How to check if a casino is licensed in the UK? Search for the business in the register of gambling businesses kept by the Gambling Commission, then confirm that the licence status reads ‘Active’ and that the web address you are on is listed against the same record. A licence number or logo in a site’s footer proves nothing on its own. The register does.
The licence in question covers Great Britain, meaning England, Scotland and Wales, so “licensed in the UK” is shorthand. The commission states that it does not regulate the provision of remote gambling in Northern Ireland. Its enforcement figures show why the check is worth making: between April and December 2025 the commission issued 592 cease and desist notices to advertisers and operators and disrupted 627 websites, according to a speech given on 19 January 2026. Those figures measure enforcement, not the size of the problem. A check of the register takes a few minutes, and noting the date of the check makes it useful later.
What does a Gambling Commission licence mean for you?
The commission’s own guidance puts the benefit plainly. With a licence, “you will be protected by consumer and gambling protection rules in Great Britain”, according to its page Checks you can do to stay safe, last updated on 26 August 2023. In practice that protection comes down to a few obligations, each of which matters when something goes wrong.
- A licensed business must have “fair, open and transparent complaints policies and procedures”. It must also arrange for a complaint to go to an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) provider if the business has not resolved it within eight weeks. The steps are set out in how to complain to a gambling business and when to use ADR.
- An online operator licensed in Great Britain had to join Gamstop by 31 March 2020 as a condition of its licence, according to the commission’s release of 3 April 2020. That is why a site boasting that it is outside Gamstop deserves a closer look, and the reasons are covered in sites that advertise they are not on Gamstop.
- A gambling business must tell you in its terms and conditions which of three levels of protection applies to your money if the business goes bust.
None of this makes a licence a recommendation. It is not a guarantee of winnings, of being paid promptly or of a good experience. What a licence gives is a regulator that sets rules and a complaints process to use when something goes wrong.
How to check if a casino is licensed in the UK: five steps
Keep the casino’s web address to hand. The steps work equally well before you register and when you already hold an account.
- Find the licence statement on the site. A licensed online business must show, on every screen where customers can gamble, a statement that it is licensed and regulated by the commission, its account number and a link to its licence record, under licence condition 8.1.1. The commission’s technical requirements set the wording: the business “is licensed and regulated in Great Britain by the Gambling Commission under account number” followed by the number, which is the first block of six digits of the licence number with any leading zeros removed. No statement at all is the first warning sign.
- Open the register yourself. The commission requires the link to lead to the business’s own record rather than to the commission’s home page, but a link on any website can lead anywhere. Go straight to the register of gambling businesses and “search by business name, trading name, domain name or account number”. The domain is the best starting point, because it is the one detail you can read from the address bar.
- Read the licence status. A business that is licensed today shows ‘Active’, which the commission describes as “Licence is active and up to date”. Any other status needs an explanation before you put money in, and the nine statuses are set out in the table below.
- Match the domain and the name. Each record lists the domains the business has declared, with a status of ‘Active’, ‘Inactive’ or ‘White label’. The commission advises checking that the details of the licence, including activities and website domain names, match the public register. Check every letter of the address, because an address that looks very similar to the one on record is a different address. The licensee’s name in the site’s statement should also match its registered name, while the brand on screen may appear only under trading names.
- Check regulatory actions and keep a record. The register also lists “sanctions and/or settlements” imposed after regulatory action or investigation. An action is not the same as a lost licence, so read it alongside the status. Then note the date of the check and keep a screenshot, because the register shows only the position on the day it is read.
BonusOut does not list individual casinos, because a register entry can change at any time. The reasons are set out on its page about online casinos licensed by the Gambling Commission.
What each licence status means
The register page describes the nine statuses as follows. The wording here is paraphrased.
| Status | What the commission says |
|---|---|
| Active | The licence is active and up to date |
| Expired | The licensee has not applied for a new operating licence since the current one reached its end date |
| Forfeited | A court has ordered that the licence no longer has effect |
| Lapsed | The business has been liquidated, sequestrated or declared bankrupt, or the licensee cannot carry out the licensed activities because of mental or physical incapacity |
| Pending | A new licence has been applied for, or an existing one is being varied, and it is not yet active |
| Revoked | The licence has been revoked after regulatory action or a breach of licence conditions |
| Revoked (Non payment of fee) | The licence has been revoked because the annual fee was not paid |
| Surrendered | The business has given up the licence because it is no longer required |
| Suspended | The commission has suspended the licence pending investigation |
Only ‘Active’ shows a licence in force. Every other row is a reason to stop and read the whole record.
What the register shows, and what it leaves out
A record gives the account number and the account name, which is the legal name of the business. It shows a head office address, although the full address may not appear at the business’s request, and the licence status, with the date a licence for each product was most recently granted and the date the business stopped operating that product. It also gives the number of trading names, domain names and premises on file, the status of each trading name and domain, and any regulatory actions.
The limits matter as much as the fields. The register page states: “Domain names and trading names are provided by the gambling business. The Gambling Commission cannot guarantee the accuracy of information provided by third parties.” In plain terms, the licence details come from the commission’s own record, while the list of domains comes from the business. A mismatch is a reason to hold off until it is explained. It is not proof of wrongdoing.
When this guide was checked on 9 October 2026, the page showed “Last updated: 09 October 2026”. The page does not say how quickly a suspension or revocation appears, so the date of your own check matters.
The register page does not define ‘White label’ for players. In its compliance and enforcement report for 2019 to 2020 (last updated 16 June 2023), the commission discusses licence holders that work with white label partners and states: “Responsibility for compliance will always sit with the licence holder.” That points to the licensee named on the record, not the brand on the screen, as the business that answers for the site.
Three further limits are worth knowing.
- Northern Ireland. The commission’s page on what it regulates, last updated on 5 May 2026, states that it does not regulate the provision of remote gambling in Northern Ireland. This guide does not cover how to check a site from there.
- Complaints. The commission’s reporting service states that complaints received through it “will not be processed” and that complaints should be raised with the gambling business. A licence record is not a complaint channel.
- Lists of bad sites. The register lists businesses that hold, have held or have applied for a licence, and nothing else. In answer to a Freedom of Information request of 10 October 2024 for the names of operators and websites it had issued notices to, the commission withheld the information. A site on no list has therefore not been cleared.
Licence numbers, logos and overseas licences prove nothing on their own
Anyone can copy a licence number and a logo from another site. That is why step four asks whether the domain is listed against the record, and a real number on the wrong website fails that test.
Overseas licences work the same way. The commission states that “A gambling licence issued in another country does not permit an operator to provide gambling to consumers in Great Britain.” Under licence condition 8.1.1, a business licensed in Great Britain may show overseas licences on screens accessible from Great Britain only if it makes plain that it serves Great Britain under its commission licence. A site that shows only an overseas licence has therefore not shown a commission licence. The register settles the question either way.
Smart design, prices in pounds, British payment methods, reviews and rankings do not show a licence either. That includes reviews and rankings on any website, this one included. Only the record counts.
Familiar games are no proof. On 20 January 2025 the commission warned that it had become aware of “casino games supplied by licensed operators appearing on unlicensed websites”, in an industry warning notice. A familiar title or studio name says nothing about the site hosting it.
What if the site is not on the register?
Before drawing a conclusion, rule out the ordinary reasons for a missed search. The search may have used the brand name rather than the legal name or the domain, the domain may be marked ‘Inactive’, or the address may only look very similar to the one on record. Each is a possibility to test, not a reassurance that the licence is probably there.
What you lose without a licence is simple to list. The obligations described earlier come with the licence. Without one, a complaints process backed by an ADR provider, membership of Gamstop and a statement of how customer money is protected are not required by the commission. The wider picture is in what unlicensed casinos mean for players.
The commission’s guidance says that a gambling business operating without a Gambling Commission licence “is acting illegally” and that its payment facilities “may be withdrawn by major payment systems organisations”, in a page last updated on 23 August 2021. It also states that providing gambling facilities to consumers in Great Britain without a licence or exemption is illegal “regardless of where in the world the gambling is provided from”, on a page dated 18 September 2025. Both statements describe the position of the business. This guide does not say what they mean for a player.
If an account or money is already involved, pause any further payments while the question is open and keep the payment records and screenshots. Ask your bank about payments already made to the site. Nothing here promises that money can be recovered.
Where to report and where to get help
- Report the site through the commission’s confidential reporting service, which accepts reports of “unlicensed gambling or criminal activity”. The commission states that “All reports are treated in the strictest confidence.”
- Expect no reply. The commission states that it “cannot provide feedback on any information you provide in case it results in an investigation”.
- Raise a dispute about a payment with the business itself, through its complaints process, because the reporting service does not process complaints. For a licensed business, the next step is how to complain to a gambling business and when to use ADR.
If gambling is causing harm to you or to someone close to you, the National Gambling Helpline offers free and confidential support on 0808 8020 133. It is run by GamCare. A licence shows who oversees a business. It does not show how much is safe to lose. Gamstop, the national online self-exclusion scheme, is available to anyone living in the United Kingdom, but it applies to operators licensed in Great Britain.
This guide gives general information and is not legal advice.
Questions players ask about checking a licence
How do you check if a casino is licensed in the UK?
Search the Gambling Commission’s register of gambling businesses by domain name, business name or account number. The record should show a licence status of ‘Active’ and list the site’s domain. Check every letter of the address, and note the date of your check.
What is a Gambling Commission account number?
It is the commission’s reference for a licensed business: the first block of six digits of the licence number, with any leading zeros removed. A licensed online business must show it in its licence statement on every screen where customers can gamble, linked to its record on the register.
What does ‘White label’ mean on the public register?
‘White label’ is one of three statuses a domain can carry, alongside ‘Active’ and ‘Inactive’. The register page does not define it for players. The commission’s report on white label partnerships says responsibility for compliance sits with the licence holder, which points to the licensee named on the record.
Does a licence from another country cover players in Great Britain?
No. The commission states that a gambling licence issued in another country does not permit an operator to provide gambling to consumers in Great Britain. A licensed business may show overseas licences only if it makes plain that it serves Great Britain under its commission licence.
What does it mean if a licence is ‘Suspended’ or ‘Revoked’?
Neither status is ‘Active’. The commission describes ‘Suspended’ as a licence suspended pending investigation, and ‘Revoked’ as a licence revoked after regulatory action or a breach of licence conditions. Read the full record before you put money in, including any regulatory actions listed.
Does a Gambling Commission licence cover Northern Ireland?
The commission states that it does not regulate the provision of remote gambling in Northern Ireland. Gamstop Online, by contrast, is available to anyone living in the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland, although it applies to operators licensed in Great Britain.
How do you report a gambling site that has no licence?
Use the commission’s online confidential reporting service, which covers “unlicensed gambling or criminal activity”. Reports are treated in the strictest confidence, but the commission cannot provide feedback on what you send. Payment disputes go to the business through its complaints process.
Sources
Sources for this guide on how to check if a casino is licensed in the UK, all read on 9 October 2026 unless a different date is given.
- Gambling Commission, Register of gambling businesses (last updated 9 October 2026)
- Gambling Commission, Display of licensed status technical requirements (last updated 11 June 2021)
- Gambling Commission, Licence condition 8.1.1, display of licensed status
- Gambling Commission, What to look at before you gamble (last updated 23 August 2021)
- Gambling Commission, Checks you can do to stay safe (last updated 26 August 2023)
- Gambling Commission, How we tackle illegal gambling (18 September 2025)
- Gambling Commission, Tell us something in confidence (last updated 8 October 2026)
- Gambling Commission, Tell us something in confidence: online reporting service
- Gambling Commission, What we regulate (last updated 5 May 2026)
- Gambling Commission, ICE Barcelona 2026: Tim Miller speech (19 January 2026, last updated 11 March 2026)
- Gambling Commission, Two operators’ licences suspended for failure to participate in GAMSTOP (3 April 2020)
- Gambling Commission, Compliance and enforcement report 2019 to 2020: white label partnerships (last updated 16 June 2023)
- Gambling Commission, Industry warning notice: licensed software appearing on illegal market (20 January 2025)
- Gambling Commission, Freedom of Information response: data about illegal betting websites operating in Great Britain (request dated 10 October 2024)
- GamCare, National Gambling Helpline
- Gamstop, Register with Gamstop