Editorial Standards & Review Methodology
Every score on this site comes from the same eight-step test, run with real money by the named author on the review. This page sets out the process, the scoring weights behind every rating, and what happens when we get something wrong.
The 8-step testing process
Each operator goes through all eight steps before a review is published. No step is skipped, and no step is simulated — if we could not complete one (for example, a withdrawal that never arrived), the review says so.
- Account signup with NZ details. We register as an ordinary New Zealand player — NZ address, NZ phone number, NZ IP. This confirms the operator genuinely accepts Kiwi players and shows us the exact verification hoops you will face, not the ones described in the FAQ.
- Real NZD or crypto deposit. We fund the account with our own money, using a payment method actually available from New Zealand. We record which methods worked, which were rejected, the minimum deposit, any fees, and whether NZD was held as NZD or silently converted.
- Gameplay and bet placement across categories. At casinos we play pokies, table games and live dealer titles; at bookmakers we place bets across rugby, cricket, racing and live markets. We note loading times, game range, bet limits, and anything that behaved differently from the marketing.
- Bonus terms verification with worked wagering. We read the full terms and do the maths before quoting any offer. Example: a 100% match to NZ$500 at 40x wagering on the bonus means NZ$20,000 in bets to clear; on pokies averaging 96% RTP, the expected cost of that wagering is roughly NZ$800 — more than the bonus itself. If the maths makes an offer bad value, the review says so next to the offer.
- Support contact test. We ask support a real, specific question — usually about withdrawal rules — on live chat and email. We record response time, whether the first answer was correct, and whether we reached a person or a loop of canned replies.
- Withdrawal timed in NZ business days. We cash out and time it from request to money in hand, counted in NZ business days. We record the verification documents demanded, any pending period, and whether the operator's advertised payout speed matched ours.
- Licence verification. We check the operator's licence directly on the regulator's own register — not the badge in the site footer — and confirm the licence number, the holding company and that the licence is current. An operator whose licence we cannot verify is not listed, whatever else it scores.
- 90-day re-review cycle. Every published review is fully re-checked at least every 90 days: bonus terms, payment methods, a fresh support contact and the licence status. The "last updated" date on a review marks the most recent full re-check, not a cosmetic edit. Material changes between cycles — a slow-pay pattern, a pulled payment method — trigger an immediate re-review.
How scores are weighted
Every rating on Aurum is built from six weighted criteria. The weights are fixed across all reviews, so a 9.1 on one page means the same as a 9.1 on another.
| Payout speed | 25% — measured from our own withdrawal, in NZ business days |
|---|---|
| Bonus value & fairness | 20% — the worked wagering cost, caps and exclusions, not the headline number |
| Game / market range | 15% — depth in the categories NZ players use, not raw title counts |
| NZ payment support | 15% — NZD handling and deposit/withdrawal methods usable from New Zealand |
| Licensing & safety | 15% — verified licence, ownership history, complaint record |
| Support | 10% — speed and accuracy of real answers in our contact test |
Payout speed carries the largest weight deliberately. It is the criterion players tell us matters most, it is the hardest for an operator to fake, and it is where the gap between marketing and reality is widest.
Sourcing and claims
Anything stated as fact in a review was either observed by us during testing or verified against a primary source — the regulator's register, the operator's published terms, or the game provider's RTP sheet. A claim we cannot verify is attributed to its source or cut. We do not reprint operator press releases, and screenshots and figures in reviews come from our own test accounts.
Corrections policy
When we get something wrong, we fix the page and say so. Verified factual errors are corrected within two NZ business days of being confirmed. Material corrections — anything that could have affected a reader's decision, such as a wrong wagering requirement or an out-of-date withdrawal time — are noted on the page alongside the updated "last updated" date. Trivial fixes (typos, formatting) are made silently.
To report an error, email contact@aurumcoffee.co.nz with the page URL and what is wrong. Corrections go to the review's author first and are checked against our test records before the page changes. See the contact page for what to include.