How do we research a site?
We follow the same steps on every site and record each fact with a link to the page it came from and the date we checked it.
- Read the site's own pages. We read the footer, terms of service, privacy policy, fees page, help center, about page and fair play or provably fair page.
- Check the license and the company. For case opening sites we follow the license seal to the regulator's own register. For marketplaces we look up the operator in a public company register where one exists.
- Record the rules that matter. Fees, deposit and withdrawal methods, minimums, ID checks, two-factor login, age limits, restricted countries and the fairness system, each with its source.
- Mark what we could not find. If a fact is not on the site after all of that, the review shows "Not found" instead of a guess.
We do not deposit money into sites or run test withdrawals. Every score on this site is a research score built from published facts, and every review says so.
How are scores calculated?
Each area gets a score from 0 to 10 using a fixed rule. The rules are the same for every site in a section, and the tables on this page come straight from the code that applies them. In short:
- Fees (marketplaces). Seller fee plus buyer fee, plus half of any withdrawal fee. 0% scores 10, 15% or more scores 2. A site that does not publish its seller fee scores 3.
- Trust. Starts from a base and adds points for a named operator, a stated jurisdiction, ID checks, two-factor login and years operating. Case opening sites also gain points for a license we could find on the regulator's own site, and lose points if their terms allow players under 18.
- Fairness (case opening). A published seed-based provably fair system scores 8, plus 2 with a public verification page. No published system scores 1.
- Selection (marketplaces). Points for supported games beyond CS2 and for listed features.
- Usability. Points for each distinct deposit or withdrawal method and each supported currency.
Payout speed and support are not scored, because scoring them would need a real withdrawal and a real support ticket, which we do not do.
How are scores weighted?
The overall score is a weighted average of the area scores, worked out automatically when the site is built. For marketplaces, fees and trust carry the most weight. For case opening sites, trust and fairness carry the most weight. The exact weights are shown above this text and come from the same code that calculates every score.
How often do we re-check?
We re-check a site's facts when it announces a change to fees, payouts or rules, and on a rolling basis after that. Promo codes are re-checked at least every 30 days and removed when they expire. The date next to each fact and the "Last checked" date on each page show when we last looked.
How do affiliate deals affect scores?
They do not. Affiliate status is not an input to the formula. Sites that pay us nothing are researched in exactly the same way, and a site can lose its ranking while paying us. Read the affiliate disclosure.
What do "Not found" and "No license found" mean?
"Not found" means we looked for that fact on the site's own pages and could not find it, so we leave it blank instead of guessing. "No license found" means we checked the site's footer, terms and legal pages and found no gambling license claimed.
Can I use your data?
Yes. The facts for every site are in our open dataset at /data/sites.json, and the fee table is at /marketplaces/fees/. Please link back when you cite them.
How do the free tools get their numbers?
Every number a tool uses, such as the published case odds or Steam's market fees, is stored in one place with its source link and the date we checked it. Each tool page lists those sources in its "Numbers used" box.