anyone notice review sites recommend casinos that pay them

seeing a pattern where all the top-ranked casinos on review sites are basically the ones running the most banner ads or have “exclusive” bonuses you can only get through that site. i get the economics of it, reviews gotta pay the bills somehow, but it’s getting impossible to tell who’s actually trustworthy and who just coughed up more to be first on the list. had a couple times now where i tried a highly recommended casino and the withdrawal process was a nightmare, nothing like what the review described.

does anyone else dig deeper when picking a place to play? like actually looking for user experiences and complaints buried in forums instead of just following those “trusted” review lists? not trying to be overly cynical, just feels like if you go with the obvious picks you’re kinda set up to be disappointed. is there a better way to spot which reviews are actually objective and not just advertorials dressed up as guidance?