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In the UK it is a criminal offence to commercially take bets or offer a betting exchange service if you do not have a Gambling Commission (GC) license.

In this article we list bookmakers license numbers from our own recommanded bookies, we explain why gambling licences are needed in the first place, what they mean for operators, how bookmakers get hold of these licences and what happened if they contravene the conditions of the commission. We also discuss gambling law, including the latest Gambling Act 2014 and what this means for both the betting industry and the punter.

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• A UK casino license dictates specific rules and regulations that casinos must adhere to. Since an independent gambling body issues the license, a legitimate UK casino with a license is full proof that it is a fair and reliable casino. You can rest assured that all casinos that are featured and promoted on GambleGenie have a valid UK license.

Gambling law in the United Kingdom provides some of the most stringent legislation and protections in the world. Gambling licences are in place to protect not only punters from unlicensed operators but also to protect bookmakers and betting operators.

They must cover an additional system audit fee worth €1,770 and annual licensing costs of between €10,000 and €25,000. Casino owners also pay a “compliance contribution” ranging from 1.25% to 0.4% of revenue. The compliance contribution tops out at €375,000 per.

• Gambling Law:

Gambling License Details For Major UK Bookmakers

Is Gambling Online Legal in the UK?

The simple answer is yes but only under licence. It may surprise many that up until 2005 the industry was unregulated online and until 2014 operators based outside the UK didn't have to have a UK licence. If you gamble with an agent that does not possess a licence they are operating illegally and you risk losing your funds.

Clicking on the licence numbers in the table above and this will take you to that operator's specific gambling commission issued licence. You can also search for licences of operators not in the table. Never gamble with a betting website from within the UK that doesn't have a licence, if you do your funds will have no protection under the law.

What is a Gambling Licence

This is a licence that all gambling providers who are based in or operate in the UK are required to have. This came in to force under the Gambling Act of 2005 and stipulates that anyone wishing to commercially advertise to or transact with customers for the purposes of gambling must carry a licence.

To apply for a licence companies are required to demonstrate they have several protections in place for the prevention of crime and protection of customers.

The Gambling Commission was set up to issue and administer licences. You can check if an operator has a licence by visiting their site. Operators must also display their licence details properly on their website or premises. You will either see a reference for the licence or the full licence number, either can be searched on the commission's website. In the table at the top of this page we list all the licence numbers for bookmakers reviewed on our site. Clicking the number will take you to their individual licence.

Often licences are held by holding companies that then operate several branded gambling entities. Each bookmaker listed on this site have a full UK gambling licence, details of which can be found in the table or in our betting site reviews.

It is quite amazing in a way to think that internet gambling went unregulated until 2005 and in many countries it still is. This is why betting in the UK betting and gaming industry is now one of the safest in the world.

Who Are The Gambling Commission

The Gambling Commission was originally set up in 2005 under the previous gambling Act. The body is an independent non-departmental public body that receives funding and support from the UK governments department for culture, media and sport. The commission acts as regulator for all commercial gambling operators including bingo, bookmakers, casinos, gaming arcades, etc. The commission is also responsible for regulating lotteries in the UK including the National Lottery since taking over the responsibilities of the National Lottery Commission in 2013.

The commission employ over 250 people, are based in Birmingham and are largely funded by licence fees paid by bookmakers and other operators. The gambling commission do not cover spread betting and other forms of index betting, this falls under the jurisdiction of the financial conduct authority (FCA).

For more about the UK Gambling Commission read our dedicated guide.

What Do the Gambling Commission Do?

The GC have some principal objectives:

• Crime Prevention – This is both in terms of preventing illegal bookmaking (protecting the punter) and betting fraud from punters (protecting the bookie).
• Promote and Open Industry – This includes promoting honesty about betting operations and gambling including responsible gambling. For example offers, terms and bonuses need to clear and transparent without conflicting or false language.
• Protect Venerable People – Possibly the most important aim of the commission ensure children under the age of 18 and vulnerable people are prevented from gambling. This includes age and identity checking and monitoring. See responsible gambling.

What Don't the Gambling Commission Do?

The commission is there is ensure a safe and responsible industry they will not:

• Mediate Customer Complaints – Operators must have their own systems in place to properly handle complaints. If you want to escalate a complaint you can use the Independent Betting Adjudication Service (IBAS) service. Read our complaints article for more.
• Legal Advice – They will not give advice but they will give general information pertaining to the Gambling Act or any relevant legislation.
• Check Every Gambling Website – Whilst it is the law that operators need to possess a licence to operate in the UK it is up to you to check there is a licence in place before you gamble.

How Do The Gambling Commission Regulate?

The commission is limited in its scope and resources so they will always attempt to mediate disputes and will only take legal action in cases that present the greatest risks to the licensing objectives.

If operators fail to comply with the Licence conditions and codes of practice (LCCP) then the commission will step in. If you feel you know of an operator who are not meeting the LCCP you can report them anonymously to the commission.

In rare events where illegal activity is serious enough the GC has the power to revoke licences and issue legal action against operators. All major legal action and information is published on their website.

In general the GC are seen as a body that are trying to work with bookmakers and other gambling agents to ensure a safe industry rather than being an enforcement agency.

Gambling Law and Legislation in the UK

There are specific laws on all aspects of commercial gambling from prizes and games run in public houses to gaming machines, remote operators and fees and duty charges.

For a full list of all gambling legislation see the commissions own gambling related legislation page.

Gambling Act 2005

The act of 2005 was brought in to give the UK government greater means of regulating a diverse gambling industry. This was the first major piece of legislation since the Betting and Gaming Act 1960. In fact it legislated the creation of the Gambling Commission itself as an independent body to enforce and regulate the contents of the Act.

The country had reached a point where gaming needed renewed legislation with the new millennium seeing a glut of new ways to gamble from fixed odds terminals in shops, new lottery games and more advanced gaming arcades. The act was also brought in to also regulate online betting for the first time.

Basically the 2005 gambling act is designed to enforce the principal objectives of the gambling commission described above with specific legislation such as fee limits, payout limits etc., for individual aspects (such as how much a fruit machine in a pub can pay out).

Gambling Bill 2014

The 2014 Gambling (Licencing and Advertising) Bill is effectively an add-on to the 2005 legislation. This is more encompassing and more focused towards online and remote betting to ensure all gambling companies that operate in the UK fall under the law and the GC, wherever they are actually bases. This makes it easier to define what gambling is and whether a company and its advertisers are permitted to operate in Great Britain.

One important aspect of the 2014 act is to ensure that off shore operators are also required to have a UK gambling licence to advertise in the UK. As most online bookmakers are based in the likes of Gibraltar or Malta this was a critical piece of legislation. It also entitled the government to a 15% tax on gross profits earned in the UK.

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History of UK Gambling Law

Gambling and betting through history has courted much attention. It has been banned or restricted several times by various monarchs and the republican Oliver Cromwell, who banned most sports and betting with his puritan ways. In 1541 the Unlawful Games Act was enacted by the parliament of England and was designed to restrict several new games. The idea at the time was new games and sports were causing the death of archery as young adolescents became distracted by newer ventures.

The 1541 act didn't necessarily restrict gambling directly but did so by proxy in banning the sports and games occurring in the first place. It took however until 1845 for the British establishment to issue binding legislation on gambling in the Gaming Act of 1845.

The gaming act was actually designed to discourage betting. It made a bet unenforceable as a contract under law and therefore an illegal action. Basically meaning if you bet it is illegal under law and you do so at your own risk meaning someone could walk off with your cash. This wasn't actually rescinded until 2001 and needless to say it didn't really stop people gambling.

The 1892 Gaming Act created an exception for the Totalisator (tote) board. This allowed on track betting at race courses in Great Britain but betting and gambling off course was still illegal up until 1960 (with the exception of the football pools) The 1960 Act saw the final repeal of the 1845 gaming act.

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Up until 1960 it was however legal to place bets by post or over the telephone. Many bookmakers got around this by employing 'runners' that would take bets from a public phone to the bookmaker. Mr William Hill is a famous early bookie who did what he could to circumvent these laws.

The Betting and Gaming Act of 1960 famously removed the restriction on offsite betting and led to the opening of the first betting shops in 1961. Many cite this as the beginning of the end for greyhound racing and some smaller horse racing meetings in particular.

This worked well enough until the end of the 20th Century, however new forms of betting such as gaming machines and critically the internet meant that new legislation was needed. This was seen in the form of the 2005 Act and 2014 Bill.

Customer Complaints & Protection

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The objectives of the the UK government, the gambling commission and bookmakers is to generally protect customers by creating a safe, fair and open environment. The gambling commission will not however mediate individual customer complaints over disputed funds.

You can however report gambling operators (either online or physical) if you think they are contravening the gambling code and putting people at risk. If you think you have been mislead by advertising you are better off contacting the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA).

For information on IBAS, the body that mediates disputes between bookmakers and customers, read our IBAS page or for more general dispute advice read our how to make a complaint to a bookmaker article.

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Responsible Gambling

A core objective of the GC is to ensure all operators actively promote responsible gambling. See our article for all features and information relating to responsible gambling.

• Gaming Permits:

  • FEC permit (unlicensed): £300.00
  • Renewal: £300.00
  • Prize gaming permit application: £300.00
  • Renewal: £300.00
  • Change of name: £25.00
  • Copy of permit: £15.00
  • Licensed premises notification: £50.00
  • Licensed premises gaming machine permit new: £150.00
  • Licensed premises gaming machine permit variation: £100.00

  Club Machine Permit and Club Gaming Permit:

  • Application (existing operator): £100.00
  • Application (holder of Club Premise Certificate): £100.00
  • Application (new applicant): £200.00
  • Renewal: £200.00
  • Renewal for Club Premises Certificate holder: £100.00
  • Variation of Permit: £100.00
  • Copy of Permit: £15.00
  • Annual Fee: £50.00

  View on our full list of fees.

• Gambling premises licences

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