Regulation
Only casinos, holding licenses from the United Kingdom Gambling Commission can be deemed legitimate. Prior to issuing a license, the UKGC authorities evaluate the reliability and financial credibility of the applicant. The Commission also oversees all gambling services provided on the territory of the UK and imposes hefty fines to violators.
Payment Options
UK players have a wide range of payment methods available – they can choose between credit/ debit cards, e-wallets such as Skrill, Neteller, Paypal, and country-specific payment methods such as Boku.
The fast processing times are as important as the diverse range of payment options.
The UK gambling market is heavily regulated, and operators have to comply with identity verification requirements, which sometimes causes cashout delays. Also, most casinos have a 2-day pending time. During that time, players can reverse a withdrawal and continue playing with the funds. Once the pending time is over and the player hasn’t cancelled the withdrawal, the request is reviewed by the casino officials. In other words, allow up to a week before you start worrying about unpaid winnings. Please note that your bank might not process transactions to/ from gambling websites.
Bonuses
The UK gambling sector is overcrowded, to say the least. That’s why operators get more and more creative as far as bonuses are concerned. A 100% match deposit bonus of up to £100 is no longer as attractive as it used to be. However, the bonus terms and conditions are way more important than the bonus offer itself. Make sure that you check out the bonus terms for clauses limiting the amount you can withdraw when using bonus funds. It is essential to check if the casino requires funds’ turnover before a withdrawal.
Always check the bottom of the main page for the UKGC logo. You may also run a quick check on the online registry of the UK Gambling Commission, if you consider the website suspicious.
What’s Next?
The UK gambling industry is developing at a fast pace. As a result, the problem gambling issues deepened. That’s why the UK authorities took drastic measures in an attempt to curb compulsive gambling.
Drastic FOBTs max stake cut – in April 2019, the FOBT max stake was reduced to £2, which led to hundreds of betting shop closures
Age verification – UK players are not allowed to try a game even in demo mode unless they confirm they are at least 18 years old
Credit card deposits prohibition – From April 14, 2020, UK players are prohibited from using credit cards for making deposits
Advertisement restrictions – the UK authorities tightened the advertisement regulations as well as the sponsorship of the sports clubs
Bonus buy feature removal– UK slot players are no longer allowed to take advantage of the bonus buy feature. The latter enables them to gain instant access to a bonus round as long as they are willing to pay 70x-100x their stake size
AML and social responsibility fines – the UKGC frequently slaps casino operators with huge fines for anti-money laundering and social responsibility failures
