How to check a UK casino licence in ninety seconds
The Gambling Commission publishes every licensed operator. Here is how to look one up, and what the number does and does not tell you.
It takes under two minutes, it is free, and it answers the only question worth asking before you deposit anything: is this operator actually allowed to take your money?
The lookup
The Gambling Commission publishes a register of every business licensed to offer gambling in Great Britain. It is searchable by business name, trading name, domain name or account number — and the domain search is the one to use, because brands change names far more often than they change URLs.
Go to the register of gambling businesses, type the site's domain, and read what comes back.
What a result tells you
- The licensee. The actual company, which is very often not the brand name on the website.
- The account number and licence number. Quote these if you ever complain.
- Status. Active, or not. A lapsed or surrendered licence is the end of the conversation.
- Activities. Casino, bingo, betting and so on — a licence for one does not cover another.
What it does not tell you
A licence is a floor, not a recommendation. It says an operator met the Commission's requirements for lawful operation. It says nothing about withdrawal speed, how the support desk behaves at 2am, whether the terms are fair, or whether complaints get resolved. Treat a licence as a pass mark on legality and judge everything else separately.
The red flag
If a site displays a licence number that does not resolve in the register — or displays a regulator that does not exist — stop. Both happen. Copying a plausible-looking number into a footer costs nothing; holding a licence does not.
Equally, be careful with sites that mention the Commission without claiming a licence. Information sites like this one hold no gambling licence and are not required to. The test is whether the site is taking your money. If it is, it needs its own entry in that register.