The six categories and their weights
How we score a casino comes down to one formula. Every casino rating on the site is a weighted average of six category scores, each out of 10, and our casino ratings use the same weights for every brand. Three categories carry 20% each because they decide whether a casino is safe and fair to use: the licence and safety record, how payouts work, and the bonus terms. Games and payments carry 15% each. Mobile carries 10%, because almost every UK casino now works on a phone and the differences are smaller than they used to be.
| Category | Weight | What we look at |
|---|---|---|
| Licence and safety | 20% | UKGC licence on the public register, regulatory fines and settlements, GamStop, safer gambling tools |
| Payouts | 20% | Withdrawal speed, fast methods such as PayPal, Pay by Bank and Visa Fast Funds, withdrawal limits |
| Bonus terms | 20% | Wagering against the 10× cap, win caps, time limits, how clearly the significant terms are shown |
| Games | 15% | Library size, studios, live casino, RTP versions in use |
| Payments | 15% | Number of methods, minimum deposit, fees, PayPal and Apple Pay |
| Mobile | 10% | Native iOS and Android apps, and whether limits and time-outs are easy to reach in the app |
The final score is rounded to one decimal place. We do not add points for things that are hard to compare, such as how a site looks, because two people rarely agree on design. Everything in the formula can be checked against the register, the offer terms or the cashier. A casino that scores 9 or more is one we would recommend without reservation. Between 8 and 9 is a good casino with one or two weak spots, which the review names. Below 8 usually means something important is missing or unconfirmed.
Licence and safety score
Every casino we list holds a UK Gambling Commission licence, so every casino starts this category at 10. The score drops when the licence holder has been fined by the regulator or has agreed a regulatory settlement. A penalty of £1 million to £5 million takes off 0.5, and a penalty of £5 million or more takes off 1.0. We apply it to the whole group of brands that sit on that licence, because the safer gambling and anti-money laundering failures behind a penalty are usually in systems shared by all of them. Smaller penalties are reported in the review but do not lower the score on their own.
Payouts score
Payouts measure how quickly and reliably you get your money. A provisional score starts at 8.0 and gets 0.4 more if the casino accepts PayPal, which is one of the fastest withdrawal routes in the UK. Once we test a casino, this category is scored on the time from requesting a withdrawal to the money arriving, how long the casino takes to approve it, and any limits on how much you can withdraw.
Bonus terms score
The bonus score is based on the wagering on the current welcome offer, because wagering decides how much of a bonus you can ever withdraw. No wagering scores 9.0. Wagering of 1× or 2× scores 8.8, 4× or 5× scores 8.5, and 10×, the maximum allowed in the UK since 19 January 2026, scores 8.0. Where we cannot confirm a current welcome offer at all, the category scores 7.0. That keeps casinos with unclear offers below those with clear ones, and those casinos are left out of our bonus lists until we confirm the terms.
Games, payments and mobile
Games get a provisional value between 8.0 and 8.6 depending on what sources confirm about the casino: a large slot library from many studios and a live casino score higher, a small or bingo-led library lower.
Payments depend on how many methods sources confirm. Six or more methods score 8.8, four or five score 8.4, and three or fewer score 7.8. If sources confirm none, the category also scores 7.8.
Mobile scores 8.8 when the casino has native apps for iPhone and Android, and 7.8 when it works through a mobile site only.
A worked example
Here is the arithmetic for Kwiff, one of the casinos with a provisional score. Its category scores are 10 × 20% + 8 × 20% + 9 × 20% + 8.4 × 15% + 7.8 × 15% + 8.8 × 10%, which adds up to 8.71. Rounded, that gives the 8.7/10 shown on the review. Every casino score on the site can be checked the same way from the category breakdown on its review.
Provisional scores and our own tests
We want every score to come from our own account test, and we are not there yet. At the moment 646 of the 659 casino reviews carry a provisional score, built from public information with the fixed values above. The review shows a "provisional score" label next to the number and a note under the score breakdown. The other 13 scores were set by our editors from the same public sources and the same weights, before the fixed rule was written, and they will also be replaced after testing.
A full test follows the same steps for every casino:
- Check the operator on the UK Gambling Commission public register.
- Open an account and complete identity verification.
- Deposit and read the full bonus terms, not just the summary.
- Request a withdrawal and time it from request to arrival.
- Contact support with a real question and rate the answer.
- Check that deposit limits, time-outs and self-exclusion are easy to find.
When a casino has been tested, the provisional label comes off and the category scores reflect what we found. If the test changes the score, the review says why.
What changes a casino score
Scores are not fixed. They change when a casino changes its welcome offer, when the regulator publishes a fine or settlement, when a casino adds or drops payment methods or an app, and after our own tests. We also respond to readers: if several people report slow withdrawals at a casino, we look at it again. A casino that loses its UK licence is removed from the site. The ranking date at the top of each list shows when the order was last checked.
Scores and commercial relationships
BritanniaBet is funded by commission from some of the casinos we list. That never changes the formula, a category value or a casino's place in a list ranked by score. The rule for each category is written down on this page so that anyone can check a score against it, and a casino cannot buy a higher one. Read more about how we work on our about page.
See the scores in action
FAQ
What is a provisional score?
A score built from public information using fixed values for each category, before our own account test. It is labelled on the review and replaced after testing.
Can a casino pay for a higher score?
No. The same formula applies to every casino, and the rules for each category are published on this page.
Why do fines lower a casino score?
A regulatory penalty of £1 million or more points to failures in safer gambling or anti-money laundering checks, which matter for player safety. It takes 0.5 or 1.0 off the licence and safety score.
How often do scores change?
Whenever an offer, licence record, payment list or app changes, and after our own tests.