How We Review Casinos

Licence and legal standing

1. The seal leads to a registerWe open the licence seal in the footer and follow it to the regulator’s own register, not to a certificate the casino hosts itself.Costs points: A seal that links nowhere, or to a page that does not name the operating company.
2. The company in the terms is the licensed oneThe operating company named in the terms and conditions has to be the company on the licence, at the address the licence gives.Costs points: Terms that name no company, or a company the register does not know.
3. New Zealand players are taken on the recordThe terms have to say that New Zealand accounts are accepted, and we note what the brand says about the new domestic licensing regime.Costs points: Marketing aimed at Kiwis while the terms stay silent about New Zealand.
4. New Zealand is not on the restricted listWe read the restricted-country clause in full, including the country list that sits in a separate annexe on most sites.Costs points: New Zealand in the restricted list while the site still advertises here.

Money in and money out

5. Minimum deposit, in New Zealand dollarsThe figure is taken from the cashier or the terms and written down in NZD, with the method it applies to.Costs points: A minimum that only appears after registration, or differs between cashier and terms.
6. What currency the account is actually held inWhether NZD is a real account currency or the balance is converted at every deposit and every withdrawal.Costs points: A silent conversion spread that is not mentioned anywhere in the terms.
7. The operator’s own processing windowWe record the processing time the operator states, and we keep it separate from the time the bank or the wallet then takes.Costs points: A single «instant» claim that folds both stages into one word.
8. Withdrawal limits and feesDaily, weekly and monthly caps, the fee on the first withdrawal, and whether a pending period can be cancelled by placing another bet.Costs points: Caps low enough that a large win cannot be withdrawn in a reasonable time.

Bonus terms, read to the end

9. The multiplier and what it multipliesWagering of 35× on the bonus and 35× on deposit plus bonus are different requirements; we record which one is written.Costs points: Terms that state a multiplier without saying what it applies to.
10. The game contribution tableThe actual percentages by game type. One hundred per cent on pokies and ten per cent on live tables is the requirement, not the headline number.Costs points: A contribution table that is missing, or lives only in a help-centre article.
11. Max bet and max cash-out while wageringThe bet ceiling that voids a bonus, and the cap on what a bonus can pay out.Costs points: A max bet buried below the fold, or a cash-out cap smaller than the bonus itself.
12. Expiry windowsHow long the bonus lives, how long the free spins live, and whether the clock starts at claim or at first deposit.Costs points: Free spins that expire in a window shorter than the wagering needs.

Games and software

13. Providers actually in the lobbyWe check the studios listed in the lobby filter against the ones named on the landing page.Costs points: A provider wall on the landing page that the lobby filter does not confirm.
14. Live dealer, and whether the tables are open to a New Zealand accountWhether a live section exists and whether its tables load for an account registered from New Zealand.Costs points: A live lobby advertised but geo-blocked for the players it is advertised to.
15. Free play without a depositWhether games open in demo mode before registration, which is the only way to read a paytable without paying for it.Costs points: Demo mode that requires an account and a deposit first.
16. What the operator publishes about RTPWhether return-to-player figures are published per game and whether the lobby shows which version of a game is running.Costs points: No RTP anywhere, or a single site-wide figure presented as a per-game one.

Support and player protection

17. Channels and hours, as statedWhich channels exist, what hours they cover, and in which languages.Costs points: A chat widget that is the only channel and is not staffed around the clock.
18. The help centre answers what the terms raiseWe take the hardest clause in the bonus terms and look for it in the help centre.Costs points: A help centre that repeats the marketing and never touches the clause.
19. A named complaint routeWhether an alternative dispute resolution body is named, and whether its page is reachable and current.Costs points: A complaints clause that ends with the operator’s own final decision.
20. Limits, time-outs and self-exclusion inside the accountDeposit limits, session reminders, cooling-off and self-exclusion have to be reachable from the account, not only described in a policy page.Costs points: Tools that exist as a policy page and nowhere else.

The site itself

21. The cashier works at phone widthWe open deposit and withdrawal at a phone viewport and check that nothing is cut off or needs sideways scrolling.Costs points: A cashier that only fits on a desktop screen.
22. Apps, and where they come fromWhether a native app exists, which store distributes it, and whether an APK is being offered directly instead.Costs points: A direct APK download presented as the official app.
23. Account securityTwo-factor authentication, session controls, and what the privacy policy says about sharing data with third parties.Costs points: No second factor on an account that holds a balance.
24. What changed since the last checkOn every review round we re-open the terms and the cashier and record what moved.Costs points: A page of ours that still shows a figure the operator has since changed.

How the checks become an order

A shortlist is not the score alone. Each list on this site answers one question — fastest payouts, smallest deposit, live tables — and the page criterion decides who is eligible for it at all. Among the brands that qualify, the Ledger Score sets the order. That is why a brand can lead one list here and not appear on the next one, and why the top of a payout-speed page is the set of operators that state the shortest processing window rather than the set that pays us the most.

Where fewer than four brands genuinely meet a page criterion, we do not stretch it to fill a list. The page falls back to the general shortlist and says so.