Compliance
Ranking Methodology
The weighted criteria used to evaluate legal online sportsbooks.
Methodology principles
Ratings prioritize licensing, user trust, product quality, term clarity, and responsible gambling controls.
State-aware rankings
A sportsbook unavailable in a selected state should not rank above available options for that state.
Offer accuracy
Expired, outdated, or state-ineligible offers should not appear as active promotions. Offer details should be reviewed before publication.
Scoring categories
The scoring model weighs licensing and availability, bonus clarity, odds, app quality, payouts, support, and responsible gambling controls.
Bonus Reality Score
Bonus Reality Score is an editorial estimate that considers bonus type, minimum deposit, minimum odds, expiration, cashability, terms complexity, and state restrictions.
How Scout uses data
BookScout AI uses the same static editorial data as the site. It does not access an odds feed, verify current offers in real time, or replace operator terms.
Odds Board data
BookScout Odds Board uses static odds examples. Odds examples are for product testing and implied-probability education until a verified data provider, timestamps, stale-data rules, and legal review are complete.
Commercial placement
Compensation may influence placement, but rankings should still use editorial criteria, disclosure, and verification rules. Users should review sportsbook terms directly.
| Criterion | Weight | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Licensing and availability | 20% | Confirms the operator is positioned only for legal, regulated markets and evaluates state availability, consumer safeguards, and compliance visibility. |
| Bonus terms | 15% | Scores term clarity, state eligibility, bonus format, expiration, minimum deposit, minimum odds, and practical user fit. |
| Odds competitiveness | 15% | Reviews market breadth, pricing quality, live betting, same-game parlay support, and major league coverage. |
| App experience | 15% | Evaluates mobile navigation, account experience, market discovery, search, stability, and beginner usability. |
| Payout speed | 15% | Assesses payment options, payout expectations, identity review friction, and withdrawal transparency. |
| Customer support | 10% | Reviews help center quality, live support access, response paths, and support clarity for account, payment, and promo issues. |
| Responsible gambling tools | 10% | Evaluates deposit limits, wager limits, session limits, cool-off, self-exclusion, and visibility of help resources. |
How we rank
Editorial criteria guide each ranking
Rankings use weighted editorial criteria for licensing, state availability, bonus terms, odds, app experience, payouts, support, and responsible gambling tools.
Read the methodologyEditorial estimate notice
Scores are editorial estimates based on listed sportsbook data. They should not be read as exact measurements or expected outcomes.
Commercial disclosure
We may receive compensation from sportsbook partners. Compensation may influence placement, but pages should still use editorial criteria and clear disclosure.
Why state availability matters
A sportsbook should not be prioritized for a state page unless the static state data lists that operator as available for that state.
Why headline bonus amount is not enough
Bonus terms, eligibility, expiration, minimum deposit, minimum odds, and whether credits are cashable all affect the usefulness of an offer.
Current weighting
- licensingAvailability: 20%
- bonus: 15%
- odds: 15%
- app: 15%
- payout: 15%
- support: 10%
- responsibleGambling: 10%