Editorial Policy

Why We Have an Editorial Policy

The non GamStop casino space is crowded with affiliate sites, and most of them rank operators by commission rate rather than by quality. We took a different approach when CasinoIndex UK launched, and this document spells out exactly how we do things — so readers can judge for themselves whether our reviews are worth their time.

Three things this policy covers: how we choose which casinos to review, what we test for and how we score each platform, and how commercial relationships interact (or don't) with editorial decisions. If we ever change any of these rules, the change goes here first along with the date — we don't quietly adjust standards.

Our Editorial Independence

We're an independent publisher. No casino operator owns shares in CasinoIndex UK, sits on our editorial board, or has any role in deciding what gets published. Editorial decisions are made by our in-house team — listed on the About Us page — and nobody outside that team has signoff on review content.

That said, we earn revenue through affiliate commissions, and being upfront about that matters. Here's how the line stays clean:

• Our commercial team and our editorial team are separate. Commercial discussions don't reach the writers and reviewers.
• Affiliate agreements have no clauses requiring positive coverage. We won't sign one that does.
• Rankings on the site reflect our scoring methodology — not commission rates. A casino paying us higher commission doesn't outrank a better-scored one paying less.
• We list and review casinos we have no commercial relationship with. If a non-partner platform earns a top spot in our testing, it goes in the rankings.
• We've removed partners from our rankings before when they failed our standards. We'll do it again.

The full picture of how affiliate revenue works on this site is on our Affiliate Disclosure page.

How We Pick Casinos to Review

Not every operator that approaches us makes it onto the site. We won't even start the review process unless a casino meets a baseline threshold:

• Verifiable licence — issued by Malta Gaming Authority, Curacao eGaming, Gibraltar Regulatory Authority, Isle of Man GSC, or another regulator with a published public register we can check.
• Operational history of at least 6 months — we don't review brand-new platforms with no track record. Exceptions only for sites launched by established operator groups already on our list.
• SSL encryption across the entire site — basic, but disqualifying if absent.
• Public T&Cs — bonus terms, withdrawal terms and fairness terms must be readable without creating an account first.
• Functional customer support — at least live chat or email with documented response times.
• No active warnings from major regulators (UKGC public lists, MGA enforcement notices, casino dispute mediators with documented unresolved issues).

If a casino fails any of these, the review doesn't happen. Period.

Our Review Process — Step by Step

Every casino that clears the entry criteria goes through a structured testing process. Each step is performed by a named reviewer using their real identity and real money. We don't simulate, we don't accept demo accounts, and we don't review based on PR materials.

1. Licence verification. The first action is always to verify the licence number through the issuing regulator's public register — not just trust what's printed in the casino's footer. Date of issue, current status, and any historical enforcement actions all get logged.
2. Account registration. The reviewer creates a real account using their own legal identity. We document the registration flow, what data is collected, where confirmation emails come from, and how long activation takes.
3. KYC and verification. We complete identity verification using actual documents (passport, driving licence, utility bill). We log what's accepted, how long verification takes, and whether the casino requests anything unusual.
4. Test deposit. A deposit is made using each major payment method the casino offers — cards, e-wallets, crypto where supported. We track minimum deposit thresholds, processing speed, fees, and any payment failures.
5. Bonus claim. Where a welcome bonus is offered, we claim it according to the stated terms. We document the wagering requirement, eligible games, time limits, and any restrictions hidden in the small print.
6. Game testing. A minimum 2-hour gameplay session covering slots, table games and live dealer titles. We note loading times, mobile performance, RTP transparency, and any technical issues encountered.
7. Wagering completion. Where feasible we complete the bonus wagering requirement to confirm it's mathematically achievable and that no further restrictions activate at the conversion stage.
8. Test withdrawal. The most important step. We initiate a withdrawal of either bonus winnings or remaining balance. We track: time from request to approval, time from approval to receipt, communication quality during processing, and whether any unexpected verification steps appear at this stage.
9. Customer support test. We contact support via every available channel with both a basic question and a more complex query. Response time, accuracy of the answer, and willingness to escalate are all logged.
10. Mobile experience. The full process gets repeated on iOS and Android browsers. A site that works on desktop but breaks on mobile gets flagged.
11. Terms and conditions read. Bonus terms, withdrawal terms, dormant account terms and dispute clauses all get read in full and checked for anything unusual or punitive.
12. Cross-reference with player reports. We check independent forums, casino dispute services and player complaint sites for documented issues that don't show up in our own testing.

Every step is documented, dated and signed off by the reviewer. Internally we keep records of every test we've ever run — that's what allows us to track changes over time and update reviews when something material shifts.

How We Score Casinos

Final ratings are out of 10 and break down into four weighted categories. Each category gets scored independently before being combined.

A casino that scores below 7.0 overall doesn't make it onto our recommended list. Anything between 7.0 and 8.0 gets listed but with prominent caveats. 8.0+ goes into the main rankings, with position determined by the precise score plus internal qualitative factors like consistency and trajectory.

What Will Get a Casino Removed From Our List

Listing isn't permanent. We re-review every casino on the recommendations at least every 90 days, and any of these will trigger immediate removal regardless of how long the platform has been on the site:

• Documented pattern of withholding withdrawals from players who've cleared all bonus terms and KYC
• Licence revocation or suspension by the issuing regulator
• Material change in T&Cs that introduces punitive clauses without proper player notice
• Sudden drop in customer support quality or availability
• Evidence of game manipulation or unaudited RTP changes
• Regulator enforcement action published in a public register
• Clear pattern of customer complaints on independent platforms that match what we're seeing internally

Update Schedule

Casino landscapes shift constantly — bonuses change, licences get renewed or revoked, new payment methods appear, support quality fluctuates. To keep the site current we run a layered update schedule:

• Weekly — bonus terms and welcome offer values across all listed casinos
• Monthly — payment method availability, support response times, mobile experience checks
• Quarterly (every 90 days) — full re-review including test deposit and withdrawal
• Immediately on trigger — any material change reported by readers, regulators, or our own monitoring

Every page on the site shows a "Last updated" date in the header. If the date is older than 90 days, that page is past due for review and we treat it as a priority for the next editorial cycle.

Use of AI in Editorial

Worth being explicit about this since it matters. We don't publish AI-generated reviews on this site. Every review is written by a named human reviewer based on actual hands-on testing.

We use AI tools as drafting assistants for non-review content (glossary entries, FAQ formatting, structural editing) and for grammar checking — but a human writer is always the originating author and a human editor signs off before publication. Reviews specifically — the casino tests, ratings, and recommendations — are produced entirely by our editorial team without AI generation.

Corrections and Reader Feedback

We make mistakes sometimes. When we do we want to know about it.

• For factual corrections — wrong bonus values, outdated payment options, incorrect licence numbers — email [email protected]. We aim to update within 24 hours of verifying the correction.
• For complaints about review content — bias, missing information, unfair characterisation — email [email protected]. The Editor-in-Chief reads every complaint personally.
• For tips about casino misconduct — withheld withdrawals, account closures, unfair T&Cs — email [email protected]. Your identity stays confidential unless you give explicit permission to share it.

When we update a published review based on a correction or new information, we add a dated note explaining what changed and why. We don't silently rewrite history.

Responsible Gambling Standards

We cover casinos that aren't part of GamStop. That means readers using our site might be making decisions that affect their financial wellbeing in ways UKGC platforms wouldn't allow. Our editorial standards reflect that:

• Every guide includes a prominent 18+ notice and links to support services
• We don't write content aimed at users who've recently self-excluded — articles on bypassing GamStop, evading affordability checks, or getting around blocks won't appear here
• We won't promote bonuses with terms designed to keep players spending past their planned limits (e.g. very tight expiry windows on large bonus values)
• We feature responsible gambling tools — deposit limits, session timers, GAMBAN — at every reasonable opportunity
• Our Responsible Gambling page is editorially-led and updated alongside the rest of the site

Emma Clarke, our Responsible Gambling Editor, reviews every published guide for harm-reduction messaging before sign-off.

Questions About This Policy

If anything in this document is unclear, or if you'd like to discuss our approach to a specific issue, James Morgan (Editor-in-Chief) is the right contact. Email [email protected] with the subject line "Editorial Policy" and you'll get a response within two business days.