Reviews without a stated method are vibes with stars attached. Here is exactly how TacticGamerz scores the platforms we cover.
What we score
Each platform is scored out of five stars across six criteria. The weights
- Welcome offer value (20%). Headline value adjusted for playthrough requirements, restrictions, expiry windows, and how attainable the redemption value actually is for a typical player.
- Ongoing promotional value (20%). Daily login bonuses, mail-in offers, social-media sweepstakes, tournaments — the rhythm of value across a typical month of play.
- Redemption efficiency (20%). Redemption thresholds, speed, friction. How much of the value you accumulate can actually be redeemed in a reasonable timeframe.
- Terms transparency (15%). Whether the platform’s offers are honestly described. Whether the fine print matches the headline.
- Game library and providers (15%). Range and quality. Less weighted than on a gameplay-first site, because library doesn’t move value much for an optimization-minded player.
- Customer support and responsible-gaming tools (10%). Support quality, depth of self-exclusion and limit tools.
How we test
- Real account, completed identity verification.
- Welcome offer claimed end to end, with playthrough and timing tracked.
- Daily and ongoing promotions claimed across 14 consecutive days, with each day’s value logged.
- At least one redemption run end to end, timed.
- A direct customer-support test on at least one channel.
- A read of the platform’s terms against our transparency rubric.
How we calculate value
For welcome offers, we calculate effective value as: nominal offer value, adjusted for playthrough or wagering requirements expressed as a percentage haircut on the headline number, adjusted for the proportion that is realistically redeemable given the redemption threshold and timeline. We publish the inputs for each calculation on the review page. If a reader can’t reproduce a number from the inputs we show, we want to know.
What disqualifies a platform
- Refusal to honor a legitimately-earned redemption.
- Material misrepresentation of offer value, terms, or state availability.
- Operation in a state the operator’s own terms exclude.
- Unresolved regulatory action.
- No meaningful responsible-gaming controls.
When scores change
Reviewed every 90 days at minimum. Reviewed immediately on a material change in welcome offer, promotional structure, redemption terms, ownership, state availability, or a finding from testing that contradicts our prior score.
Things we won't do
- Score higher because a platform pays more.
- Run sponsored reviews.
- Change a score at an operator’s request.
- Remove a number we’ve verified because the operator dislikes it.
- Cover a platform we can’t write honestly about.