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Live intel
▸RE-SCORED JUNE 10, 2026▸CA AB 831 — MONITORING▸NY SB 5935A — UNDER REVIEW▸8 BRANDS RANKED▸13 STATES TRACKED▸NO PAID PLACEMENTS▸40+ CRITERIA · FIXED WEIGHTS▸RE-SCORED JUNE 10, 2026▸CA AB 831 — MONITORING▸NY SB 5935A — UNDER REVIEW▸8 BRANDS RANKED▸13 STATES TRACKED▸NO PAID PLACEMENTS▸40+ CRITERIA · FIXED WEIGHTS
CrushCards

Our methodology

How we rank CardCrush sites.

Every brand is scored on the same rubric: 6 categories, fixed weights, 40+ criteria, applied identically to all 8 brands. Scores are weighted averages. No brand pays for placement, and affiliate links never change a ranking.

Same rules for everyone.The weights below are fixed across every brand we review. A brand cannot buy a higher score, a better tier, or a faster re-score. Editor's Choice is a separate contextual award and does not affect the numeric score.

The 6 categories & weights

Legality & state coverage

25%

Legal model strength, number of legal states, and regulatory durability (AB 831 / SB 5935A exposure).

  • Legal model strength (skill contest / parimutuel / sweepstakes)
  • Number of legal states
  • Regulatory durability vs AB 831, SB 5935A and similar
  • Transparency of legal status

Game & card content

20%

Library size and variety, card-battler format depth, live-dealer availability and provider quality.

  • Library size and variety
  • Card-battler / format depth
  • Live dealer availability
  • Content provider quality

Prizes & redemption

15%

Redemption thresholds and methods, payout speed, KYC friction and prize-type breadth.

  • Redemption thresholds and methods
  • Payout speed
  • KYC friction
  • Prize-type breadth

Bonuses & value

15%

Signup offer size, wagering requirements, AMOE availability and ongoing fair value.

  • Signup offer size
  • Wagering requirements
  • AMOE availability
  • Ongoing promotions and fair value

Trust & compliance

15%

Licensing / registration, AMOE adherence, responsible-gaming tools, age gating and transparency.

  • Licensing / registration
  • AMOE and legal-requirement adherence
  • Responsible-gaming tools
  • Age gating and transparency

UX & platform

10%

App and site quality, onboarding flow, customer support, performance and reliability.

  • App and site quality
  • Onboarding flow
  • Customer support
  • Performance and reliability

How we score, step by step

  1. 1

    Gather evidence

    Public terms, prize rules, state availability, app behavior, and player-facing documentation for each brand.

  2. 2

    Score each criterion 0–10

    Based on documented capability and evidence — not marketing claims.

  3. 3

    Apply fixed weights

    Compute a weighted average across the six categories. The result is the overall /10 score.

  4. 4

    Assign a tier

    Tier 1 (legal core) or Tier 2 (national alternatives) based on legal footprint and proven redemption.

  5. 5

    Re-score monthly

    As laws and brand terms change. The freshness date is shown on the ranking and every review.

Editor's Choice vs the score

Editor's Choice is a contextual award given for a specific player profile (currently CardCrush, for the card-battler profile). It recognizes best fit for that use case and does not change the numeric score, which the rubric returns by the same rules applied to every brand.

What we publish

The per-category breakdown for every brand is published in the scoring rationale so the overall score is auditable.

Conflicts & independence. crush-cards.com earns affiliate commissions from some brand links. These never influence scores, tiers, or ranking order. Brands are scored before any commercial outreach.