How we rate online casinos

Wishbone ranks casinos on evidence, not on who pays us. Every site in our lists is tested by hand against a fixed set of criteria, and the weighting below decides where it lands. We revisit sites regularly and drop any that start stalling payouts or changing bonus terms after players opt in.

Our five criteria

Payout speed and banking (30%)

We deposit and withdraw in New Zealand dollars on a fully verified account and time how long the money takes to arrive. We also check the depth of banking options, including cards, e-wallets and cryptocurrency, and note minimum deposit and withdrawal limits.

Games and pokies (25%)

We look at the size of the library, which studios are present, the live-dealer range, and the published return-to-player figures. A good casino makes RTP easy to find.

Bonus fairness (20%)

We ignore the headline figure and read the terms: wagering multiple, maximum bet while a bonus is active, game weighting, expiry and any cap on bonus winnings. A small offer with light terms beats a giant one you can never clear.

Safety and licensing (15%)

We confirm the operator holds a verifiable offshore licence, check for independent game testing from bodies such as eCOGRA or GLI, and make sure responsible-gambling tools are easy to reach.

Support and mobile (10%)

We message live chat with real questions and time the replies, and we test the full site on a phone.

Independence

Wishbone earns a commission when a reader signs up through a link. That funding has no influence on the ranking, which is built entirely from testing. We would rather send you to a fair site and keep your trust than chase a one-off referral. Read more about how we work.