What the six criteria measure
The weighting reflects what actually affects a player's money and safety, not what is easiest to write about. Payout reliability and licensing carry the most weight because they determine whether you get paid and to whom you can complain.
| Criterion | Weight | What we look at |
|---|---|---|
| Payouts & Withdrawals | 25% | Advertised vs. real withdrawal times, limits, pending periods, documented user complaints and how they were resolved. |
| Licensing & Safety | 20% | Verifiable licence and number, operating company, dispute channel, data handling, segregation of player funds. |
| Bonuses & Fairness | 15% | Real wagering requirement, max bet during wagering, time limits, and how transparent the terms are. |
| Odds & Markets | 15% | Average margins on major markets, breadth of sports and events, live betting and streaming. |
| Games & Software | 15% | Number and quality of providers, game count, RNG/testing evidence, live-casino coverage. |
| Support & Usability | 10% | Support channels and hours, response quality, mobile experience, deposit/withdrawal methods. |
What does the 10-point scale mean?
Each criterion is scored on the same band scale below, then combined by weight into the overall score. We do not round up to flatter a brand — a 7.9 stays a 7.9.
| Score | Grade | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 9.0–10 | Excellent | Best-in-class across the board; no material unresolved issues. |
| 8.0–8.9 | Very good | Strong across the board with only minor, documented drawbacks. |
| 7.0–7.9 | Good | Solid choice; one or two real weaknesses a player should know about. |
| 6.0–6.9 | Average | Usable but with notable trade-offs; go in with eyes open. |
| 5.0–5.9 | Weak | Significant issues that affect most users. |
| Below 5.0 | Poor | Serious problems; we advise caution. |
Why can a huge brand lose to a smaller one?
Because our weighting rewards how an operator treats your money, not how many markets it advertises. A sportsbook with unmatched depth still scores in the sixes if players report blocked accounts and withheld withdrawals — 45% of the score sits in payouts and licensing, and no bonus offsets a payout you never receive. That is why the 2026 table looks the way it does: the biggest names in the market carry the most player complaints, and the score reflects it.
Scores are earned, never sold. No operator can buy a position, a point or a softer sentence. We never publish invented ratings or made-up user quotes — every score comes out of the six criteria above and nothing else.
Independence & conflicts of interest
Rankings are set by the criteria above, not by commercial relationships. Where an outbound link is a partner link, it is marked and disclosed — a partnership never changes a score or a ranking position. Our full editorial policy and team are on the About page, and every review carries a named author and an update date.
How current is what you read?
Every page carries a visible date showing when it was last updated — that date covers everything on the page. Bookmakers change bonuses and payment lists constantly, so treat the operator's own site as the source of the current offer, and our pages as the verdict on how the brand behaves.
Related: read the full lilbet review to see this methodology applied in detail, or compare brands head-to-head on our comparison pages.