How we rate US online casinos

When we’re researching, we use a comprehensive set of criteria with predetermined point values to find the best online casinos. We look at things like the number of games, bonus amounts and wagering requirements, and whether games come from top providers. This means two things: 

• That higher scores reflect real differences between online casinos. 
• That we never change our rating system to make places look better.

We rate each section separately, then merge the scores into one big expert rating at the end. Each section is weighed equally in the final tally so that online casinos that are strong in one place but weak in others won’t sneak their way to a high score. 

Below, we break down our rating criteria for each section, to give you an idea of where our numbers are coming from. The expert rating is based purely on our research, but we bring in other voices to keep us transparent. 

We also have our Playscore, which knocks together review numbers from competitors and presents them as one easy, average score. We think it’s useful for you to see but beware –  some of those numbers could be from less rigorous reviewers.

That’s why we bring in user ratings too. If an online casino pulls some shady cards, players will be the first to know about it. Make yourselves heard.

1. Bonuses

Bonuses are fantastic because they give players the best edge – is there anything better than scoring a huge win when you’re betting with the casino’s own money? 

The best online casinos should be offering a 100% deposit match that exceeds $750 at the minimum, although we love to see something higher than 100%. Adding in double or triple-tiered bonuses sweetens the deal. That’d mean augmenting the deposit match with a no-deposit bonus and/or some free spins.

Going over $30 for a no-deposit or over 100 for free spins gets a thumbs up from us. If a place can do all that and keep the wagering requirements at <15x the bonus amount, it’s probably one of the greatest online casinos in the USA. If you want even more options, head over to our dedicated page listing all the best bonuses.

So, what sort of things do we consider when rating a bonus?

2. Games

What’s a casino without games? A bit like a fly without wings. 

US online casinos should be offering players a wide choice, both in terms of pure number, as well as variety. For top scorers, we’d expect a total of 700 at minimum, while the average crowd would be offering around 300-500. As for variety, we’d want to see the full suite from our high flyers – online slots, jackpots, table games and a live casino at least, rounded out with cherries like bingo, keno, scratch cards etc.

For the extra few points that separate the strong from the heroic, there are a couple of things we rate for. Good game filtering systems are super-underrated – both new and experienced players love them, and there’s no better way to discover new games. If you find brand new online casinos USA that have exclusive games, that’s some more points in their favor. Get the lowdown on our dedicated page for all things related to online casino games.

3. Software

There are a lot of different software providers out there, making all kinds of playable products we can win money on. 

What makes a good software offering? We like to see 20+ different software options for the best online casinos. If more than 12 are from top providers like NetEnt, IGT, and SG, then that casino is on the right track. The casino having its custom software is a nice check mark too.

Finally there’s online live casino accolades we look for – if it runs 24/7, and is streamed from inside a real casino – top marks. The reason that falls under online casino software is because it depends on the provider’s quality, their ability to land deals with physical casinos, and their capacity to handle 24/7 play.

4. Payment methods

Picture this: You’ve won $1,000, but the casino will only pay it out to one specific bank that takes 6 months to get an approved account. It shouldn’t be that hard.

So what do we like to see? Online casinos in the USA must float at least 10 payment options for an above-average score, and break 15 for the top. If 8 or 9 of those are from popular methods like Discover, MasterCard, PayPal, and Play+, even better.

Deposit and withdrawal limits factor in too – best when there aren’t any. When they do exist, we like to see minimum deposit limits of no more than $5 and maximum deposit limits of no less than $10,000. The best PayPal casinos usually do great in the deposit & withdrawal scores.

For withdrawals, minimums of under $10 and maximums of over $5,000 work for us. Operator fees shouldn’t be present, and the option to withdraw in cash from a real casino is a bonus.

The gallery has some top casino payment methods  that we like to see at the best online casinos.

5. Safety

Safety is a prime concern for online casino players, and with good reason. Your casino’s going to have access to whatever payment details you deposit/withdraw with – it’s important to be sure everything’s above board. With US online casinos, the legal verification process means you’re often asked to share personal data, so a good safety rating is twice as valuable.

So where do we set our bar for safety? Adhering to state-mandated responsible gaming rules is the bare minimum. The best online casinos for safety will have their own responsible gaming platforms. Online gambling sites should be SSL-encrypted, and we dock points if they aren’t. Multiple state licenses mean more organizations are watching it, so points for that too.

We also score on accessibility. Is the casino’s auditing information transparent, clear, and easy to find? Are the responsible gaming tools (loss limits, timed exclusions, etc) simple to use? Further criteria include the casino’s reputation – whether it’s partnered with a prominent physical casino, and whether it’s an award winner. 

In the meantime, here are some tips our experts recommend for anyone wanting to gamble in a safe casino:

1. Stick to licensed casinos
2. Triple-check your state’s laws
3. Familiarize yourself with your casino’s responsible gambling tools
4. Try discover which organization audits your casino’s games for fairness
5. Check for any awards won by a casino (or its parent company)
6. Look at the T&Cs (are they clear and detailed, or vague and opaque?)

6. Mobile

In the 21st century, phones are synonymous with convenience – and most popular online casinos offer mobile options.

What makes a good mobile offering for US players at an online casino? Game availability is our biggest criterion. If a place is only offering 20% – 40% of its games on mobile, is it even a real online casino? 60-80% is about average, and the best places will offer at least 95% if not all of their games. We expect good casinos to have native apps for Android and iOS too.

We also rate an app’s quality. It’s got to be glitch and crash-free to get a top score and should be easy to navigate. Finding games shouldn’t cause problems, so a good search and filter system makes us happy too. If a place wants to crack into the top 10 online casinos list, at least when it comes to mobile, it’s got to do something special. Here, we look for mobile-exclusive payments and bonuses.

You can blast yourself with more info about top mobile offerings on our specified page for the best mobile casinos in the USA. 

7. Customer support

Problems are a part of life, and when they happen, the first stop for US online casino players will be customer support. 

If you want to find an online casino that’s doing a good job, here’s what to look for: All main support/contact options should be available. That’s email, phone, live chat, and a help/FAQ section. The best online casinos in the US will offer 24/7 support, usually as live chat. If they can’t swing that, they should at least have dedicated hours 7 days a week for a strong score.

Response time and quality is important too. If live chat can give accurate, detailed responses without needing any clarification for questions, that’s a good quality score. If they can do it in under a minute, or max 1-3, they’re doing fine on speed. Again, accessibility is important. Clicking through 12 pages to find contact details is bad form. Top-rated online casinos will have 1-click live chat on the homepage.

We’ve listed some specifics on what’s accepted at USA online casinos for customer support on the table.

8. Usability

Usability is based purely on accessibility – a casino might have the best payments and game libraries in the world, but you’ll never play there if the sign-up form looks like a Fort Knox blueprint.

So what do online casino sites have to do to get our seal of approval? First, an easy sign-up. If it takes more than 5 minutes, the top rating is gone. Second, easy bonus claim. The best places will apply promotions automatically, or let you activate them with one click.  

Navigation is also important. Different game sections and verticals should be displayed, and a search function goes a long way. The best website navigation systems include complex filtering options, which allow games to be sorted by everything from payout to theme. A floating live chat that sticks around when you change pages gets a nice bonus point.

How we rate US sweepstakes casinos

As the popularity of US sweeps casinos rises, our reporters have been working double-time to make sure you have the latest coverage on this hot topic. Our experts have been hard at work analyzing the top sweeps casinos of the nation, and have altered the rating system appropriately to be fair to these unique casinos.

For the most part, a lot of the rating system has stayed the same. Nothing in the Safety, Mobile, Support, or Usability sections has changed, and we have all the same expectations there for sweepstakes casinos that we do for real-money casinos.

The changes come with our Bonuses, Games, Software, and Payments sections. Sweepstakes and social casinos don’t allow you to cash out, instead, players play solely for fun or to redeem cash prizes. Therefore, things like bonus cashout limits and withdrawals have naturally been removed. Sweeps casinos also have a lower market average of games than real-money casinos, so it would be unfair to expect 700 games when most sweeps casinos crack just about 200.

We’ve gone over a full list of the changes in our expectations in the accordions below:

How we rate US online sportsbooks

We take US sportsbooks just as seriously as casinos, with our experts tailoring a comprehensive set of criteria specifically to uncover the best US online sportsbooks. This means that, just like with online casinos, the higher scores reflect the fundamental differences between online sportsbooks, and of course, we never change our rating to make places look better.

The format of our methodology as it the same as with our casinos, with only the individual criteria changing to better suit sportsbooks. This means that the separate sections are rated and weighted just like before, with everything being measured against market averages. 

The Playscore and user reviews are also fully present here, as we aim to bring in external voices and make ourselves fully transparent.

1. Bonuses

The bonuses found in sportsbooks tend to be a bit different from casinos. Nothing to give a ‘free spin’ to after all.

More commonly found are risk-free bets, where if your first bet loses then you’ll be refunded up to a certain amount, or first bet matches where you’ll get ‘betting cash’ according to your first bet or deposit. Sportsbooks aiming to get a top score from us will need to be generous with these bonuses here, with no minimum deposits or wagering requirements preferably. 

Our experts also take care to see if there are any odds restrictions, which can be a big tripping point. Sportsbooks can’t expect high marks from us if the odds restrictions are so high, you’d need to bet on Taylor Swift scoring a touchdown with a triple backflip in the Super Bowl. Our experts expect low to no odds restrictions, and transparency on any restrictions available. 

That covers the main points, though there’s far more than our experts look into to decide the best sportsbook offers. For more information, check out our sections below:

2. Sports markets

Sportsbooks don’t exactly work if you don’t have any sports to bet on.

For our experts, it comes down to quantity and quality. This means 30+ sports to bet on, with 50+ markets per sport to bet on (or 150+ for football). We also want 1,200+ markets per day, preferably with some unique markets to sweeten the deal. When it comes to sports, the more the merrier.

It’s also always nice to see a few alternatives to sports. Esports is an up-and-coming market that we like to see sportsbooks include, and some sportsbooks even include entertainment like the Academy Awards, which always gets a few bonus points from us. 

It’s impossible to list all the sports a sportsbook can have, but here are a few of the popular ones we expect to see:

3. Betting features

It’s not just about what you can bet on, but how you can bet on it. The best sportsbooks all offer plenty of betting features to help make your betting more exciting.

The most common and requested feature for any sportsbook is live betting. The best live-betting sportsbooks will have 50+ live events going at the same time, with a live stream running and in-depth data being regularly updated. Going along with this is the ability to cash out on the fly, with accurate quick cashouts regularly updated for the players.

We also want some quality-of-life features to help out with our betting, which means having a user-friendly bet builder, and multiple betting systems such as straight bets and parlays. Wrap it all up in a smooth and intuitive navigation system, and you’ve got a recipe for a highly ranked sportsbook

4. Odds

This is a big deal for us. We understand that sportsbooks need to make money, but betting odds also need to be fair. 

The main factor here is the Return-to-Player (RTP). This is the amount that a player gets back on average. So say for instance a sportsbook has an RTP of 90%, then that means players will get $90 back for every $100 wagered on average. Whilst sportsbooks never give out their RTP, our experts are equipped with tools to help them get as close to the real value as possible.

As a general rule, we expect all sportsbooks to be in the 97% RTP range for all of their markets, though 96% will still score pretty decently. The exception is live payouts, which always have a lower RTP due to the player’s advantage of seeing it all happen live. We’ll give top marks for 96% or above in this department. 

As for the rest, we’ll give extra marks for any boosted odds or parlay boosts. We also expect no delay on any odds displayed, so slow odds will be harshly punished.

5. Payment methods, safety, and customer support

These sections are for the most part identical to the casino sections, so we’ll keep it brief. After all, a lot of the best sportsbooks are partnered with casinos and will use the same payment methods, safety regulations, and customer support.

For payments, we expect lots of payment methods, with low transaction times and no fees. Keep everything fully transparent, and you’ve got a winning formula for us. We’ll deduct marks if the more popular payment methods are excluded, such as paying with PayPal. For more information on how sportsbooks may have unique betting payments, check out our sports payments page.

Safety is always a top priority, so any sportsbook aiming to hit the top of the ranks needs to have readily available terms, and dedicated responsible gambling pages with tools, relevant details, and links to organizations. Some extra points will be handed out of the sportsbook is an award winner, is licensed in 3+ states, and doesn’t immediately limit you if you keep winning.

Finally, customer support needs to be available 24/7. They need to respond fast, and with quality responses, and preferably be available to everyone including non-registered users. Alternatively, we’ll accept other support channels such as emails, phone, help sections, or FAQs, with these alternatives being easy to gain access to. Anything less than this gets a low score from us.

6. Platform

Just like the previous section, we rate the platforms of casinos and sportsbooks quite similarly. We hold sportsbooks to the same standards, with our experts expecting the platform to be user-friendly and easy to use.

This means we expect an easy-to-find and complete registration form, smooth navigation through the different verticals through search functions, and easy-to-claim bonuses. Preferably, there are other verticals aside from betting. Our experts also keep an eye out for a sticky button for live chat.

The main difference between sportsbooks and casinos is that apps don’t get their rating section, but instead the mobile app is rated in a category here. This is because sportsbooks have a much easier time with their mobile apps since they don’t have problems with software providers not allowing them to have certain games on mobile. Sportsbooks should have no problem creating an app with full access to all markets and bonuses, and any sportsbook that fails here will be judged accordingly.

Expert ratings dissected

The score for each section totals out to 100%, but to get to that 100%, criteria have different weights. These are assigned based on what we believe makes the biggest difference to players, in turn, based on our years of iGaming experience. Finally, the average of the scores becomes the overall Expert Score.

We go into more detail below, showing the percentages of what we rate for in each of the criteria outlined above.

Real money casinos

Social and sweepstakes casinos

Sportsbooks

The triple-tiered Time2play technique

We mentioned triple-tiered scores. As you can see on this page, our Expert Ratings are super-comprehensive, so what do we add to them? Here’s the breakdown:

1. The Playscore

What it is — An overall score of all the reviews our little bots can lay their hands on. We scan the internet for other review scores and average them out into one easy number.

Why it’s cool — Possibly our most unique feature, it gives you an entire market overview score in one little number, right up there next to our Expert Rating. You get all the info at once, and you can compare between what our experts are saying, and what everyone else is saying.

2. User reviews

What they are — Unfiltered, unedited, uncompromised opinions from you, the players.

Why they’re cool — They help you find the best stuff and see-through scams based on dozens of accounts of first-hand experience. Our experts can know their casinos better than anyone, but they’ll never know as much as 5,000 players put together.

Our affiliate partners

We can’t be the kings of transparency if we aren’t open about how we make our money. As an independent operator, we are supported through affiliate casinos and sportsbooks.

To put it simply, gambling sites will provide us with affiliate links to their sites. We’ll write a review about them, and display the affiliate link at the top. When readers click on the link and make a deposit, we get a small amount of cash. 

We must stress that this partnership has never and will never affect the honesty of our reviews in any capacity. Sites make it to the top of the rankings because they’ve earned it, and likewise will fall to the bottom if they are found to be lacking, regardless if they are affiliates of ours.

We’ve decided to put our money where our mouth is, and we’re displaying every single one of our affiliates here:

Real money casinos

Stardust, PartyPoker, BetMGM, Borgata, BetAmerica, Golden Nugget, Virgin Casino, Tropicana, Mohegan Sun, Resorts Casino, Caesar Casino, Harrahs Casino, Unibet, Bet365, 888 Casino, BetRivers, SugarHouse, Wynnbet, Betway, Parx, Scores Casino, FireKeepers Casino, Four Winds Casino.

Social and sweepstakes casinos

BetRivers, Gambino, Fortunecoins, Stake.us, Pulsz, WOWvegas, Funrize, FunzPoints Casino, Caesarsgames, WSOP, BestFriends, HouseOfFun, Slotomania, Poker Heat, VivaSlots, My Choice Casino, WebSweeps, Global Poker, Chumba, LuckyLand Slots, Scratch Carnival Casino, Golden Heart Games, SugarHouse – Casino4Fun, Rush Casino4fun, Hard Rocks Social Casino, Twin River, Double Down, Win Star, Play Jack, Big Fish Casino, high5casino, Live Casino Social, Seminole, Huuuge Casino, Parx Social Casino, Bspot, Zynga, Skillz Casino, Jackpot Planet Casino, Firekeepers, FourWinds Casino

Sportsbooks

Borgata, SugarHouse, BetMGM, Wynnbet, Maximbet, Sports Illustrated (888), Unibet, BetRivers, Pointsbet, Golden Nugget, Bet365

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