Gambling Licenses

There are thousands of online casinos that exist today. Each has its own attractive welcoming bonus, pretty graphics, mobile app and other features. With so much to go through already, choosing which online casino to sign up to is a difficult task. In fact, gambling licenses are likely not in your top selection criteria.

Licensed Casinos in the UK

All casinos are:   Licenced & Verified   Expertly Reviewed

Casino	Pilot Rating	Pros	Bonus
	4.0 rating	No deposit spins on registration Weekly Spin Drops Game of the Week promotions	Up to £200 Cashback + 10 Bonus spins	Visit Casino New Customers, T&C's apply, 18+ #AD
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	4.0 rating	SLINGO games Great live casino section Sports betting available	100% up to £100	Visit Casino New Customers, T&C's apply, 18+ #AD
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	4.5 rating	Amazing live section Live casino welcome bonus Trustly and PayPal payments	£100 max. + 200 Bonus spins	Visit Casino New Customers, T&C's apply, 18+ #AD
	5.0 rating	Fantastic game library LuckyTap™ games available Great design on mobile	75 Free Spins	Visit Casino New Customers, T&C's apply, 18+ #AD
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	5.0 rating	Nice welcome package Fully licensed brand 4000+ games available	100% up to £200 + 11 Bonus spins	Visit Casino New Customers, T&C's apply, 18+ #AD
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	4.5 rating	PayPal and Apple Pay supported Real cash prizes every week Over 2200 slot available	100% up to £200 + 50 Bonus spins	Visit Casino New Customers, T&C's apply, 18+ #AD
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	5.0 rating	4 day welcome bonus Hundreds of games Mobile compatibility	Up to £100 Bonus + 150 Bonus spins	Visit Casino New Customers, T&C's apply, 18+ #AD
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	4.0 rating	Most reputable brand in the UK Massive choice of jackpot games Amazing live casino section	Deposit and stake £10 on eligible Casino slots to get 100 Free Spins. Time limits, game restrictions and T&Cs apply. Registration required. + 100 Bonus spins	Visit Casino New Customers, T&C's apply, 18+ #AD
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	4.5 rating	Interesting welcome package Plenty of jackpot slots Neteller and Skrill accepted	100% Up To £200 + 100 Bonus spins	Visit Casino New Customers, T&C's apply, 18+ #AD
	5.0 rating	Monthly rewards VIP program Amazing live section	100% up to £50 + 25 Bonus spins	Visit Casino New Customers, T&C's apply, 18+ #AD
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	5.0 rating	Huge variety of payments Fantastic jackpots Excellent live section	£100 + 100 Bonus spins	Visit Casino New Customers, T&C's apply, 18+ #AD
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	4.5 rating	Great choice of slots Attractive welcome package PayPal supported	100% - £250 max. + 100 Bonus spins	Visit Casino New Customers, T&C's apply, 18+ #AD
	5.0 rating	750+ games Fantastic mobile experience 10% cashback bonus	100% up to £200 + 20 Bonus spins	Visit Casino New Customers, T&C's apply, 18+ #AD
	5.0 rating	Interesting welcome offer UKGC licensed Vast choice of live tables	100% up to £50 + 50 Bonus spins	Visit Casino New Customers, T&C's apply, 18+ #AD
	5.0 rating	10% cashback always No wagering No max cashout	10% No Wager Cashback	Visit Casino New Customers, T&C's apply, 18+ #AD
	4.6 rating	Mega Jackpot games    Daily promotions Fantastic VIP deals	100% up to £25 + 25 Bonus spins	More about PlayjangoVisit Casino New Customers, T&C's apply, 18+ #AD
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	5.0 rating	Amazing slots catalogue New gamification schemes Exclusive spell system	100% up to £50 + 50 Bonus spins	More about VoodooDreamsVisit Casino New Customers, T&C's apply, 18+ #AD
	5.0 rating	Huge slot selection Licensed by UKGC Well-established brand	100% up to £50 + 50 Bonus spins	More about NySpinsVisit Casino New Customers, T&C's apply, 18+ #AD

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Make Sure you Only Play at Licensed Operators

It is easy to get drawn into online casinos by a huge welcome bonus with free spins, reload bonus and much more. But it’s even easier to ignore that license symbol that you have to scroll all the way to the bottom of the website to even notice it.

However, you should take the time to fully understand what these licenses do. After all, you are dealing with your own money and personal information over the World Wide Web. You have to make sure your money and data are in safe hands.

What Are Gambling Licenses?

A gambling license is a stamp of approval from a licensing authority that the casino is safe and regulated. It shows that the casino holding the license is legitimate. It successfully passed through various regulations and earned the right to legally open its doors to customers.

In fact, getting a gaming license is one of the first and most important steps a casino needs to take in order to enter the world of online gambling. After all, banks or major providers like Visa and MasterCard do not deal with unlicensed websites. Not much point of an online casino with no money.

Criteria For Gaming Licenses

Gambling sites and online casinos that wish to operate in the UK are regulated by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission. In 2005, the Gambling Act was amended to specifically cover online sites, with 3 main goals in mind:

• Ensuring that all games played are done so in the open and are fair for all players
• That published casino payouts are verified and true
• Making sure that there is never any connection between the gambling world and any criminal activity
• Children and any other vulnerable people are not exploited by gambling

A casino license is a seal of approval that the company in question has been thoroughly audited and passes the test. The UKGC requires that a company meets certain criteria before a license is given. These include:

• Evidence of no previous criminal records
• Experience and qualifications proving that the company is capable of running such a business
• Full identity confirmation of the people involved so that accountability can be achieved
• Evidence that sufficient finances are available to the company to ensure the running of the business

Online casinos have been in operation for some time now, and the sheer amount of companies in the industry has led to the tightening of the regulations and criteria needed for a casino license. Basically, they need to prove that they are to be diligent in the handling of sensitive information from their players and can be held accountable if these criteria are not met.

Who Issues Gambling Licenses?

Some regions in the world have legislation that allows them to license and regulate online gambling sites. These regions are called licensing jurisdictions.

• Within licensing jurisdictions, there is normally an organization that has the responsibility to issue and regulate the actual gambling licenses. This organization is known as the licensing authority.
• Each jurisdiction has its own set of rules and regulations that gambling sites need to adhere to in order to get and keep their licenses.
• Some of these rules may be hard and expensive to meet at first, but profitable in the long run. Others may be quick and affordable, but not reliable in the long term.

What Are the Main Licensing Authorities?

The legislation and requirements of getting a gaming license depends on the location of the licensing authority. This is why many online casinos choose to locate all or part of their operations in a certain country. To operate legally following regulatory procedures that best match their needs and possibilities.

This is also the reason gambling licenses hold the name of the country or region that it was issued from. For example:

• United Kingdom Gambling Commission;
• Malta Gaming Authority;
• Gibraltar Gambling Commission;
• Kahnawake Gaming Commission;
• Curacao Gaming Control Board.

Common Requirements

Gambling laws vary from country to country just like any other type of laws. Some general requirements that are in place on companies that wish to get a gambling license revolve around:

1. Prove they meet certain standards of transparency, integrity and honesty.
2. Disclosure of details regarding the finances of the company, its owners and associates.
3. Release detailed criminal and employment history of certain people in the company.

Popular UK Gambling Licences

Online casinos can hold different gaming licenses as long as their application is approved by the different licensing authorities. If you look at all the UK casino sites on the market, you will notice that not all of them hold a UK gambling license from the United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC). There are some gambling licenses that are more popular than others, for their own reasons.

United Kingdom Gambling Commission

The UKGC is one of the world’s most respected and trusted providers and regulators of gambling licenses;

• It has a reputation for being extremely stringent in upholding its terms and regulations to get and keep a license.
• It does not hesitate to take action against operators who are found to have breached the license terms.

These are some of the reasons why the UKGC is held in high regard by operators and players alike. On top of that, it is also the hardest license for an online casino to get, making it all the more special. A safe casino licensed by the UKGC means:

• The casino protects the funds of its members by keeping them completely separate from the funds they use to operate their site.
• The casino takes steps to verify the age of all of its users.
• The casino offers responsible gambling tools and support for at risk gamblers.
• The casino only uses games and software developed by licensed software providers.
• The casino does not offer misleading promotions and bonuses.

UKGC Guidelines

The UKGC doesn’t hand out licenses to any casino that wants to start operations. As such, a new UK casino operator has to satisfy some conditions which prove the genuineness of the services they offer. This includes the validity of the software used to provide games to UK players.

• The casino needs to comply with strict privacy guidelines which guarantee the safety of players’ personal information further protecting players from fraudulent activities.
• For UK players who like playing games on their smartphones, a safe mobile casino must have a site with a UKGC logo at the bottom of the front page.

Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission

The Isle of Man is proving to be an excellent environment for online gambling operators. It is becoming a popular place for companies to set up online casinos. Some the main reasons are:

• Relatively quick and straightforward process to acquire a gambling license that takes up 12 weeks.
• Regarded as trustworthy and tough with unethical operators.
• Lucrative tax rates and low business rates.

Isle of Man licensing authority is known to be strict in who they select to award gambling licenses to. Also, getting and keeping the license gets quite pricey.

Casinos licensed and regulated by the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission are popular and trusted by players in the UK.

Malta Gaming Authority

The MGA is another regulatory body which is held in very high regard in the online gambling world. Casinos licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority boast the following features:

• They are compliant with the UK gambling laws.
• They allow UK players to bet online on their platforms, along with players from over 180 different countries.
• There are about 80 online casinos with gambling licenses issued by the Malta Gaming Authority.

Malta is one of Europe’s smallest countries, popular as a tourist destination. It is also popular for companies who want to set up an online casino.

How To Check if a Casino Has a License

When an operator holds an appropriate gaming license, that have had to invest a lot of time and money acquiring it. This includes mountains of paperwork back and forth, auditing and background checks. Because of this, they will always want players to know that they are a licensed gaming site.

Generally speaking, a casino will have the logo of whichever licenses they hold on display at the bottom of their homepage. If you don’t see a respected licensing body’s logo, then you should be wary. The UK Gambling Commission’s website has a search function to locate any company that holds their license, if you need to double check.

Conclusion

A gambling license should be taken into consideration when you are choosing which online casino to sign up with. It shows the restrictions, requirements and protection to both players and casino operators. Gambling licenses can be the deciding factor whether you wish to do business with a certain casino. It reflects how much time and effort the casino invested into starting and running its gambling site.

FAQ

Written by: Olivia Ainsworth Gambling expert who loves games and fun. CasinoPilot would definitely not be the same without her on board!

01/12/2020

Casino Sites > Gambling Licenses