How to check a UK gambling licence

Any casino can put “licensed by the Gambling Commission” in its footer. The only way to know it is true is to look the business up on the Commission’s public register yourself. It takes about two minutes.

Step 1: find the account number

The Commission says licensed gambling businesses must display that they are licensed and provide a link to its public register. The details are usually in the footer. Look for wording such as “licensed and regulated in Great Britain by the Gambling Commission under account number…”. Note the number. Every brand we review shows account 39198 in this way, for example.

Step 2: search the public register

Go to the Gambling Commission’s public register (opens in a new tab) and choose the business search. You can search by business name, trading name, website domain name or account number. Type the address yourself or use a search engine — do not rely on a link inside the casino’s own site.

Step 3: read the licence summary

The business page lists each licensed activity with its status and start date. For an online casino you are looking for an active “Casino” licence marked “Remote”. Remote licences cover gambling offered online; non-remote licences cover premises such as betting shops and casinos on the high street.

If the casino also offers sports betting or bingo, those activities should appear too.

The register uses these licence statuses, among others:

You are looking for Active. Each activity also shows an “activity from” date, and an “activity until” date if the business has stopped offering it.

Step 4: check the domain names tab

This is the check that catches copycat sites. The register lists every website domain the licensee uses in Great Britain, each with a status. Make sure the address in your browser matches one of them exactly — including the ending, such as .co.uk or .com. A site with a similar name but a different address is not covered by that licence.

The Gambling Commission itself recommends checking that the licence details, “including activities and website domain names”, match what the business shows on its site.

Each domain has its own status: “Active”, “Inactive” or “White label”. The Commission also notes that domain and trading names are supplied by the businesses themselves and it cannot guarantee their accuracy, which is one more reason to start from the register rather than from the site.

Step 5: look at the business’s other details

The register also shows trading names, the head office address and any public regulatory action, meaning sanctions or settlements imposed by the Commission after regulatory action or an investigation. Regulatory action does not necessarily mean you should avoid an operator, but it is worth reading. The Commission’s checklist before you gamble (opens in a new tab) also suggests reading the terms for each product and any restrictions on introductory offers.

A licence from elsewhere does not count

The Commission’s page on how it tackles illegal gambling (opens in a new tab) says it is illegal to provide gambling to people in Great Britain without a Commission operating licence (or a valid exemption for non-commercial gambling), wherever in the world the gambling is provided from. “A gambling licence issued in another country does not permit an operator to provide gambling to consumers in Great Britain.” Advertising unlawful gambling to people in Great Britain is also a criminal offence, unless there is a valid defence. So a badge from another regulator, however official it looks, is not a substitute.

Northern Ireland has a different legal framework; see our Northern Ireland guide.

Why it matters: what the Commission has found

In its 2019 to 2020 compliance and enforcement report (opens in a new tab), the Commission said its investigations into unlicensed websites had shown that:

• users identified were mainly vulnerable, some having previously self-excluded through GAMSTOP
• people often contacted the Commission because they could not withdraw their money
• complaints were often not dealt with, with no right of appeal
• the protection of personal information could not be relied on
• such websites may be linked to organised crime.

The Commission also notes that an unlicensed business’s payment facilities may be withdrawn by payment organisations such as Mastercard, PayPal and Visa.

What to do if a site is not on the register

Do not deposit. An operator offering gambling to people in Great Britain without a licence is acting illegally, and you would have none of the protections described in our other guides — no required complaints process, no access to independent dispute resolution, and no obligation to take part in GAMSTOP (see gambling sites “not on GAMSTOP”). The Gambling Commission asks people to report unlicensed gambling through its “Tell us something in confidence” (opens in a new tab) page, which also takes reports of underage gambling, match fixing, money laundering and other suspicious activity. The Commission can bring prosecutions under the Gambling Act in England and Wales; in Scotland, that power rests with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.