Clever earns commissions from casino operators when you sign up through our links. This does not change what you pay, what bonus you receive, or the wagering terms you get — and it never changes a Clever Score.
How does Clever make money?
Clever is funded by affiliate commissions. When a reader clicks a tracked link on this site, registers with a casino, and deposits, the operator pays Clever a commission. That is the site’s revenue model in one sentence, and it is a material connection under FTC-style disclosure standards: you should assume every operator link on Clever is a commercial link unless it is explicitly marked otherwise. The commission comes out of the operator’s marketing budget, not your deposit. The bonus terms, wagering multiplier, and game weightings you receive through a Clever link are identical to what you would get arriving at the casino directly — and where an exclusive negotiated offer differs from the public one, the review states both sets of terms side by side and runs the math on each.
What kinds of deals does Clever have with operators?
Clever’s operator agreements fall into two generic structures, described here so you know exactly what incentives exist:
- CPA (cost per acquisition): the operator pays a one-time fixed fee for each referred player who registers and deposits.
- Revenue share: the operator pays Clever an ongoing percentage of the net revenue generated by referred players.
We flag the revenue-share structure candidly because its incentive runs against the reader: an affiliate on revenue share earns more when players lose more. Clever’s answer to that conflict is structural, not rhetorical — our scores are computed from a published formula on our How We Rate page, the wagering-turnover figure in every review is arithmetic that anyone can check, and a hostile 40x bonus scores badly whether or not the operator behind it pays us well. Numbers we cannot bend are the point.
Are Clever’s rankings for sale?
No. Clever’s rankings and scores are not for sale at any price, and no operator has ever set, raised, or vetoed a Clever Score. Ranking positions follow the scored output of our methodology. If we ever run a commercially sponsored placement, it is labeled “Sponsored” or “Ad” directly on the element, sits visually apart from the scored rankings, and is excluded from any list that claims to be ordered by score. An operator that declines an affiliate deal with us can still be reviewed — and one we earn well from can still receive a Walk Away verdict. Both have happened in draft; both will happen in public.
Does the commission affect the wagering math?
No — and this is the check Clever invites you to run yourself. Every review publishes the raw inputs: the wagering multiplier, whether it applies to bonus only or deposit plus bonus, the game contribution table, the win cap, and the expiry window, all captured from the operator’s own terms document on a stated date. The required-turnover figure we print is the product of those inputs. A commission cannot alter multiplication. If our stated inputs ever disagree with the operator’s live terms, that is an error we want reported — the correction route is on our editorial review process page and via editorial@cleverecommerce.com.
How are editorial and commercial decisions kept separate?
Clever separates the people who score bonuses from the conversations that involve money. Clemence and Darius produce reviews, run the value math, and set scores; partnership negotiations run through a separate commercial function reachable at partnerships@cleverecommerce.com. The working rules are fixed:
- Commercial terms are never shared with reviewers before a score is finalised.
- Operators receive no preview of scores and no draft copy for approval.
- An operator’s commission rate is not a field in the rating checklist and cannot enter the formula.
- Requests to change a published score are answered with the methodology page, not a negotiation.
What does this disclosure mean for you as a reader?
It means you can use Clever’s reviews knowing the full commercial picture: we profit when you sign up through our links, we have told you so in plain language, and we have shown you the machinery — published weights, checkable arithmetic, labeled sponsorships, separated teams — that keeps that profit motive out of the verdicts. Read the math in any review before you claim anything, and remember the standing caveat that no commission changes: bonuses are entertainment spend with a house edge attached, not a source of income. Our responsible gambling page explains the safeguards and support services in full.