UKGC (United Kingdom Gambling Commission) Review 

The United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC) is a public regulatory body that oversees all forms of land-based and online gambling in Great Britain. The Commission was established under the Gambling Act 2005 and is tasked with ensuring gambling is conducted fairly and transparently, protecting vulnerable people from gambling harm, and preventing criminal activities in the industry.

The UK Gambling Commission is one of the most proactive and trustworthy regulators worldwide. It frequently takes enforcement action on UKGC license holders who breach the terms of their license. Any gambling operator who wants to offer gambling products to UK consumers must hold a valid UKGC license.

In recent years, the United Kingdom Gambling Commission has been accused of over-regulating; they introduced mandatory deposit limits, Source of Wealth (SOW) checks, and maximum game stakes. Despite the criticism, there’s no denying that UKGC licenses have much more weight from a player’s perspective than most other online gambling regulators.

In this United Kingdom Gambling Commission review, we will examine the regulatory body’s functions, responsibilities, approach to licensing and enforcement, and how players can lodge complaints against UK-licensed operators.

Top Online Casinos Licensed by The UKGC (UK Gambling Commission)

Hundreds of casinos, sportsbooks, and poker sites hold licenses from the UK Gambling Commission. Below, you can review all UKGC-licensed casinos we’ve reviewed here at Online Casino HQ, sorted by rating:

<EXPANDABLE AFFILIATE TABLE WITH ALL CASINOS UNDER THIS REGULATOR>

About the UK Gambling Commission

The UKGC was established under the Gambling Act 2005, and by 2007, it had assumed full powers over regulating gambling within the UK. Previously, regulation was enforced by the Gaming Board for Great Britain. The United Kingdom Gambling Commission is a non-departmental public body directly sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport.

The UKGC is charged with licensing and regulating all commercial gambling in Great Britain, including the National Lottery, which is regulated under separate legislation. While the Commission was established in 2005, the Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Act 2014 modified the UK’s gambling legislation to regulate overseas operators engaging with UK customers. This is when the UKGC picked up broader powers and began working closely with other regulators.

The Gambling Commission currently employs some 280 employees, and they have a few core objectives, including:

• Keeping crime out of gambling
• To make sure that all forms of gambling are conducted fairly and openly
• Protecting young people and vulnerable people

The UKGC’s operations are overseen by a board of commissioners led by a Chair appointed by the government. Some of the UKGC’s executives include:

• Andrew Rhodes (Chair, Chief Executive Officer): Rhodes is, by title, the Commissioner of the UKGC. He leads the Commission and guides its regulatory strategies and overall mission.
• Sarah Gardner (Deputy Chief Executive Officer): Gardner is responsible for assisting in the operational and strategic management of the UK Gambling Commission.
• Alistair Quifley (Chief Technology Officer): Quigley oversees the UKGC’s technological infrastructure.
• Tim Miller (Executive Director for Research, Policy Development, and National Strategy for Reducing Gambling Harms): Miller plays a crucial role in shaping Commission and government policy to mitigate gambling-related issues for UK consumers.

The commission also employs specialists in various fields, including compliance, licensing, and enforcement, to ensure gambling operators adhere to legal standards and protect consumers.

Over the last five years, the UK Gambling Commission has significantly changed gambling regulations in Great Britain. In April 2019, they reduced the maximum stake on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs) from £100 to £2, and a year later, they banned the use of credit cards for all forms of gambling.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the UKGC began clamping down on online gambling. This included banning so-called bonus buy features in online slots, requiring casinos to carry out affordability checks on players, and requiring operators to follow increasingly invasive Source of Wealth (SOW) checks.

In 2024, the UK Gambling Commission announced that players would have automatic limits on the amount of money they can wager on a single game event online; this was met with widespread criticism by players and operators.

Applying For A License, Requirements, and Conditions

Operators must meet strict requirements and provide extensive documentation to apply for a gambling license from the United Kingdom Gambling Commission. Key requirements for a UKGC gambling license application include:

1. Submitting a detailed business plan demonstrating a clear understanding of objectives and regulations online operators must follow.
2. Understanding responsible gambling practices and customer protection, including what companies with a UKGC license must offer vulnerable people.
3. Offering a secure platform with robust encryption to safeguard customer data and financial information.
4. Comprehensive anti-money laundering (AML) and fraud prevention measures, including conducting Know Your Customer (KYC) and Source of Wealth (SOW) checks.
5. Adherence to the UKGC’s License Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP) in all policies and procedures.
6. Submitting financial statements, projected profit/loss, proof of funding, and six months of bank statements.
7. A diagram of the gambling platform’s end-to-end technical systems and operations.
8. Personal Management License (PML) or Annex A personal declaration forms for all key staff,

The application process for a UKGC license typically takes around 16 weeks. All applicants must pay a £370 application fee; licensing fees are determined based on gross profit.

Operators who receive a license from the UKGC have many responsibilities, some of which we’ll examine in more depth below:

Protection Of Player Funds

All companies operating under a UKGC license accepting players’ bets must ensure that customer funds are held in separate bank accounts. According to the Commission, customer funds are the “aggregate value of funds held to customers’ credit, including, without limitation:

• cleared funds deposited with the licensee by customers to provide stakes in, or to meet participation fees in respect of, future gambling,
• winnings or prizes that the customer has chosen to leave on deposit with the licensee or for which the licensee has yet to account to the customer and
• any crystallized but as yet unpaid loyalty or other bonuses, in each case, irrespective of whether the licensee is a party to the gambling contract.”

This segregation of funds rule is designed to protect consumers in case online operators enter into insolvency. It’s designed to ensure players can withdraw their balances at any time.

Technical Standards

Any casino game offered to UK players must undergo 3rd-party testing to ensure its fairness and that its random number generator (RNG) runs randomly. The UKGC has approved testing houses, and games must be audited by one of these houses. Similarly, operators must adhere to several other technical standards, including having robust risk management plans and strong security.

Anti-Money Laundering

The UKGC is focused on keeping money laundering out of gambling and requires all operators to adhere to strict anti-money laundering checks. Players may be requested to complete a Source of Wealth (SOW) to ensure the funds they’re playing with have been legitimately acquired.

Operators must conduct a risk assessment of their business being used for money laundering and terrorist financing, which must be reviewed regularly. Following the completion of this assessment, operators must form appropriate policies to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing through their businesses.

Social Responsibility

All licensed operators are required to conduct their marketing and advertising without targeting underage or vulnerable persons. Similarly, operators must regularly carry out risk assessments for players, and the prevention of underage gambling is another high priority.

All operators must offer players a number of responsible gambling tools, including Deposit Limits, Time-Outs, and Self-Exclusion. More recently, the UKGC has begun requiring operators to join GAMSTOP, a national self-exclusion database that allows players to exclude themselves from all online gambling sites licensed within the UK.

These are just a few licensing conditions an operator must meet to hold a UKGC license. Enforcement action will be taken if a gambling business breaks any of its license terms. In the past few years, the UK Gambling Commission has issued millions of dollars worth of fines and revoked licenses, so this is something they are very hot on.

Role and Duties of the UK Gambling Commission

The United Kingdom Gambling Commission does much more than simply issue UKGC licenses. It is responsible for overseeing most types of gambling in the country, setting licensing conditions, taking enforcement action where needed, and minimizing the number of problem gamblers.

Some core duties the United Kingdom Gambling Commission is responsible for include:

Regulating Most Forms of Gambling in the UK

The United Kingdom Gambling Commission oversees most parts of the UK gambling industry. They regulate the following types of gambling:

• arcades
• betting
• bingo
• casinos
• gaming machine providers
• gambling software providers
• lottery operators (excluding small society lotteries)
• remote gambling (gambling done either online or by phone) that uses British-based equipment
• The National Lottery.

Protecting Children and Vulnerable People from Gambling Harm

As the UK’s sole gambling regulator, the UKGC is responsible for ensuring children and young people cannot access gambling products. This includes the online sector. The Commission requires operators to conduct Know Your Customer (KYC) checks before a player can deposit money and begin playing. These checks are designed to prevent those under 18 years old from being able to play casino games or online slots.

The Commission also aims to protect consumers who may be considered vulnerable. They manage this in several ways, one of which is requiring licensees to detect when a player may be depositing or gambling more than they can afford. At this point, the operator is expected to block further deposits or play and run additional checks on the customer.

Enforcement action is frequently taken against licensees who do not meet these requirements. In recent years, many UKGC license holders have been issued fines, usually surrounding unfair bonus offers or inadequate handling of problem gamblers.

Prevent Crime in the UK’s Gambling Industry

The UKGC works with the British government and local law enforcement agencies to prevent gambling-related criminal activities. This responsibility comprises several factors, including preventing illegal gambling, requiring licensees to reduce the risk of money laundering, and working with partners to detect and prevent address match and event-fixing.

Improving Gambling Regulation

Another core part of the Commission’s land-based and online sector work is improving gambling regulation. The Commission must demonstrate to the government how it achieved this and take a “supportive, straightforward, risk-based and transparent” approach.

If the Commission feels changes to gambling legislation are required, it will consult with relevant government agencies and submit its recommendations to Parliament.

Types of Licenses Offered by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission

The United Kingdom’s Gambling Commission offers a few types of different licenses. Generally, online casinos will require an operating license, which allows them to offer services to players based within the UK. The three main licenses are:

Operating Licence

An Operating Licence allows a gambling business to offer pre-approved gambling activities to players in the United Kingdom. Different operating licenses are available, and most iGaming companies will require a remote license. A gambling business may hold multiple operating licenses, as the UKGC requires different licenses for different types of gambling.

Personal Licence

A Personal License is required for significant people managing and operating a gambling business with an operating license. Generally, small operators are not required to hold a personal license.

Premises Licence

A Premises Licence allows registered UK premises to offer pre-approved gambling, including casino, bingo, poker, and family gaming. These licenses are not needed for companies in the online sector. Unlike the previous two licenses, premises licenses are issued by the UKGC alongside local licensing authorities.

While these are the three primary license types, many sub-licenses exist within each category. For example, there are three types of operating licenses: non-remote, remote, and ancillary.

How to Verify if a Casino is Licensed by the UK Gambling Commission

All operators granted a license from the United Kingdom’s Gambling Commission must display their license number, registered trading name, and address on their website. The license number must link directly to the operator’s license page on the official UKGC website.

The Gambling Commission also maintains an up-to-date register of all license holders, including both active and inactive licenses. You can view the UKGC licensee list here.

Complaints Procedure

The UKGC does not directly take player complaints. However, all operators with a Gambling Commission license must use a Commission-approved Alternative Dispute Resolution Service (ADR).

If you have a problem with an online casino and feel you’ve been mistreated, you must first file a complaint with the operator in question. The operator will then investigate your complaint, and under their license conditions, they must complete their investigation within eight weeks. If it takes longer than this, they must provide you details of why it’s taking longer.

If you’re unhappy with the operator’s decision, you have the right to take your complaint to one of the Gambling Commission’s approved ADR services. These services are free to use and independent of the Commission and the gambling operators. They will thoroughly investigate your complaint, and their decision is binding on the operator.

If you’re still not happy after this, you can directly complain to the Gambling Commission—but they do not usually deal directly with player complaints, so it’s unlikely you will receive a response. 

Notable Regulatory Actions and Fines

The Gambling Commission has repeatedly shown that it is unafraid to take action against operators it deems to be breaking the terms of their licenses. Below, we will examine companies that have been on the receiving end of the UKGC’s enforcement team in recent years:

• William Hill, one of the UK’s most prominent and popular bookmakers, was fined a massive £6.2 million in 2018 for failing to protect players. The UKGC’s investigation found the bookmaker showed significant flaws in its anti-money laundering technology.
• LeoVegas was hit with a £600,000 financial penalty in 2018 after the Commission found that they had issued several misleading marketing adverts while also allowing players who had self-excluded to play at their casino.
• Gamesys was fined £6 million in January 2024 for anti-money laundering and social responsibility failures. The Commission found that Gamesys had issues with customer due diligence and didn’t do enough to protect vulnerable players.
• Buzz Bingo received a fine of £780,000 due to failures in anti-money laundering procedures and social responsibility. This included not adequately identifying at-risk gamblers and failing to interact appropriately with customers who displayed signs of problem gambling.
• Daub Alderney, part of the Rank Group, was fined £5.85 million (approximately $8 million) for various regulatory failings related to consumer protection and anti-money laundering measures​
• Intouch Games was fined £6.1 million for repeated breaches related to anti-money laundering and social responsibility. This was the third time the UKGC had fined the company.
• Kindred’s 32Red and Platinum Gaming were fined a combined £7.1 million for social responsibility and anti-money laundering failures. This was one of the Commission’s most significant fines to date.

The UKGC and Over-Regulation in the Gambling Industry  

There’s no denying the UKGC’s commitment to protecting players and customers; their ability to take action against casinos and bookmakers found to breach their license terms is something we expect to see from all gambling regulators. However, the UK’s Gambling Commission has – rightfully so, we feel – been accused of significant over-regulation, particularly in the online gambling sector.

Recent criticisms first emerged back in 2018, when the Commission revealed they were considering introducing maximum stake limits on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs.) While most were in favor of the ban – the machines had been coined the crack cocaine of gambling by British media outlets – some were concerned these limits would soon make their way to the online world. Sure enough, in 2024, the UKGC announced they would be requiring operators to limit a player’s maximum stake to £2-£5 on online games, depending on their age.

A few years ago, the Commission also banned autoplay and quickspin on slots. This move was designed to protect players from rapid, uncontrolled betting – but in reality, it’s a feature that nobody asked for. It marked, in Online Casino HQ’s opinion, the beginning of a migration of UK players turning their backs on UK-licensed sites, moving to offshore (primarily crypto) casinos, instead.

Shortly after the ban on autoplay and quick spins came the removal of bonus buy features. Most online slot machines feature bonus rounds, and a bonus buy mechanic allows players to pay a fixed fee for immediate entry into the bonus. While there were some legitimate criticisms on responsible gambling issued with bonus buy features, once again, it was a feature that many players used – and this is when talk of the UKGC being out of touch with players really emerged.

While all of these limitation and restrictions were being brought in, the Commission was also requiring operators to verify players upon sign-up, conduct significantly intrusive Source of Wealth (SOW) checks, sometimes, to the point where operators simply couldn’t verify a player’s account as they couldn’t provide the information required. This was especially problmeaitc for self-employed players, who, in some instances, were asked to provide confideential copies of invoices, receitprs, and work contractrs to prove where their gambling funds came from.

However, it’s not only players who have been affected: operators are increasignly struggling to survive in the UK market. Add signnificant (and frequent) fines and financial penalties into the mix, and it’s clear why many operators have left the UK market.

It’s also clear, and, in our opinion, compeltely understandable why so many UK players have chosen to play at offshore, non-UK-licensed casinos, instead. The risks are higher, but players can play how they want, at the speed they want. In Online Casino HQ’s oppinion, we believe the UK Gambling Commission means well – but they are out of touch, and have alienated a significant number of players who will simply take their chances and play at offshore, unregulated casinos instead.

Comparing the UKGC with Other Regulatory Bodies

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• Comparative analysis of the regulator with other well-known licensing authorities, highlighting strengths and weaknesses
• Should act as the article’s conclusion

Contact Information

Address: Gambling Commission, Victoria Square House, Victoria Square, Birmingham B2 4BP

Phone: 0121 230 6666

Email: [email protected] 

Website: https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk  

Licensee Register: https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/public-register