Honest and Trusted Casino Analysis
Hideous Slots is your go-to resource for all things online casinos. Our team have decades of experience in this industry, so we understand the challenges of finding a trustworthy and enjoyable casino. That's why we believe that reading reviews is an essential step when choosing a new gambling site. As a team of experts and players, we know what to look for when evaluating an online casino, and our in-depth reviews are designed to help you make informed decisions about which online casinos to play at, and which ones to avoid.
Written by: Chloe
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At Hideous Slots, we believe a casino review should do more than just list bonuses and logos.
A good review needs to give players a clear, balanced picture of what they can expect before signing up.
That’s why we apply the same structured review process to every operator we cover, whether it’s a brand-new launch or an established site with years of history.
Our aim is simple – highlight the casinos that treat players well, and make it obvious where others fall short.
When we say our review process is thorough, we mean it.
Every casino we recommend on our website has been through this review process, tested on the same criteria that our team determine to be important.
Whilst not all factors will be important to every player – we balance this when writing our reviews – we think how casinos approach these factors tell us about their brand ethos.
You may not have ever used the support team at an online casino, but that doesn't mean there shouldn't be one.
Take a look at our review criteria below.
The first step of our review process is the most important – licensing and regulation. We will never recommend a casino to our readers if we do not think it is safe, secure and fair – all things guaranteed with a good licence. We look for a UK Gambling Commission licence for players in the UK, and a Malta Gaming Authority licence for those further afield.
Next up we look at the welcome bonus available to new players who sign up – is it rewarding, and are the terms and conditions fair. We don't judge on the kind of welcome bonus as we know every bonus is designed to suit a different kind of player, but we do look at the value it offers, the wagering requirements attached, and any other conditions.
One of the best aspects of an online casino is the slot selection, which is why this is one of the first things we look at in the process. Specifically, we are looking for a wide variety of slot games from the most popular game studios – this selection should contain both the latest releases and classic games still loved by players, and be regularly updated with new titles.
Whilst online casinos are in many ways different to land-based casinos, many players sign up in order to mimic the classic casino atmosphere. After considering the selection of slots we look at the casino games available, including table games, live casino games, and live casino game shows from popular providers like Evolution Gaming, Pragmatic Play and Playtech.
A casino doesn’t need to offer a sportsbook for us to recommend it, but if there is one we will judge it the same as any other part of the site. We look for a range of betting options including in-play betting, alongside the most popular sports – alongside modern e-sports. Finally, we also look at any sports rewards, including free bets, to new and existing customers.
We think all players deserve to be rewarded, which means that alongside looking at the welcome bonus, we also look at the ongoing rewards available to existing and loyal users. We look for weekly bonuses, tournaments, lucrative initiatives like cashback, and loyalty programs, alongside how players trigger and claim the rewards, and any relevant T&Cs.
The payment method a player chooses to use at an online casino can really impact their experience – it can affect what kind of bonuses they can claim, the minimum deposit they must make, and how long their money takes to arrive in their account. Because of this, we always look to recommend casino sites that offer a variety of payment methods to users.
In this day and age, mobile gambling has become the most common way for players to enjoy the latest game releases. For this reason, we pay close attention to the mobile compatibility at any casino we review – specifically is the site fully optimised for mobile users, and is there a dedicated mobile app for iOS or Android, or any mobile payment options.
Alongside the mobile experience, the overall user experience is next in our list. We look at how the casino loads on a variety of devices, how smooth the loading is and the overall gameplay, and how simple the site is to navigate. Within this we also look a how players can find their favourite games, where the terms and conditions are displayed, and the casino theme.
Finally, we look at the support available to customers at the casino. In particular, we look at the support options on offer, how often they are available, and how effective they are at solving players problems. Alongside this, we look at how difficult it is to speak to a human agent, and how long the most complex problems take the team to resolve.
Each casino reviewed by the Hideous Slots team of experts receives a score – a rating out of 5 to help readers immediately see if it's worth their time and money.
Our standards for what we recommend to our readers are pretty high, and the standards of the licensing bodies we look for are also pretty high, so you aren't going to see any casinos listed on our website with scores of 2 or 3.
The bottom line is, if it doesn't score 4 or higher, we just wouldn't recommend it at all.
So don't think we're too generous with our scoring – we're just particular about the brands we're willing to recommend.
We don't need to break down our overall score too much – the higher the score, the better the casino, obviously.
However, alongside the main score, we also offer individual score breakdowns for the following categories:
This allows players to see how each factor is rated, so they can decide for themselves if the casino is delivering on their priorities.
The online casino industry moves quickly, and not every operator lasts forever.
When a casino closes, we don’t delete the review.
Instead, we update it.
This allows readers to see which casinos are no longer active, and also how we originally rated them.
We do this because we want our readers to know that we stand by our recommendations and our scores, even if the site closes.
We also add practical information about what happens during the casino closure process, including:
By doing this, our review archive remains accurate and useful, even for casinos that no longer exist.
Not all casino reviews are created equal.
Many comparison sites don't care about the honesty of their reviews, but we do – which is why we highlight the pros and the cons in our written content.
Our reviews are written first and foremost for players, not operators.
If a casino has unreasonable wagering requirements, weak customer support, or poor payment processes, we tell our readers, and we show it in our score breakdown.
However, as we've said above, these would be poor in comparison to our highly rated brands.
If a casino is genuinely poor from start to finish or lacks an appropriate licence, it just wouldn't make it into our listings – another thing that sets us apart.
Alongside this, we highlight genuinely positive features when they’re deserved.
The result is a collection of casino reviews that players can trust.
Hideous Slots Reviews
Other Site Reviews
The goal of our casino reviews is the provide clarity to readers.
They stand out against all of the other casino reviews in this industry because of this – they might be lengthy to read, but you won't be left with any unanswered questions.
We cover every aspect of the player experience, from the speed of withdrawals to the fine print hidden in lines and lines of bonus terms.
This helps players to know exactly what to expect before they sign up.
Most importantly, we don't hide a casino's shortcomings – our readers can be confident that when we recommend a site, it’s based on the full picture.
We're proud of the review process we've built, and the time, effort and consistency that goes into every piece of content we write about this unique industry.
We're committed to being transparent, informative, and only recommending casino sites that protect their players – whether that be by offering reasonable bonus terms or using independent auditor to ensure games are fair.
Additionally, by applying the same structured process across each casino we review, we ensure our readers can compare sites fairly and easily.
Whether you’re exploring new sites or checking the status of an older brand, our reviews are here to give you the full picture – strengths, weaknesses, and everything in between.
We look at a variety of factors when determining if we should review or recommend a casino, beginning with licensing and regulation – we only endorse casinos that are fair, safe and secure.
Yes, we give each casino we review an overall score out of 5. We also breakdown the score, offering unique scores for the following categories: bonus, T&Cs, slots, payments, live casino and support.
No, we share the full picture of any casino we recommend through our list of pros and cons, which highlights what the casino does well, and what it could improve on.
We tell our readers all about the bonuses available to new and existing players at the casinos we review, and we also cover the important terms, conditions and eligibility requirements.
Yes, we share with our readers the payment methods available at the casino, and the processing time for deposits and withdrawals for every individual method. Alongside this, we also outline any fees, and when they will apply.
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