Every legitimate online casino serving Great Britain must hold a licence from the UK Gambling Commission. Checking takes two minutes, requires no account, and is the single most valuable habit a UK player can build — because every other protection flows from it.
The two-minute check
- Scroll to the casino’s footer. Find the operating company name and licence number — e.g. “Operated by Example Ltd, licensed and regulated by the Gambling Commission (licence 000-000000-R-000000-000)”.
- Open the public register. Go to the Gambling Commission’s website (gamblingcommission.gov.uk) and open the Public register of licence holders.
- Search the company name (not the casino brand — one company often runs several brands).
- Verify three things:
- Status is Active (not surrendered, suspended or revoked)
- Licensed activities include “Casino — R” (remote)
- The domain you’re playing on appears in the account’s listed domains — this is the step that catches clone sites
- Cross-check the licence number matches the footer.
If any step fails, don’t deposit. It’s that simple.
Red flags that skip the register entirely
- No company name or licence number in the footer — licensed operators are required to display this
- “Licensed by Curaçao/Anjouan” targeting UK players — not valid for Great Britain
- A UKGC logo that isn’t a link or links to the regulator’s homepage rather than a register entry — logos are trivially faked; the register is not
- 35x+ bonus wagering — the UKGC capped wagering at 10x in January 2026, so oversized requirements signal an unlicensed operator (why that matters)
- Stakes above £5 per spin on slots — UK-licensed sites are capped (stake limits explained)
- Credit card deposits accepted — banned at UK-licensed operators since 2020
What the licence actually buys you
| Protection | UKGC-licensed | Unlicensed |
|---|---|---|
| Player funds segregated from company money | Yes (disclosed level) | No |
| Certified game fairness / RTP | Yes | Unverifiable |
| Free binding dispute resolution (IBAS, eCOGRA) | Yes | None |
| GamStop self-exclusion applies | Yes | No |
| Regulator that fines and revokes | Yes | No |
| Realistic chance of recovering a withheld withdrawal | High | Poor |
This is why “the withdrawal test” and licensing go together: at a licensed casino, a stalled payout has an escalation path that ends with a binding decision (how withdrawals work). At an unlicensed one, a stalled payout usually ends with a closed live-chat window.
Our policy
Every operator mentioned anywhere on The UK Punter holds an active UKGC remote casino licence — we re-verify register entries when we update each comparison. If a licence is surrendered or suspended, the operator comes off the site. No exceptions, whatever the commission on offer.