UK Gambling Commission – Online Casino License

In 2014 the UK became a regulated casino market which means that all the online casinos that are operating in UK must get an UK Gambling Commission casino license. Before 2014 this was an optional requirement.

The UK Gambling Commission however, have been operating for many years now and many online casinos see this license as the most prestigious license in the world.

This license is perhaps the hardest license to get for online casinos, their requirements are really hard to full-fill for most casinos and there are some casinos operating without a UK license.

The aim with this license is to protect casino players and to improve the iGaming industry in general when it comes to safety and quality.

Rules and Regulations

The aim of the UK Gambling Commission is to remove criminality from iGaming and to protect vulnerable people like children and people with a gambling addiction.

They want to prevent this industry to become a source of crime and in order to do so, they have a lot of different rules and regulations. They want the industry to become more transparent and fair. They have created five steps in order to create a better online casino market.

  • Step 1: Identity and ownership, all the people in management or owner positions must identify themselves, and they have to provide the commission with a lot of personal information.
  • Step 2: Finances, the applicants must have a good financial history.
  • Step 3: Integrity, the trustworthiness of the applicants must be very high.
  • Step 4: Competence, the applicants must have experience, knowledge, and the expertise to run an online casino properly.
  • Step 5: Criminality, none of the applicants can have a criminal record.

The casino must also have a number of processes and procedures that improves quality and security. Players under the age of 18 aren’t allowed to play at online casinos and a KYC-check has to be done on all players until a withdrawal of money is approved.

Online casinos must also comply with the Anti Money Laundering legislation by having correct procedures and processes in place.

They have to check that the customer’s information is correct and they also have to monitor this information continuously. The casino players have to prove their place of residence with a utility bill and their credit cards with scanned copies.

License Registration Process

Registration is part of ensuring that all casino players are over the age of 18 and not previously excluded from the casino. Players can exclude themselves from playing at online casinos if they have gambling problems.

All basic information like Name, Date of Birth and Address must always be a part of the registration. This process must also be verified from the casino with the KYC-process.

This process is in place in order to prevent underage players from playing at online casinos. It is also important for the casino to verify players through different processes in order to prevent players from using fake accounts.

Different types of Casino Licenses

The UK Gambling Commission issues casino licenses based on the product. So, for an online gambling website you might see these licenses:

  • Bingo operating license.
  • Pool betting operating license.
  • Betting intermediary operating license.
  • Casino operating license.
  • General betting operating license.
  • Lottery operating license.

And an operator must have a specific license for each product in the UK. Many casinos therefore have several different licenses in the UK.

Responsible Gambling

Protecting problem online casino gamblers is a big part of the UK Gambling Commissions work.

Each operator must have policies and procedures in place to protect their players and to ensure that everything is done responsibly.

This can include limit settings on the account. Deposit, transaction and loss limits are the most common ones. A player can also self-exclude themselves from playing online casino at all. In addition to this, all UK licensed casinos need to be part of Gamstop. Casinos without Gamstop will not receive the UKGC license if they apply.

A player should only contact the UK Gambling Commission if they expect that the online casino is doing something illegal or if they have a problem that the casino hasn’t fixed for them.

You should not contact the UK Gambling Commission if you have questions about bonuses or gambling in general. All in all, this is the best casino license in the world. Casinos that have managed to get this license are 100% safe and reliable.

About the Casinomir Writer

Michael Johnson
Michael Johnson
Author since August 30, 2022
With over ten years in the industry, Michael Johnson from Stockton-on-Tees is a veteran of online gambling. He's been a keynote speaker at several events and is seen as a go-to guy regarding questions around UK gambling licenses.