Erin Ballantyne

Casino reviewer · Sliema, Malta

I have been reviewing online casinos for European players since 2018, first for a Maltese affiliate group and since 2022 independently. I moved to Malta for the work — most of the operators serving Europe are licensed within a few kilometres of my desk, which makes checking a licence register a short walk rather than an email chain.

My approach is boring on purpose. I fund every account with my own money at the operator's own minimum, play at stakes a normal person would play, and withdraw twice. One withdrawal tells you the cashier is plumbed in. Two tells you it still works when you are ahead, which is the only version of the question worth asking.

I write up the parts that went badly as well as the parts that went well, because a reviewer who never reports a problem is not reviewing anything. If a figure on this page is wrong or an operator has changed its terms since I tested, I would rather hear about it and correct it.

How This Testing Works

Deposit and play We funded each account with the operator's own minimum — between €10 and €20 in most cases — and played normal stakes on slots and live tables for at least a week before asking for anything back.
Withdraw twice One withdrawal proves the cashier works. Two proves it works when you are up. We requested a second cashout at every site and timed both from request to arrival, not from request to 'processed'.
Read the bonus terms in full Playthrough multiple, what it applies to, game weighting, maximum bet while a bonus is live, and the expiry window. The maximum-bet clause is the one that voids most bonuses and it is rarely on the promotion page.
Verify the licence We looked up every licence number in the issuing authority's own register rather than trusting the footer badge.
Test support with a real problem We asked each support team a question with an inconvenient answer — usually about the maximum bet clause — and recorded whether the first reply actually answered it.