How we review CS2 gambling sites

01 The five pillars

Every site receives a sub-score from 0 to 5 across five pillars. The headline rating is a weighted average, not a marketing number.

02 What we actually do

• Create a real account on every listed platform with our own funds, so the review reflects the real new-player experience.
• Deposit a real test amount (typically $20–$50) using whichever method we expect most readers to use.
• Play through at least three different game modes to surface mechanics, latency issues, and bonus-claim friction.
• Request a withdrawal before publishing. We time it from request to wallet confirmation.
• Email support at least once to measure response time and quality.
• Cross-reference independent reviews (Trustpilot, Reddit r/csgobetting) to look for systemic complaints.

03 Why every site has a different rating

We deliberately do not award every site five stars. A 5/5 is reserved for sites that meet a high bar on every pillar, most platforms have at least one meaningful weakness. Our current rating distribution:

• 4.5 – 5.0: Top tier. Long operating history, licensed, fast verified withdrawals, polished UX, strong games library.
• 4.0 – 4.4: Strong recommendation with at least one notable trade-off (limited games, narrow geography, missing licence, etc.).
• 3.5 – 3.9: Functional with clear weaknesses. Usable, but better-rounded alternatives exist at similar trust levels.
• 3.0 – 3.4: Reservations. Listed for transparency rather than as an active recommendation. Typically smaller player base, sparse independent reviews, or notable trust signals missing.
• Below 3.0: Not listed. Sites we've tested and would not recommend to a friend are removed entirely rather than rated low.

04 Affiliate & sponsorship transparency

Most links on this site are affiliate links, when you sign up, we may earn a commission. We also accept paid sponsorships: a brand can pay for a placement in our clearly labelled Sponsored list. Both are how the site is funded.

The crucial thing: neither affiliate commissions nor sponsorship payments change a site's editorial rating. Sponsored brands appear in a separate Sponsored list and are flagged as such; they are still scored by the exact same five pillars as everything else, and a sponsor that rates below 3.0 is delisted from the editorial directory just like any other site.

We disclose this on every review page and in our Privacy Policy.

05 How often we update

• Bonus terms & codes: checked monthly, refreshed when a site changes its offer. Most recent sweep: July 4, 2026.
• Operator details & licences: re-verified quarterly.
• Full re-test (new deposit + withdrawal), every site is fully re-tested at least every 12 months. Sites where complaints spike are re-tested immediately.
• Removals: a site can be delisted at any time if reports of unpaid withdrawals, manipulation, or account freezes cross a threshold.

06 What we explicitly do not score on

• Influencer sponsorships: having a big streamer doesn't make a site safer. Doesn't enter our scoring.
• Affiliate commission rate: invisible to readers; invisible to our score.
• Sponsorship status: a paid Sponsored placement is labelled as such and listed separately; it never changes the editorial score.
• RTP claims on slot integrations we cannot independently verify, we mark these as "publisher-claimed" without crediting them in the score.

07 Reporting an issue

Spotted a wrong bonus, an out-of-date licence number, or a site we should re-test? Please tell us, we'd rather fix it fast than be wrong publicly. Reach us at [email protected] or via our contact form.