Ratings methodology
A transparent system for assessing gambling brands: the criteria, their weights and how we verify the data. 18+.
1. How the ratings are built
Don8Play ratings are based on a multi-factor analysis. We do not sell places in our ratings. A brand’s position is the mathematical sum of its points in 5 key categories, and each category has its own weight in the final score.
2. Weights table
| Category | Weight in the rating | Measurable criteria | Data source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Licence and regulation | 30% | Type of licence (Curacao eGaming, MGA, UKGC), validity on the date of the check, complaint history over 12 months, any blocking. | Public licence registers (eGaming.cw, the MGA register), review aggregators (AskGamblers, Casinomeister) |
| Payment discipline | 25% | Average withdrawal time (in hours) over the last 30 days, daily/monthly withdrawal limits, hidden fees, how long KYC verification takes. | Mystery Shopping: 3 test transactions; parsing of the brand’s current T&C |
| Game range | 15% | Number of game providers, RTP certificates (eCOGRA / iTech Labs), live games, mobile availability. | Mystery Shopping; public data from game providers |
| Bonus policy | 15% | Wagering requirement (the x multiple), time allowed for wagering (days), game restrictions, maximum bet while wagering, hidden conditions. | Parsing of the T&C; a difficulty ratio calculated by formula (see section 3) |
| Support and UX | 15% | Average time to the first reply in live chat (min), Russian-language support, a mobile app / PWA, loading speed (Core Web Vitals). | Mystery Shopping: 3 test requests; parsing of the support pages |
3. How we measure (KPIs) and the scoring formulas
- Withdrawal time. Measured as the average of 3 test transactions through different payment systems (bank card, e-wallet, cryptocurrency) over the last 30 days. Example: 8 points out of 10 for “withdrawal to a card” if the average payout time is ≤ 24 h; 10 points at ≤ 4 h; 5 points at ≤ 72 h; fewer than 5 points at > 72 h or with documented refusals.
- Fairness of bonuses. Difficulty ratio = (bonus amount × wagering requirement) / (average RTP of the game category × 100). Above 3.0 the bonus is considered hard to clear and loses 2 points out of 10. At 1.5 or below it gets the maximum of 10 points.
- Reputation. An aggregate figure based on specialist forums and complaint sites (AskGamblers, Casinomeister, the Gambling.ru forum): the share of complaints resolved over the last 12 months. At ≥ 90% resolved, 10 points; below 60%, no more than 4 points.
- Licence. A base score by type of licence: MGA / UKGC 10; Curacao eGaming (licence holder, not a sub-licensee) 8; Curacao (sub-licensee) 6; no licence or an unverified one 0 (the brand is not included in the rating).
4. What does NOT affect the rating
The following factors are excluded from the scoring formula and cannot change a brand’s position:
- The size of the affiliate commission. A brand paying a high commission and a brand with no affiliate contract are assessed on the same criteria.
- Agreements with the brand. Signing an affiliate agreement does not give a brand the right to change its score or to block critical comments.
- Advertising and sponsorship. Banners or mentions of a brand in promotional material do not affect its position in the rating.
- Requests to remove negative content. The editors consider appeals on the facts (inaccurate data) but do not remove well-founded negative scores.
5. The verification process (Mystery Shopping)
Our experts check every brand under the “mystery shopper” protocol:
- Registration and basic verification.
- A deposit of the minimum amount and a check of the payment gateways.
- Testing 3–5 slot machines for connection stability.
- A technical question to customer support.
- A withdrawal, recording how long the request takes to process.
6. How often we update
The data in the ratings is updated at least once a month. When we receive confirmed complaints from users or a brand’s licence status changes, corrections are made within 24–48 hours.
7. Version history of the methodology
Current version: v2.5 (of 19/05/2026)
- v2.5 (19/05/2026): added the “Data source” column to the weights table; added the section “What does NOT affect the rating”; clarified the scoring formulas for “Withdrawal time”, “Fairness of bonuses”, “Reputation” and “Licence”; numbered the sections.
- v2.4 (15/05/2026): added the criterion “Availability of crypto payments”; raised the weight of the “Licence” category from 25% to 30%; introduced automatic monitoring of mirror sites.
- v2.0 (01/11/2025): the first public version of the methodology; defined the 5 assessment categories and their base weights.
Approved by
The methodology was approved by Alexander Volkov, editor-in-chief of Don8Play.
Current version approved on: 19 May 2026.
Next scheduled review: August 2026.