How We Review Casinos — Our Full Methodology
This page lays out exactly how every score on this site gets calculated — no vague criteria, no "we checked a few things." Every rating comes from a real account, real CA$ deposits, and documented results across five testing stages.
Step 1: Registration & First Deposit
We sign up with a fresh email address, go through the full KYC process like any new player would, and deposit real money — usually CA$50 to start. We're tracking how long registration takes (our last Skycrown signup clocked in at about 6 minutes), whether identity verification is requested upfront or later, and whether the deposit options actually work for Canadians. Interac availability gets noted specifically, because that's what most players here use. We also flag anything that feels confusing in the signup flow — a buried checkbox, a vague terms page, anything like that.
Step 2: Bonus Claiming & Wagering
We claim the welcome offer and read the actual terms, not the headline number. What we record: the exact match percentage, the maximum bonus amount in CAD, the wagering requirement as a multiplier, which games contribute what percentage toward clearing it, and the expiry window. Hard to say whether every player will hit the same friction we do — but we document what we experience. If a CA$200 bonus carries a 35x wagering requirement with 21 days to clear, that's what goes in the review. We also try to clear at least a portion of the wagering and note whether progress tracking is visible.
Step 3: Game Testing
We play a minimum of 12 sessions across at least 3 game categories — slots, live dealer tables, and table games like blackjack. Each session runs for roughly 20–30 minutes. We check whether RTP is displayed before you load a game (most casinos bury this or skip it entirely), how long games take to load on both desktop and mobile, and whether there are any mid-session disconnects. I tested most of these late at night, which is probably when half the people reading this play anyway — connection issues at off-peak hours tend to get overlooked in other reviews.
Step 4: Withdrawal Request
We request a real withdrawal — usually between CA$80 and CA$150 — and document the timeline hour by hour until the money arrives. Pending periods, processing times, and any verification requests that pop up mid-withdrawal all get logged. A withdrawal that hits in 38 minutes scores very differently than one that takes 4 business days with two extra document requests along the way.
Step 5: Support Contact
We contact support three times: once via live chat, once by email, once with a follow-up. Response time gets measured from the moment we send the message. Answer quality is scored on a simple 1–5 scale — did they actually answer the question, or did they paste a generic response? Live chat that connects in under 90 seconds and gives a real answer scores high. One honest friction point from our testing: the email response took just over 19 hours, which is on the slow side.
Our Rating Scale
Scores run from 1 to 10. A 9/10 means fast withdrawals (under 2 hours), transparent bonus terms, responsive support, and zero KYC surprises. A 5/10 means the casino works but has at least two meaningful friction points — slow payouts, confusing terms, or weak support. Anything below a 4 gets a "not recommended" label. We don't round up to be polite.
Conflicts of Interest Policy
Look, we do earn affiliate commission if you sign up through our links — that's disclosed clearly and we're not pretending otherwise. What doesn't change based on that relationship: the score. If a casino rates a 5, it publishes as a 5. We've had operators ask us to revise low scores. We don't. The review stays, the affiliate link comes down if they push it, and we note the complaint in the review itself. That's the policy.