Support — 8%

We score the channels available, live-chat wait time, email response time and — importantly — whether answers are competent rather than scripted. 24/7 live chat answering quickly with knowledgeable replies scores well; slow, scripted or limited support scores low.

7. Mobile & UX — 7%

Most UK players play on a phone, so we score responsive layout, load speed, navigation and a fully working mobile cashier, plus general ease of use on desktop. A fast, clean mobile experience scores high; clunky layouts or a broken mobile cashier score low.

What the final number means

Roughly: 4.5–5.0 is excellent, 4.0–4.4 strong, 3.0–3.9 decent with caveats, 2.0–2.9 below par, and under 2.0 best avoided. A score is always paired with a written review explaining the why — the number is a summary, not the whole story. Because conditions change, we re-score on our regular update cycle. See our full testing process that feeds these scores, or ask us anything via Contact.