United Kingdom gambling commission

The Gambling Commission of United Kingdom

Authority: 9.9

The United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC) could be considered as an iconic controlling body. It was established in 2014 in order to improve the quality of service in the online gambling market imposing very high regulatory standards.

Here is a list of UK licensed online casinos (I have manually checked the validity of all licenses).

How I made the rating of the best UK licensed online casinos

Currently, there are more than 100 online casinos operating under a UK gambling license. As you may have concluded, not all these casinos are equally good in terms of quality. So while I was making the rating, I used the following criteria as, I believe, these are the most important ones:

  • Trustworthiness. This is not the biggest concern when it comes to UK licensed casinos as the gambling commission imposes very strict rules, and, what is more important, it appropriately control the licensees. However, nobody likes to waste time in needless disputes so I included in the rating only casinos with spotless reputation.

  • License validity. As a UK gambling license is considered the best on the market, there is a huge incentive to fake it. Therefore, each time you would like to try out a new UK online casino, you must not neglect this step. I have personally checked the validity of the licenses of all casinos in my rating.

  • Responsiveness of the support team. The best way to get your problems solved is via live chat, no questions about that. So to speak, all casinos from this rating do have live chat with casino’s representatives ready to help immediately.

  • Deposit/withdrawal methods. This is a crucial part of overall user experience at online casinos. There must be plenty of deposit/withdrawal methods so players are able to transfer money conveniently.

  • Deposit/withdrawal limits. All casinos in the rating allow you to withdraw at least 7,000 EUR per month (some of them much more). Moreover, the jackpot winnings are not subject to the general withdrawal policy and will be cashed out in full.

  • Promotions. Welcome bonuses (the most popular promos at online casinos) have to have low enough wager so that a player would have a fair shot in playing a bonus through. Moreover, the list of the games allowed while a bonus is active need to include at least some high RTP games.

  • Variety of the games. Before putting any casino in the rating. I have assessed how many casino games are available on the platform. It has to be not only slots (at least 1,000 of online slots), but classic/card/table/live dealer casino games as well.

  • Website’s design and user friendliness. This is another crucial part of user experience. The website has to be fast and easy to navigate.

Reliability of the UK gambling license

As I have mentioned briefly, the UK gambling license is the gold standard in the industry. The commission has been established in order to protect players’ interests as the online gambling industry was flooded with all sorts of crooks and frauds (unfortunately still is).

Opposite to many other gambling commissions around the world, which declare noble goals just only on paper, the UKGC really control the gambling operators with its license.

So to speak, the UKGC impose fines (sometimes very huge) on a regular basis. As a result, online casinos with a UK license are pretty much motivated to follow the rules.

Objectives of the UK gambling commission

As it is declared on the commission's official website, the objective of the UKGC are the following:

  • ensure that a licensed casino promote itself in a honest way (no false advertising)

  • ensure that casino games served at operator’s site are RNG based only

  • ensure that players can take control of their gaming sessions (loss limits, wager limits, time spent limits)

  • ensure that underaged gambling do not take palce

  • ensure that criminal money is not getting laundered at licensed casinos

  • ensure that players can exclude them from online gambling either for a period of time or forever

UKGC and bonus policy

The UKGC is very strict when it comes to bonus advertising. So to say, all bonus terms and conditions must be explained very thoroughly so there is no room for misunderstanding.

As a result, the bonus terms and conditions at UK licensed casinos are very clear and often followed with examples (for instance, how wager is getting calculated).

License types:

  • Arcades

  • Betting

  • Bingo

  • Casino

  • Gambling Software

  • Gaming Machines

  • Lotteries

Please keep in mind that there is no universal UK gambling license, and each gambling operator must get a corresponding gambling license. For example, a casino can not serve bingo games under a gambling software license and so on.

How to check a UK gambling license

I have a dedicated article on how to verify a UK gambling license in the right way.

By the right way I mean that there is a possibility that a license might be faked. In the article I thoroughly covered how to avoid being tricked by domain name forgery.

How to check a UK gambling license

How to file a complaint

The process is thoroughly described in this guide

Self-exclusion service

Source: https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/for-the-public/Safer-gambling/Self-exclusion.aspx

Self-exclusion in the UK gambling jurisdictions is conducted in the best possible way for online casinos players.

All UK licensed casinos must be a part of a multi-operator self-exclusion scheme. What does it mean. It means that if you block yourself at some casino, you will be automatically excluded from online gambling at all UK licensed online casinos.

Gamstop serves as self-exclusion operator in the UK jurisdiction.

So if you feel like you have gambling problems, you should visit this website and exclude yourself.

There are three options:

  • 6 months

  • 1 year

  • 5 years

Once it is done, you won’t be able to play for real money at any UK licensed online casino.

Conclusion

Summing up, UK licensed online casinos are definitely the place to play at if you are concerned about your funds safety.

The commission is doing a great job when it comes to protecting the players’ interest.

You can control the amount of money and time spent at UK licensed casinos. Moreover, there is a very straightforward channel of resolving players’ complaints.

Website http://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk
Email [email protected]
Phone +44 121 230 6666
Address Gambling Commission, Victoria Square House, Victoria Square, Birmingham, B2 4BP

Chief editor: Dmitrii Stevenson