How HouseCasino earns money
HouseCasino is an independent affiliate review portal. We earn commission from operators we recommend. This page explains exactly how that works and what it means for our rankings.
How affiliate commission works
When you click an outbound link from HouseCasino to a casino we review (typically via our /goto/<casino> redirect), the casino can identify the referral. If you go on to register and deposit, the casino pays HouseCasino a commission — usually a percentage of revenue or a fixed CPA (cost-per-acquisition) fee.
This is the standard revenue model for casino review portals worldwide. It funds the operational costs of testing — every casino we review involves three deposits totalling around AU$1,500, real money played and lost during testing, plus editorial time and infrastructure.
What does NOT influence rankings
- Commission rate. Casinos offering higher commission rates are not ranked higher.
- Marketing budgets. Casinos with bigger advertising budgets are not ranked higher.
- Brand size. Brand recognition does not affect ranking.
- Personal preferences. Operators we personally prefer to deal with (e.g. faster payment processing) are not ranked higher for that reason — that data is captured in the testing scores.
What DOES influence rankings
- Score on the 47-point checklist — see methodology
- Real-world withdrawal speed in our test cycles
- Bonus fairness (wagering, max bet, expiry, eligibility)
- Licence verifiability and regulator quality
- Support quality at peak and off-peak
- Pattern of player complaints (we track regulator complaint registers and high-volume Reddit / forum reports)
How we handle conflicts of interest
- If a casino we rank exits the AU market or loses its licence, we de-list it within 48 hours — regardless of commission impact.
- If a casino unilaterally changes commission terms in a way we consider unfair (e.g. negative carryover), we drop the affiliate relationship and consider this a strong signal about operational ethics.
- If we discover during testing that an operator is engaging in player-detrimental behaviour (deliberate withdrawal slow-pedalling, hidden T&Cs, unfair complaint handling), we remove them from the ranking.
- We do not accept editorial direction from any operator. Sponsored content, paid placements, and paid reviews are not offered or accepted.
What this means for you as a reader
You can use our rankings without worrying that "the casino on top paid the most." That is not how this works. But you should also know that we earn commission when you sign up via our links, and we are upfront about that on every page.
If you would prefer to sign up directly without going through our affiliate link, you are welcome to do so. Our reviews are free to read and use either way.