How We Review Casinos — Our Full Methodology
This page lays out exactly how every casino score on Ricky Casino gets calculated — no vague criteria, no hidden weighting. If you've ever suspected a review site of pulling numbers out of thin air, read this and decide for yourself whether we do.
Step 1: Registration & First Deposit
We register a real account using a Canadian identity, go through the full KYC process, and make an opening deposit in CA$ — usually CA$50 to CA$100, depending on the minimum. We're timing everything: how long signup takes (we log it to the minute), whether ID verification triggers immediately or gets delayed, and whether the deposit options include Interac, since that's what most Canadian players actually use. We also screenshot every screen of the sign-up flow, because details like pre-ticked bonus opt-ins or buried T&C links matter and are easy to forget later.
Step 2: Bonus Claiming & Wagering
We claim the welcome offer and document the exact terms before touching a single game — bonus amount, wagering requirement (like 35x on bonus funds), game contribution percentages, and the deadline to clear it. Then we actually try to meet the wagering. We record how many sessions it takes, which games count toward the requirement, and whether the casino's bonus tracker updates in real time or lags behind. Honestly, this stage catches a lot of problems that headline bonus numbers don't tell you.
Step 3: Game Testing
We run at least 3 separate sessions across different game categories — slots, live dealer tables, and table games where available. Each session is a minimum of 45 minutes. We check whether RTP figures are displayed before you load a game, how long games take to load on both desktop and mobile (we note anything over 6 seconds as a problem), and whether the live dealer stream holds up or drops. I checked one of these sessions at midnight, which is probably when a lot of Canadian players are doing the same thing. Stream quality at off-peak hours tells a different story sometimes.
Step 4: Withdrawal Request
We request a withdrawal — usually CA$80 to CA$150 — and document every hour until the money lands. We record when the request was submitted, when it moved from "pending" to "processing," and when it actually hit the account. A withdrawal that clears in 38 minutes scores very differently from one that takes 5 business days with no status updates. If additional documents get requested mid-withdrawal, we log that too, because it's a friction point real players hit.
Step 5: Support Contact
We contact support three times across a review: once via live chat, once by email, and once with a question that's slightly ambiguous on purpose — to see if they actually read it or paste a template. Live chat connection time gets logged. Email response time gets logged. Answers are scored on whether they actually resolved the issue. A live chat that took 4 minutes to connect but gave a correct, clear answer scores better than an instant connection that sent us in circles.
Our Rating Scale
Scores run from 1 to 10. A 9/10 means fast verified withdrawals (under 2 hours), transparent bonus terms, Interac support, and support that answered every question correctly on first contact. A 5/10 means the casino works well enough, honestly, but has at least two significant friction points — slow withdrawal, vague bonus terms, or support that needed follow-up. Anything below 4/10 gets a "not recommended" tag. Hard to say exactly where every casino lands until we've run all five steps, because sometimes one stage surprises you in either direction.
Conflicts of Interest Policy
We earn affiliate commission if you sign up through our links. That's disclosed here and on every review page — no exceptions. What we don't do is change a score because a casino asks us to. If a casino complains about a low rating, we send them the raw documentation from our test and invite them to point out a factual error. If they find one, we correct it. If they don't, the score stays. We've had that conversation before. The score stayed.