Been playing long enough now that I barely look at those big shiny write-ups anymore. Half of them read like they were copied from each other and they never mention the stuff that actually matters once you've deposited real money.
For me, the useful bits are always boring stuff... how long cashouts really took, whether they asked for docs before or after the first withdrawal, if support vanished the second someone mentioned a pending payout, and whether the bonus terms had any sneaky rubbish buried in them. If a site gets called "fast paying" but nobody says what method they used or how much they withdrew, I kind of write it off straight away.
Same with pokies selection. A lot of review pages say a casino has "heaps of games" which means nothing. I'd rather know if it's the same tired lobby every offshore site has, or if they've actually got decent providers, stable mobile play, and the search/filter stuff isn't a pain in the arse. Ngl, even small things like whether the lobby freezes on Chrome on my phone matter more to me than some score out of 10.
Curious what other Aussie players look for when you're sussing out a new site. Are there review sites or forum posters you actually trust anymore, or do you just go by player comments and test a small withdrawal first? Keen to hear what red flags make you bail before signing up.