Data-Driven Review Methodology for iGaming Resources

Journalist specializing in online casino software, games, slots, progressive jackpot, journalism, safe gambling, addiction prevention, psychology, igaming.

Updated At: Aug 21, 2023, 02:34 pm

Created At: May 17, 2023, 06:44 pm

MISSION STATEMENT

At Play Casino Advisor, we are committed to offering our readers comprehensive and trustworthy information about casinos.
We understand our reviews' importance and have put strict guidelines to evaluate casinos.
Our goal is to be the internet's most transparent and player-focused casino review site.
Our central system, the Casino Genius, evaluates casinos based on over 250 features, including bonuses, games, and safety.
CasinoGenius is an ensemble of machine-learning models that analyze all the data we programmatically collect for each online casino and game.
Our crawlers scrape the internet daily to find information about jurisdiction changes, customer complaints, and casino updates in bonuses and RTPs. Then we train our models to determine the feature importance and flag bad actors we should pay attention to.
Our dedicated team manually contacts each casino's support and checks the forums to validate the findings. This approach sets us apart from other reviewers who may rely solely on personal opinions rather than data-driven techniques.
Our aim is to transform the affiliate industry into an honest and transparent space that guides players toward the best deals at the best casinos. This benefits players and puts pressure on subpar casinos to improve their offerings to be chosen, ultimately resulting in more wins for players.

Below, we expand on the general categories of the review process and the data we collect.

Trust (5)

Active Gambling License

One of the most crucial features of our ranking model is that the respective online casino under review has an active license from a well-known and trusted licensing body. We ensure that the gambling sites we recommend have an active permit appearing on their website. Regardless of the jurisdiction where it obtained its license, if we notice that an online casino lets its gaming license expire, we do our best to report it and place it on our blacklist.

Reputable Regulatory Provider

Accordion Sample DeUnfortunately, an active gaming license is not enough. The territory under which the casino is regulated is equally important. Several tax-friendly islands and territories provide gaming licenses for the right price. We are looking for authoritative and independent organizations, like UK Gambling Commission (UKGC), the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA), or eCOGRA. Our model heavily penalizes the casinos that do not satisfy these criteria.scription

Fairness Verification

Although a seal of approval from highly trustworthy testing agencies such as eCOGRA ensures a fair online gambling experience, we do our due diligence to audit for margin discrepancies. For an online casino to be legitimate and fair, it must adhere to the basic random probability laws. A slight modification in the odds could result in an unfair disadvantage on the casino's side. From a game theory point of view, we try to ensure that the min-max algorithms are implemented correctly by testing a sample of games at random through automated scripts. We test that an RNG is active and the numbers do not follow a pseudo-random distribution.

Ownerships & Transparency

Our models favor the online casinos that disclose the ownership of their operations. It is not uncommon for online companies to be privately owned and for the leadership team to want to maintain anonymity. Nevertheless, an active physical location, corporate information such as VAT number, and public ICANN records that can be verified and traced provide extra credibility and transparency. We use this information to perform exhaustive background checks and verify that the owners are not associated with any lawsuits or business malfeasance.

Fair Terms & RTP

Most casinos that offer free bonuses put wagering requirements on them. In other words, a player must bet the bonus money many times before withdrawing their winnings, including the bonus. This set of rules can get too complex, and the fine print of the terms and conditions can negate the very lucrative no-deposit bonuses, useless. We also look for fair RTP and high payout percentages. The casinos we rank high on our list usually display this information publicly on their website. If they don't, we contact customer support to collect this information.

Security(4)

Fund Security

One of the most crucial and overlooked parameters is the security of the deposited funds. Over the years, we have heard many cases where illegitimate casinos offered high rewards and bonuses to their users to lure them in to claim later a data breach that drained all their funds from the main account. We request that the casino use a state-of-the-art encryption mechanism for personal data and financial information. When we call their customer support, we ask them if they separate their withholdings to multiple bank accounts and segregate user funds from their profits.

Data Privacy

We take data privacy and protection very seriously. We only work with casinos that adhere to the best data security practices and focus on encryption and data sharding. If we suspect that a casino uses sensitive information for advertising purposes or violates privacy policies, we automatically blacklist it. We are also dedicated to helping you get in touch with the casino and have them verify that all your personal information, payment details, and PII data have been removed from their system.

Manual Testing

Forecasting algorithms and machine learning models can help us make an informed decision, but the actual playing experience cannot and should not be omitted. To validate our findings, we periodically check the casinos manually. We sign up with multiple accounts to test desktop and mobile devices. Our diverse team has an extensive experience with gambling strategies and tactics. We always play for real money (and are on the winning side more often than not). We split our tests into online slots, blackjack, roulette, live dealer games, and online poker. One of our most important criteria is the timeframe when we will access our winnings. Our test completes when the funds are available in our bank account, not when the transaction is issued from the casino's end. We test all payout methods and speeds, so we can accurately advise on the best option. Speed is paramount; if we don't receive our funds within the expected timeframe, our model penalizes the casino, and we open a dispute with their customer support. We often contact the casino's customer support team to verify that the waiting times are short and their answers are correct.

Webserver Security

The casino must have a fully secure and SSL encrypted connection for players' info and data. We are interested in credentials like Norton, TRUSTe, OpenSSL, eCogra, etc. For the casino to not be penalized by our model, we require an SSL to be implemented from the server side. We also test the handshake between browser and server to ensure that no broadcast packages are being shared with 3rd party trackers. We also periodically test for all the reported hacks and exploits for major webservers such as Nginx and Apache.

Promotions (3)

Signup Bonus

All the casinos we recommend offer one or more types of welcome bonuses. It is our responsibility to recommend the most generous casinos that let you experiment and get acquainted with their platform without any monetary risk from your side. The casinos that score the most points in our model provide free spins, affiliate referral promotions, reload bonuses, cashback deals, or a first-time deposit match. In some cases, we also get no-deposit bonuses that are even higher.

No-Deposit Bonus

No-Deposit bonuses are not that common and are usually only active for a short period. We keep looking for them and report to our mailing list once we find a new deal. No-Deposit bonuses are special deals that offer "free" real money to players without a deposit. They are sometimes reserved for trusted affiliate referrals or can be redeemed through special promotions. Stay tuned to find out the most exclusive casino no deposit deals possible!

Loyalty & Frequent Wager Bonus

We are also interested in the casinos that offer competitive loyalty programs and reward power users and players who frequently wager large sums of cash. We want to cater to our audience that plays often and maximize their earnings by using every edge possible. Our team is constantly scanning newsletters and social media promotions to find the best VIP perks that may help high-rollers earn extra benefits from each bet they make.

Banking (4)

Available Currencies

We like casinos that offer payment in different currencies, both fiat, and cryptocurrencies. Depending on where you are located, there might be considerable costs in exchanging currency using traditional banking systems. Allowing deposits and payments in various currencies, both fiat and cryptocurrencies, is crucial when choosing an online casino.

Available Deposit Methods

It is paramount that the casinos we recommend offer various payment methods. These methods should be well-known and available in all the countries the casino operates in. The most critical element of an online casino is its ability to handle payment transactions quickly and accurately. The payouts should be available as soon as possible irrespective of the lump sum. We aim to find the casinos that accept the most popular payment methods such as American Express, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, JCB, Diners Club, PayPal, Payoneer, Stripe issue credit cards, bank wire transfer, Neteller, and others. You may want to stick to your favorite payment method, which is great. Nevertheless, these different payment methods will come in handy if there is any restriction to specific deposit methods because of where you live.

Limits

We also review the casino's transaction fees and limits. We prefer online casinos with low deposit limits and with high withdrawal limits.

Fast Withdrawal Speeds

We want to promote casinos that have fast processing times and reasonable fees and do not discourage their users from requesting their winnings often. The online casinos with the shortest payout waiting period and fastest processing speeds are the ones that we score high.

Customer Care (4)

Responsible Gambling Attitude

We are all aware that online gambling can be a highly addictive activity. The dopamine/cortisol releases put the mind in a challenging position as it tries to cope with each user action's risk/reward tradeoffs. We believe that online casinos are responsible for providing a good gaming experience and safekeeping their users from potentially hurtful habits. Like gaming platforms such as Sony Playstation and Microsoft X-Box, casinos should monitor the time playing, idle time, and money spent and report it to the user. We know people who have lost their whole net worth and gone into debt due to gambling addiction, and we hope that the casino will try its best, without violating the user's rights, to help them have responsible fun. Our algorithm highly values if a casino offers analytics and email reports on usage.

Excellent Customer Support

Customer support is one of the most fundamental and crucial elements that can make or break your online gambling experience. Irrespective of what game you are interested in, there is a good chance that a problem/question/error might occur at some point. The problem may be even more time-sensitive and stressful if it revolves around real money. Having someone there to help you debug and resolve the said issue is of paramount importance. It is essential that the casino offers a lot more than email support and forum options. Customer support must be accessible 24/7 via different mediums, such as toll-free phone, live chat support, and email. The waiting times have to be within minutes on average; otherwise, the casino rank is heavily penalized by our model. FAQ sections and user forums are also important. Moreover, we utilize an NLP model to analyze the completeness and thoroughness of the casino provider's responses to open issues in public forums and social media. We want to ensure that the response touches upon all the key points and keywords asked in the user question. We are optimizing for short, concise, and relevant answers that maximize the contextual similarity to the vector embedding of the question. As a last line of defense for casinos like MGA online casinos, there will be an option to contact the gambling commission directly for critical matters and disputes.

Conflict Resolution

The events we are particularly interested in and track thoroughly are major complaints, scandals, and high-profile lawsuits. If we notice such a public event, we immediately move that casino to our blacklist and notify our user base through our email newsletter and social media posts.

Languages

Having a pretty diverse in-house team, we are aware of how important it is to have an inclusive and diverse company culture that addresses all the key points multilingual support at casinos that operate in multiple countries across the globe.

Online Gaming (6)

Live Dealer

Investing in an online casino that employs actual human dealers is not only a trust signal but also a way to bring back some of the psychological benefits of sharing the wins or losses with another human being. This principle is woven into what makes the gambling experience so exhilarating.

Game Selection

Apart from safety, we want to maximize the fun of your experience when choosing an online gambling provider. We are only interested in providers that offer a wide variety of games that cater to different audiences and playing styles. We look for casinos with an assortment of games similar to the local Vegas casinos, such as hundreds of slots, table games, specialty games (keno, baccarat, bingo, scratch cards, Sudoku), and live video dealer poker games. A solid combination of slots, table games like blackjack, roulette, baccarat, poker, live dealer games, and bingo/keno games is what we constantly search for. Our models score higher on the casinos that offer numerous game variations. Regarding slots, we analyze the game developer, free spin, number of reels, or progressive jackpot availability. The more variety, the better. By choosing the casinos with a large variety of games, we will help you avoid boredom and pinpoint where you want to spend your resources. Although players who visit our website are primarily interested in online slots, our section about available games details all types of entertainment a player can find at an online casino. This way, players have an overview of available games before signing up.

Top Game Providers

We are very interested in the software providers available at each online gambling site. Our models give prefernce to software providers such as Microgaming, IGT, Playetch, Bally, and NetEnt. We are looking for state-of-the-art graphics and animations. We give bonus points for the storyline and an immersive playing experience. We are also interested in game localization and inclusivity to accommodate players from around the world with different ethnic backgrounds.

Online Game Format

If the casino offers downloadable software, we test it thoroughly to ensure there are no backdoors or hacks that could expose your device and personal information. We monitor the incoming/outgoing traffic and listen for packages that might contain sensitive information. We need to ensure that the software is easy to install and will be safe to use, since there is a variety of exploits and backdoors that they can infect your system. That being said, we primarily focus on a great cloud-based user experience and stellar mobile UI. We are looking for a friendly UX/UI design and intuitive registration process.

Progressive Jackpots

Progressive jackpots are one of the most enticing features in slot play. Mega Moolah and Mega Fortune are some of our top-rated ones, but we always look for new ones.

Free Games

One of our highest parameters is the availability of free and fair games. We want our audience to be able to test the gambling strategies and how-to guides we offer on our website. Before betting with your hard-earned real money, we want you to enjoy without risk and have fun!

Mobile Readiness (3)

Mobile Compatibility & Responsiveness

More than 52% of web visits in the United States come from mobiles in . This number is likely to increase since mobile devices, phones and tablets are integrated into the daily lives of a large sample of the population. It is vital for a casino that wants to succeed that they offer a fantastic experience on both large and small screens. We visit the casinos we review from several responsive web browsers that emulate smartphones and tablets and look for differences from the desktop version. In particular, we are testing for specific features such as exclusive bonuses that appear only on mobile versions.

Mobile App

An online casino that invests time and resources into creating a dedicated app is valued higher by our algorithm. This is not to be confused with an optimized and responsible mobile experience through the normal web portal. We want to ensure that the iOS, and Android app is up to par with the web version of the online casino and that the same features are offered in both use cases. We are looking for optimized experiences, speed, proper game layout, and efficiency of mobile resource usage.

Localization

We prefer casinos that cater to an experience accustomed to the cultures of the locations they operate in. For example, New York and Chicago have a large population of Indian-Americans. We'd prefer to see casinos that consider this when providing slots and tabletop games and offer games like Teen Patti that have strong associations with the respective culture.

Ella Marie Bell

Author

Ella Marie Bell is a slot enthusiast and reviewer for PlayCasinoAdvisor.com. With five years of experience in the online gaming industry, Ella has become an expert in the field of slot gaming and is widely recognized for her in-depth knowledge and expertise. Her ability to analyze and review online casinos and provide unbiased accounts have made her a trusted source of information for players in the US. Ella has a degree in Casino and Gaming Management, which has provided her with a solid foundation and comprehensive understanding of the gaming industry.

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