Need your input: Making CM Casino Reviews Real and Relevant

[andysbetting1187]

Morning all,

Something I have been thinking about recently (and prompted by @maxd to start in a separate thread) is how casino reviews at CM are conducted/reviewed

I have seen a few reviews recently (sweepstake casinos/going over the old Winz reviews etc) where the main casino review is not conducted by the CM team but it is more "fed" to the site by the reviewers at Gentoo.

Personally for me I would prefer that the only reviews on CM should be done by the team that know the CM community (sorry @maxd @Webzcas @Nate - not trying to increase your workload) as this would give a more rounded (and potentially honest review) from people who know the industry and what gamblers want compared to a media professional who doesn't interact with the CM forum

Might be off base with this, but just my opinion as I would prefer that any casino that is reviewed and promoted has been through rigorous checks/has an active rep for trouble shooting as opposed to getting a high score because Gentoo says they should have one (making assumptions here lol)

 

[maxd]

Yes, thank you @andysbetting1187 , for us this is a VERY important topic and one that we welcome as much feedback on as possible, especially now when so many things are changing (AI, forums evolving, etc).

Before we even get into it I want to stress (yet again) that the marching orders we've had from our owners (Gentoo) from day #1 is “be Casinomeister” and "protect the brand". So until we’re told otherwise that’s our primary goal, and we believe that means that Reviews and Ratings need some serious input from the Forum staff and/or the forum readership. I believe this is exactly what you’ve posted here about.

The problem we currently face is that there is only a very little bridge between what we on the forums know and what appears in the Reviews, namely the Max’s Desk section on a review. Also, if a casino goes seriously off the rails, we are able to suggest and request Review updates based on evidence at hand.

What that really means is that the reviews are largely out of our hands. The reviews are created and posted by a team that we communicate with often and freely BUT they answer to their department heads and we answer to ours: any information exchange between us — aside from the Max’s Desk sections — is largely an ad-hoc affair. In other words it’s a “manual” process, meaning there is no routine or procedure in place to reliably and routinely feed info back into the Reviews from the forum readership and/or the forum staff.

So what can we expect given all that?

1. The forum team — meaning us forum mods — have settled on User Feedback for Reviews and Ratings as being our top priority outside of our day-to-day routine duties. Proposals are in place but there’s nothing confirmed yet. Trust me, we’re pushing this!
   
   NEWS: as of today we’ve been given the green light to include forum readership feedback in reviews. Let me repeat that: we can now include your feedback on a casino in the Review itself. Of course we have to work out the logistics for all this and for the time being it’s all going to be a manual process, so bear with us. But this is a big step forward.
2. Ratings and Reviews are not and will not be produced by the CM forum team. We’re aiming to have increased input — along with that from the forum membership — but we’ll never be the authors. Unless mountains move I think that’s pretty much non-negotiable.
3. We very much want and encourage continued feedback from the readership on this and related issues. In many ways this is your forum — we’re here to inform, caretake and guide — so shout it out! Being bashful is being silent and that’s counter-productive to a healthy, kicking forum.

- Max

 

[lockinlove]

I think what people need to do moving forward is really understand and take what catergory they fall under.

Neutral. You arent vouching for them, you are just giving a review.
Not suggested. Shady as hell
Grey zone. Unsure.
etc

Casinomeister is doing a way better job than all the other forums. All of them just suggest outright rogue outfits for commission.

I was reading a review today elsewhere, this casino robbed a player of 1.5 million dollars. That forum lists their sister casino as a decent rating. A complaint was filed, the casino engaged but then just stopped responding in that specific complaint. The forum dropped their rating to a 3/10 but then give their sister a 7/10.

Why? A lot of players wont know they are a sister casino and therefore with a decent rating, players will sign up and the owners will get affiliate money.

The only issue I have is it gives casinomeister less power to force a casino to pay players. It used to be the casinos on here who were approved, went through a strong vetting system. Almost like a good personal relationship.
They dont have that with alot of these other casinos because they havent built that relationship. I got bitten by 2 casinos that got a thumbsup here.

I look at it like this. Accredited you are likely very safe. Anything less, do alot of research before playing.

 

[maxd]

Excellent input and a great suggestion regarding the casino categories (Neutral, Grey Zone, Not Recommended, etc). Thank you.

 

[maxd]

Mentioned above:

NEWS: as of today we've been given the green light to include forum readership feedback in reviews. Let me repeat that: we can now include your feedback on a casino in the Review itself. Of course we have to work out the logistics for all this and for the time being it's all going to be a manual process, so bear with us. But this is a big step forward.

Ok, what that is going to mean in practice (for the time being) is that the guys writing the reviews will include suitable comments in the actual Review. The head of the Review team puts it this way:

​

“it doesn't mean we'll be changing the review because a player said they don't like something. We will react if there's anything "alarming" happening so that we can investigate and change the review if needed. They need to understand that we're sharing their opinion, and we'll be taking things into consideration while researching the casino."​

And please remember, this is a work in progress so things can and will change over time. And as always, your feedback with help shape and guide that process.

- Max

 

[Wait!What?]

If a person writes a review once and then goes on to have a different experience over time then would they be allowed to change /write a different review in future?

 

[SYPlayer95]

If a person writes a review once and then goes on to have a different experience over time then would they be allowed to change /write a different review in future?

It would make sense. Outdated reviews just make the review pointless. What happened 3 years ago at a company may not be the same experience now. Eg. Some accredited casinos here I wouldn't even have in the grey zone.

 

[maxd]

If a person writes a review once and then goes on to have a different experience over time then would they be allowed to change /write a different review in future?

Good question. I would think that would need to be part of whatever system we settle on.

 

[pereblue]

Huge thumbs up from me !!
This really feels like the kind of shift that could redefine Casinomeister going forward. The forum has always been the heart of the platform IMHO, and finally letting that real player voice shape reviews is incredibly powerful.

Back when I was involved, this was already on our radar as something we had to do at some point ... but we never fully got there. So it’s honestly great to see this conversation happening now. maxd, dave you know you count on me always ;D

Salut!.

 

[SYPlayer95]

I think we need to be reviewing the Terms and Conditions of the casinos. Looking for any rouge terms and highlighting them.

 

[Webzcas]

rouge terms

 

[SYPlayer95]

Not even going to amend my post

 

[maxd]

I thought it worth mentioning here that we have a new thread to start gathering forum members suggestions for casinos to review, or revisit an existing review:

Suggestions? Thread 'Request a Review or Review Update'

Apr 22, 2026

We’re happy to report that we’re planning something of a shift in emphasis of our Reviews and casinos to be considered for Reviews.The full roll-out is still in the works but I thought we’d get ahead of the curve a bit here and open this up to the membership now to get the ball rolling.

So yeah, here we go:
Got a casino you want to see reviewed?
Think one of our existing casino reviews needs an update?

We’ll gather the suggestions and post a Poll up top to start gathering votes or something of that nature.
[turns out our Poll system is not fit for purpose here, so...

• maxd
• request a review review update suggestions
• Replies: 23
• Forum: Forum Suggestions, Announcements, & Feedback

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