How To Pick Sites Worth Your Time

There are hundreds of online casinos, and most may not be worth your time. SweepsOwl classifies them with two different scores: a "Recommendation" grade, and a "Difficulty" grade.

The Recommendation Grade

"Recommendation" refers to a site's overall value and reputation. The biggest factor is their freebie and sales value, but reliable payouts are essential. Grades include Best, Good, Ok, Untested, Not worthwhile, and Not recommended. We will not recommend sites in the last category, but you can still track them.

The Recommendation grade is carefully curated from several trusted sources, as well as my own track record. In the future, we may supplement it with data from SweepsOwl's player community.

The Difficulty Grade

"Difficulty" looks at a site's accessibility: has a clear play-through strategy been established? Are there any hoops to jump through? Do you need to understand basic Blackjack strategy to play through your coins? Will you need to make a purchase in order to unlock the daily bonus or reach a redeemable amount?

The Difficulty level can range across five scores: Very Easy, Easy, Moderate, Hard and Very Hard. It's meant to help new players understand whether a site is for them. Internally, we use a numerical score of 1 to 5, where 1 is Very Easy and 5 is Very Hard. Similar to how most people work with Amazon's 5-star rating system, the score starts at full points — except that here "best" is a 1 rather than a 5. Various factors will negatively affect this score:

• Is a skill required, such as Blackjack basic strategy? (Can't be better than a 2, or "Easy")
• Is a purchase required to either unlock the daily bonus or reach the redemption threshold? (Can't be better than a 3)
• Is the play-through path unknown or flawed? (Can't be better than a 3)
• Do you have to rely on purchases or irregular freebies here to redeem, at all? (Can't be better than a 3, often a 4)
• Other factors: more than 1x play-through requirement, very lengthy redemption times, or irregular bonuses that may need to be claimed elsewhere, or you may need VIP status to really benefit. (-1)

The casino description will generally identify the factors that influenced the score, though it won't make an explicit connection.

The difficulty matrix:

1. Very Easy: simple conditions with a clear and easy play-through strategy that doesn't require a skill.
2. Easy: usually means that you should learn Blackjack basic strategy, but it could also designate a 2x or 3x play-through requirement.
3. Moderate: used when I am not aware of a reliable play-through strategy, or when purchases are required in some form.
4. Hard: usually compounding two of the previously mentioned factors: purchases are required and you need to learn a skill.
5. Very Hard: compounding several of the above factors, such as a site where you depend mostly on irregular sales, plus irregular freebies from elsewhere and where play-through isn't straightforward. (Incredibly, some of these can be very worthwhile.)

Our recommendations for new players focus on sites in the "Best" and "Good" categories with a difficulty score of "Very Easy."

Disclaimer: some sign-up links earn SweepsOwl a bonus if you open an account and meet some other requirements. The grades are not influenced by whether or not there is a referral link.