Methodology — how The Cash Index researches

The Cash Index is an editorial research operation, not a tester of every product it covers. We do not open accounts or deposit at the casinos and sportsbooks we write about, in any market. Instead, every page is built from public information we can show you: aggregated player-report data, primary regulatory and payment-processor sources, and tools that compute a specific answer. We say this plainly at the top of each page, and we never imply hands-on testing we didn't do.

How we build a page

Coverage is built from original work of three kinds, and most pages combine them:

- Public-data analysis. When we make an analytical claim, we state the sample size and period — "based on 1,200 player complaints from the last 90 days" — not "in our experience."
- Primary-source research. We read the things most affiliate sites summarise second-hand: regulator publications and licence registers, tax-authority rules, and payment-processor terms of service, in full, and we link them.
- Tools. Calculators and trackers that compute a market-specific answer — wagering value, licence cross-checks, complaint indexes — rather than restating someone else's review.

Markets and language

We cover four markets — Norway, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand — and the method is the same in each: analysis of public sources, not personal deposits. Norwegian pages are written in Norwegian for Norwegian readers; the Canada, Ireland and New Zealand pages are in English, adapted to each market's regulation and payment landscape. Where a payment method, fee or timing figure can't be confirmed from a primary source, we flag it rather than guess.

Citations

Analytical and primary-source claims are linked to the document they come from, with the date we accessed it. Where a regulator or processor changes a policy, we cite the version we read rather than paraphrasing from memory. If a source link rots, tell us and we'll repoint or pull the claim.

Update cadence

Payment-method data is re-checked every 60 days. Operator and regulatory data (bonus terms, T&C changes, licence changes, bill status) is re-checked every 30 days. The "Last verified" date at the top of every page reflects the most recent of these checks. If you find a page where "Last verified" is more than 90 days old, treat it as stale and tell us — we'll either re-verify or pull it.

Editorial independence

Affiliate commission rates never influence which operators we cover or how we assess them. We don't accept paid placements, paid reviews, or paid edits. Where we cover an operator, the methodology applies regardless of whether an affiliate relationship is in place — if an operator stops working with us, we don't remove the page.

When there's a conflict of interest, we disclose it inline on the page rather than burying it. If an NDA prevents disclosure, we don't publish.

What we won't do

We don't write from press releases. We don't summarise other affiliate sites and call it research. We don't accept paid placements that override our assessment. We never imply first-hand testing — we don't deposit at these casinos, and no page claims we do. We don't invent statistics, payout times, or complaint counts; an unconfirmed figure is flagged, not published as fact.

If a page makes a claim without a source behind it, that's a bug — contact us and we'll add the evidence or pull the page.