About Casino Online — Who We Are
Who We Are
Casino Online is an independent casino review team based in Atlantic City, New Jersey. We test online casinos with real money, track payout timelines down to the minute, and report what we find without sugarcoating any of it.
The site started in 2014 when the US online casino market was still finding its footing. New Jersey had just launched legal iGaming, and players had almost no reliable source for honest reviews. Most "review" sites at the time were thinly disguised affiliate pages that ranked casinos based on who paid the most. We built Casino Online because that model was broken and players deserved better.
Over the past twelve years, we've deposited real money at more than forty online casinos, documented every withdrawal, and published our findings whether the results were good or bad. We've watched the market grow from a single state to seven regulated jurisdictions, and we've kept pace by expanding our testing to cover every licensed operator that accepts US players.
We're not a corporation. We're a small team of analysts and writers who care about player safety and accurate information. That's it.
Our Mission
Our job is simple: help US players find safe, legal online casinos. No fake reviews. No pay-for-placement. No rankings determined by commission rates.
The online casino industry moves fast. New operators launch every quarter, bonus structures change monthly, and state regulations shift as legislatures act. Players need a source they can trust to cut through the noise and tell them which casinos are worth their money and which ones aren't.
That's what we do. Every review on this site is based on firsthand testing. Every rating reflects our actual experience, cross-referenced against player feedback from community forums. When a casino falls short, we say so. When one earns a top spot, we explain exactly why with data to back it up.
We believe that honest, independent casino reviews make the entire industry better. When players have access to accurate information, they make smarter decisions. When they make smarter decisions, bad operators lose business and good operators thrive. That's the cycle we're trying to fuel.
How We Test
Every casino review on this site starts with real money. We deposit between $100 and $500 at each casino, play across multiple game types, and then request a withdrawal. We time the entire process from deposit to cashout and document every step along the way.
Here's what a typical test cycle looks like:
- Real deposits. We fund accounts with our own money using the same payment methods available to any US player. No press accounts, no demo balances, no VIP fast-tracking.
- Actual gameplay. We play slots, blackjack, roulette, and live dealer games across multiple sessions. We track how the games perform, whether the software runs smoothly on desktop and mobile, and how the experience compares to the competition.
- Timed withdrawals. When we cash out, we start a stopwatch. We record the time from request submission to funds hitting our account. A casino that takes three hours to pay gets a different score than one that takes three weeks.
- Customer support tests. We contact support via live chat, email, and phone at different times of day. We ask real questions and grade the responses on accuracy, speed, and helpfulness.
- Bonus term analysis. We read every word of the bonus terms and conditions. We calculate the actual cost of wagering requirements, flag hidden restrictions, and compare the effective value of promotions across casinos.
Our full testing methodology, scoring criteria, and conflict-of-interest policies are detailed on our editorial policy page. We publish that information because we think you should know exactly how we arrive at our ratings.
Our Team
Marcus leads all casino testing and writes the majority of the reviews published on this site. His background as a former casino employee gives him an insider's understanding of how the house operates, and that perspective shows up in the depth of his analysis.
When you read a review on Casino Online, you're reading the work of someone who deposited real money, played real games, and waited for a real withdrawal. That's the standard we hold ourselves to, and it's the standard our readers expect.
Affiliate Disclosure
Transparency matters to us, so here it is up front: we may earn commissions from casinos listed on this site. When you click a link to a casino and sign up, we may receive a referral fee. This does not affect our reviews or rankings.
Affiliate revenue is what keeps this site running. It pays for the real-money deposits we make during testing, the hosting costs, and the time our team spends writing and updating reviews. Without it, independent review sites like ours wouldn't exist.
But here's the line we draw: the person who writes the review does not know the commercial terms of our partnership with that casino. Marcus tests and scores casinos based on the same criteria every time, regardless of which operator pays us more or less. That wall between editorial and business exists by design, and we enforce it strictly.
If a casino scores poorly in our testing, we say so whether or not they're a partner. If a high-paying affiliate delivers a bad player experience, they get a bad review. Our credibility depends on it, and our credibility is the only thing that makes this site worth reading.
For a full breakdown of how we handle conflicts of interest, visit our editorial policy page.
Contact Us
Have a question, a tip, or feedback about one of our reviews? We read every message that comes in.
Whether you want to report an issue with a casino, suggest a site for us to test, or point out something we got wrong, we want to hear from you. Player reports are one of the most valuable inputs to our review process, and several of our blacklist entries started with a reader email.
Visit our contact page to get in touch. We aim to respond within 48 hours on business days.
Our Values
Transparency
We publish our testing methods, disclose our affiliate relationships, and explain how we score every casino. If we change a rating, we note it. If we make a mistake, we correct it publicly. You should never have to guess where our information comes from or why a casino earned the score it did.
Player Safety
Every recommendation we make starts with one question: is this casino safe for players? Licensing, fund segregation, encryption, and payout reliability come before game selection, bonus size, or anything else. A casino with a great game library but shaky financials won't earn a top rating from us.
Responsible Gambling Advocacy
Gambling should be entertainment, not a financial strategy. We test and promote responsible gambling tools at every casino we review, including deposit limits, session timers, cool-off periods, and self-exclusion options. We link to the National Council on Problem Gambling and the 1-800-GAMBLER helpline on every page of this site because player welfare is not an afterthought.
If gambling has stopped being fun, please reach out for help. Call 1-800-522-4700 or visit our responsible gambling page for resources.