Fact-Checking Policy

Last updated: April 2026

Every factual claim on ChipReign is verified against a primary source before publication and re-verified on review. Licensing, regulatory, statistical and operator-specific claims get the strictest check. This page sets out what we verify, where we get it, and what happens when a source fails.

What We Verify

Short answer: anything that isn’t opinion. Longer answer:

• Regulator names, acronyms and citations (UK Gambling Commission, ACMA, state US gaming commissions).
• Act names and years (Gambling Act 2005, Interactive Gambling Act 2001, Australian Privacy Act 1988, Consumer Rights Act 2015).
• Licence numbers, operator legal entity names, corporate registration numbers.
• Bonus amounts, wagering multiples, minimum odds, game weighting, expiry windows.
• Payment rail minimums and maximums, withdrawal windows, fees.
• Payout speeds (based on our own live tests).
• Support phone numbers, hours, channels.
• Helpline numbers (NCPG 1-800-MY-RESET, GamCare 0808 8020 133, Gambling Help Online 1800 858 858).
• Statistics, survey results, regulator reports.
• Quotes and attributed statements.
• Game titles, provider names, RTP and variance figures.
• Dates of legislative changes, regulator actions, and industry events.

Source Hierarchy

We rank sources from most preferred to least:

1. Primary regulator publication. A live registry page, a published ruling, an official statute. Always preferred.
2. Operator-controlled publication. The operator’s own site: T&Cs, licence footer, cashier page, bonus page. Used for operator facts (bonus value, wagering, licence held).
3. Government publication. GOV.UK, relevant US government sites, Australian Government sites, DOJ, state attorneys general.
4. First-party test result. Our own documented test (deposit went through in X seconds, chat agent responded in Y minutes).
5. Tier-1 news media. Reuters, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, BBC, The Guardian, Sydney Morning Herald, ABC News AU. Named journalist, dated article, where available.
6. Academic and clinical research. Peer-reviewed journals for responsible-gambling and harm-reduction content.
7. Court and settlement documents. For operator misconduct that’s reached litigation.

We do not cite competitor gambling review sites (Casino.guru, AskGamblers, Casinomeister, Gambling.com, OddsChecker, Catena Media and Better Collective properties, and similar). If a fact came from one of those, it is re-verified against a primary source and presented as our own observation, or dropped if we can’t verify it.

The Cross-Check Rule

Every factual claim on a live operator page is cross-checked against at least one independent source. Concrete example: if an operator’s bonus page says “100% match up to £100, 35x wagering”, that exact wording must appear on:

• The operator’s published bonus terms page, and
• The sign-up page or in-account promotions view when logged in with a fresh account in the target jurisdiction.

If the bonus page says one thing and the in-account view says another, the review names the discrepancy and flags it as a trust mark against the operator.

For regulatory claims, the cross-check is the regulator’s own publication plus the operator’s disclosure. For statistical claims, at least one primary source plus one credible secondary source if available.

Licence Verification (every casino review)

The licence claim on an operator’s website is not proof of licence. The operator could have lost it last week; the footer could be out of date; a new shell company could be using a licence that doesn’t belong to them. We verify directly:

• UK: UK Gambling Commission public register at gamblingcommission.gov.uk/public-register. We look up the licence number from the operator’s footer and confirm status is “Active”, not “Lapsed” or “Revoked”, and that the licensed activity matches the operator’s products.
• US: Each state gaming commission’s licensee list. For New Jersey, the DGE internet gaming licence list; for Pennsylvania, PGCB; and so on for each state we cover.
• Australia: State licensing authority register, plus ACMA confirmation where relevant. We do not accept “Australian-licensed” without a named state issuer and licence number.

If the licence cannot be verified in a regulator register, the review is held until it can be. If the regulator confirms the licence is not valid, the review either isn’t published or is published as a warning-style piece naming the failure.

Statistics and Claim Language

Every statistic cites its source and the year of the data. “Over 28,000 Australians have registered with BetStop since launch in August 2023” is sourced to the Department of Social Services ministerial press release; we link and date it. “Studies show” without a named study doesn’t ship.

Claim language is scoped and specific:

• “The UKGC fined operators more than £20 million in 2024” beats “the UKGC cracks down on operators regularly”.
• “In our October 2025 cashier test, Skrill withdrawals cleared in a median of 2 minutes 14 seconds across 10 attempts” beats “withdrawals were fast”.
• “As of April 2026” is attached to bonus and licence claims; reviews date-stamp their claims.

When a Claim Fails

Three things can happen when fact-checking catches a problem:

1. Before publication. The claim is removed, rewritten, or the review is held pending verification. Nothing ships unverified.
2. After publication, if a reader or reviewer spots it later. Our Corrections Policy kicks in: the fix goes live, the Document History logs it, and the “Last updated” date moves.
3. If the underlying source was wrong. We update the claim and add a note in the review citing the corrected source. If a regulator or operator publication was the error, we flag that too.

Review Cycles

Claims on a page are re-verified on the cadence set out in our Editorial Policy: full re-test every 12 months for casino reviews, 6 months for roundups, 3 months for bonus pages, quarterly for regulatory explainers. Specific triggers (licence change, regulator action, bonus overhaul) pull a re-verify forward to same-day.

Fact-checking sits next to the Review Methodology (what we score), the Corrections Policy (how we fix errors) and the Affiliate Disclosure (why commercial relationships don’t influence the checks). The short version of all four is on About ChipReign.

Reader-Submitted Corrections

Readers catch things. Operators change bonus terms on a Tuesday; regulator numbers get re-issued (as with the 2026 NCPG helpline change from 1-800-GAMBLER to 1-800-MY-RESET). If you spot an out-of-date fact, email editorial@chipreign.com. Response target: 5 business days, sooner if the claim is material.

Document History

ChipReign publishes content for adults aged 18+ (21+ in certain US jurisdictions). If you or someone you know is struggling with gambling, free and confidential help is available: National Problem Gambling Helpline (US) 1-800-MY-RESET; GamCare (UK) 0808 8020 133; Gambling Help Online (Australia) 1800 858 858.