A review that says an operator pays out quickly is an opinion. A review that shows the transaction is a record. That distinction is the whole argument behind Proof of Play, the verification method Gamblers Connect now runs on the operators it reviews.
Almost every casino review published anywhere in this industry rests on the same unexamined sentence: we tested it. The reader is asked to take that on trust. There is rarely a date, rarely a method, rarely an amount, and almost never a record that can be opened and checked by somebody who was not there.
Proof of Play removes that problem by producing evidence instead of assurance. The newsroom deposits its own money with the operator, plays, requests a withdrawal, and records what actually happened at each stage. Where the transaction settles on a public blockchain, the reference is published on the operator’s page and links straight to the explorer. Anyone can open it. We do not rely on promotional claims.
What the panel records
Every completed test publishes the same six fields, so operators can be compared against each other rather than against their own marketing.
| THE SIX FIELDS | |
| Deposit method | The exact rail used for the test, named rather than described in general terms. |
| Deposit speed | Banded and timed. Instant is under two minutes. Fast is two to ten. Moderate is ten to thirty. Slow is anything beyond. |
| KYC trigger | The point at which identity verification is actually demanded, recorded on a four step scale from none, through email only and basic ID, to full document upload. |
| Withdrawal speed | Measured from the moment the request is submitted to the moment funds arrive in an external wallet or account, not to internal approval. |
| Withdrawal fee | What was actually deducted, including network fees where they apply. |
| Transaction reference | A link to the public record of the withdrawal, where the method allows one. |
The panel also carries the month and year the test was carried out. A payout time recorded in one quarter is not a promise about the next, and dating the result is what keeps it honest as the operator changes.
Why the KYC field is the important one
Deposit speed is easy to measure and rarely disputed. Withdrawal speed is the number everyone quotes. The field that does the most work for a reader is the one in the middle.
Operators are consistently clear about how to put money in and consistently vague about what is required to take it out. The gap between those two moments is where the majority of player complaints in this industry sit. Proof of Play records exactly where the line falls: whether basic personal details were enough to deposit, and what was demanded before a withdrawal could be requested. On the Roobet test, for example, basic personal details were sufficient to deposit, while a passport, driving licence or other government issued document was required to withdraw. That is a factual finding about a process, recorded at a moment in time, rather than a criticism.
What Proof of Play is not
It is not an endorsement. A fast payout recorded on one test says nothing about an operator’s licence standing, its responsible gambling provision or whether anyone should play there. Those are assessed separately, and the Responsible Gambling Index scores them on their own twelve criteria.
It is not a guarantee. It is one transaction, on one date, on one method, carried out by one tester. The panel says so by carrying the date and the method rather than a general claim about how the operator behaves.
It is also not purchasable. Proof of Play sits outside every commercial arrangement on the platform. No operator, partner or advertiser can commission a test, influence its result, or have a finding removed. Where a test produces an unfavourable result, the unfavourable result is what publishes.
And it is not an affiliate exercise. Gamblers Connect is iGaming B2B media. We do not provide traffic, do not operate as an affiliate, and do not refer players. There are no affiliate links, no tracking links and no sign up funnels on any operator page. We do not promote bonuses, publish offer codes or recommend anywhere to deposit, and a completed Proof of Play panel is not an endorsement of the operator it appears on. Our readers are operators, suppliers, affiliates, payment providers and regulators, not players.
The deposits behind these tests are made with our own money for the sole purpose of producing a verifiable record. We earn nothing from player activity, wagers or deposits, and we have no commercial interest in whether any reader ever opens an account anywhere. That is precisely what makes the record worth publishing: there is no outcome we are being paid to reach.
Where it appears, and where it does not
Proof of Play is live now on one operator page. The first completed test is published on the Roobet page, recording a Solana deposit, the KYC trigger at both ends, a six minute withdrawal to an external wallet, and the transaction reference on a public explorer.
From here the method is being applied in two directions. Operator pages already published on the platform are being retested and updated where the payment methods available allow a test to be carried out. Every new operator page from this point forward carries Proof of Play as standard, either as a completed panel or as a pending notice while the test is scheduled.
Where a test has not been completed, the page says so in the same place the panel would otherwise sit. The notice reads: this casino is yet to be reviewed using our Proof of Play method, our independent hands on verification is pending for this operator, and it links to the Proof of Play Policy so a reader can see what the test involves.
That notice is not a placeholder to be quietly removed. It stays until a test has actually been run. It is also not a judgement on the operator. It records the state of our work, not the state of their platform, and the distinction matters: a pending notice means Gamblers Connect has not yet tested, nothing more. The reason it is there at all is that a completed panel only carries weight if its absence is equally visible.
Not every operator can be tested. Where an operator offers no method the newsroom can use, or where a test cannot be completed on the terms the operator sets, the page carries the pending notice and states the reason rather than leaving the absence unexplained.
Luka Dimitrijevic, Partnerships & Operations lead at Gamblers Connect, on the rollout of Proof of Play:
Every review site in this industry says it tests operators. Almost none of them can show you anything. We decided the only version of that claim worth making is the one where we publish the transaction and let the reader check it themselves. If we cannot show the receipt, we do not make the claim.
What Comes Next
The retesting programme across existing operator pages is under way and will be reported as it completes. Coverage of non blockchain methods follows next, recorded to the same six fields with documentary evidence in place of an explorer link. Corrections and right of reply relating to a specific test can be submitted through the Complaints Procedure, and where an operator’s process has demonstrably changed since a test, the page is retested rather than quietly amended.
