How We Rate Live Dealer Casinos | Live Casino Reports

Every operator score on Live Casino Reports is a number from 1 to 5, built from six weighted criteria that matter to someone playing live dealer games from the United States. This page explains those criteria, the sources we check, what we do not test, and how commercial relationships are kept away from the facts.

We publish it because a star rating means little unless you can see how it was made. Updated October 2026, when we rewrote the site’s US reviews and money pages against current operator terms and regulator notices.

The six criteria and their weights

Criterion	Weight	What earns points	What costs points
Licensing and legal standing	25%	A US state licence; a named, checkable regulator; a clean enforcement record	No US licence; cease-and-desist orders from state regulators or attorneys general; unnamed operating company
Banking and payouts	20%	Published withdrawal limits and fees; payouts within 24 hours of approval; several methods	Hidden or high fees; low weekly caps; slow checks and wires; methods that only work one way
Live dealer lobby	20%	Many live blackjack, roulette and baccarat tables; named studios; wide table limits; clear rules screens	Few tables; unlabelled studios; rules that raise the house edge without saying so
Bonus value for live players	15%	Offers live players can actually use; rollover we can calculate; live games counting toward wagering	Live games excluded or counted at 0%; unclear maximum cashout; terms that change without notice
Terms, support and account rules	10%	Readable terms; a help centre that answers banking questions; reachable support	Dormant-account fees, vague “irregular play” clauses, missing restricted-state lists
Responsible gambling tools	10%	Deposit limits, time-outs and self-exclusion in the account settings; visible help links	Self-exclusion only on request, or no tools at all

Each criterion is scored from 1 to 5. We multiply each score by its weight, add the results and round to one decimal place. That is the number you see on toplist cards and at the top of reviews.

A worked example

Take an offshore casino that scores 2 for licensing, 4.5 for banking, 4.5 for its live lobby, 3.5 for bonuses, 4 for terms and support, and 3.5 for responsible gambling tools. The weighted total is 0.5 + 0.9 + 0.9 + 0.525 + 0.4 + 0.35 = 3.575, which rounds to 3.6. A strong lobby and fast crypto payouts cannot fully make up for the missing licence, and that is deliberate.

What we check for each criterion

Licensing and legal standing

We read the operator’s footer, terms and “about” pages for the licensing body and the company name, then look for that body’s public register where one exists. For US-facing offshore sites we also search state regulator and attorney general notices. The Massachusetts Attorney General’s cease-and-desist letter to the companies behind Bovada (3 October 2024) and the Michigan Gaming Control Board’s orders against offshore brands are examples of what we record in reviews.

State-licensed online casinos are the safer choice where they exist. As of October 2026, eight states have legalised online casinos; seven markets are live (New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, West Virginia, Connecticut, Delaware and Rhode Island), and Maine legalised a tribal-only market in January 2026 (LD 1164) that has not launched. Our live casino USA guide explains the difference.

Banking and payouts

We copy deposit and withdrawal methods, minimums, maximums, fees and processing times from the cashier and help-centre pages, and we quote the operator’s own wording where it is ambiguous. When a geo-blocked site cannot be opened from outside the US, we view it through a US connection. Where two of an operator’s own pages disagree (for example, a fee table that lists Bitcoin payouts as free while a banking page mentions network fees), the review says so rather than picking the friendlier number.

Live dealer lobby

We count tables by game type in the public lobby on the day of the check, note the studios that are named, and record table limits where the lobby shows them. Rules matter as much as numbers: an eight-deck blackjack table where the dealer hits soft 17 has a higher house edge than one where the dealer stands, so we point that out. Game rules and return-to-player figures come from the studio’s own game pages, such as Evolution, or from the rules screen at the table. For the games themselves, see our live blackjack, live roulette and live baccarat guides.

Bonus value for live players

Most welcome bonuses exclude live dealer games or count them at 0% toward wagering. We read the bonus terms for the rollover multiple, what it applies to (deposit only, or deposit plus bonus), game contributions, time limits and maximum cashout, then work out what the offer is worth to someone who mainly plays live tables. Our live casino bonus guide shows those calculations.

Terms, support and account rules

We look for a restricted-states list, dormant-account rules, verification (KYC) requirements before the first withdrawal, and how disputes are handled. Clauses that let an operator void winnings for vaguely defined “irregular play” cost points.

Responsible gambling tools

We check whether limits, cool-off periods and self-exclusion can be set in the account itself or only by asking support. State-licensed casinos must also honour their state’s self-exclusion list; offshore sites are not connected to those lists. Our responsible gambling page lists the US helplines and tools.

Hard rules that override the score

Geo first. An operator that does not accept players from the page’s country, or excludes the state a page is about, is not listed on that page, whatever its score. That is why international brands we review, such as BitStarz, never appear in a US toplist.
Verified offers only. A bonus goes on a card only if we found it on the operator’s own site at the time of the update. If we cannot confirm the amount, the card says to check the current offer instead of guessing.
Regulator action is disclosed. Any cease-and-desist order or enforcement action we find appears in the review and in the card’s licence line.
Closed or unreachable operators are removed from toplists, and their reviews are marked or retired.

Our sources, in order of preference

Regulators and public bodies: state gaming boards and attorneys general, the Curaçao Gaming Authority, the Malta Gaming Authority, the UK Gambling Commission, the IRS for tax questions.
The operator’s own terms, bonus rules, help centre and cashier pages, viewed on the date of the update.
Game studios’ published rules and RTP figures.
Reputable trade press (for example iGaming Business, SBC Americas, Legal Sports Report, Gambling Insider) for dates and context, and only when a primary source is not available.

Each money page carries a list of the sources used. If a fact could not be verified, we remove it or say that it comes from a third party.

What we do not do

No invented hands-on experiences: a review never says “we deposited $50” unless that happened, and then it gives the date and method.
No promised outcomes. Strategy and bonuses do not change the house edge, and our game guides show the maths.
Offshore sites are never described as licensed in the US or as “100% legal and safe”.

Who applies the methodology

Reviews are written under the bylines Liam Miller and Live Casino Reports Editorial Team, and money pages are checked by a second reviewer, shown on the page as Tuah bin Razak, before they are published. Read more about the team, our editorial policy and how to report an error on the About Live Casino Reports page.

Casinos we reviewed that do not take US players

Frequently asked questions

Do casinos pay to be ranked higher on Live Casino Reports?

We earn a commission when readers sign up through our links, and those commercial relationships can influence which operators we feature. They do not change the facts we publish. An operator that does not accept US players, or whose terms we cannot verify, is not listed on a US page however much it pays.

Why do offshore casinos get a rating at all if they have no US licence?

Most US states have no legal online casino, so many readers use offshore sites anyway. We rate them so readers can compare them on banking, terms and track record, but every offshore operator loses most of the licensing points and every review says plainly that no US regulator protects the account.

Do you make real-money test deposits?

Not as a rule, and we do not claim to. Payout times, limits and fees in our reviews come from the operator’s own cashier and help-centre pages, and we say so. If we ever describe a real test transaction, the review will give the date, method and amount.

How often are ratings updated?

A rating is re-checked whenever the review or a page that lists the operator is updated, and immediately when we learn of a regulator action, a change of ownership or a payout complaint pattern. The updated date at the top of each page shows the last full check.

Can a rating go down?

Yes. Scores fall when an operator adds restricted states, tightens bonus or withdrawal terms, receives a regulator order, or stops answering questions its own terms say it will answer. We note the reason in the review’s change summary.

If gambling stops being fun, call or text the National Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-MY-RESET (1-800-697-3738), free and confidential, 24 hours a day.

Sources

Spotted an error? Email [email protected] with the page address. Verified corrections are made with a dated note.