Last updated: June 2026 — Liam Crawford, Bayunderground
At Bayunderground (bayunderground.co.nz), every casino and pokie site review you read has been personally researched, tested, and written by Liam Crawford. This page explains exactly how that process works, what criteria we measure, and why you can trust the scores we assign. There are no shortcuts, no copy-pasted assessments, and no operator influence. What you get is a straightforward, independent evaluation built for New Zealand players.
Liam Crawford is the sole author and owner of Bayunderground. With years of hands-on experience navigating the online pokies landscape in New Zealand, Liam personally registers an account, makes real deposits, claims bonuses, plays games, and contacts support at every site before a review is published. No site is rated based on press releases, operator briefings, or secondhand information. If Liam has not used the site directly, a review does not go live.
This commitment to real testing means our reviews reflect what an actual NZ player experiences, not what a casino's marketing team wants you to believe.
Every review on Bayunderground follows the same structured process to ensure consistency and fairness across all sites.
Each site is scored out of 10 across six key categories. Those category scores are then combined using the weightings below to produce an overall rating out of 10.
| Category | Weighting | What We Measure |
|---|---|---|
| Licensing and Safety | 25% | Valid gambling licence, SSL encryption, responsible gambling tools, fair terms, and data protection practices |
| Bonuses and Promotions | 20% | Welcome offer value, wagering requirements, bonus terms clarity, ongoing promotions for NZ players |
| Game Selection | 20% | Number and variety of pokies, software providers, game quality, and availability of NZ-relevant titles |
| Payment Methods | 15% | NZD support, available deposit and withdrawal options, processing times, and transaction fees |
| Customer Support | 10% | Availability hours, response speed, quality of assistance, and support channel variety |
| Mobile Experience | 10% | Mobile browser and app performance, game loading on mobile, layout usability on smaller screens |
All sites are scored on a 1 to 10 scale, where 10 represents the best possible experience for a New Zealand player. Here is how to interpret those scores:
Independence is not just a value we talk about — it is built into how Bayunderground operates. Liam Crawford does not accept payment from casinos or software providers in exchange for positive reviews or higher scores. Affiliate relationships, where they exist, have no influence over ratings or written assessments. A site that pays a referral commission receives exactly the same critical scrutiny as one that does not.
Reviews are updated when a site changes its terms, introduces new payment options, or receives credible player complaints. If a site that was once recommended starts falling short, that rating is revised downward and the reasons are explained clearly.
Our only obligation is to the New Zealand players reading these reviews. That independence is what makes Bayunderground a source worth trusting in 2026.