How UK gambling licensing works

The Gambling Commission, established under the Gambling Act 2005, licenses and supervises remote gambling operators serving consumers in Great Britain. Any operator that advertises to or transacts with British consumers must hold a remote operating licence, regardless of where the company itself is based. Northern Ireland has a separate legal framework, and advertising standards are additionally overseen by the ASA and CAP codes.

• Age and identity verification before a customer can deposit or play.
• Game fairness through tested random number generators and published RTPs.
• Fair, transparent terms, with significant conditions shown up front.
• Deposit limits, time-outs, reality checks and account self-exclusion.
• Integration with the national self-exclusion scheme, GAMSTOP.
• A ban on credit card deposits for online gambling.
• Anti-money-laundering controls, including source-of-funds checks where required.
• Free access to an approved alternative dispute resolution provider.

Operators must state how customer balances are held: basic, medium or high protection. High protection normally means funds are held in a trust arrangement independent of the business. None of the three is a deposit-guarantee scheme comparable with FSCS cover for bank accounts, so the disclosure is a risk statement rather than a promise. It is published in the site's terms and is worth reading before you hold a significant balance.

1. Scroll to the footer and note the stated licence number and licensee name.
2. Open the public register at gamblingcommission.gov.uk and search that name or number.
3. Check the licence status is active and that remote casino is included.
4. Confirm the registered domain is listed against that licence.

Licence badges are images and can be copied. The register is the authoritative source.

A licence sets minimum standards. It does not make an operator good value, does not make bonus terms generous, and does not remove the house edge. It also cannot make gambling safe: the games remain designed to return less than they take over time. Licensing is a floor for consumer protection, not a recommendation, which is why our review methodology treats it as an entry requirement rather than a scoring factor.