Last updated: June 2026 — Brendan Ouellet, Novenova
Every casino review published on novenova.com is the result of a structured, hands-on evaluation process carried out personally by Brendan Ouellet. Our goal is simple: to give Canadian players in 2026 an honest, accurate, and independent picture of every new online casino entering the market. No shortcuts, no operator influence, no copy-pasted assessments.
This page explains exactly how we work — what we test, how we score it, and why you can trust the ratings you see across our site.
Before a full review begins, Brendan confirms that the casino holds a valid licence recognised in Canada and that it is genuinely new to the market. Sites that fail basic legitimacy checks are rejected immediately and never published on Novenova.
Brendan registers a real player account using his own details. This allows him to experience the sign-up flow exactly as a Canadian player would, including identity verification steps and welcome bonus eligibility.
A real-money deposit is made using payment methods commonly available to Canadian players. After gameplay, a withdrawal is requested to test processing times, any fees applied, and how smoothly the cashout experience works in practice.
The welcome offer and any ongoing promotions are claimed and reviewed in full. Brendan reads the complete terms and conditions, calculates the true value of the bonus after wagering requirements, and flags any clauses that could disadvantage players.
The full game catalogue is browsed and tested. Brendan checks the variety of slots, table games, and live dealer options, confirms that software providers are reputable, and verifies that games load reliably on both desktop and mobile.
Support is contacted via every available channel — live chat, email, and phone where applicable. Response times, accuracy of answers, and overall helpfulness are all recorded.
The casino is accessed on a mobile device without a dedicated app, and through any available app, to assess the quality of the mobile experience for Canadian players on the go.
All findings are compiled into a structured score and a written review that reflects the real experience, not a promotional description supplied by the operator.
Each casino is scored out of 10 across six categories. These category scores are then combined using the weightings below to produce the overall Novenova rating displayed on every review page.
| Category | Weighting | What We Assess |
|---|---|---|
| Licensing & Safety | 25% | Valid licence authority, SSL encryption, responsible gambling tools, fairness certifications |
| Bonuses & Promotions | 20% | Offer value, wagering requirements, time limits, game restrictions, fairness of terms |
| Game Selection | 20% | Total number of titles, software provider quality, variety of categories, live casino offering |
| Payment Methods | 15% | Available deposit and withdrawal options for Canadian players, processing times, fees, CAD support |
| Customer Support | 10% | Availability hours, response speed, quality of assistance across all contact channels |
| Mobile Experience | 10% | App and browser performance, interface design, game availability on mobile devices |
All Novenova ratings use a 1 to 10 scale. Here is what each range means in plain terms:
Independence is the foundation of every review on this site. Novenova may earn referral commissions when readers click through to a casino, but this arrangement has no influence on our scores or editorial conclusions. Brendan Ouellet determines every rating based solely on the testing process described above.
If you have a question about our methodology or wish to report a change at a casino we have reviewed, you are welcome to contact Brendan directly through the contact page at novenova.com.