PRESS KIT

Bonus Bandit is an independent research desk that scores sweepstakes casinos and bonus offers on one question: do they actually pay? Journalists, researchers, and creators are welcome to quote and cite our data. This page has the logos, a copy-ready description, the founder headshot, top-line Trust Score numbers, methodology highlights, and our citation terms. Need a custom data pull or a quote? Email noah.rafkin@bonusbandit.win.

The site, in one paragraph

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Bonus Bandit (bonusbandit.win) is an independent, owner-operated research desk that rates US sweepstakes casinos and bonus offers on whether they actually pay out. It scores 172 operators on a published 0–100 Trust Score built from first-hand redemption and identity-verification testing, clause-by-clause reading of operators' terms, and named public-complaint data. Founded and run by Noah Rafkin in Boulder, Colorado, Bonus Bandit takes no money to change a score.

Brand assets

• Share-card logo (PNG, 1200×630): og-image.png
• Mask icon (SVG, scalable): favicon.svg
• Favicon (ICO): favicon.ico
• Founder headshot (JPG): noah-rafkin@2x.jpg — Noah Rafkin, founder & editor

Please use the name "Bonus Bandit" (two words) and link to bonusbandit.win where possible. Don't alter the logo's colors or proportions.

Top operators by Trust Score

The five highest-scoring operators as of June 2026. Scores update as new evidence lands — pull the current numbers from the live Trust Score leaderboard or the public JSON feed.

1. Sportzino — 80/100 (Trusted)
2. Pulsz — 77/100 (Trusted)
3. Play Fame — 76/100 (Trusted)
4. Spin Blitz — 75/100 (Trusted)
5. Luck Party — 74/100 (Trusted)

Methodology highlights

• Every operator is scored on the same published, weighted rubric — see the Trust Score methodology and the review methodology.
• Scores draw on first-hand testing: real account signups, KYC submissions with real documents, and redemptions timed from request to money received.
• Operators' terms of service are read clause by clause for fine print that caps winnings, weaponizes KYC, or lets the operator void play.
• No affiliate weighting exists anywhere in the math; a paid relationship cannot raise a score. See our editorial standards.

Five quotable findings (2026 research)

From The State of US Sweepstakes Casinos 2026, our flagship report. Each figure is traceable to our public dataset.

• The middle is crowded; the top is thin. Of 172 operators scored, only 16 clear the Trusted bar (≥70). The median score is 60.
• Terms drag scores down, not payouts. Terms-of-service is the weakest of seven scoring factors for 119 of 172 operators, earning on average just 16.6% of its available points.
• Documented cash-outs are usually fast. Across the 18 operators with dated redemption records, the median time to money is 1.96 days.
• Hostile fine print is the standard, not the exception. Of 114 sets of terms parsed, 93% pair mandatory arbitration with a class-action waiver, and 96% reserve a broad right to void winnings.
• The legal map is redrawing itself. Eight states have banned dual-currency sweepstakes outright: Montana, Michigan, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, Washington, Idaho, and Utah.

Permission to quote & cite

Our research is free to quote, link, and build on with attribution. Credit "Bonus Bandit" and link back to the page you're drawing from. The machine-readable Trust Score data feed has its own terms — see the data attribution license — but the short version is: cite us, link back, and don't imply we endorse your product.

Suggested citation for the report:

Rafkin, Noah. "The State of US Sweepstakes Casinos 2026." Bonus Bandit Research, 4 June 2026. https://bonusbandit.win/research/state-of-us-sweepstakes-casinos-2026/

Recent coverage

Bonus Bandit is a young, independent desk. We'll list verified press mentions and citations here as they land — we don't display coverage we haven't earned. Coming soon. If you've cited or covered our work, tell us at noah.rafkin@bonusbandit.win and we'll add it.

Press contact

For interviews, comment, custom data pulls, or methodology questions, email noah.rafkin@bonusbandit.win (put "Press" in the subject line), or learn more about the founder on the Noah Rafkin author page. We're happy to run a specific cut of the data for a story.