Our methodology
How we rate and rank bookmakers
A clear guide to the consensus score, live punter ratings and the order you see across Compare The Bookie.
We earn nothing from bookmakers. No affiliate links, no commissions, no paid placements, no click tracking. Compare The Bookie takes no money from any bookmaker, in any form.
The consensus rating
The consensus rating is the average of the independent public rating sources recorded for a bookmaker. It is displayed out of 5.
A bookmaker’s source count is shown beside the score. The displayed score is always the raw average of those sources.
What the consensus combines
The consensus can draw from three kinds of public rating source. Each recorded source contributes one value to the average.
Punter rating sources
Public ratings from people who use or have used the bookmaker.
Review sites
Published bookmaker ratings from review and comparison sites.
App stores
Public Apple App Store and Google Play rating averages where available.
How the order is built
Bookmakers with at least two independent rating sources are ordered using a weighted version of the consensus. This gives well-supported ratings more influence while keeping the displayed score unchanged.
The constants are published here: 3.931 is the current market-average prior and 5 is the weighting value. The calculation is applied consistently to every ranked bookmaker.
Only the order uses the weighted result. Every score shown on the site remains the raw consensus average.
A bookmaker needs at least 2 independent rating sources to hold a rank. Other operating bookmakers appear in a separate A–Z band below the ranked list. Closed bookmakers and brands yet to launch are excluded from rankings.
What we cover
The coverage numbers below are calculated from the current dataset each time the site is built.
Live punter ratings
Punters can rate a bookmaker from 1 to 5 stars and add an optional review. Published votes form the live punter score shown across Compare The Bookie.
- The live punter score is displayed separately from the consensus rating.
- Written reviews are moderated before publication.
- Submission controls help limit repeat and automated voting.
Ratings update with the data
Consensus ratings update when recorded source values change. Live punter ratings update as published votes are added. The source count beside a consensus score shows how many public rating sources contribute to that average.
What each bookmaker page shows
Bookmaker pages bring together the public facts held for that brand, its consensus rating, live punter ratings and owner-written bookmaker notes where available. No commercial arrangement affects what appears on a page or its place in the ranking.
Independence by construction
No commercial arrangements
We earn nothing from bookmakers.
No affiliate links, commissions or paid placements
Compare The Bookie carries no affiliate links and no commission arrangements. We are not paid for placement, for a rating, or for a click. There is no outbound tracking on this site — when you click through to a bookmaker, we do not know and are not paid.
Publisher context
Our publisher, Punt Hub Enterprises Pty Ltd, operates other websites in the wagering space, some of which do carry commercial arrangements with bookmakers. Compare The Bookie does not, and no commercial relationship held elsewhere affects what appears here — the ranking is computed from published ratings and nothing else.
The ranking cannot be influenced by money because none changes hands.