Our Casino Testing Process, Methodology, and Reviews

When we recommend a casino or sportsbook on Pokerology, we’re not just guessing. Our recommendations are based on hours of real money play, including everything from making multiple deposits to tracking cash-out times.

Over the past year, our testing team has deposited and withdrawn more than $63,000 across 250+ gambling platforms, created countless real-money accounts, and logged over 1,200 hours of actual gameplay.

We don’t rely on press releases or marketing materials. We experience these sites the same way you would: as real players risking real money.

Phase 1: The First Deposit Experience

Every evaluation starts the same way. One of our researchers signs up with their email address, verifies the identity, and makes that crucial first deposit.

We test multiple deposit methods at each site so that we can confidently evaluate how smooth and easy the process is, regardless of how you do it. This allows us to learn what the process is actually like for players like you, rather than just guessing based on the information provided on a casino website.

We also claim every welcome bonus we can. Over the past six months, we’ve claimed more than 300 different welcome offers, and we’ve learned to spot the difference between genuinely valuable promotions and those loaded with impossible wagering requirements.

We read every word of the fine print, then actually try to clear the bonus to see if it’s realistic for normal players or designed to fail from the start.

Phase 2: Playing the Games — With Real Money

Our team plays hundreds of hands of blackjack, tests thousands of spins on top slot machines, and places bets on dozens of sporting events at each platform we evaluate. We’re not playing in demo mode; we’re risking real money.

Here’s what we’re looking for:

• Does the site have every game players would want to see?
• Are the games easy to find?
• How fast do the games load?
• Are the games accessible to players of every budget?
• And, most importantly, do the games actually pay out as promised?

We’ve sat through laggy casino streams at 2 AM, experienced disconnections mid-hand, and watched our bets get graded incorrectly — but that’s how we learn which operators handle these situations professionally and which don’t.

Phase 3: The Withdrawal Test

This is perhaps the most important test — and it’s one that most sites never bother to run.

We’ve requested over 200 withdrawals in the past year, and the differences are staggering. Some operators process payouts in under an hour. Others stall for days, requesting endless verification documents and dragging their feet as much as possible.

That’s why we meticulously track withdrawal speed. When a site claims “24-hour withdrawals,” we verify whether that’s 24 business hours, 24 hours from request, or 24 hours plus a mysterious “pending period.”

We’ve withdrawn via bank transfer, e-wallet, credit and debit cards, check, and crypto to identify which methods deliver your money quickest. When we tell you how long you’ll have to wait for your money, that’s based on documented experience, not guesswork.

Below is an example of our withdrawal test conducted over a couple of weeks. These sites were tested for our articles covering top crypto casinos and live dealer sites.

Phase 4: Support When Things Go Wrong

The final test happens when we need help. We contact customer support at every site we review — multiple times, through multiple channels, at different hours.

The best sites respond in minutes with knowledgeable agents who solve problems. The worst sites make you wait hours for copy-pasted responses that don’t address your issue.

When that happens, we remember, and we let you know.

Responsible Gambling: Our Safety Standard

We believe a site is only as good as its commitment to player safety. That means recommending casinos that care about their customers, not just their bottom line.

During our evaluation, we look for:

• Accessible Tools: Can you easily set deposit, loss, and session limits?
• Visible Resources: Are links to organizations like Gamblers Anonymous or NCPG prominent?
• Proactive Protection: Does the site make it simple to self-exclude without jumping through hoops?
• Underage Prevention: We verify that identity checks are rigorous enough to keep minors off the platform.
• Licensing & Regulation: We verify that every site holds a valid license from a reputable jurisdiction. If we can’t verify a license on the regulator’s own database, we don’t recommend the site.
• Technical Integrity: We check for SSL encryption (look for the padlock in your browser) to ensure your banking data is private, and we confirm that games are audited by third-party labs like eCOGRA or iTech Labs to ensure that each spin of the reels or roll of the dice is actually random and fair.

If a site prioritizes profit over player well-being, it will never earn an S-Tier rating from us, no matter what else they get right.

How We Assign Rankings

After completing all testing phases, sites naturally separate into tiers.

S-Tier operators excel in every category; they process deposits instantly, offer genuinely valuable bonuses, provide massive game libraries, pay out winnings quickly, and resolve issues professionally.

These are the platforms where our team members play with our own money.

A-Tier sites deliver strong performance across most areas but might have one or two minor shortcomings. These are still excellent choices that outperform the majority of operators.

B-Tier platforms meet industry standards without exceeding them. They’re safe and legitimate, but they lack the polish and player-focused features that separate good sites from great ones.

Sites We Won’t Recommend

We’ve also encountered operators that fail our testing completely.

Some have delayed withdrawals for weeks without explanation. Others have voided legitimate winning bets based on vague claims.

We document these failures and exclude these sites from our recommendations entirely. We don’t recommend sites we wouldn’t trust with our own money — period.

Our Commitment to Honest Reviews

We update our evaluations regularly because gambling sites change. A platform that excels today might cut corners tomorrow, which is why it’s important to stay both current and vigilant.

Every recommendation on this site reflects where our team would confidently deposit our own money.

When you trust our recommendations, you’re benefiting from hundreds of hours of real-world testing and thousands of dollars we’ve risked to separate the legitimate operators from the pretenders.

That’s a promise that we make to you, and one we take very seriously. There are a lot of casino review sites out there.

We’re committed to being the one you know you can trust.

Gambling is meant for fun, not a way to make money.
Only adults 21+ should play. (18+ in some jurisdictions).
Help is always available at 1‑800‑GAMBLER or https://www.gamblersanonymous.org/