How we rate operators and products

Why publish the method

A score is only useful if readers know what it measures. Our reviews of exchanges, wallets, casinos and sportsbooks all end in a rating out of five, to one decimal place. This post sets out how we arrive at it, so that a 3.8 can be read as a judgement against stated criteria and not as a mood.

The five areas

Each product is assessed in five areas. The weights differ slightly by category, but the structure is the same.

• Safety and licensing. Who operates the product, under which regulator, and with what record. For custody products, how keys and customer assets are held and whether that has been independently attested. This carries the largest weight in every category.
• Cost. Trading fees, spreads, withdrawal charges and network fee handling for crypto products. For gambling products, the published house edge or RTP settings and, for sportsbooks, the margin we measure on a fixed basket of markets.
• Payments. Speed and reliability of deposits and withdrawals, tested with real transactions, and how clearly limits and verification requirements are explained in advance.
• Experience. Whether the product is clear, stable and usable on a phone. We note accessibility problems and confusing flows around important actions such as withdrawals.
• Support and protection tools. Response times to a standard set of test queries. For gambling products, the availability and ease of use of deposit limits, time-outs and self-exclusion.

How testing works

A reviewer opens a real account, completes verification, deposits a modest amount of company money and uses the product over at least two weeks. We make at least two withdrawals. We read the full terms, including bonus terms, and we search regulator registers and enforcement records. A second editor checks the scoring before publication.

Caps and exclusions

Some findings limit the overall score regardless of how well a product does elsewhere. A gambling operator whose licence we cannot verify on a regulator's register is not reviewed at all. A product with an unresolved, material security incident cannot score above 3.0 until it is resolved and explained. Terms that allow winnings or balances to be withheld at the operator's discretion cap the rating at 3.5.

What a rating is not

A rating is not a recommendation to buy, trade or gamble. Our gambling reviews are written for adults who have already decided to use such a product and want to compare them on safety and cost. A high score for a casino means it is well run relative to its peers. It does not change the mathematics of the games.

Independence and updates

Commercial relationships have no input into scores, as set out in our sponsored content policy. Reviews carry the date they were last updated, and we revisit each one at least twice a year or sooner if something material changes. When a score moves, the review explains why.