Find out the method behind our gambling site scores
Our mission is to bring you the best online gambling sites, from sportsbooks to casinos and much more. To do that, we need to go through the hundreds of gambling sites out there and separate the good from the not so good.
Our expert review team leaves no stone unturned when it comes to finding the best gambling sites. For every site we review, we follow strict criteria to produce reliable, unbiased scores out of 100. These scores give you an instant idea of how good a gambling site is across the board.
The types of gambling products we score
Before we get into just how we score, let’s first take a look at the products we review:
We cover every type of gambling product out there so that we can provide you with reliable scores, regardless of your gambling preference. Whether you want to bet on your favourite sports team, play live casino games or enter the lottery, we’ve got you covered.
As well as our review scores, we now have a testing regime that is rolling out across more and more providers. Find out how we test providers with our own real money deposits.
Our method
If you’ve browsed our site already, there’s a good chance you’ve seen a section titled ‘How We Review’ on one of our pages, giving a quick overview of how we rate sites at Compare.bet. Our scoring methodology plays an integral part of our betting site reviews — so what does it involve?
Essentially, we start by splitting the online gambling experience into its component parts. This varies by the types of betting products the site offers. Many criteria are integral to all gambling sites, such as licensing and safety, payment options, and customer support. But we’ll also dive into the particulars, such as how competitive a bookie’s odds are, or the number of slots in an online casino’s library.
Our expert reviewers assess each factor and assign a score, which in turn is used to calculate an overall rating for the gambling site. The result? A holistic snapshot of the entire experience, which allows our readers to quickly and easily compare sites.
Keep reading and we’ll dig into the specifics of how we score sites across different categories.
Betting Scoring
There are ten criteria in total that make up our betting scoring method. Many of these are table stakes — a great range of markets to bet on with competitive odds, for example — while others are nice-to-haves such as worthwhile promotions. We especially love fully-featured sites, such as those offering in-play betting, live streaming, or bet builder functionality.
Here’s the full list of areas we look at:
Sports and Betting Markets
Licensing and Safety
Competitive Odds
Usability
Mobile Capabilities
Sign Up Offer
Existing Customer Promos
Payment Options
Customer Support
In-Play Betting and Live Streaming
Each is given a score out of 10, and these are totaled to give the bookmaker an overall mark out of 100. Of course, some things may be more important to you than others — which is why our reviews will give a breakdown of how the bookie fares in each category, letting you choose the right site for your needs.
Our casino scoring system works much like our method for betting sites but with a few different categories. Rather than betting odds and markets, we’ll put the games library under the microscope, for example.
Once more, each criterion is scored out of 10 and used to give the online casino a total mark out of 100:
Licensing and Safety
Usability
Range and Variety of Games
Live Casino Offering
Welcome Bonuses
Promos for Existing Players
Mobile
Wagering Requirements
Customer Service
Banking Options
Games
Score
Slots
30
Roulette
20
Blackjack
20
Live casino
10
Poker
5
Baccarat
3
Craps
3
Bingo
3
Keno
2
Lotteries
2
Scratchcards
2
Slots
Number of slots
Score
601+
60
401-600
55
201-400
50
101-200
45
1-100
40
Number of software providers
Score
11+
40
8-10
35
5-7
30
2-4
25
1
2
Roulette
Number of roulette games
Score
31+
60
21-30
55
16-20
50
11-15
40
6-10
30
1-5
20
Number of software providers
Score
4+
40
3
35
2
30
1
20
Blackjack
Number of blackjack games
Score
40+
60
31-40
55
21-30
50
16-20
40
11-15
30
6-10
20
1-5
10
Number of software providers
Score
4+
40
3
35
2
30
1
20
Live casino
Number of live casino games
Score
101+
60
81-100
55
61-80
50
31-60
45
11-30
40
1-10
35
Number of software providers
Score
4+
40
3
30
2
20
Bonus
Bonus amount
Score
300+
30
100-299
25
50-99
20
1-49
15
Percentage match
Score
201+
30
101-200
25
51-100
20
1-50
15
Wagering requirement
Score
0
30
1-30
25
31-40
20
41+
15
Free spins
Score
101
10
81-100
8
51-80
6
31-50
4
1-30
2
Bingo Scoring
Our method for scoring bingo sites is broadly similar, but there are fewer elements to consider. As bingo is a more social game, we’ll dive into available community features such as chat rooms alongside the number of rooms available.
After scoring each category out of 10, we then calculate the mean average to give a final ranking. Here are the factors we consider when reviewing bingo sites:
Bingo and Games Selection
Community
Payment Options
Sign Up Bonuses
Existing Customer Promos
Licensing & Safety
Customer Support
Bingo variations
Score
90 ball
20
75 ball
20
5 ball
20
80 ball
15
40 ball
15
Themed games
10
Number of slots
Score
601+
50
401-600
45
201-400
40
101-200
35
1-100
30
Bonus
Bonus amount
Score
£300+
30
£100 – £299
25
£50 – £99
20
£1 – £49
15
Qualifying deposit
Score
£0
30
£1 – £10
25
£11+
20
Wagering
Score
0
30
1-10
25
11-20
20
30+
15
Free spins
Score
40+
10
31-40
8
21-30
6
11-20
4
1-10
2
Lottery
Do you dream of winning big on a lottery? The best online lottery sites have opened up a whole new world of opportunities, offering lotteries from all around the world. This is why we look at the amount of lotteries available on each site and score them accordingly, so we can easily identify those that have the most draws.
We also check out whether there are syndicate options at the lottery sites we review. Syndicates allow you to buy lottery tickets or shares as part of a large group of other people, and the higher number of tickets means a greater chance of winning. These are understandably in high demand among online lottery players, so we take the time to check whether they’re available and then score the site accordingly.
Lotteries
Score
45+
60
41-45
55
36-40
50
31-35
45
26-30
40
21-25
35
16-20
30
11-15
25
6-10
20
1-5
15
Syndicate options
Syndicate options
Score
Syndicates available
40
Poker
Fancy going head to head against other players in online poker? While there aren’t as many poker sites as there are sportsbooks or casinos, you still need to find the best for you. We take an in-depth look at the games offered at each poker site we review, scoring them based on whether they offer the four most popular variations – Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo and Stud Poker.
Poker variations
Poker variations
Score
Texas Hold’em
25
Omaha
25
Omaha Hi/Lo
25
Stud
25
Esports
Esports betting has exploded in recent years and is now in high demand online. When looking at an esports betting site for the first time, we go straight to the betting markets section to see which esports are available. We then score sites based on their offering, with popular esports like CS:GO and League of Legends generating the highest marks.
Just like many sports punters are keen on a bonus, so are esports bettors. We score the bonuses available at esports betting sites based on the bonus amount and percentage match, which makes it easy for us to separate the most generous offers from the rest.
Esports available
Score
CS:GO
20
League of Legends
20
Call of Duty
20
Dota 2
10
Overwatch
10
Starcraft
2
Rainbow Six
10
Bonus
Bonus amount
Score
31+
100
21-30
75
11-20
50
1-10
25
Percentage match
Score
100%+
80
50% – 99%
40
25% – 49%
20
Use our scores to find your perfect match
So there we have it – how we score our top-rated gambling sites. Now you know the logic behind it, you can start using our scores to compare the best betting sites, casinos and so on. Simply compare, sign up and get started today!
The people behind this page
Compare.bet's online gambling content experts helped write, edit and check this page:
Daniel is a contributor at Compare.bet. He has half a decade of experience writing on topics including sports betting, online casino and the NBA. Daniel also helped cover Premier League football for Compare.bet news and has interviewed Louis Saha, Richard Dunne and Gary Pallister. In his spare time, Daniel enjoys film photography and making Spotify playlists.
Our casino scoring system works much like our method for betting sites but with a few different categories. Rather than betting odds and markets, we’ll put the games library under the microscope, for example.
Our method for scoring bingo sites is broadly similar, but there are fewer elements to consider. As bingo is a more social game, we’ll dive into available community features such as chat rooms alongside the number of rooms available.
Do you dream of winning big on a lottery? The best online lottery sites have opened up a whole new world of opportunities, offering lotteries from all around the world. This is why we look at the amount of lotteries available on each site and score them accordingly, so we can easily identify those that have the most draws.
Fancy going head to head against other players in online poker? While there aren’t as many poker sites as there are sportsbooks or casinos, you still need to find the best for you. We take an in-depth look at the games offered at each poker site we review, scoring them based on whether they offer the four most popular variations – Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo and Stud Poker.
Esports betting has exploded in recent years and is now in high demand online. When looking at an esports betting site for the first time, we go straight to the betting markets section to see which esports are available. We then score sites based on their offering, with popular esports like CS:GO and League of Legends generating the highest marks.