A UKGC licence is permission from the Gambling Commission to offer gambling to people in Great Britain. It comes with conditions that the holder must meet and that the Commission can enforce. What matters most to a reader sits in four places: the licence conditions, the rules on player money, the complaints route and the public register.
- Issued by
- Gambling Commission (Great Britain)
- Governing law
- Gambling Act 2005, as amended by the Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Act 2014
- Public register
- Gambling business register
- Player complaints
- Through the business, then an ADR provider
What the UKGC licence is
The Gambling Commission is an executive non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport. It licenses, regulates, advises and guides the individuals and businesses that offer gambling in Great Britain, and its remit also includes the National Lottery in the UK.
Every licensing application has to meet three licensing objectives. The Commission says it exists to safeguard players and the wider public by making sure gambling is fair and safe. That is a statement of purpose. What a licence concretely requires sits in the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP), covered under the casino section below.
Recent changes
The current version of the LCCP is effective from 29 July 2026. The sector extracts for arcades, betting, bingo and casino carry the same date.
The LCCP is not fixed. It is amended as the industry develops and as new evidence appears on socially responsible gambling, and changes go through wide consultation. Consultation responses on proposed changes to the LCCP and the remote technical standards (RTS) were published on 1 May 2024 and 4 February 2025. Changes to regulatory returns took effect from 1 July 2024.
One change reaches players directly. From 31 October 2025, a business that holds player funds without protecting them must remind players of that every 6 months. Players must acknowledge the notice before they can use funds held for gambling.
The Commission's Corporate Strategy 2024 to 2027, titled Gambling regulation in a digital age, sets out its most important work over three years. Its Industry Statistics annual report for April 2025 to March 2026 came out on 17 September 2026.
What the UKGC covers and what it does not
Licence types
Three types of licence exist: the operating licence, the Personal Management Licence (PML) and the Personal Functional Licence (PFL). An operating licence is required to provide most gambling facilities in Great Britain. Operating licences go to businesses operating in Great Britain, and personal licences go to individuals. For a player checking a casino, the operating licence is the relevant one.
Certain roles need a PML or a PFL. The Commission publishes a guide for each, covering which roles need one, the fees and how to apply. Operating licence holders also pay annual fees, and guidance on them is published.
Kinds of operator
The Commission regulates arcades, betting, bingo, casinos, gaming machine providers, gambling software providers and lottery operators. Small society lotteries are excluded.
Casino guidance covers casinos under the 1968 and 2005 Acts. The remote sector covers businesses offering gambling online, through apps or via TV or other devices. For a reader of this site, the casino and remote sectors are the two that matter.
Which players are covered
Remote gambling offered to consumers in Great Britain is covered, wherever in the world the key equipment is based. Remote gambling, online or by phone, that uses key equipment within Great Britain is covered as well.
Key equipment means equipment used to facilitate remote gambling, including equipment that:
- stores information about a person's gambling
- presents a virtual game, virtual race or other virtual gambling
- determines or effects all or part of a result
- stores information about a result
Northern Ireland works differently. The Commission does not regulate remote gambling provided there. Advertising remote gambling to consumers in Northern Ireland without a Commission licence is still an offence under the Gambling Act 2005. For remote gambling, then, "UK" and "Great Britain" are not the same thing.
Rules for account holders
Every online gambling business must ask a player to prove age and identity before gambling. There are three main reasons: confirming the player is old enough, checking whether the player has self-excluded and confirming identity. A customer cannot place a bet until verified, so businesses verify as quickly as possible.
How the check works varies:
- Electronic matching against databases such as credit reference agencies and the electoral roll can be instant, and no timescale is set for ID checks.
- Documents a business can ask for include passports, driving licences and household bills. No list of required information types is set.
- A business may ask for a selfie if it suspects fraud on the account.
- Bank statements may be requested to check that funds are legitimate, as part of anti-money laundering checks.
- Deposit or loss thresholds based on income are set using open data and Office for National Statistics publications, to assess affordability and improve risk assessments for customer interaction.
Withdrawals have their own rules. An online player can withdraw money at any time without unreasonable delay or restriction, and does not have to take it in instalments. A business cannot confiscate money because a player does not log in or prove identity within a certain timeframe. It also cannot make proof of age and identity one of its withdrawal conditions if it could have asked earlier. If it needs more information, for example for anti-money laundering checks, it should ask promptly and not only at withdrawal. A business that delays a withdrawal because of insufficient ID may be in breach of Licence Condition 17.
Withdrawals may be stopped if unusual activity is spotted on an account, yet a business should not hold on to money unnecessarily. All gambling businesses should make sure their terms and conditions are clearly set out, online or in premises such as a betting shop.
Self-exclusion and the ADR route
Assessment principles exist for multi-operator self-exclusion schemes (MOSES), including non-remote schemes. For complaints, a list of approved Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) providers is kept, and licensees receive guidance on developing complaints handling policies.
What it asks of a casino
Every licensee must meet the requirements in the LCCP to hold a Commission licence. The approach is built around outcomes. In some areas particular rules or processes are specified, and elsewhere licensees choose how to meet the requirements.
Compliance and third parties
Assessments check that licensees follow the requirements. Licensed businesses also have obligations when they contract with third parties. Guidance on the statutory gambling levy covers how it is calculated and collected and how licensees can prepare for it.
Ongoing suitability
A licensee's ongoing suitability to hold a licence can be reassessed, particularly where there is evidence of misconduct abroad, including in Northern Ireland. Cases can also be referred to relevant authorities in other countries.
Money held for players
Licensed online gambling businesses must keep customer funds in a separate account. That gives no assurance customers get any money back if the business runs into financial difficulties. Funding gambling with credit cards has been banned.
Game testing and technical standards
Gambling software and remote operating licence holders, including ancillary remote betting, must comply with the RTS. Data and information requirements cover game test reports, annual game audits and security audit reports. A testing strategy covers compliance with remote gambling and software technical standards.
Further published material includes:
- guidance on online slots stake limits
- regulatory returns guidance
- a consultation response on online games design and reverse withdrawals
- industry guidance on High Value Customers, with changes to the LCCP on them after consultation
Advertising and terms
Licensees must follow advertising and marketing rules, make sure self-excluded customers do not receive marketing materials, and use fair and transparent terms and practices. Customer interaction guidance covers the importance of interacting with customers and preventing underage gambling.
Anti-money laundering
The Commission has a duty to make sure adequate controls stop gambling businesses being used for money laundering and terrorist financing, and it acts as the gambling supervisory body for this. Guidance covers anti-money laundering responsibilities for casino businesses and for gambling businesses, and the Economic Crime Levy.
Dates to note:
- 30 July 2026: the money laundering risk assessment 2026 was published
- 9 June 2026: the date of a notice on upcoming changes to The Money Laundering Regulations 2017
The Commission also works with other agencies. Videos made with the National Crime Agency explain how to submit better Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs).
Enforcement
Regulatory powers are used to take enforcement action against individuals or businesses that fail to follow the rules. Public statements are issued following enforcement action. Recent outcomes:
- 7 October 2026: land-based casino operators to pay £5m for regulatory failures
- 5 October 2026: two men sentenced after operating an illegal gambling den
- 23 September 2026: four arrests and £20,000 seized in illegal gambling raids
The first outcome concerns land-based casinos, so it says nothing about any one online casino. The other two concern illegal gambling.
What it means for a player
Protection of your money
Money staked or deposited with a gambling business is not protected by the Commission or the government the way personal bank accounts are. Any business taking a bet must tell the player whether the money has any protection if the business becomes insolvent. Three levels exist, and the business must state which one applies in its terms and conditions. That holds online and in a venue such as a betting shop or casino. The Commission's guide on this was updated on 10 September 2025 to reflect the customer funds transparency requirements.
- No protection: money in the account counts as part of the company, and a player would lose it if the business goes bust.
- Medium protection: the business has made arrangements such as insurance, but there is no absolute certainty of getting the money back.
- High protection: the money sits in a separate account, legally recognised as separate from the company, controlled by an independent trustee and checked by an external auditor. This gives the best chance of getting the money back.
"Those using gambling businesses do so at their own risk."
That is a plain statement of risk, not a rating of any casino. Placing a bet creates a legally enforceable contract with the business.
Complaints and disputes
A player who disagrees with a business about a result or service should first complain to that business. Typical subjects are:
- whether the player has won, and how much was paid
- the way payments were managed
- terms and conditions and bonus offers
- ID verification and closure of the account
- voided or cancelled bets
- IT problems and customer service
The Commission does not resolve or decide complaints about gambling-related transactions. It has no access to customer accounts, so it cannot see what happened in an individual case. The complaint guide gained a section on taking a complaint to an ADR provider on 20 September 2023.
Other complaint routes are separate: the National Lottery, a gambling advert, an ADR provider, the Commission itself and data protection each have their own. A complaint about a gambling business or a general enquiry goes through the contact us page.
Concerns about match fixing, underage gambling, money laundering, suspicious activity and unlicensed or criminal gambling can be reported to the Commission in confidence, online or by phone.
Tools and help
The Commission's job as regulator is to make sure businesses follow the rules when promoting gambling and interacting with customers. Tools for players include blocking gambling payments with a bank, controlling the time and money spent, viewing playing history, restricting or blocking gambling activity, and self-exclusion. A set of checks players can do to stay safe sits alongside them. The National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms aims to move faster and go further.
The National Gambling Helpline for England and Scotland is 0808 8020 133, and the NHS Wales helpline is 0808 2819 265. Both are free and open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Support and limits are also covered on our Responsible gambling page.
Casinos that hold a UKGC licence
Each casino below holds a Commission remote casino line.
- 32Red: Platinum Gaming Limited, 320 free spins with a £30 slots stake
- 888casino: 888 UK Limited, 200 free spins with a £20+ deposit and stake
- PlayOJO: Skill On Net Limited
- Sky Vegas: Bonne Terre Gaming Limited, 250 free spins with a £10 deposit
- Unibet: Platinum Gaming Limited, 300 free spins with a £30 slots stake
- Mr Vegas: Videoslots Limited
- Spin Genie: Skill On Net Limited
- Red Casino: Jupiter Gaming Limited, 20 extra spins with a £20 deposit
- Videoslots: Videoslots Limited
How to check a licence in its register
The public register holds registers of licensed businesses, individuals, regulatory actions and premises, and each can be searched, viewed and downloaded. For a casino, the gambling business register is the place to start. A licence line in a register names a company and a number. It is a record of permission. It does not say how quickly the company pays.
- Find the company named in the casino's own terms.
- Search the gambling business register by business name or account number.
- Compare the entry with the terms.
- Compare the licensed status the site displays with the entry.
Our team tests casinos and checks every licence line on this page against the regulator's own pages and register. A casino is listed on our licensed-casino pages only when the company that runs it is named in its own terms and a licence entry in the register matches that company or licence number. The method is on How we check casino licences.
Spotting a mismatch
A mismatch is no entry for that company, or an entry under a different one.
A licensed casino must also display its licensed status, and technical requirements with example formats set out how.
Status can change, too: the announcement of the suspension of the licence of Targetlocal Ltd is dated 21 September 2026.
The same steps for every regime are on How to check a casino licence, and claims that fail a register check are covered under Fake and cloned casino licences.
UKGC compared with the others
Each regulator publishes its own wording, and what a licence asks of a casino differs from one regime to the next. The pages on UKGC vs MGA licence and UKGC vs Curacao licence put the questions above to a second regime in each case. These pages lead on from there:
The other regimes have their own guides:
Questions
Who issues the UKGC licence?
The Gambling Commission, the regulator for gambling offered in Great Britain. It issues operating licences to businesses and personal licences to individuals.
Can I check it online?
Yes. The public register is online, and its gambling business register covers licensed operators. Players can look a business up by name or account number.
Does it cover UK players?
Players in Great Britain are covered. Remote gambling in Northern Ireland sits outside the Commission's regulation.
Where do I complain?
To the gambling business first. The Commission does not decide complaints about gambling transactions, and its guide also covers taking a complaint to an ADR provider.
What does the licence not guarantee?
It does not promise that deposited money comes back if the business fails. The protection level in the business's terms is what to read.
If you think we are wrong
A regulator can change a rule, and a fact on this page can be wrong. In either case the team reads the regulator's own page or register again and corrects this page. Send corrections to info@biglicence.co.uk.
Sources
- Big Licence team checks of the licences we cover
- gamblingcommission.gov.uk Used for the UK Gambling Commission's own pages and public register.