How we review land-based casinos

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Our founder and CEO, Ionut Catalin Marin, has devised a comprehensive review system for local UK casinos that we share most transparently.

Why do we review local UK casinos?

We aim to provide a well-grounded method to compare land-based casinos in the UK and choose what’s best for you.

Having a clear picture of your options helps prevent a letdown and needless loss of money.

Why trust our expertise

  • We have been reviewing online casino sites to a high standard for 6 years.
  • Our experienced players know exactly where to look and what to review.
  • We have dedicated experts who analyse the financial and legal sides.

How we review a local casino step-by-step

  1. We visit every UK casino we review. On average, each visit lasts 4-5 hours.
  2. While there, we spend real money on the various games and attractions available.
  3. The data collection is completed as we compute the ratings and schedule the next visit.

We visit each casino in-person

Similar to our methodology for online casino reviews, we prioritise hands-on testing of local UK casinos.

Before each visit, we perform a background check on the owner and operating company. We check the rules before going there physically and set up a budget to spend at the casino.

We test by spending real money on the premises

To get an inside perspective on the gaming options and how it actually is to play at a particular casino, we spend money on the games and around the facility, trying all its standout features. That’s our way of providing a reliable review of your gaming and entertainment options.

We update our ratings every 6 months for every casino

All our reviews are kept fresh as we schedule a new visit every 6 months. Our ratings may change because a different reviewer carries out each new visit.

What do we review?

  1. Slot Machines
  2. Casino Games
  3. Staff & Service
  4. Loyalty & Rewards
  5. Casino Atmosphere
  6. House Rules
  7. Player’s Feedback
  8. Operator

While other casino reviewers may limit themselves to gaming options, restaurants and membership, we include and go beyond these features.

We rate local UK casinos based on 8 variables to create the most accurate and reliable ratings.

Slot Machines

Since land-based operators can have up to 20 slot machines as per UK law, we expect to find at least that. At least 3 slot providers should be present.

Most venues, big and small, host IGT and Novomatic machines, so a third game provider differentiates between top UK casinos for slots and places where you’re better off playing other games.

As for jackpots, there should be both fixed and progressive game options.

Slot Machines factors we analyse

  • Number of slot machines
  • Suppliers
  • Jackpots

Casino Games

Analysing the casino games start with counting the physical tables and reviewing the game types available. A top UK casino should provide the following options and their main subtypes:

  • Roulette: European and American
  • Blackjack: Classic, 21+3
  • Baccarat: Classic, punto banco
  • Poker: Stud poker, Texas Hold’em, Three-card poker,
  • Craps

Top casinos welcome players of all budgets, so we check how adaptable the betting limits are, noting the minimum and maximum bets for each game.

Lastly, since a significant percentage of UK punters are poker players, we also reflect that in our scoring system.

Casino games factors we analyse

  • Game types
  • Betting limits
  • Poker tournaments/cash games

Staff & Service

Top-notch customer service is a must for a worthy gaming session, and here we include bouncers, pit bosses, dealers, managers, bartenders, waiters and so on. Every member of staff is supposed to be friendly and respectful to patrons.

As for the services, we wish to see a restaurant and bar separate from the gaming rooms, tidy rooms to spend the night, clean restrooms around the premises and free parking.

Your security must also be cared for properly with dedicated staff and surveillance cameras.

Staff & service factors we look into

  • Staff
  • Food and drinks
  • Parking
  • Accommodation
  • Security

Loyalty & Rewards

A high-quality loyalty program is made transparent either on the website or at the Reception Desk and provides enticing benefits for players. You register easily and receive better and better perks with each level.

The best UK casinos enrol you automatically in their Rewards program when becoming a member.

Loyalty & rewards factors we analyse

  • Ease of registration
  • Discounts
  • Free play

Casino Atmosphere

Evaluating the casino atmosphere is twofold: our subjective take on how the casino looks and feels, and checking the attractions and events it provides.

The quality of the surroundings and interior design is expected to be top-notch: luxurious casino buildings located in good areas get extra points, as do venues with separate rooms for events. We expect such events to be open to the public, but we appreciate a casino with private rooms.

Casino atmosphere factors we analyse

  • Interior design experience
  • Location and attractions
  • On-site events

House Rules

We demand total transparency and fairness when it comes to house rules! Everything about becoming and being a member of a top UK casino should be laid out in plain terms.

The most significant internal policies we check are the dress code and schedule: we’re not big fans of wearing a suit and tie, and we expect a casino to run 24/7.

We have no universal standard for T&C fairness at local casinos nor the newest online casinos added to our database. That’s because we consider it vital to individually judge an operator’s rules.

House rules factors we analyse

  • Membership
  • Schedule
  • Dress code
  • T&Cs

Player’s Feedback

We extract the data from Google reviews and Tripadvisor for our rating of the players’ feedback. This rating helps us determine the most common issues players have faced before.

It goes without saying that high ratings on both review platforms are expected.

When we cannot find reliable reviews, we check with the players at the venue and ask what feedback they have for the casino.

What we research

  • Data from Google reviews
  • Data from Tripadvisor reviews
  • On-site feedback

Operator

Expected quality

Outside a mandatory licence, a top-end casino operator has a clean (and global) reputation and many other venues throughout the UK.

The UKGC licence is non-negotiable if you want fair games and odds! The lack of a UKGC licence translates to 0 points and leads to cancelling the review altogether!

Factors we analyse

  • Licensing
  • Company reputation
  • Casinos operated

How we rate local UK casinos

A casino’s final score is the average of all the main rating factors. However, some of our criteria are subjective, based on the reviewer’s experience, which may change on the next visit.

Each rating starts at 1 point. We check several sub-parameters and lower the final mark considering all the differences.

Slot Machines factors we rate

  • Number of slot machines
  • Suppliers
  • Jackpots

For a casino with no less than 10 machines, the rating drops. Should only two providers be present, other points fall off.

Similarly, a single type of jackpot leads to a point penalty.

Casino Games rating factors

  • Game types
  • Betting limits
  • Poker tournaments/cash games

The absence of European roulette leads to a penalty, and the same applies to Texas Hold’em. Other variants are weighed less, depending on the casino’s scale.

All games should be playable from £1, while skill games like blackjack should start at a £5 minimum bet. For high rollers, we expect to see private salons and increased betting limits of more than £5000.

We do not lower the score if a casino hosts no poker tournaments but has a poker room or tables where you can play cash games. We still highlight venues where tournaments are offered.

Staff & Service rating factors

  • Staff
  • Food and drinks
  • Parking
  • Accommodation
  • Security

Encountering rude staff during our visit led to a point penalty. A casino that lacks accommodation loses point from the start. All the other criteria are rated subjectively.

For instance, a venue may not provide free parking to all customers but to members only, or it could have a top-end restaurant, but prices are too high or the menu lacks vegan food. Scoring in these situations remains at the reviewer’s discretion.

Loyalty & Rewards rating factors

  • Ease of registration
  • Discounts
  • Free play

We consider the variety of loyalty rewards offered and tax the final score based on what you receive: only discounts or only free play leads to us subtracting points from the final score.

The casino’s Loyalty rating can further suffer if claiming rewards is too difficult, for instance, if it doesn’t clarify the ways to claim them.

Casino Atmosphere

  • Interior design experience
  • Location and attractions
  • On-site events

Since beauty is largely in the eye of the beholder, what counts as luxurious for one person may not count for another.

Still, our Atmosphere score summarises how elegant and exciting the casino felt during our visit.

On-site events are our most significant review factor: a casino hosting no public or private events can lower its Atmosphere rating, no matter how opulent it may look.

House Rules rating factors

  • Membership
  • Schedule
  • Dress code
  • T&Cs

We will penalise a too-strict dress code with a point deduction, depending on how strict it is.

For example, if you’re always asked to wear a jacket and tie, we may lean toward a point deduction, but if only decency is asked from players, we may keep the score the same.

Other points may fall off the final score if the casino has a limited schedule. All policies we consider too limiting for players will lead to varying penalties.

Player’s Feedback rating factors

  • Data from Google reviews
  • Data from Tripadvisor reviews
  • On-site feedback

Since the Feedback rating is obtained as an average of two numbers, there’s not much we can do extra to optimise it except modify the final score based on our feedback.

Operator rating factors

  • Licensing
  • Company reputation
  • Casinos operated

The UKGC licence values the most, while the other two factors are a plus.

For example, a licensed casino that’s operated by a small company owning no other brands can receive 3 points.

Final rating: our local UK casino quality scale

  • Top: 4.5 to 5 stars
  • Superior: 4 to 4.5 stars
  • Average: 3 to 4 stars
  • Poor: less than 3 stars

FAQ

What does a top casino look like?

The Hippodrome Casino London is an excellent example of a top casino, even if it just qualified for this title with its 4.5 average ratings.

Our final rating for the Hippodrome had to suffer because of a low Operator score. The company is UKGC-licensed to provide gambling, but the owner is relatively low-profile.

We also had to deduct 1 point from the Casino Games rating because the Hippodrome’s tables may have high minimum bets. Still, the venue remains the best place to play European roulette in the UK.

How we compare local casinos?

Every review has its Pros and Cons and Comparison sections, where the casino we review is put head-to-head against two chosen competitors. You can see it as the practical part, where our ratings get tested empirically.

This allows us to pinpoint a venue’s best usage and which type of player it is most suited for.

Best feature highlights

The comparisons allow you to see where a casino falls short and what sets it apart.

You can skip to the best feature section to see how the casino can be summarised in one feature.

Best for player types

Highlighting the venue’s best feature helps you see more clearly if a casino is or is not for you.

For example, our review of Palm Beach Casino points out the place as better for players who want to eat in a luxurious restaurant but not so special for playing casino games.