Blog · Desk · 2026-08-27 · 6 min · Brent Henderson
The Trust Gauge is not a bonus ad
Featured placements follow the Trust Gauge, not commission. Rank is never sold. Affiliate hops, when present, only attach at 60+. Below 60, no hop. High-risk files stay listed with a do-not-deposit label. If a 48 sits above an 81, the page is for sale.
What we actually rank
The index is The Gauge: seven pillars, 30 signals, max 100 — licensing, payments, safety, fairness, transparency, responsible gambling, and complaints. Welcome offers sit on a separate rail. Below 60, no Visit hop — licensed desk or ROC — no matter what the affiliate sheet pays.
That is the opposite of a paid weekly listicle. If you arrived from a bonus round-up, read the score first. Method: The Gauge.
Where the money is disclosed
Some outbound Visit site buttons are sponsored hops. The button says so. The Gauge next to it does not move when a tracker is pasted in. Editorial guidelines and the methodology page spell out The Gauge in public.
What to do with this
Use Rankings when you want the file. Use Bonuses when a licensed desk already cleared 60 and you want the live terms. Do not treat either page as a licence to play in a market that is not yours. For a licensed Ontario ranking, start at the iGO-listed Ontario casinos desk.
Ontario is iGO only, 19+. Alberta is AGLC only, 18+. A rest-of-Canada hop is not legal in those markets. How that differs from other review sites: which casino review sites Canadians should trust.
Quick answers
- Can a casino pay for a higher Trust Gauge?
- No. Rank is never sold. Affiliate hops, when present, are disclosed and only attach at 60+. Commission does not move a point.
- Why do high-risk casinos still appear?
- Hiding a 43 is how a ranking site becomes an ad. Those files stay listed with a do-not-deposit label.