Jake Wilfred
– We test every casino ourselves before rating it – no pay-to-play listings
– Our rating system covers 6 core categories, each weighted by how much it affects your actual experience
– Ratings get updated quarterly, and any casino can lose its spot if standards slip
– We verify licenses, test withdrawals, and contact support as real players
We get asked this a lot: “How do you decide which casinos to recommend?”
Fair question. And honestly, it deserves a straight answer.
Every casino listed on Art of Craps goes through the same evaluation process. No shortcuts. No paid placements. If a casino pays us a commission and it scores poorly, it doesn’t make the cut. Period.
Here’s exactly how we break it down.
Our 6-Point Rating System
We score casinos across six categories. Each one carries a different weight because, let’s be real, some things matter more than others when you’re putting actual money on the table.
| Category | Weight | What We Check |
|---|---|---|
| Licensing & Safety | 25% | Valid license, encryption, fair play audits |
| Craps Game Quality | 20% | Bet variety, table limits, live dealer options |
| Bonuses & Fairness | 20% | Wagering requirements, craps contribution %, transparency |
| Banking & Payouts | 15% | Speed, methods, fees, withdrawal limits |
| Customer Support | 10% | Response time, availability, actual helpfulness |
| User Experience | 10% | Mobile play, site speed, navigation, account management |
The final score is a weighted average. A casino could have amazing bonuses, but if the license is sketchy, the overall rating tanks. That’s intentional.
Licensing & Safety (25%)
This is the heaviest category for a reason. None of the other stuff matters if the casino can’t be trusted with your money.
Any casino without a verifiable license from a recognized regulatory body is automatically disqualified. No exceptions. We don’t care how good the bonuses look.
Here’s what we verify:
License validity. We check directly with the issuing authority. A Curacao license number on the footer means nothing if it doesn’t match their registry. We’ve caught casinos displaying fake license numbers, and those get blacklisted immediately.
SSL encryption. Every page that handles personal or financial data needs proper SSL/TLS encryption. We check for it. You’d be surprised how many casino sites still have mixed content warnings.
Fair play certification. We look for provably fair systems, RNG audits from bodies like eCOGRA, iTech Labs, or GLI, and any published RTP data. If a casino makes claims about fairness but has zero third-party verification, that’s a red flag.
Responsible gambling tools. Self-exclusion options, deposit limits, session reminders, links to support organizations. These aren’t optional extras. They’re baseline requirements.
Craps Game Quality (20%)
This is Art of Craps, so obviously the craps experience carries serious weight. A casino might be great for slots but terrible for dice players. We judge from a craps player’s perspective.
What we evaluate:
Bet variety. Does it offer the full spread? Pass, Don’t Pass, Come, Don’t Come, Place bets, Field, Hardways, Proposition bets, odds bets. Some online craps games strip out half the table. That costs points.
Table limits. Both minimums and maximums matter. A $10 minimum with 2x odds is a very different proposition than a $1 minimum with 10x odds. We note the full range so you know what you’re walking into.
Odds multiples. How much can you back your line bets with? 1x odds? 3-4-5x? 10x? 100x? This directly impacts the effective house edge, so it’s a significant factor.
Live dealer craps. Not every casino has it. But those that offer live craps with real dealers and physical dice get bonus points. It’s the closest thing to a real table from your couch.
Software quality. Smooth animations, clear bet placement, readable payouts. If you can’t tell where to put your chips or what happened after a roll, the interface is failing.
Bonuses & Fairness (20%)
Here’s where most casino review sites get lazy. They just list the bonus amount and call it a day. We dig into the fine print because that’s where casinos hide the gotchas.
A $1,000 bonus with 60x wagering requirements is objectively worse than a $200 bonus with 20x requirements. Always calculate the total playthrough before you get excited about a big number.
Wagering requirements. The lower the better. Anything above 40x starts getting unreasonable. We calculate the actual dollar amount you need to wager before withdrawal.
Craps contribution percentage. This is the killer. Many casinos set craps at 5-10% contribution toward wagering requirements. Some set it at 0%. If a bonus practically excludes craps players, we note that clearly and adjust the rating.
Terms transparency. Are the rules easy to find? Written in plain language? Or buried in 47 pages of legalese that reference other terms documents? Clarity counts.
Maximum bet while bonus is active. Some casinos cap your bet at $5 during bonus play. If you’re a craps player used to backing bets with odds, that restriction changes everything.
Withdrawal caps on bonus winnings. Win big on a bonus? Some casinos limit what you can actually cash out. We flag every cap.
Banking & Payouts (15%)
You won money. Great. Now can you actually get it? And how long will it take?
Withdrawal speed. We test this. Actually test it. We deposit, play, and request withdrawals. Then we time it. Crypto cashouts under 24 hours? Good. A 7-day wait for a wire transfer? That gets noted.
Payment methods. Credit cards, e-wallets, cryptocurrency, bank transfers. More options means more flexibility. We give extra credit for crypto support since it typically means faster payouts and fewer fees.
Fees. Any withdrawal fees? Monthly limits? Do they charge for inactivity? These costs eat into your winnings and we factor them in.
Deposit and withdrawal limits. Minimum deposits, maximum withdrawals per day/week/month. High rollers and recreational players have different needs here.
Customer Support (10%)
We contact support as regular players. No special treatment. No “we’re a review site” disclosure. Just a person with a question.
We reach out with three standard scenarios: a basic question about table limits, a request about bonus terms, and a withdrawal-related inquiry. We grade on response time, accuracy, and whether the agent actually solved the problem or just copy-pasted a FAQ.
Channels available. Live chat, email, phone. The more the better, but only if they actually work.
Response time. Live chat should connect within 2 minutes. Email should get a real response within 12 hours. Anything beyond that is below standard.
Quality of answers. A fast response that doesn’t answer the question is just fast noise. We evaluate whether support agents actually know the product, specifically craps-related inquiries.
Hours of operation. 24/7 is the gold standard. Limited hours in a global market is a limitation worth flagging.
User Experience (10%)
Small weight, but it adds up over hundreds of sessions.
Mobile experience. Does craps play well on a phone? Are the controls usable on a small screen? Can you place bets without accidentally hitting the wrong spot?
Site speed. Load times, game launch times, navigation lag. Slow sites waste your time.
Account management. How easy is it to verify your identity, update payment methods, set limits, or close your account? Administrative friction matters.
Design and navigation. Can you find the craps tables quickly? Is the layout logical? This is subjective, but consistently bad design earns consistently bad scores.
How We Handle Updates
Our ratings aren’t set-and-forget. We review every listed casino quarterly. If a casino changes ownership, updates its terms, adds or removes craps options, or if player complaints spike, we re-evaluate. A casino that earned a 9/10 last year can drop to a 7/10 this year if standards slip.
We also monitor player forums, complaint databases, and industry news. If a casino gets hit with a regulatory fine or faces a wave of payout complaints, we investigate. Sometimes that means pulling a recommendation entirely.
What Gets a Casino Blacklisted
Some things earn an instant removal. No second chances:
- Operating without a valid license
- Confirmed rigged games or tampered RNGs
- Refusal to pay legitimate winnings
- Identity theft or data breaches due to negligence
- Predatory terms designed to prevent withdrawals
We maintain a separate list of casinos we don’t recommend, and we’re transparent about why.
Our Independence
Let’s address the elephant in the room. Yes, we earn commissions when you sign up at casinos through our links. That’s how this site stays online without charging you for access.
But here’s the line we draw: commissions never influence ratings. If a casino offers us a premium partnership deal and their product is mediocre, they get a mediocre rating. We’ve turned down five-figure deals from casinos that didn’t meet our standards.
Our reputation is worth more than any single commission check. Full stop.
No. Our ratings are based entirely on our 6-point evaluation system. Casino partnerships generate commissions when players sign up, but the commission amount has zero influence on the rating. We’ve turned down high-paying partnerships from casinos that didn’t pass our review.
Every quarter. We re-test withdrawals, check for terms changes, monitor player feedback, and verify that licenses remain active. Ratings can go up or down based on what we find.
Yes. Any casino can submit a review request. But the process is identical to our standard evaluation. There’s no express lane and no guaranteed outcome. We decline more casinos than we list.
We investigate. Minor issues get flagged. If we confirm a pattern of legitimate complaints, especially around payouts or unfair terms, we lower the rating or remove the casino entirely. We take this seriously because our readers depend on accurate information.
Yes. We create real accounts, make real deposits, play real sessions (including craps specifically), and process real withdrawals. Desk research alone doesn’t cut it. You can’t rate a payout speed without actually requesting a payout.
