UK Casinos
United Kingdom Online Casinos
The United Kingdom is a beacon of light and a shining example for many countries regarding online betting. The online gambling commission in the UK has adopted a series of policies that ensure strict regulation but an open competition, where gamblers have their rights protected, and casinos are free (within reason) to offer gambling games to the population.
Of course, there are plenty of rules and regulations on the way, and we’ll help you navigate those as we look at the UK’s best and most popular online casinos right here. Our team has spent ages perusing the best of them to come up with leading, secure, and trusted UK casino sites to recommend to you.
If you want to play legally at the best online casinos that Great Britain has to offer, then look no further than our guide. With that said, let us begin by introducing you to a handful of the best UK online gambling sites below.
Best Real Money Online Casinos for UK Players
Is It Legal to Gamble Online in the UK?
Are you wondering, is online casino action legal in the United Kingdom? Wonder no more because the UK is one of the few countries in the world where virtually all forms of online gambling are legal. Legit UK online casinos are plentiful and amongst the best around. Before we get into that, we need to understand just what a UK casino must do to become a legal betting site.
The UK Gambling Commission regulates online gambling in the country. Any operator that wishes to offer their services to UK-based players legally must first apply for then obtain a license from this regulatory body. Not only does the UKGC license British casinos, but they also regulate them and to a high degree.
Legal gambling sites in the UK must be licensed and agree to have completely transparent terms and conditions, such as using terms like “bonus spins” instead of “free spins”. Moreover, they must have fair terms and conditions such as modest wagering requirements and are not permitted to chuck out no deposit bonuses and welcome bonuses aplenty.
Each licensed UK casino must pass numerous checks and tests, including RNG (random number generator) certification tests. The casino must also ensure that players can bet with British pounds sterling and can use payment methods that the UKGC approves. Skrill and Neteller deposits, for instance, are on the wane in favour of PayPal deposits, while only debit cards can be used for VISA and MasterCard deposits, not credit cards.
The UKGC regularly checks back to ensure that their licensed casinos are adhering to the rules. Any which drop the ball and fall foul of the rules will be financially punished and, in the worst cases, have their UK Gambling Commission license revoked.
While the UK does tolerate casinos licensed out of nearby Isle of Man and Alderney jurisdictions and accepts Gibraltar licensed casinos, they do not recommend playing at offshore casinos licensed elsewhere. Malta Gaming Authority casinos, for instance, and much trusted but not technically legal. However, none of this really matters as the UK does not implement geo-blocks on foreign sites, nor do they punish any of their players for betting at those sites. On top of that, there is no gambling tax for players in the UK, so anything you win at any site is yours to keep with no questions asked.
Let us quickly look at the different types of legal betting sites you can choose from in the UK below.
Online Casino
Legit UK online casinos are those that are licensed by the UK Gambling Commission, although Alderney, Isle of Man and Gibraltar licensed sites are accepted. There is nothing to stop you from playing at any online casino without punishment, though.
Online Poker
Online poker rooms are also legal in the UK, assuming they are licensed by the UKGC. These games may be found in dedicated poker rooms or in smaller poker sub-sections of online casinos and sportsbooks. Both have proven satellite access to major tournaments.
Online Sports Betting
Online sports betting is huge in the UK, with thousands of licensed high street bookmakers in operation. However, most of these have an online presence, too. The UKGC gambling license also covers online bookies. Far from being solely sports betting sites, most major UK bookmakers also run accomplished online casinos, some of which are the most famous of all.
Online Lottery
You can play the UK’s National Lottery online. Moreover, you can also participate in other lotteries. There is no law that says you can’t buy tickets to offshore lottery games through UK lotto ticket agents and websites. Some of these sites are even licensed by the UKGC to boot.
Online Bingo
The UK is home to arguably the largest percentage of regular bingo players (per population) of any modern country. Video (instant win) bingo games can be found in most casinos, but you can also expect bona fide bingo rooms to be licensed by the UKGC. These bingo sites often support the national favourite (90-ball) bingo games, although other bingo games and even casino games are supported, too.
History of Gambling in the United Kingdom
The UK has one of the most clearly defined histories when it comes to gambling. Before you hurry along to join in the action at top UK casino sites, take a quick look at how we got to where we are today with this brief history lesson.
- 1190: The first gambling legislation is passed by King Richard I (the Lionheart). Noblemen were limited to gambling no more than a fixed amount (20 shillings per day). At the present rate, that is worth around £2,800.
- 1300s: Jousting and horse racing proves popular at court and reaches new heights under Tudor King, Henry VIII. His court would also introduce betting on cards. Piquet was a popular game of the day, as was Noddy (early Cribbage) and Primero. Dice games also become popularised.
- 1566: Queen Elizabeth I launches the very first national lottery in a bid to raise funds to repair England’s harbours.
- 1660s: Charles II takes up horse riding, becoming a jockey and putting Newmarket on the map. Ascot receives a royal patronage a century later. Queen Anne would also launch a new state lottery which proved immensely successful.
- 1860s: The Victorian Age sees casinos become highly popular. Despite reform movements trying to outlaw gambling, drinking and prostitution, all three remain hugely popular with Londoners. Upper-class England is notorious for gambling heavily in swanky clubs.
- 1906: Bookmakers begin to offer another way to bet, away from the horse racing tracks. The working class strongly back the bookmakers, but the middle class back the Street Betting Act of 1906, which aims to cut out the emerging market. In the 1920s, bingo emerges as one of the countries most popular ways to gamble.
- 1945: The Second World War sees a gradual drop in gambling. However, Greyhound racing becomes popular, and interest in horse racing increases.
- 1960: The Betting and Gaming Act is launched, which fully legalises off-course betting, creating the wealth of high street bookmakers Britain has today. Bingo again becomes popular, following a dip during the Second World War.
- 1980s: High Street bookies suffer a dip in popularity, as bingo has a third golden age in the UK. Pub fruit machines become another favourite way to gamble.
- 2005: No laws exist to regulate online gambling, so the Gambling Act of 2005 was created. It establishes the UK Gambling Commission to control all forms of betting.
- 2007: The UKGC launches a problem gambling survey and demands the setting up of groups to handle it. BeGambleAware, GamStop and GamCare emerge as a result.
- 2010s: The UKGC continues to make changes to make the UK gambling sector more secure and fairer for players. New restrictions on promotional terms, regulation, payments, and caps on fixed-odds betting terminals ensure security and fair play for all, with lowered risks of gambling addiction.
- 2020s: Brexit ensures that EU licensed casinos are no longer “legal” in the UK. However, there are no punishments for playing at such sites. The level and style of regulation used by the UKGC prove popular. It is seen as the model to follow for many other countries across the world.
Future Online Gambling Trends in the UK
The UK Gambling Commission regularly makes recommendations and changes to the industry, so seemingly every year, something new occurs. In recent years, those changes have revolved around making online betting fairer and safer for players. Changes have included forbidding credit card deposits, stopping the auto-spin feature, disabled the chance to “quick spin” when playing online slots for real money in the United Kingdom, ensuring that promotions are fully transparent and more. In the future, we would expect the UKGC to keep making top changes to continue this trend.
Is It Safe to Gamble at a UK Online Casino?
The methodology and practices used by the UK Gambling Commission are exceptional. Their licensed sites are regularly licensed not just as safe online casinos in the UK but abroad. The commission’s actions are noted far beyond Britain’s shores. Many countries have directly worked with the UKGC in a bid to set up their own regulatory bodies, and many such authorities now mimic and implement the UKGC’s recommendations regularly. Moreover, some other countries are open to letting their nationals play at UKGC licensed casinos on account of the level of regulation present.
However, just because two casinos can both be licensed out of Britain doesn’t mean that they are equally as good. Some sites are inevitably better than others. If they have the same license and are regulated to the same degree, what separates them? Let’s find out below…
How to Choose the Best Online Casino?
We naturally recommend that you only play at the safest and most trusted online casinos for UK players. Where can you hope to find those sites, though? As it happens, you’ve already come to the right place. By heading over to our review section, you can find an array of online gambling reviews for those in the United Kingdom.
Our team is always working, examining new UK casinos, checking out already existing sites, grading, critiquing, and reviewing. Each casino is put through a rigorous test to ensure that it fits our lofty standards. Only once a casino has passed our test will it feature in our reviews, and only the best casinos are recommended by us to you. Therefore, we can safely say that choosing our online casinos is the smartest thing you can do if you want to bet at safe and secure UK casino sites.
Casino Bonuses
There are lots of different ways that you can choose casinos, even from those on our list. You might opt to play at sides that offer quality games. However, picking a casino based on its bonuses isn’t a bad idea, either. To be sure that you are playing at a casino that has the right bonuses for the types of UK gambling games you want to play, ensure that you read our casino reviews first before signing up to play at any prospective casino.
Games and Software
Once you’re signed up at an online casino, what do you want to play? It helps if you know what a casino has to offer in this department. Our casino reviews detail all the software providers associated with the casino, as well as the types of quality games you can expect to find there.
The Reputation of the Casino
Just because a casino is licensed out of the UK doesn’t make it one of the best around. Other factors come into the equation, too. These can include what certifications the casino has, its track record, and the general public’s opinion. We take all of these into consideration when we review a casino.
Casino Customer Support
If in doubt, you should always feel confident about getting in touch with a casino’s support team. Our team makes sure that this is an option for players at any of the casinos we recommend. Moreover, the methods for obtaining support should be straightforward, rapid, and free of charge.
Payment Methods
As mentioned, many UK casinos no longer permit VISA or MasterCard credit card deposits or deposits made via Skrill or Neteller. So, what can you use? PayPal and debit cards are the preferred options. We make sure that we detail all the available options each of our casinos has to offer in our reviews.
Online Casino Games Available for UK Players
If you are interested in playing new online casino games in the UK, you’ll need to choose a site that features many software providers. These generally tend to be the domains that offer the best online casino games in the UK, with the most extensive collections from a wide array of developers. Moreover, such collections get so large because the operators are usually regularly expanding them with new releases. Here are a few other notable things about the games at online casinos that accept UK players for you…
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UK casinos typically carry over 1,000 games each
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It is not uncommon to see ten to 30+ developers at UK casino sites
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All casino games should be mobile optimised (HTML5) and potentially available to play via apps
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All UK casino games should be playable for free or with real money
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UK bonuses should be eligible for use on most UK casino games
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All games at UK online casinos should be RNG certified as fair to play
With that said, let us explore some of the gaming options you have open to you at UK online casinos:
Online Slots
Slot machines in the UK span seemingly every major type. From simple classic slots and games loosely based on pub fruit machines to major progressive jackpot video slots, MegaWays games, Cluster Pays titles and everything in-between, there are plenty of online slots for UK players to choose from.
Online Blackjack
Blackjack games can be found not just in UK casinos but also in poker rooms. You’ll get to choose between playing blackjack online for real money with UK live dealer games or take your time in more traditional RNG (random number generator) table games.
Online Roulette
Online roulette games are also available for UK players and in great number. The best online roulette gambling sites in the UK will offer more than just American, European, and French roulette, with live dealer, auto, double ball, multi-wheel, and additional variants playable.
Live Dealer Games
Playing live casino games online in the UK shouldn’t prove to be an issue for anyone. Most of the casino games you can play include baccarat, blackjack, and roulette, although table poker games, card games, dice titles and money-wheel games, amongst others, can be found at sites with Evolution, Ezugi, Playtech or Pragmatic Play software.
Other Online Casino Games
As mentioned, the UK is home to many bingo and poker rooms, as well as online sportsbooks. Casinos themselves can typically offer instant win titles, scratch cards, keno, and lottery games to boot, so you won’t be short of something to play.
Most Popular Casino Software in the UK
Virtually every major casino software provider in the world has games available for UK players. You can find no shortage of Microgaming casinos in the UK, and the best Scandinavian developers like NetEnt have casinos in the UK for you to join, too.
Here’s a quick rundown of the most popular casino providers at UK betting sites:
- 1×2 Gaming
- Barcrest
- Big Time Gaming
- Blueprint Gaming
- ELK Studios
- Eyecon
- IGT
- iSoftBet
- NoLimit City Studios
- Relax Gaming
- Scientific Games
- Thunderkick
- WMS Gaming
- Yggdrasil Gaming
- Playson
- Playtech
- Quickspin
- Red Tiger Gaming
Banking Information for UK Players
Players in the United Kingdom can deposit at online casino sites with PayPal. They can also use online casino options in the UK, such as VISA Debit. However, the following rules should be noted:
- UK casinos do not permit deposits with credit cards as of 2021
- Some UK casinos do not accept e-wallet deposits via Skrill and Neteller
- Those that do may decline you a bonus if you deposit with those options
- There should be no fees applied to withdrawals, and few withdrawals caps
- Pay by phone options can have minimum deposit limits worth as little as £5
- All UK casinos must accept GBP as a currency option
- Average transaction times for cashouts range from a few hours up to 3-5 business days
UK players should typically expect the following banking options to be open for them:
- VISA Electron/Debit
- Mastercard Debit
- Maestro
- PayPal
- Boku
- Pay-by-Phone Options
- Paysafecard
- Bank Transfers
Cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrencies are not typically accepted at UK Gambling Commission licensed casinos. However, as mentioned, the UK doesn’t prohibit its players from venturing to offshore casinos, where cryptocurrencies are most certainly accepted. Some of those regularly found at these international casinos catering to British players include:
UK Gambling Apps
Most mobile casinos in the UK are offered via your web browser. Casino sites are designed in HTML5, so they will run well on Android and iOS devices’ web browsers without any fuss at all. However, some of the major sportsbooks turned casinos, and other renowned betting sites do have downloadable online gambling apps for UK players to use as they see fit.
UK Online Casino Bonuses & Promo Codes
Most casino players want to claim major promos and top bonuses. However, the Gambling Commission has made quite an effort to ensure that only the best bonuses are available at online casinos in the UK.
UK online casino offers don’t often require bonus codes. Instead, they tend to use an “opt-in” trigger method. Moreover, these bonuses come with transparent terms and conditions. The casino cannot take you for a ride with wagering requirements, for instance. Moreover, deposit limits must be minimal, and even loyalty clubs have come under threat of late.
Let us walk you through some of the bonuses you can find at many UK casino sites below:
No Deposit Bonuses
These are now quite rare. You could struggle to find no deposit casino bonuses in the UK because the UK Gambling Commission doesn’t like them. However, there are always new UK no deposit casinos that are licensed offshore that tend to provide these bonuses, and rather frequently at that. The basic idea behind them is that if you claim an offer, you can play risk-free and potentially win real money.
Deposit Match
A typical first deposit bonus at a casino in the UK is straightforward. The UKGC limits what they can offer, so don’t expect crazy matches. Most UK online casinos come with low deposit requirements, often just £10 to £20, while the matches themselves are worth around 100% of whatever you deposit and are seldom more valuable than £100.
Free Spins
Free spins are not allowed to be called that in the UK unless they come with no wagering requirements. Instead, they are to be referred to as bonus spins. Most are offered either as an online casino free sign-up bonus or as a no deposit required loyalty bonus at UK casinos. However, loyalty offers are falling out of fashion at UK casinos of late.
Reload Bonuses
Reload bonuses are, in most cases, identical to the initial welcome bonus in that you get a fixed cash bonus based on your deposited total. However, it is worth noting that reload bonuses cannot often be advertised on a UK casino’s promotions page. Instead, you can usually find these offered delivered via e-mail, newsletters, or SMS. Some may be found in your own personal casino account’s inbox.
New Online Casinos in the UK
It is always tempting to ditch the new UK online casinos that debut and opt to play at leading brands. After all, most are linked to UK high street bookmakers. However, new online casinos tend to offer a more diverse and extensive gambling experience than the old, trusted bookmaker casinos.
If you’re not sure where to find the hottest new casinos, just nip over to our reviews section. Our team regularly scouts around for hot new places to play, and any trusted, secure, and safe casinos we come across will be reviewed and recommended to you right here.
FAQs
If you’ve still got questions about UK online casinos and the overall gambling experience in the United Kingdom, check out this brief FAQ guide.
