How we review betting apps
By Daniel Simpson, Founder and editor, BettingApps.org
Every app on BettingApps.org gets a score out of 10, built from five areas with fixed weights. This page explains what goes into each area and where the evidence comes from.
Every app we review is installed on a phone and researched in depth, from its store listing to the operator’s terms, and that’s where its biggest pros and cons (and its offers) come from. The full hands-on test below goes further, with real money going in and out of my own account. It’s the standard I’m now taking every app through, though not all of them have had it yet.
How a hands-on test works
A full test is me using the app the way you would, with my own account and money. The first session takes one to two hours, and I go back for anything that takes longer.
Two real phones.
I test on a Google Pixel 9a and an iPhone, with a fresh download from Google Play or the App Store (if the app is already on the phone, I delete it and start again).
My own account and £10.
I sign up or log in to a verified account, deposit £10 and place real bets, including an acca and an in-play bet. On a casino or poker app, the money goes on real-money games and tables.
Follow-up checks.
Withdrawals, ID checks and offers rarely finish in one sitting, so I keep going back until each has an answer. If a withdrawal is still pending when the review goes up, the review says so.
What I record.
I note the app version and the phone, take dated screenshots, and time each payment and the wait for live chat. Every tested claim in a review points back to those notes.
In short: a fresh install and my own money, with the withdrawal followed all the way through.
App usability and design (25%)
This area carries the most weight because you deal with it every time you open the app. Looks only count where they help you get to what you came for.
Signing up.
I count the steps to register and note when ID checks kick in: straight away, at the first withdrawal, or not at all.
Cold start.
I time the app with a stopwatch from tapping the icon to a usable home screen, in more than one session.
Getting to a bet.
I count the taps from the home screen to a placed bet and try the search on a named event. The bet slip gets its own check for adding selections, changing a stake and confirming.
Crashes and lag.
Any crash, freeze or error screen goes in my notes, with what I was doing when it happened.
In short: the score follows how much the app gets in your way.
Markets and games (20%)
On a betting app this area is market depth and odds. Casino apps swap it for the games library and poker for its game formats, still at 20%.
Betting apps: market depth.
I pick a major event (a Premier League match, say, or a big race) and count its markets in the app. I check the sports list and the bet builder while I’m there.
Betting apps: odds.
I compare the app’s price on that event with other bookmakers at the same moment. An operator’s own best-odds claims don’t come into it.
Casino apps: games library and software.
I see whether I can find a particular game in under a minute and reach its rules and RTP (return to player) without digging. I also time how long games take to load on mobile data.
Poker apps: games and formats.
I play a real-money session and note how the table copes on a small screen, then list the lobby’s formats (Hold’em, Omaha, fast-fold and so on) with their stake ranges.
In short: a long market list or a big lobby only scores well if you can find what you want in it.
Payments and your account (20%)
This is where my own money goes in and comes back out, and the withdrawal gets as much attention as the deposit.
Deposits.
I list the payment methods in the app, note the minimum deposit and time my deposit from starting it to seeing it in my balance.
Withdrawals.
I request a small withdrawal and record the method, any ID or proof-of-address checks, and the dates and times from request to the money landing.
Fees and limits.
I check each method for fees, and whether the deposit and withdrawal limits are easy to find before you pay in.
Login and security.
I set up fingerprint or face login where the app has it, and run the password reset to see how it copes when you’re locked out.
In short: the payment times in a tested review are ones I recorded myself.
Live play (20%)
On a betting app this means in-play. Casino apps swap it for live dealer tables, and poker for tournaments and how busy the tables are.
In-play.
I bet on an event while it’s live and watch how the screen copes as prices move and markets close and reopen.
Streaming and cash-out.
I check which sports are streamed and how the stream holds up on a phone, then try full and partial cash-out where the app has it.
Casino apps: live casino.
I join a live table, note its name and the time, and watch how the stream copes on a phone (the delay, and what happens when you turn it sideways). I also record the table limits and the wait for a seat.
Poker apps: tournaments and player traffic.
I snapshot the lobby at a set date and time, and name one tournament with its buy-in and guarantee. Traffic changes by the hour, so every traffic claim in a review carries a date.
In short: I test live features while something is live, on the phone in my hand.
Customer service and safer gambling (15%)
You might only need support or the safer-gambling tools once in a while, and when you do they should be easy to reach from inside the app.
Live chat.
I contact support from inside the app with a real question, time the wait for a person and note whether the answer helped.
Limits and time-outs.
I find the deposit limit, time-out and reality-check tools, count the taps to reach them and check they work.
Self-exclusion.
I check that self-exclusion can be reached from the app and points you to GAMSTOP, the free scheme that blocks you from gambling sites and apps licensed in Great Britain.
Casino rules.
Some things in every UK casino app are set by the Gambling Commission: online slots have a £5 maximum stake per spin (£2 if you’re 18 to 24) and no autoplay. We describe these as the rules they are, never as features.
In short: if I struggle to find the limit tools, a new customer will too, and the score reflects it.
What each app is scored on
| Area | Weight | Betting apps | Casino apps | Poker apps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25% | App usability & design | App usability & design | App usability & design |
| 2 | 20% | Betting markets & odds | Games library & software | Games & formats |
| 3 | 20% | Payments & account | Payments & account | Payments & account |
| 4 | 20% | Live & in-play | Live casino | Tournaments & player traffic |
| 5 | 15% | Customer service & RG | Customer service & RG | Customer service & RG |
RG stands for responsible gambling. Casino and poker apps keep the betting-app weights, so a 7 means the same thing whichever kind of app it’s on.
How our ratings work
Each area gets a score out of 10 (half points are allowed), and the weights in the table turn the five into the app’s score out of 10.
Where a score comes from. We are still working through hands-on testing of every app we review. Until we have tested one, its score comes from published app data and our own research, and we update it as soon as the testing is done. Each review says which kind of score you’re looking at.
We keep commercial deals out of the scoring. An operator that pays us affiliate commission is scored on the same five areas as one that doesn’t, and we don’t round a score up to make an app look better than it tested.
Who reviews the apps
I do. I’m Daniel Simpson, I run BettingApps.org from Manchester, and the site has been publishing since 2015. I’ve worked in SEO and digital marketing for over 15 years. Before this site I ran a football accumulator site with my own form trackers, head-to-head tools and a value-betting model. I bet on football and horse racing and play casino games, and I’ve been to Cheltenham, Las Vegas and gambling industry conferences in the UK, Europe, the USA and Thailand. Every app review on the site carries my name, and there’s more about me on our About page.
How often we update reviews
A review gets checked again when something changes that could move its score:
- a major app update, or any update that changes how the app works;
- a payment method added or removed, or a new minimum deposit or withdrawal;
- a change to the safer-gambling tools;
- the operator dropping a sport or making big changes to its markets;
- a new welcome offer, or new terms on the current one;
- a fine, regulatory action or credible complaint involving the operator.
With no changes at all, a tested review is still fully retested within 12 months. Every review shows when it was last updated, and a tested one also shows the phone and the date I tested it on.
What our brand pages cover
We don’t write separate platform reviews any more. On a brand page such as our bet365 page, the app review sits alongside the brand’s ongoing promotions, its markets and odds, payments, and how it compares with other apps. Promotion terms there come from the operator’s own terms page and carry the date we checked them.
Questions about our reviews
Do operators pay you for reviews or scores?
We don’t take payment from operators for a review or a score. The site earns affiliate commission when a reader joins an operator through one of our links, and we keep that separate from the scores.
Do you review apps that aren’t licensed in the UK?
No. We only cover apps from operators licensed by the Gambling Commission, and everything on the site is for readers aged 18 and over.