How We Rate Ontario Online Casinos
Every operator score on MaxSpinz is built from six criteria, applied the same way across every review. No operator pays to be reviewed, no commission relationship influences a score, and no criteria get adjusted for operators willing to work with us. This page lays out exactly what the criteria are, how they’re weighted, where the data comes from, and how often reviews are updated — so if you want to understand why an operator scored the way it did, start here.
1. AGCO/iGO Licence
This is the baseline, not a scored category: if an operator doesn’t hold an active iGO licence, it doesn’t get reviewed, full stop. Every licence number in a review is cross-checked against the iGaming Ontario registry and verified again each cycle — if a licence is suspended or revoked between cycles, the review is updated immediately and the operator pulled from every tool and recommendation. The licence is the only legal route for a private company to offer real-money online gambling to Ontario residents; without one, none of the AGCO player protections apply.
2. Game Library
Scored on four things: total game count (verified through the operator’s own catalogue, not marketing); provider diversity (800 games from fifteen providers beats 1,000 from three); RTP transparency (whether verified, provider-sourced RTP shows on game pages); and catalogue freshness (whether new releases land regularly).
3. Payments
Scored on deposit-method availability (Interac e-Transfer, Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, crypto), minimum deposit (lower scores higher), withdrawal speed (measured through real test withdrawals via Interac, using the tested average rather than the operator’s stated window), and whether withdrawal methods match deposit methods. Withdrawal speed carries the most weight here — it’s the metric that separates operators most in practice.
4. Mobile Experience
Tested on real iOS and Android devices, app and mobile browser: native app quality where one exists, whether the full catalogue (including live dealer) is on mobile, game load speed on a standard 4G connection, and whether you can navigate, manage your account and find the responsible gambling tools easily. No desktop-only testing here.
5. Support
Scored on live-chat availability (24/7 or limited hours), average response time (measured across multiple test interactions, not estimated from terms), phone-support availability, and answer quality (whether front-line agents resolve account and payment queries without escalating). Response time carries the most weight — a 47-second average on 24/7 chat beats a 5-minute average on limited hours.
6. Responsible Gambling Tools
Scored on whether the full set is present (deposit limits, session limits, cooling-off, self-exclusion, reality checks), how accessible they are (measured by clicks from the account menu — within two clicks beats buried in nested settings), and whether they’re surfaced during onboarding rather than only afterwards.
How Scores Are Weighted
The six criteria aren’t weighted equally. Payments and game library carry the most because they’re the most consistent points of difference and the most direct on player experience.
Game Library — 25% · Payments — 25% · Mobile Experience — 20% · Support — 15% · Responsible Gambling Tools — 15%
Licence status isn’t weighted: it’s a binary gate, not a scored criterion. Scores are out of 5 to one decimal place — 4.0 or above is a strong operator across most criteria; below 3.0 signals weaknesses that materially affect play.
Data Sources
Every data point comes from a primary source: the operator platform itself (tested through a live account), the iGO registry (licence status), provider documentation (RTP figures), real test withdrawals (withdrawal times), and direct test support interactions (response times and answer quality). Operator marketing materials aren’t used as a primary source for any scored criterion.
Update Schedule
Reviews run on a fixed cycle, with a last-reviewed date on every page. Out-of-cycle updates are triggered by licence status changes (immediately), payment-policy changes affecting withdrawals, and major catalogue changes — and support-quality changes flagged through ongoing monitoring get prioritised. If you know of a material change not yet reflected, flag it through the contact page.
Reviewer Credentials
Every review is by a named reviewer with direct experience of Ontario’s regulated platforms, with names and relevant credentials in each byline. YMYL content — specifically the responsible gambling page — is reviewed by someone with credentials relevant to gambling harm, noted on that page. No review is published anonymous or undated.
What This Methodology Does Not Cover
A few things are deliberately excluded from scoring:
Bonus offers and promotions — terms change too often, and bonus-led recommendations obscure underlying quality. Welcome offers, reloads and free spins aren’t scored or referenced in review copy; check the operator’s current terms if a specific bonus matters to you.
Jackpot availability — varies by game and resets when won, too unstable to score consistently.
VIP and loyalty programmes — vary by a player’s volume and spend and change frequently, so they aren’t equally relevant to all players.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does any operator pay to be reviewed on MaxSpinz? No. Operators don’t pay to be reviewed, to improve a score, or to appear in any tool or recommendation. We may earn affiliate commissions when readers visit operators through our links; those are disclosed and don’t influence scores or rankings.
How often are reviews updated? Every review shows a last-reviewed date, runs on a fixed cycle, and gets out-of-cycle updates for significant changes, with licence status re-checked every cycle.
Why are bonuses not included in the score? Bonus terms change too often to score reliably, and bonus-led picks tend to push players toward the highest-commission offers rather than the best operators. We score the operator, not the promotion.
What does a score of 4.0 or above mean? Strong performance across most of the six criteria — though not necessarily the right fit for you. A 4.5 operator strong on game library might score lower on mobile than a 4.2 one. Use the individual criterion scores alongside the overall.