How to Choose the Best CDN for Casinos: Your 2025 Checklist

Choosing a Content Delivery Network (CDN) as a high-risk business—whether you’re running an online casino, crypto exchange, sportsbook, or adult site—isn’t just a performance decision. It’s a regulatory survival decision.

One wrong move and you’re blackholed, deplatformed, or forced to pay six figures overnight. Below is a no-fluff checklist tailored specifically for high-risk industries, followed by a head-to-head CDN comparison.

✅ 2025 CDN Checklist for Casino Operators

Here’s what to evaluate before signing your next CDN contract:

🔐 1. Lock-In & Exit Risk

Does the CDN let you BYOIP without hidden surcharges?
Can you extract logs, DNS, Page Rules, and WAF configs easily?
Do you own the routing or is it held hostage?

💸 2. Transparent & Predictable Pricing

Any BYOIP surcharges? Spectrum fees? DDoS overages?
Do they publish pricing for WAF rules, extra traffic, or edge functions?
Are you forced into enterprise plans for basic features?

⚖️ 3. Regulatory Safety

Are they US-based (subject to OFAC/FinCEN takedowns)?
Do they allow gambling/crypto/adult content per ToS?
Any history of sudden deplatforming?

🌍 4. PoP Coverage & Performance

Do they have strong coverage in target markets (e.g. LATAM, SEA, Africa)?
How do their real-world TTFB benchmarks compare?
Can you test routing before signing?

🧱 5. Feature Set vs Bloat

Do you need a WAF, or just DDoS protection + cache?
Are edge compute or Workers-like tools required?
Can you skip the “platform tax” for unused features?

🛠️ 6. Developer-Friendliness

API-first? Terraform support? Real documentation?
Can you automate everything (purging, routing, config)?
Are logs and analytics accessible or locked behind dashboards?

📊 CDN Comparison: Cloudflare vs GCore vs BunnyCDN vs Fastly vs AWS

CDN	Lock-In Risk	BYOIP Surcharge	Regulatory Risk	Pricing Clarity	Gambling OK?	PoP Reach
Cloudflare	High	🟥 Yes	🟥 High (US-based)	🟧 Obscure	🟥 No*	🟩 275+
GCore	🟩 Low	🟩 No	🟩 Low (EU-based)	🟩 Transparent	🟩 Yes	🟩 140+
BunnyCDN	🟩 Low	🟩 No	🟩 Low (EU-based)	🟩 Transparent	🟩 Yes	🟧 100+
Fastly	🟥 High	🟥 Yes	🟥 High (US-based)	🟥 Custom-only	🟥 No	🟩 90+
AWS CF	🟥 High	🟥 Yes	🟥 High (US-based)	🟥 Complex	🟧 Depends	🟩 Global

📝 *Cloudflare officially bans gambling/crypto in its standard ToS, especially outside of Enterprise agreements.

🔚 Final Thoughts: Pick What You Can Leave

The best CDN isn’t the most popular or most powerful—it’s the one you can walk away from without disruption.

At Ditchflare, we’ve helped dozens of casino and crypto clients escape Cloudflare’s ransom economics. We build lock-in-free stacks using GCore + BunnyCDN, optimized for performance and censorship resistance.

Need a custom plan? Get your free domain risk check or a 1-page Risk Snapshot from our team.