Transparency is extremely important, and so I do my best to be as transparent as possible about how I conduct my reviews.
Over the years I have tested many casinos for the purpose of writing reviews for my customers. Reviewing and testing an online casino or sportsbook site is very time-consuming work.
I must confess that I have not personally tested and played at all the brands that I have writen about. Instead, besides my own experience, I also rely on publicly available information from other reputable sources.
I, on the other hand, focus also on sustainability practices– that is what differentiates my reviews from the rest. All the information comes either from publicly available sources or from my own thorough and verifiable research.
When I use information that comes from a non-public source, I verify the information and determine its credibility before using it. If for the sake of privacy or any other reason, I cannot disclose information, I will always explain why.
Most of the information comes from:
- Annual (sustainability) reports
- Public announcements (press releases, interviews)
- PR/marketing (social media, sponsoring, collaborations (charity/events)
I do my best to write reviews that are both factual and unbiased. I do not seek to name and shame anyone, but neither do I avoid any topics or findings that I think are relevant.
As I work to lead by example, all of my business decisions are aimed at achieving the sustainable development goals– and I base my review methodology on the same principles that I apply to myself: the GRI and B Corp standards for sustainability reporting.
What makes one casino “better” than the other?
I want to help you find not only the best sportsbook and casino websites to place your bets but to do so in the most sustainable and ethical way possible so that you can play in the most sustainable way possible.
I rate casinos in two ways and, based on the results, I come up with my “Better World Recommendation” ranking.
My casino reviews
First, I conduct a Standard Casino Review. This includes:
- The variety of games that are offered by a casino such as which game verticals and how many
- User account-related topics such as the creation and verification of accounts and payments
- A casino’s reputation regarding business practices, security, privacy and customer service.
My sustainability review
Second, I conduct a “Sustainability Review.” I look not only at typical “green” aspects of a brand such as environmental impact, but also their social and financial corporate responsibilities. For example, a casino that offers a carbon-neutral website ranks higher than one that does not.
I give a higher rating to a casino that applies social policies that benefit not only their own employees, but all individuals directly and indirectly involved, than to a casino that fails to recognize such policies. It comes down to ethics. These ethical policies are what B Corp and GRI standards are about.
Transparency is always the starting point for my review of a casino or sportsbook operator. I want to better understand their corporate priorities– whether or not they provide information free for all to see and that they are “putting their money where their mouth is”.
The verdict
For the reviews I use a 5-Star scale.
I come to my ‘Better World Recommended’ score by weighing the Sustainability Review score twice and the Casino Review score once. The resulting score is on a scale of 1 to 5:
- 1 – Very Bad – Stay Away!
- 2 – Bad – Are you sure you want to go here?
- 3 – Acceptable – I think you deserve better.
- 4 – Good – Nice choice! Go have fun!
- 5 – Excellent – This is all you can wish for!
I strive to update my reviews every 6 months, although for the foreseeable future, I will probably not manage this due to the amount of work involved and the limited time that I have available as long as I also need to manage my SEO agency on the side to take care of my family.
Step by step
Creating these reviews using this methodology takes some time. The process is similar to that of conducting a GRI and B Corp audit. I am working whenever I have time available to complement the information in order to offer you all the details you might possibly consider.
I work towards these goals in 3 steps.
Tier 1 review
These reviews, both casino and sportsbook reviews as operators' sustainability and ESG reviews will consist of a short review with bullet points listing basic information such as:
- Licenses
- Product verticals e.g games and providers
- Payment methods and payouts
- Bonuses
- Customer service
- Player experience
a short company profile with data such as:
- Company name, holdings, sister companies and brands, to get an idea of the size of the business
- Where the companies(s) is/are based, especially relevant with regards to where they pay their taxes
- If the company is privately owned or publicly traded. The latter implies that they need to publicly report annually on performance which already makes it more transparent.
and sustainability review of the parent company where I try to answer 4 questions:
- What does the operator (group / holding) report on sustainability?
- What goals do they set for themselves and are the results independently verifiable?
- What progress has been made so far?
- Do the goals indicate greenwashing or real commitment to sustainable practices?
Tier 2 review
During the second step, I go into more depth. The casino reviews will be updated with more detailed information.
The Sustainability Review will chart the parent company (as they generally determine the policy for all their brands) on 5 aspects of sustainable policy. All data is acquired through literature and research. If a specific brand (casino) of a parent company deviates from these policies, I will point this out.
- Business compliance – responsibility and transparency
- Responsible gaming – healthy gaming
- Employee impact – best workplace policies and practices
- Social impact – positive impact in the location where they operate
- Climate impact – dealing with climate change and pollution
Tier 3 review
Tier 3 includes empirical research that consists of interviewing and surveying various stakeholders.
Part of this are the interviews and conversation that I have with key people in the industry in my podcast ‘the Gamble'.
Besides the knowledge I get from my conversations with people in the industry, I also count on the visitors to my sites and players to share their experiences with me.
Beyond the operators
The online gambling industry, also known as the iGaming industry, consists of many stakeholders. Besides the casino and sportsbook operators, there are many more companies and organisations involved such as software providers, payment providers, licensing bodies, and regulatory institutions, as well as organisations performing audits, legal and financial services and more.
In the future, I also want to review these stakeholders and review the sustainability and ethics of their business practices. The goal is to make online gambling more transparent and thereby help to make the transition to a sustainable global society.
If you have any comments or questions regarding the reviews or anything else that you find on my website, I will be more than happy to hear from you. Please see my contact page for how you can reach me.
