Cooperation: what a listing needs, and what money does not buy

What a brand needs

Three things, all of which we check ourselves. A licence that resolves on a regulator's public register, by the method in the verification guide: a company on the register with a live status, a seal that resolves on the regulator's host, a certificate naming the domain. Terms we can read in full without an account, including the bonus terms with the multiplier, its base, the cap and the max bet, and the restricted-country list. And an offer that can be verified on the registration form, since every code on this site is typed in and screenshotted before it is printed. A brand with all three gets a page; a brand missing one gets an email saying which.

What a partnership changes

The link and the code. A partner brand's pages carry our tracking link and the promo code registered for us, marked as sponsored, and the bonus behind the code is verified on the form and printed as the terms state it. That is the whole of it. Where a brand is not a partner and readers search for it, it still gets a page, with the same checks and a plain link, because leaving a searched-for brand out would be a hole in the map.

What it never changes

The score, which is the plain average of four marks taken by reading and testing, explained on the editorial page; a brand that pays nothing is scored the same way as one that pays well. The restricted-country block, which is the brand's own list as published, and stays on the page for as long as the list does. The wagering, cap and max bet figures, which are the brand's own terms as read. The licence status, which is the register's. And the date, which is the day the page was last checked. None of those has a price, and an email asking for one gets this page back.

What we will not agree to

Removing or softening a restricted-country block. Printing a cap or a multiplier the terms do not state, or omitting one they do. Describing a dead master-licence number as a live licence. Publishing a code we have not typed into the form. Rewriting a review in the brand's words. Linking to a mirror domain the regulator's certificate does not name. Placing a brand in a ranking it does not earn on the marks, or removing a brand from the site because its review is unflattering while readers still search for it.

What helps

A contact who can answer questions about the cashier and the terms in writing, because the reviews record those answers. Notice when terms change, so the page changes with them. A test account for the verification run, where the brand prefers that to our own registrations. And the licence number and the regulator's certificate link, which save a round of email.

Write to

smartseokings@gmail.com, with the brand, the licence, the terms link and the offer. The contact page covers everything that is not a partnership question.