How We Review
Reviews are only useful if you trust the method. Here's exactly how we research, assess and publish — and the editorial rules we hold ourselves to.
The Short Version
We don't accept "promotional credit" from operators. We disclose affiliate relationships up front. We publish what we find — pros, cons, and the awkward stuff that doesn't fit the marketing — and we revisit reviews periodically.
1. Editorial Independence
Our reviews are based on the operator's publicly available product range and documented terms. We don't accept comped accounts or "promotional credit" from operators — these distort behaviour both ways (operators are nicer to known reviewers; reviewers feel obligated). Independence is the foundation of an honest review.
2. Review Cadence
A full review reflects the operator's offering at the time of writing, and we revisit it as the platform changes. This avoids one-session impressions and keeps the published view current.
3. The Five Assessment Areas
Every review considers five areas:
- Game Library — count, provider mix, RTPs cross-checked against documentation, demo-mode availability.
- Bonuses & Terms — wagering ratios, max-bet rules, transparency of T&C presentation, fairness of exclusion lists.
- Payments & Payouts — payment-rail coverage, stated processing times, fee transparency.
- Customer Support — available channels such as live chat and Telegram, stated response times, agent competence.
- Mobile Experience — Android APK availability, iOS web-app behaviour, performance on cellular, parity with desktop.
Across these areas we weight the assessment so that payment reliability and library depth matter most, because they affect every user.
4. Verification Sources
For factual claims:
- Licensing status: verified against PAGCOR's public licensee registry.
- Audit credentials: verified against BMM Testlabs and iTech Labs certificate registries.
- RTP figures: cross-checked against provider documentation (Pragmatic Play, NetEnt, Evolution all publish per-title RTPs publicly).
- Withdrawal speeds: the operator's stated processing times, read against its published payments terms.
- Game counts: the provider catalogues listed on the platform, cross-referenced rather than taken from marketing figures.
5. What We Don't Do
- We don't take operator-side content. Operators sometimes pitch ready-made review copy. We don't publish it.
- We don't accept comped accounts. Operators occasionally offer "review credit" — we decline.
- We don't bury cons. Every review has an explicit "where it falls short" section.
- We don't auto-renew reviews. Sites that go stale stay published with the original review date and an "outdated" notice; they're revisited periodically regardless.
- We don't accept paid reviews. No operator can buy a higher score.
6. Affiliate Disclosure
Maxim88 Club earns affiliate commissions when readers register at Maxim88 through links on this site. This is the primary way we fund the editorial work. Critically: affiliate commissions don't affect what we publish. Where our assessment is positive, we explain why against the criteria above; we also publish the specific cons (max-bet transparency, baccarat bonus contribution, no native iOS) because they exist. The commercial relationship doesn't reach editorial judgement.
If our assessment of Maxim88 ever turned substantially negative, we would publish that view too.
7. Corrections
If you spot a factual error, mistaken RTP, broken methodology — message us via the contact page. Confirmed corrections post within 48 hours with a dated "updated" note appended to the original article.
8. Conflicts of Interest
Editorial team members may not hold financial positions in operators they review (beyond a normal playing balance). We don't accept gifts. We don't accept paid travel. Operators that offer these things go unreviewed until we've taken the necessary cool-off time.