How Online Gambling Business is Regulated in the United Kingdom in September 2023
All gambling business in the UK, including online and land-based casinos, lotteries, sports betting, running, racing, etc., is regulated and supervised by the United Kingdom's Gambling Commission. This is a government body created in 2007 based on the Gambling Act 2005. UKGC replaced the Gaming Board for Great Britain.
The Gambling Commission considers its main tasks to be to monitor compliance with laws in the gambling industry, ensure fair play, prevent and solve gambling crimes, and protect children and other vulnerable people from the harm caused by addiction.
Every online casino that wants to conduct its business in the UK or accept bets from British players, located abroad, must obtain a license from the UKGC. And the procedure for obtaining this license and checking the company for honesty is quite strict and complicated. Even after the license is issued, the Gambling Commission closely monitors the activities of the company.
If an online casino has somehow violated your rights, you can always contact the UKGC. In such cases, the Gambling Commission is usually on the player's side.
Some UKGC decisions about UK online casinos:
Licence Holder |
Licence type |
Decision |
Date of decision |
Triplebet Limited | Combined remote betting intermediary, casino and pool betting | Suspension, attached conditions and financial penalty | 17 February 2020 |
Contagious Sports Limited | Remote Gambling Software, Pool Betting, Casino, General Betting Standard | Revocation | 1 October 2019 |
Maxent Limited | Remote casino and remote linked gambling software licence | Revoked | 21 May 2019 |
- The Commission's Regulatory Panel in February 2020 suspended Triplebet's license. Triplebet is a licence holder operated a betting exchange and an online casino trading as Matchbook. The group сoncidered Triplebet anti-money laundering policy flawed and found severe drawbacks in the operator's approach to social responsibility. Also, additional conditions were imposed on the license, and the company was fined £ 739 099.
- Contagious Sports Limited that provides application developing services for online gambling, failed to guarantee the fulfilment of the license terms and did not provide evidence of the legitimacy of funding sources for the following years. In October 2019, its license was revoked.
- Maxent Limited trading as Maxent NRR Entertainment, the owner of famous brands such as Slotty Vegas, lost its license in May 2019 after the change of corporate control. The Commission was not satisfied as to the source of funds. The new controller's suitability and reputation were also in doubt.
The all regulatory sanctions to date.
How I Rate UKGC Licensed Online Casinos
I sincerely consider everything British to be the best in the world. And most people, I'm sure, agree with me - just mention British education, justice, etc. Personally, I only play in the UK casinos licensed by UKGC and I am always sure of their fairness.
Since I ever choose only the best UK online casinos for my players, here I have collected the ones of the highest quality as well. And, of course, I evaluated them using my own unique method. This list is not made once, and for all, I update it every week, or at least every other week, so it is always of current interest.
My ratings and reviews have earned UK players’ trust because they are extremely honest, and I draw them up based on my extensive experience in the gaming industry.
Although all the casinos on this page are reliable enough, each of them is somewhat better and in some ways worse than the others. When evaluating UK online casinos, I apply seven criteria:
You can rate casinos yourself and place these criteria in your own order of importance. And there is an easier way - play at the best casino in your favourite category.
A Casino’s Reliability and Reputation of Its Owners
All casinos on this page are UKGC licensed but I regularly check if the license is valid for today. You can easily do it yourself by clicking on the Gambling Commission logo at the bottom of any casino page and going to the publicly accessible registry.
And besides, I check if there is a certificate from an independent company such as eCOGRA, iTech Labs, etc. These companies test the casino software and all the games and slots for fairness and reliability.
The reputation of a casino is built up over the years and cannot be accurately measured. In my opinion, the indicators of a good reputation are a large number of positive feedback from players and the absence of complaints about foul play, delays or payments, etc. It is also vital that the casino, other casinos of this company, and their owners have not been involved in any scandals.
I consider Mr Green to be one of the most reputable among top UK casinos. Since 2008, it has earned the love of millions of players, the respect of competitors and won lots of prestigious industry awards. It is called ‘a gentleman in the gaming world’.
Games Quantity, Quality, and Variety
Slot machines make the most part of any casino’s collection . Popular online slots in UK casinos are сlassic slots, video slots, 3D slots, AWP slots, and progressive jackpot slots. And this means that in every noteworthy casino they should all be presented. Video poker in several variations (usually 10–20) is also obligatory.
The most popular table games at UK Casino are Roulette, Poker, Blackjack and Baccarat. Their presence is not even discussed. But top casinos should provide their players with less widespread and even rather rare games: bingo, craps, dream catcher, scratch cards, etc.
For me personally (as well as for hundreds of thousands of fans of live dealer games) a live casino is the most important thing. Best live casinos with streams from UK offline casinos or specialised studios will bring you incredible experience and entertainment.
The option to try playing different games for free is also essential, especially for less experienced players.
I would recommend playing at Mansion Casino, a reliable and secure casino that offers over 3,000 games, including an excellent live casino.
Choose Games from Your Favourite Software Providers
Some players not only have their favourite games but also prefer games from certain software providers. But casinos with games from only one provider are quite rare. And to be honest, this is not the best choice - even the world leaders have not only hits but outright failures. So, when we say that the best Evolution Gaming casino is Hot Streak, it just means that Hot Streak is a reliable casino with the largest selection of games. from Evolution Gaming.
So, choose your favourite provider using my filter, and in no time you will have a list of safe UK casinos with the broadest range of their games.
For example, now I am in a mood for Microgaming games, and I give preference to Casumo casino, where there is a vast selection of games from this provider.
Mobile Version Usability and Convenience
Almost half of all casino players play online casino games on their mobiles. Of course, they want all the functions to be available on their gadgets and work properly.
The casino usually has an app or a mobile version or both of them. I check how the mobile version works and responds to your actions, how many games are available mobile, how the user interface is easy to navigate, and how good the games are optimized for any kind of device. High site loading speed and secure connection are essential as well.
I recommend PlayKasino for a number of reasons: firstly, they use high-end software that will allow you to enjoy your game on the go without any glitches, and secondly, their mobile version is identical to a desktop one, so you will hardly face any inconvenience when changing devices.
And one more tip. I’d like to remind you to be responsible. Never play while you are driving.
Variety of Banking Methods and Ease of Withdrawal in UKGC Casinos
With the recent rulings of UKGC, credit cards are no longer accepted by the casinos. A casino should provide a wide range of payment methods for withdrawals and deposits so that players could easily deposit and withdraw money. As for me, I'm most comfortable using PayPal for payouts, but with some casinos it’s impossible The question is, who wants to create multiple accounts and wallets and keep track of them? I bet that you prefer to stick to a couple ones that are convenient for you and quite common.
I want to withdraw my wins as soon as possible. However, some casinos can extend the waiting time, so waiting becomes torture. Still, in the casinos that I selected, you can expect to receive your win rather quickly.
For example, Playluck Casino is a new casino brand that offers a wide variety of the most popular payment methods and quite rare ones as well. Some other good examples: the Best UK PayPal casino is Casimpo while the Best UK Neteller casino is Betfair Casino.
Welcome Bonus, Its Terms and Conditions
All casinos try to attract new players with generous welcome offers. And a lot of people choose a casino precisely because of the huge welcome bonus. But not everyone knows that the more bountiful it looks, the more difficult it is to wager it. I thoroughly read the terms of all the bonuses that casinos offer to avoid any pitfalls.
I review welcome offers and rate them so that you can choose the one that suits you. It’s critical to know what the requirements of that particular welcome bonus are so that you could wager it. You can find the rating in the Bonuses section. It’s easy to compare all the offers and find the best one.
For instance, Mr. Play currently offers the best casino bonus, 100% up to £200, and 100 free spins.
Customer Support Service
High level of customer service is a vital sign of a superb casino. Players often have questions or problems with registration or gaming.
Support agents have to be polite, friendly, patient, helpful, really knowledgeable and speak perfect English.
Help desk must work 24/7 without any exceptions and be available via live chat, email and a phone call. Fast reaction is an indispensable condition - customers need a reply just now, not in an hour or a day.
One of the friendliest is The Online Casino providing fast and professional support.
Major Trends in the UK Gambling Industry
Due to the COVID19 pandemic, a significant part of human life and activity has moved to the Internet. Naturally, this also has affected the gambling industry.
The ranks of online gamblers have grown significantly with fans of cranked out land-based casinos. The ban on sports competitions has made sports betting lovers try their luck in online games too.
Because of the numerous existing and impending problems, the United Kingdom's Gambling Commission has tightened some of its rules and regulations:
Since April 2020, UK casinos are no more allowed to accept credit money (the aim of a ban is to prevent people from betting borrowed money).
All UK online casinos are required to support the GamStop self-exclusion program. (But if you are already include yourself in the GamStop list, but feel you jumped the gun I can remind you: there are Non-GamStop casinos. You can find a list of them on my website.)
But despite crises and other world upheavals, people always hunger for experience and excitement. Therefore, the online gambling industry is not even going to slow down. On the contrary, gambling will become smarter and online casinos will become more functional, thanks to the new technologies.
2021 promises to be the year of mobile gambling improvements. H2 Gambling Capital, a world-famous betting and gaming consultancy, predicts that by 2023, half of the gross income of the gambling sector will be provided by mobile gambling. There is even a ‘mobile-first’ trend when a mobile casino platform is created before a desktop one.
The online gaming market will expand and develop, creating new opportunities for both business and players.
And in addition, I would like to say that Great Britain was, is and will be a trendsetter and an opinion leader in the gaming industry in Europe and the world. Many of the laws and innovations it establishes are copied and implemented by other countries.
Conclusion on UK Online Casinos Licensed by UKGC
There are two ways to choose the best casino among hundreds of similar ones.
The long and quite expensive is to follow my instructions for testing online casinos — so you can choose the one that will give you the biggest prize for the time you spent to explore its features. Don't forget to check if it isn't blacklisted.
Or just use my lists - this will save you the time and money. Take my word, if you follow my guide, there's no way to fall into swindlers hands.
I wish you good luck.
