UKGC Gambling Licence List of UKCG Licensed Casinos 2026
A central objective behind the reform of the 80/20 rule is to enable operators to have greater commercial flexibility over their product offer of Category B, C and D gaming machines. This means, for example, that operators will be able to site 2 Category B cabinet gaming machines to a minimum of one Category C or D gaming machine. The government intends to amend the current gaming machine ratio to allow operators to make 2 Category B gaming machines available to a minimum of one Category C and D gaming machine. Equally, we want to ensure that customers receive a genuine offer of lower staking gaming machines as an important mitigation against gambling-related harm. Chapter 5 ‘Review of licensing authority fees’ outlines proposed changes to premises licence fees for Small 2005 Act casinos, which 1968 Act casinos that elect to move onto the new regime will also be subject to. The government intends for operating and premises licence fees to be harmonised between 1968 Act casinos and Small 2005 Act casinos.
Some trade associations also highlighted the GamCare Code of Conduct for the display of socially responsible messaging, which they adhere to and requires that 20% of screen content displays safer gambling messages. The overwhelming thrust of responses was that any messaging should be based on evidence. This question elicited the most detailed responses in this chapter from a wide variety of respondents. This proposal will help build a picture of the customer’s play and is already standard in betting shops.
However, these rates are lower than the majority of other gambling products, although remain above the at-risk and problem gambling rates for ‘any gambling activity’. Please explain your answer, including an alternative solution for how to calculate non-gambling areas where applicable. Failing to meet the size requirement in any of these three areas will result in a lower machine entitlement.
The best casino games depend on your playing style. A properly licensed UK casino should not cheat players. Rankings should remain useful first and include licence, terms and safer-play context. Once you see the badge on a casino’s site, you know it is legit.Just so you know, the Gambling Commission does not hand out licenses for nothing.
However, we recommend that Northern Ireland residents still use UKGC licensed operators as they offer the highest level of consumer protection available. Northern Ireland has its own separate gambling legislation and is not covered by the Gambling Act 2005. If you believe an operator has breached licence conditions, you may also report concerns directly to the Gambling Commission. We strongly advise using only UKGC licensed operators. It is legal for UK residents to gamble on sites not licensed by the UKGC, however such operators are prohibited from actively targeting or advertising to UK customers.
Browse and search all companies holding UKGC gambling licences. This does not apply to a casino which was 1,500m² or larger on 12th May 2025, provided the size of that casino’s gambling area is not subsequently increased and the casino remains in the same premises. The mandatory conditions vary depending on whether the holder of the licence has decided to exercise the extended entitlement, and if not, whether the floor area of the gambling area in the casino is 200m² or more. By paragraph (2) of regulation 4, the minimum size of the table gaming area in small casinos licensed under the Act is reduced from 500m² to 250m². (3) The maximum number of separate betting positions that may be made available for use at any time in relation to betting machines is determined in accordance with the table below. 5.—(1) This paragraph applies to all premises in respect of which a converted casino premises licence has effect.
For one, in the UK, the gambling rules are clear, with proper regulation that keeps things legit. The UK framework gives players a few practical checks to look for before joining a casino. Real players know that gambling should be fun. With so many options out there, it’s fair to ask how you actually pick the best one.
Holders of personal licences will be required to pay a fee every five years to maintain their licence11. However, as indicated previously, by virtue of section 125 of the Gambling Act 2005 (opens in new tab), in the context of an application for an operating or personal licence, the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 does not apply to a ‘relevant offence’. For operating licence applications, the Commission will ask for accounts from existing businesses or financial projections where the applicant is a new business. The Commission will not grant an operating licence until it is fully satisfied that the operation will not be financed by the proceeds of crime and that profits from the operation will not be used to finance criminal activity. The persons considered relevant may vary depending on the information provided in the operating licence application and on company structure, but are likely to exercise a function in connection with, or to have an interest in, the licensed activities.
Note that the different fees currently charged for large and small casinos may be subject to review and harmonisation following the consultation outlined in Chapter 1. The fees payable for gaming machine notifications and gaming machine permits are not in scope of this review. The Gambling Act 2005 created a partnership between the Gambling Commission and 368 licensing authorities in England, Wales and Scotland for the regulation of land-based gambling.
As above, 1968 Act casinos will retain the option of continuing to operate under the existing regime should they not wish to increase their non gamstop casino machine allocations. We would like to make the process for taking up the entitlement of additional machines as simple as possible for both operators and licensing authorities. Anecdotal evidence shows that only three of the 2005 Act casinos offer betting, representing about 0.2% of the total GGY for each of those casino premises. There has been no evidence that permitting betting in 2005 Act casinos resulted in increased harm, and the Gambling Commission’s view is that permitting sports betting in 1968 Act casinos is unlikely to have any particular impact on the Act’s licensing objectives. There are likely to be indirect costs in the form of displacement from online sports betting as those in casinos who would otherwise have bet on sports using mobile devices may be more inclined to do so using casino services.
Customer Support
The flat additional application fee payable for a licence that combines all three of these activities is £3,140. The flat additional application fee payable for a licence that combines all three of these activities is £2,512. If these changes affect how your personal data is processed, DCMS will take reasonable steps to let you know. Any changes to this privacy policy will apply to you and your data immediately. You may also contact them to seek independent advice about data protection, privacy and data sharing. If you believe that your personal data has been misused or mishandled, you may make a complaint to the Information Commissioner, who is an independent regulator.
Guidance for small businesses and sole traders running a gambling business. View guidance about what you need to tell us when you apply for a licence Guidance about the information we’ll ask for when applying for a licence. Find out how much it will cost to apply for a licence and ongoing annual fees.
The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) is the regulatory body responsible for overseeing all forms of gambling within the United Kingdom. It’s not just the secure and fair gameplay you get, but also the decision towards responsible gambling. By choosing a UK-regulated casino, you truly do yourself a favour. Casinos that operate under the UKGC license offer a robust and secure gaming environment. This gives Brits plenty of options and displays how flexible the license can be.
We will introduce an age limit of 18 and over for the use of ‘cash-out’ Category D slot-style gaming machines. In practice, this means that 2 Category B gaming machines on a cabinet device type can be made available to a minimum of one Category C or D gaming machine on a cabinet device type. This measure will apply on a device type basis, meaning that the ratio applies across the 3 different types of device on which gaming machines content is currently offered in arcades and bingo halls, namely cabinets, in-fills and tablets. Introducing an age-limit on certain types of Category D gaming machines – draft affirmative statutory instrument. Allowing direct use of debit cards on gaming machines – made negative statutory instrument.
Under Option 1, the vast majority of industry respondents projected that there would be an increase in GGY for arcade and bingo operators. A summary of these responses is outlined below. Licensing authority responses were predominantly in favour of Option 2, though a number restated their original position that the current 80/20 ratio should not be changed in the liberalising manner proposed. The majority of industry responses expressed a preference for either Option 1 or Option 3, and were strongly opposed to Option 2. This section of the consultation received 40 responses.
Check Licence Status
The UKGC maintains an up-to-date public register of all their licensed operators. Here, you can use their search feature to look up the casino by name. First thing to do is to check the casino’s footer for the UKGC logo. This allows us to give you a balanced and transparent overview of each casino. The ratings are based on comprehensive UK casino reviews carried out by Bojoko’s casino experts. It offers games, ranging from slots to table games and live casino, from over 50 game suppliers.
Your licence
Some gambling software businesses provide facilities for remote gambling by making their games available to customers of other operators. You have the option to select ‘Prefer not to say’ in response to any of the questions that ask for your personal data. The government is considering raising maximum licence fees for gambling premises. If you are a local authority/ licensing board, how many premises licence applications did you receive in the 22/23 financial year? We expect that wider benefits will arise from the increase in oversight and enforcement activity by licensing authorities of gambling premises in their area and are seeking further information to better understand these benefits. In order to produce a more robust estimate for funding raised, we require additional data on the current number of licence applications and live licences.
As part of the gambling laws in the UK, licensees must obtain and verify the identity of a customer before permitting them to gamble. Personal licenses cover the key personnel of gambling businesses. The local authority is in charge of determining all the premises’ fees. In addition, the applicant should prove their right to occupy the premises. The exact cost can be calculated by using the Gambling Commission’s online calculator. Gambling businesses need an operating license to provide the services mentioned in the section above.
The Gambling Commission issues operating and personal licenses, while local authorities issue premises licenses. The Commission has the authority to investigate and enforce regulations, impose penalties for non-compliance, and address concerns related to problem gambling. All licensed operators must display their licence number on their website, typically in the footer. The Gambling Commission is the regulatory body responsible for licensing and overseeing gambling activities in Great Britain. Register with GAMSTOP to self-exclude from all UKGC licensed online gambling sites for a period of your choosing.
As previously discussed, an optimal strategy to combat disassociation when gambling combines breaks in play with safer gambling messaging. (Optional response) Open text box (Optional response)i) Monetary thresholds ii) Time thresholds Sliding scale However, the government believes that there could be benefits to harmonising these measures as part of direct cashless gambling.
We can also analyse average loss and session length data to consider the possible risks of gambling harm for those customers who increase their gambling participation as a result of these measures. Notably, these rates are below the at-risk and problem gambling rates for casino table games (31.5% and 6.4% respectively). • Any non-gambling area may consist of one or more areas within the premisesDo you agree that this should remain the same under the new regime? It is for the Scottish Ministers to consider whether they want to amend the Mandatory and Default Conditions that apply to casinos located in Scotland. Therefore, we would welcome any responses which highlight concerns about this approach and how non-gambling areas could be calculated using a different method.
The regulator has set clear rules that operators must follow, including responsible gambling, anti-money laundering, data protection, and fair game standards. Given the high rate at which new online casinos spring up, it’s now very important to verify the license of any site you wish to use. You must be 18 or older to play at online casinos in the UK.
- Unlicensed operators are illegal in Great Britain and offer no consumer protection.
- We expect this measure to restrict the play of under-18s on machines in scope.
- Operators are increasingly expected to understand the affordability of the gambling undertaken by their players, particularly where players are high spenders.
- Land-based gambling has a significantly larger workforce than online gambling.
You are required to tell us about certain things that happen in your business, these are dependent on the licences and activities you hold. If we grant you a licence to run a gambling business, you will be able to download a copy of your licence from eServices. The following guidance is specific to casino games, and is relevant to those who hold a casino licence. The LCCP outlines the requirements that all operating and personal licence holders must follow. The following legislation and policies are also applicable to operating licence holders. You can read more about the legal definition of casinos in Part 1 section 7 of the Gambling Act 2005 (opens in new tab).
The Gambling Commission has raised concern that some of these machines appear to have been designed primarily to maximise the number of Category B cabinet machines which can be sited by an operator, rather than to provide a genuine lower stake gambling offer to customers. However, to mitigate against gambling-related harm, the reform of the rule also seeks to ensure that a genuine offer of lower staking Category C and D machines remain available for customers. Additionally, the reform seeks to allow operators to reduce their energy costs through the removal of unused but energy intensive Category C and D machines and/or increase GGY through increased numbers of higher yielding Category B machines. Some operators were keen to highlight the increasing cost burden for land-based casinos in other areas, but acknowledged the logic of applying consistency across regimes.
(Mandatory response)Significant increase / Slight increase / No impact / Slight decrease / Significant decrease / I don’t know / Not applicable Casinos that are currently permitted to offer betting may site a maximum of 40 Self-Service Betting Terminals (SSBTs). Additionally, an objective of this measure is to reduce average session duration, which is linked to gambling harm. As noted in the Gambling Commission’s remote customer interaction consultation, 54% of people in Great Britain had a monthly disposable income below £250.