The UKGC is the Gambling Commission, the regulator for gambling in Great Britain. If a casino wants to offer online casino games to people in Great Britain, it needs a UKGC remote operating licence. This page explains what that licence means for you as a player, what it does not mean, and how to check it.
It is general information, not legal advice. The UKGC’s remit is Great Britain, so check the law where you live. Content is for adults aged 18 or over.
What the UKGC does
The Gambling Commission licenses gambling businesses, sets the conditions they must meet, and acts when they break them. It also publishes a public register of the businesses it licenses. For who needs a licence and what it costs, see UK gambling license types and fees.
In practice that means three things for a player:
- Licensing. A business that offers gambling to people in Great Britain by remote means (online, phone, TV and similar) needs a remote licence. The register describes it this way: “A remote licence is required for any gambling provided to players online or by other remote means.” The same page says the licence is also required if any gambling equipment is based in Great Britain (Register of gambling businesses, Gambling Commission, read 2026-10-28).
- Rules. Licensees must follow the Commission’s licence conditions and codes of practice (LCCP).
- Enforcement. The Commission can fine, settle with, restrict or revoke the licence of a business that breaks its conditions. It also acts against sites that offer gambling to people in Great Britain without a licence. In its 2024 to 2025 reporting year it issued 516 cease and desist requests to illegal operators (up from 384 in 2023-24) and 352 more to advertisers or affiliates of unlicensed operators (Gambling Commission Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25, Gambling Commission).
How many UK casinos are licensed
On 28 October 2026 we downloaded the Commission’s public licence file (business-licence-register-licences.csv) and counted the rows where the status is Active, the type is Remote and the activity is Casino. The result was 137 licences. The file held 4,506 licence rows in total, of all types, statuses and activities, including land-based and ancillary licences.
Two notes on that figure:
- It counts licence rows of one type. One company can hold licences for casino, bingo and betting at once, and it appears once per activity. We checked that the 137 casino rows belong to 137 different licence numbers and 137 different accounts.
- Our count on 26 October 2026 was 138. The file changes as licences start and end, so a count is only true on its date. How to use the UKGC public register shows how to repeat it.
Source: Gambling Commission public register licence file, downloaded 2026-10-28 and counted by GiroReal.
What a UKGC licence means for you
A UKGC remote casino licence tells you that the operator is under UK supervision for its Great Britain business, and that it is on a public register you can check. These are the practical effects worth knowing.
The licensee is accountable for its partners
Licence condition 1.1.2 covers responsibility for third parties. It says licensees must be able to end contracts with third parties promptly, “including for affiliates where they have breached a relevant advertising code of practice” (LCCP condition 1.1.2, Gambling Commission). For readers of a site like this one, that is a reminder that affiliates marketing UK-licensed operators are expected to follow advertising rules, and operators can drop partners who do not.
Withdrawals are where most complaints start
The Commission says issues relating to withdrawals cause most of the complaints it receives, and it has planned work on explaining identity checks and account restrictions that happen at withdrawal (Gambling Commission Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25). Practical advice follows from that:
- Verify your identity early, before you ask for a withdrawal. Our KYC guide explains what checks to expect.
- Read the terms on withdrawal limits and bonus-linked restrictions before you deposit.
- Keep screenshots and dates of anything you may need to dispute.
Self-exclusion is available
We cover how self-exclusion works, and where it stops working, in self-exclusion explained.
What a UKGC licence does not mean
- It does not protect you from losing. The house edge is the same at a licensed and an unlicensed casino.
- It does not cover every site that mentions the UK. The licence is for the licensed company’s Great Britain business. A brand can have a UK licence for a UK-facing site and operate its international site under another regulator. LeoVegas Gaming PLC is on the UK register (account 39198, licence 039198-R-319450-029) while the international site states a Malta licence. Always check that the site you are on is listed.
- It does not mean no sanctions. Some licensed businesses carry regulatory actions on the register. As read on 28 October 2026, the Videoslots Limited record (account 39380) showed one regulatory action. That action is a £650,000 financial penalty, a warning and an extra licence condition, decision dated 30 October 2025 (UKGC register, regulatory actions for account 39380). A sanction is information, not a verdict. Read what it was for.
How to check a UKGC licence
The Commission’s register lets you search by business name, trading name, domain name or account number. A licence record shows the activities licensed, the licence number, the status, and the dates it started and ends or whether it is current. It also shows counts of trading names, domain names, premises and regulatory actions.
Statuses the Commission defines on its register page include:
| Status | Commission’s definition |
|---|---|
| Active | Licence is active and up to date |
| Expired | The licensee has not applied for a new operating licence after the current licence reaches its end date |
| Revoked | Licence revoked as a result of regulatory action or breach of licence conditions |
| Suspended | Licence suspended by the Commission pending investigation |
| Surrendered | Licence given up by the business as it is no longer required |
| Pending | New licence applied for or being varied and not yet active |
The register also lists Forfeited, Lapsed and Revoked (Non payment of fee). Source: Register of gambling businesses, Gambling Commission, read 2026-10-28.
The Commission adds a warning: domain names and trading names are provided by the gambling business, and it cannot guarantee the accuracy of information provided by third parties. So match the company, the licence number and the domain, and treat a missing domain as a reason to ask questions.
A worked example: the company behind the brand
Brand names and licensees are often different. When we checked Casumo on 26 October 2026, the register listed the domain casumo.com under Recro Limited (licence 061549-R-336718-003, remote casino, active), not under a company called Casumo. A second record, Casumo Services Limited (account 39265, licence 039265-R-319417-019), showed as surrendered. Both facts are why we match the company name in a casino’s terms to the register entry, and why we look at the status as well as the name. Our reviews of LeoVegas and Videoslots show their UK entries the same way.
Step-by-step screens and worked examples are in how to use the UKGC public register. If you want to check a licence from any regulator, read how to check a gambling licence.
What to do if a UK-licensed casino lets you down
The Commission’s register tells players what to do first. It says that if you disagree with a gambling business about the result of your gambling transaction, or about the service you received, you should first make a complaint to the business. The same page tells people in Great Britain who have been offered gambling by someone that does not appear to hold a licence to report it through the Commission’s “Tell us something in confidence” page.
Our step-by-step route, with deadlines for each regulator, is in how to complain about an online casino.
When a casino is not UK-licensed
Many casinos that accept international players have no UKGC licence at all. That is not a trick in itself: they may be licensed by Malta, Curaçao or another regulator and may not accept players from Great Britain. What matters is that the licence you rely on belongs to the site you are using and to the market you play from. If you are in Great Britain and a casino with no UKGC licence accepts you, the Commission’s own advice on its register is to report it through its confidential reporting page.
To see how the three most-cited licences compare, read Curaçao vs MGA vs UKGC. For the others, see the Malta Gaming Authority and Curaçao Gaming Authority pages.
If gambling is causing you harm
The Commission’s website lists a free help line, open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week: 0808 8020 133 in England and Scotland and 0808 2819 265 in Wales, or GambleAware’s “Get help now” service. Help is also covered in our responsible gaming page.
Summary
- The UKGC licenses and supervises gambling businesses serving Great Britain, and publishes a free public register.
- On 28 October 2026 the licence file showed 137 active remote casino licences.
- A licence is a floor for standards, not a quality score. Check the company, number, status and domain every time.
- Complain to the operator first. Report unlicensed offers to the Commission.