Facts and opinion
Every factual sentence on a casino page names its source and the date we checked it: a saved copy of the casino's terms, a regulator's register, or our own record of the site. Facts are numbered on the page.
A verdict is our opinion and says so: it begins with “In our opinion, based on facts” and names the facts it rests on.
Sources
Primary sources come first: regulators and courts, the casino's own terms, and our own snapshots with their SHA-256 hash and date. Review sites, forums and news sites can point us to a question, but we do not repeat their statements as fact.
AI drafts and human review
Drafts are prepared with AI from our snapshots. A separate check opens the source of every fact before a page is published; a fact that does not match its source is removed.
The editor personally approves every verdict of Caution or lower, every reply to an operator and every change of the methodology, and reviews a sample of the other pages.
Two keys
Evidence is saved before we contact anyone. A verdict of Caution or lower is published only after two keys: the editor approves it, and a fresh check of every fact a few days later confirms it.
Right of reply
A verdict of Caution or lower goes to the operator at the address in its terms or licence 2 business days before publication, after we have saved our snapshots. Above Caution, we write to the operator on the day of publication. The page shows “Operator response requested” with the date of our letter.
The operator's reply is published next to our text without edits. We hold back only personal data of third parties and content unlawful to publish, and say on the page where we did. New evidence leads to a recalculation. Details: For operators.
Corrections
A confirmed error is corrected within 48 hours of confirmation, marked on the page and listed with its date on the corrections page.
Independence
Scam Score is not for sale. Commission and partnership status play no part in a score, in the order of a list or in what we write about, and no page is removed or changed for payment.
News and alerts
We publish a news item only when we can add a fact we checked ourselves. Three kinds exist: an alert from our own records, a note on an act of a regulator or operator in Canada about a casino in our database, and a summary of our own data for a period. An item appears within 14 days of the event (an alert within 7); older events go to the casino's dossier.
Sources: the primary source first (regulator, court, operator, our snapshot with its SHA-256 hash and date, an archived copy). Aggregators and news sites are leads only and are not quoted.
Right of reply by class: a public act or our own fact without judgement is published and the operator is asked on the same day, with 7 days to answer; our fact that is unfavourable to the operator carries the line “Operator response requested”; any statement beyond a public act is sent to the operator before publication, with 2 working days to answer, and the answer is printed in full or the item says “no response by” that date.
Corrections to news follow the same 48-hour rule, with a “Correction” label at the top of the item and an entry in the changelog; the publication date never changes.
Drafts are prepared with AI from our snapshots; every fact is checked against its source and an editor approves every item.
News is not for sale: affiliate status plays no part in what we cover, and news pages carry no paid links.
A headline states the act as its source states it (a fine, a suspension, an exit from a market), without sensational words.