About VIP-Grinders
We have been negotiating better poker and casino deals for players since 2013, and we get paid only when a player signs up through us.
VIP-Grinders is an independent affiliate. We negotiate rakeback deals, bonus codes and private promotions directly with operators, then pass that value to the players who register through our links.
We are operated by HHK eCommerce Consulting Ltd, registered in Malta under company number C 62345. The directors are Dr Hermann Kresse and Telma Casaca, both listed in the Malta Business Registry.
Poker is where we started and it remains the larger side of the business. Casino coverage became a serious part of what we do in 2024, and we cover a smaller number of sportsbooks and crypto betting sites alongside it.
VIP-Grinders in Numbers
The People Behind It
Four people produce almost everything published here. Each has a profile page listing what they have written, and a public LinkedIn profile if you want to check their background independently.
Alongside them, Marton handles player support and does a share of the operator testing. He is a former poker player, which is why he is the one checking whether a cashier actually pays out on time.
Counting accounting, affiliate management and the owners, VIP-Grinders is around ten people. The four above are the ones whose names appear on the work, and the full list including past contributors is on our authors page.
How We Test Operators
Every poker room and every casino we publish a full review of has been signed up to with a real account and real money. Not a demo account, not a screenshot from an operator's affiliate pack.
João opens most of the accounts himself. Kirill and Marton handle cashier and support checks, and Marton is a former player, which is why he is the one judging whether a payout actually arrives when it should.
What we check on every operator
- Registration. We create the account the same way a reader would, using our own bonus code, and check that the code actually applies.
- Deposit. Real money, from our own funds, and we record how long it takes to clear.
- Verification. We complete KYC ourselves, note which documents are requested and how long approval takes.
- Bonus terms. We read the terms inside the account, not the affiliate pack, and check them against what the operator advertises publicly.
- Withdrawals. We have taken money back out at some of the operators we cover and are working through the rest. We do not claim to have tested a cashier we have not used.
- Support. When something does not work, we raise it with the operator ourselves and record how they handle it.
- Licence and games. On casinos we confirm the operating licence and jurisdiction, and check the game library matches what is advertised.
When an advertised offer fails one of these checks, we take the claim off the page and describe what actually happens instead.
The full process, including the things we do not test, is set out on how we test poker rooms and casinos.
How We Edit
Our articles are written by one of the four people above and read by another before they go live. Every article carries a named byline linking to that person’s profile.
Where our information comes from
- Operator terms are read inside a funded account, not copied from an affiliate pack or a press release.
- Rakeback percentages and bonus conditions are checked against what the operator publishes, and where the two disagree we say so.
- Research studies name their data source on the page, whether that is a survey provider, onchain data or tournament records.
- We do not republish figures from competitor sites. If we cannot verify a number ourselves, it does not go on the page.
Keeping pages current
Bonus terms and rakeback rates change without notice, and an affiliate site that never revisits its pages is worse than no source at all. Every page carries a last updated date at the top, so you can see for yourself when it was last looked at rather than taking our word for it.
When we get something wrong
We publish enough numbers that some of them will eventually be wrong. When that happens we want to know, and the fastest route is our contact page. We usually reply within 24 hours.
We also publish verified helplines and self-exclusion schemes for eighteen countries, on a page that carries no offers and no operator links.
If a correction changes something material, we note the change on the page rather than editing quietly and hoping nobody noticed.
Our full editorial guidelines set out how we research, write and maintain content in more detail.
How We Make Money
There is one revenue stream and no others. It costs you nothing, and the $27.3 million above is the other side of the same arrangement.
What that commission does and does not change
Commercial terms decide where an operator appears. They do not decide what we say once you get there, and they do not keep an operator on the site.
| What people assume | How it actually works |
|---|---|
| Placement is purely editorial | Some operators hold featured or promoted positions under a commercial agreement, as they do across the industry. What we write about them is not part of that deal |
| Problems with partners get left out | If a bonus fails to credit, it goes on the page regardless of the deal |
| Every operator with a deal stays listed | We dropped Duelbits over payment issues, and the page carries a warning rather than quietly disappearing |
We do not accept payment for a positive review, and we do not sell placement on any page.
Our Research, and Who Has Cited It
Most affiliate sites recycle industry figures. We commission our own. Our research hub publishes original studies including a survey of 2,000 US adults on gambling losses, onchain analysis of the crypto casino market, and a monthly online poker traffic report built from tournament data.
Newsrooms then decide whether it is worth writing about, and that is the only external check on whether the work is any good. Every citation below is linked so you can read what was actually said.
What Players Say
We have not run a review campaign, so there are not many of these. What the ones we have got in common is length of relationship, which is the only thing worth knowing about an affiliate.
Our Story
Three poker players started this in 2013. They had noticed that players were signing up to rooms directly and leaving rakeback on the table, when a middleman negotiating on volume could get everyone better terms. That is still the business.
Company Information
VIP-Grinders is operated by HHK eCommerce Consulting Ltd, registered in Malta under company number C 62345, VAT MT21502237. The registered address is 86 Main Street, St Julians, STJ 1015, Malta. The directors are Dr Hermann Kresse and Telma Casaca.
Getting in touch
- Players and general enquiries: support@vip-grinders.com
- Press and research: outreach@vip-grinders.com
- Affiliate and agent enquiries: affiliates@vip-grinders.com
We work with a limited number of partners through our poker affiliate programme.
Our research is free to cite with attribution. If you want the underlying data for a study, ask and we will send it.
Our terms and conditions and privacy policy set out how the site operates and how we handle your data.