How We Check Our Work

Gambling content is full of confident claims: hot games, winning systems, unmissable offers. Our aim runs the other way. This page explains where our information comes from, how each article is checked, and what happens when we get something wrong.

Where our information comes from

Most of what we write rests on a small number of reliable kinds of source:

• Game information screens and paytables, which describe how a particular title works, including its features and published return figure where one is given.
• Operator terms and conditions, especially bonus terms, jackpot rules and betting settlement rules.
• Published guidance from gambling regulators on topics such as player protection tools and advertising rules.
• The rules of the games themselves. Some facts follow directly from how a game is built, such as the number of pockets on a roulette wheel or the number of outcomes in a betting market.

Where details differ between operators, we describe the common patterns and tell you to check the specific site's terms rather than presenting one version as universal.

What we avoid

• We do not invent statistics, studies, quotes or expert credentials.
• We do not quote odds or return figures for specific slots unless they are clearly needed and stated by the game itself.
• Where we use numbers to explain an idea, they are deliberately simple and labelled as examples.
• We do not describe any approach as a way to beat the house.

How an article is checked

1. Outline. The writer sets out the question the piece will answer and the points needed to answer it.
2. Draft. The article is written in plain language, with any rule that varies between operators flagged as such.
3. Second read. Another member of the team reads the draft cold, looking for anything unclear, overstated or unsupported.
4. Safer-play pass. We check that the piece does not encourage chasing losses or imply easy wins, and that it ends with a responsible-play note written for its topic.
5. Link check. Internal links are tested so they lead where they should.

Our guide to half-time/full-time bets is a good example of the result: one topic, explained step by step, with the settlement rules that vary between bookmakers clearly marked.

Corrections

Information dates and mistakes happen. When a reader points out an error, we check it, fix the article if needed and update its modified date. If you spot something, please write to us through Open a Channel with the page address and what you noticed.

For more on who we are and how we approach the subject, see Mission Control.