About Us

We could have called this site something safer – “a guide,” “a directory,” or “a comparison hub.” We went with the more daring, “The Best Pokies” instead, which we’re well aware is a very bold thing to put in a domain name. So we may as well address that now: we don’t think that every casino we write about is the “best” in the purest sense, and we aren’t implying that the best casino for everyone is, well, best for everyone. But we think it’s right that the vast majority of the market really shouldn’t even be part of the “best” list to begin with, and so it’s right that this list should be as tight and narrow as is possible while remaining useful.

That is, really, what this site’s about. Not “every single casino, reviewed,” but “here’s a short, checked list of the ones actually worth an Aussie’s while to play at”.

Why the List Stays Short

Lots of review/comparison sites stuff up the list with, say, fifty or a hundred casinos, each with their own review paragraph that’s more or less interchangeable with the one next to it. We think that’s mostly a waste of time. Because if we’re recommending a casino, we want it to be one where we actually went in, opened an account, made a deposit, played some games, and – this is where real testing ends and “desk research” begins – made a withdrawal and actually timed how long it took for the funds to hit our account.

And that takes longer, so we’re sticking to a smaller list than a lot of comparison sites. It’s a fair trade-off, though. A shorter list you can believe in is much better than a long one stuffed with casino reviews that nobody actually took the time to check out properly.

Our Rating Criteria

We evaluate every casino against the same criteria, so we are as consistent as possible, instead of allowing each review to focus on whatever seemed relevant at the time:

• Licence and Regulations – we look for casinos that are licensed by reputable authorities like the Malta Gaming Authority and the UK Gambling Commission. A proper licence means the games have been audited and there’s a real organisation to hold a casino to account (important in a country like Australia, where online casinos cannot be licensed locally).
• Player Safety and Security – how they handle your account details, links to financial accounts, and the general protection around your account. Because if that’s a weak link in a casino, then it doesn’t matter too much what else the casino is like.
• Game Selection and Software Providers – an appropriate variety of games which you might consider, from providers with actual reputations and track records in Microgaming, NetEnt, Play’n GO, Pragmatic Play, and Evolution.
• Bonuses and Fair Terms – the sign-up bonuses, free spins, and ongoing promotions, mostly in relation to the wagering requirements, rather than the headline percentage. A big number coupled with impossible terms will be a turn-off, not a selling point.
• Payment Methods for Australians – speed, charges, and the support for methods which Australians would want and need to use (including new instant payment, PayID types of methods that some casinos are just starting to offer).
• Customer support quality – we test the live chat or email support ourselves instead of simply assuming that the presence of a “24/7 support” logo means anything.
• Responsible gambling tools – we check for deposit limits, self-exclusion, and links to support organisations beyond what a simple disclaimer in the footer.

Any site that is lacking on a single one of these aspects is disqualified, no matter how big a welcome bonus the site may appear to be giving.

Pokies: That’s Where The Money Is

It should go without saying that pokies play the leading role in the experience of online casinos in Australia. In our approach, they are not simply another one among many different categories. We offer a range of traditional, classic pokies – three-reel classics – which will find a receptive audience among players who appreciate simplicity and nostalgia. But then we provide the modern pokies with features such as bonus games and free spins, bonus games and free spins which often take the form of multipliers or expanded wilds, and the likes of titles such as Sweet Bonanza or Big Bass Bonanza, or Wolf Gold, which crop up time and time again, thanks to their huge popularity, not because of any sponsorship arrangement with the providers. The progressive jackpots, such as Mega Moolah, are a different beast: a choice for those in search of the life-changing win rather than the smaller and steadier payouts you see in other games.

We do our best to indicate how volatile a pokie is, as this is the single most common pitfall for beginners to run into. A low volatility pokie will pay out small wins frequently; such games are great for players who wish to have a nice, easy game on a modest stake. High volatility pokies, meanwhile, may go silent for long periods before paying out a nice win; this is not an indication of a poor game, it simply indicates that a different style of risk/reward tradeoff is being engaged in and therefore requires a different bankroll and attitude on the player’s part. If there is an option to play the game for free to try it out before betting real money, we highly recommend that approach.

How We Spend Our Time

No, it isn’t a matter of a single person opening up some casino website and going from homepage to homepage copying down some statistics. A proper review means opening an account, following all the usual security steps, and depositing real money from our own pockets, and then playing: the pokies, the table games, live dealer games – whatever – for long enough to get a true picture of how the casino site actually functions, not just how it appears on its shiny debut appearance. It includes making some withdrawals to confirm the site’s withdrawal speed and policies, because that time between “instant withdrawals” on the website front page and what actually happens in practice is the sort of detail most players do not even know to look out for. We test the mobile version because that’s where most players will be playing these days, and you do not want a site that looks perfect on desktop but is sluggish to perform once you take it to your mobile device.

Beyond Pokies

Slots aren’t all we do. We also regularly review popular table games, such as baccarat, roulette, and blackjack. These games still have a loyal following, as some players simply like having a bit more strategy at the table than pure luck. And we do cover the different variations of those games, for example, European vs American roulette or Punto Banco vs Speed Baccarat, because the house edge and odds do actually differ, and it’s not just aesthetics or presentation. Live dealer games have also proved to be a very successful hybrid, sitting somewhere between the comfort of your own home and the buzz and energy of a bricks-and-mortar casino. These are streamed from state of the art studios, and players can chat to the real human dealer. And as always, we have a whole host of specialty games, for instance, video poker, scratch cards, keno, and crash games. They’re not afterthoughts to us; many players do actively ask for information about these options, and they’re well worth checking out if you like to play something a little faster and different.

Bonus Bonuses? No. Read the Terms, Not Just the Banner

We don’t just parrot the numbers of casino bonuses, as other affiliate sites do. We dig a little deeper and break them down: welcome bonuses, free spins on specific pokies, reload bonuses, cashback on losses, VIP or loyalty schemes, and occasionally no-deposit or low wagering promotions all get the same analysis. We explain what the wagering requirements are, which games contribute to the wagering, whether there is a maximum bet limit when you’re playing the bonus, and how long you have before the bonus expires. Those are the four key factors that decide if a bonus is really worth claiming, and not the headline percentage figure. A “300% up to $3,750” bonus is meaningless if you can’t reasonably meet the wagering requirements before the bonus expires.

Safety First

The only thing that matters if a casino isn’t safe for a player to play. We only look at fully licensed and regulated online casinos, and they are obligated to use verified random number generators, which are also regularly checked by certified independent auditors. That’s what makes a game fair, not a website’s claim that the game is “fair and verified” without any actual proof. We also always look for the correct level of encryption on both deposits and withdrawals, and stay away from any site that seems unlicensed or doesn’t clearly state who regulates them.

Responsible Gambling – We Mean It, Not Just As a Statement of Intent

We believe it’s very important to stress that online gambling should be a fun entertainment activity and not a way to make money. We don’t hide it away in the small print of an about page either. We strongly encourage our readers to set deposit and loss limits before the session, take regular breaks, and consider self-exclusion if things don’t seem like they’re having any fun. We also direct our players to reputable charities and support groups, like GambleAware and GamCare. If someone does need help to control their gambling behaviour, we’d rather they find support via our website rather than not find support at all.

Independent, And We Mean That

We don’t own an online casino. We write reviews for online casinos, and this is a distinction you should consider very seriously. We are completely independent from the online casinos we review, and there are no commercial relationships with any of the sites we feature. Our reviews are based on our own personal experiences and testing of online casinos, not because they’ve paid us to do so. That doesn’t mean we won’t make money. We do, via commissions when a player opens a real money casino account via one of the links on our site. But we do so very transparently, and that payment never influences our ranking or the quality of our reviews. If a casino has slow payout times, we’ll state it, regardless of whether they have a high payout percentage as a result of their affiliate program.

We also regularly update our content as casinos change hands, bonuses expire, or terms are quietly changed, or regulations evolve, so we make an effort to regularly revisit the casinos we recommend.

Australian Friendly

Every word on this site is written for Australian players, from the banking options we prioritise to the way we outline the (very complicated) regulatory environment surrounding Aussie online gambling. The law is very much in a state of flux, and while we do note that local operators can’t run online casinos, Australians are free to play and deposit with internationally operated and regulated offshore casinos. We believe in being completely clear about the situation rather than glossing over it.

What You Can Expect On This Site

• A carefully selected range of tested casinos for Aussie players
• Genuine coverage of pokies, from 3-reel slots to massive progressive jackpots
• Bonus bonuses that are explained, not just the amounts listed
• Coverage of the software providers and banking methods that really matter to you
• A responsible gambling section that’s meant to be used, not just read about
• Regularly updated content, because online casinos are always evolving.

If you’ve made it this far, you are clearly the type of player who’d rather have a shorter, honest list of the very best casinos than click on fifty almost-identical casinos that have been stuffed down your throat. That’s exactly who this site was built for.

Have we got something wrong, or is there a casino you think we should review? We’d be more than happy to correct ourselves or write about it. Please let us know.