Last updated: June 2026 — James Thornbury, Docsilberman
At Docsilberman, every casino and pokies site review you read has been personally tested and written by James Thornbury. This page explains exactly how that process works, what criteria we examine, and how we arrive at our final scores. We believe Australian players deserve honest, transparent guidance — and that starts with showing our work.
James Thornbury is the author, owner, and sole reviewer behind docsilberman.com. James has spent years playing online pokies across dozens of Australian-facing platforms, studying licensing frameworks, testing bonus terms, and evaluating the real player experience from sign-up through to withdrawal. Every rating published on this site reflects his direct, hands-on assessment — not a summary of someone else's opinion or a press release from an operator.
James maintains full editorial independence. Docsilberman accepts no payment from operators in exchange for favourable reviews. Affiliate relationships, where they exist, do not influence scores or written conclusions.
Before any score is published, James Thornbury follows a structured testing process for every site reviewed on docsilberman.com.
Every site receives a final score out of 10, calculated by weighting six core categories. Here is how those categories break down and why each one matters to Australian pokie players.
| Category | Weighting | What We Examine |
|---|---|---|
| Licensing and Safety | 25% | Valid gambling licence, SSL encryption, responsible gambling tools, player fund protection |
| Bonuses and Promotions | 20% | Welcome offer value, wagering requirements, bonus terms fairness, ongoing promotions |
| Game Selection | 20% | Total number of pokies, quality of software providers, RTP transparency, variety of themes and features |
| Payment Methods | 15% | Deposit and withdrawal options for Australians, processing speeds, fees, minimum and maximum limits |
| Customer Support | 10% | Availability hours, live chat response time, helpfulness, email quality |
| Mobile Experience | 10% | Mobile browser performance, dedicated app availability, game loading speed, ease of navigation |
All sites are scored on a scale of 1 to 10, with the final number reflecting the weighted total across all six categories above.
Independence is the foundation of everything published on this site. James Thornbury applies the same methodology to every platform regardless of whether an affiliate agreement is in place. Sites are never given inflated scores to protect a commercial relationship, and negative findings are always reported accurately and in full.
Where a site has a significant flaw — slow withdrawals, unfair bonus terms, or weak licensing — that flaw is described clearly in the review and reflected in the final score. Readers can also check the date on every review, as James revisits and updates assessments whenever a casino makes material changes to its offering.
If you have a question about how a specific site was rated, or you have had a player experience that differs from our assessment, you are welcome to reach out directly through the contact page at docsilberman.com.