A publicly traded affiliate that reviews the same sportsbooks and casinos it earns referral commissions from; it says operators cannot pay for favorable coverage, but the business model is paid by the brands it ranks.
What it's really for A listed affiliate publisher; it screens for licensing, then earns commission on signups.
What our grade covers The grade on this page is about its editor reviews and rankings of licensed operators, not everything the site does.
High Scoring Confidence Checked against primary sources. We are confident in the facts and the grade here.
Revenue comes from the gambling operators it reviews, via affiliate commissions (CPA and revenue share) earned when readers click through and sign up; its editorial guidelines state "Operators cannot pay us to receive favourable coverage, but we may earn commission from our partners," so by its own disclosure paying does not buy placement even though the operators it ranks are the source of its income.
Source →- Operating since
- 2006 (20 years) · source
- What it costs you
- Free to read The reviews are free to read.
- How they make money
- A NASDAQ-listed performance-marketing affiliate that publishes editorial reviews and rankings of online casinos and sportsbooks and earns CPA and revenue-share commissions when readers sign up through its links.
- What they do
- It runs hands-on, editor-written reviews and comparison rankings of licensed online gambling operators across dozens of markets, screening first for valid regulatory licensing before rating an operator.
- What to watch for
- The brands it rates are also its paying partners, so by its own disclosure it "may earn commission" on the operators it recommends, and that commission disclosure is not always shown right next to each ranking.
- Composite score
- 3.20 / 5.00 → grade B-
How the grade was reached
Does the site take money from the very entities it ranks? Pay-for-placement, vendor-funded data, and affiliate commissions all pull this down. The less the ranking can be bought, the higher the score.
What is the ranking actually built on? Hands-on testing scores highest, then verified first-hand reviews, then opinion or popularity surveys and self-reported figures, then pay-to-rank, which scores lowest.
Is the methodology published, specific, and reproducible? Can a reader see how a given rank was reached, or is it a black box?
Are commercial relationships, sponsorships, and affiliate arrangements disclosed clearly and near the rankings themselves, rather than buried?
How hard is it to game? Controls against fake reviews, solicited reviews, and vendor gaming raise this; an open box anyone can stuff lowers it.
Evidence
- Editorial guidelines state: "Operators cannot pay us to receive favourable coverage, but we may earn commission from our partners when you visit their sites through our links – at no extra cost to you," with advice "based solely on editorial principles, with no influence from our commercial team or external partners." Source: Gambling.com Editorial Guidelines →
- Gambling.com Group is a NASDAQ-listed (GAMB) performance-marketing / affiliate company that connects online gamblers with licensed operators and earns commissions on referrals; 2024 revenue was about $127M. It was founded in 2006 by Charles Gillespie and Kevin McCrystle. Source: Wikipedia: Gambling.com Group →
- Reviews follow a structured 10-step process in which staff "sign up, explore the features and assess the experience themselves," beginning by verifying the operator is licensed by a regulator such as the New Jersey DGE, Pennsylvania PGCB, or Michigan MGCB before proceeding. Source: How We Review & Rate Casinos | Gambling.com →