From Survey to Score: Weighting the Eight CAC Pillars Out of 100

From Eight Pillars to One Number

By this point in the study the survey has been sampled, cleaned, and tested. The last step is turning eight separate pillar scores into the single figure you see in the green poker chip. We do that with a weighted average: each pillar is scored on its own, multiplied by an agreed weight that reflects how much it matters, and the results are added up to a total out of 100. The formula is deliberately simple so that anyone can follow it.

The verified player survey carries the most weight at 20 percent, because what players actually experience should count for more than anything we assert. Trust and licensing follows at 18 percent, capturing operating history and how disputes get resolved, the floor a casino has to clear. Payout reliability sits at 15 percent, since a slow or contested cash-out sours everything else, and the fairness of bonus terms is 14 percent, big but deliberately not the biggest. The remaining weight is spread across the game library, mobile experience, and customer support.

Why These Weights

Weights are the one place where editorial judgment openly enters the score, so we make them explicit rather than burying them. They are anchored to what California players told us matters most, which is why the survey and the fundamentals of trust and payout outrank flashier factors like a large bonus headline. A different analyst might shift a few points between pillars, and we would not call that wrong, but publishing our weights lets you weigh that judgment for yourself.

Reproducing a Score

Because the weights and pillar scores are published, the final number is not a black box. Anyone can take a casino's pillar scores, apply the same weights, and arrive at the same total. When a site like Ignition lands at 98, that is not our opinion of it, it is the formula run over the player data. That reproducibility is the whole point: a score you can check is a score you can trust.

How to Read It as a California Player

Treat the CAC Score as a comparison tool, not a guarantee. It tells you how a casino stacks up against its peers across the things that reliably shape a session, and it points you to the reviews where we explain the why behind each number. If you want the full picture, revisit how we framed the study, sampled California, and tested the data, or read the complete method on the CAC Score page.

Part 2

How We Sampled California: Random and Snowball Sampling Across the State

A score is only as honest as the people behind it. We stratified our sample to mirror California itself, then used random and snowball sampling to reach players other surveys miss.

By Chloe Marsh
May 21, 2026

Part 3

Testing for Significance: T-Tests, Variance and Confidence Behind the CAC Score

An average can lie. We ran the California survey data through SPSS with t-tests, variance analysis and confidence intervals so that every number in the score earns its place.

By Derek Loomis
May 28, 2026

The CAC team weighs in

The analysts behind the study talk through what this chapter means for a California player.

Derek LoomisLead Analyst

The player survey is 20% because what players actually experience should weigh the most. The math starts from them, not from us.

Aaron WhitfieldBanking Analyst

Payout sits at 15% because banking is the thing that most often breaks the experience — a slow cash-out poisons everything else.

Chloe MarshReview Editor

Bonuses are 14% — big, but deliberately not the biggest. The fairness of the terms matters more than a flashy headline offer.

Theo AshworthRegulatory Analyst

Trust and licensing at 18% captures operating history and dispute resolution — the floor a casino has to clear.

Joanna PhamGames & Data Analyst

And because the weights are published, you can reproduce every score yourself. Ignition's 98 isn't our opinion — it's the formula on the player data.

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