The Gambling Commission was created under the Gambling Act 2005 and regulates gambling in Great Britain. Any operator taking bets from GB customers requires a licence from it, wherever the company is based.
What a GB licence actually obliges an operator to do
Factually, and without embellishment, the licence conditions include:
- Age and identity verification before gambling; later withdrawal checks must not demand information reasonably obtainable earlier. UKGC guidance
- Mandatory membership of an approved ADR scheme, free to the player, with decisions binding on the operator
- Integration with GAMSTOP, the national self-exclusion scheme
- No credit-card deposits. Banned across GB gambling in April 2020
- No reverse withdrawal. Restricted temporarily in May 2020, permanently from 31 October 2021
- Statutory stake limits on online slots — £5 per spin, and £2 for players aged 18 to 24
- Segregation of customer funds, with the level of protection disclosed
- Public enforcement: fines and settlements are published, with the failings described
That list is unusual. Most regulators require some of it. Few require all of it, and fewer publish the enforcement.
What it does not do
It does not read every term for fairness, it does not guarantee your payout arrives quickly, and: the important one — it only protects you if the operator holds a GB licence. An offshore site accepting GB players without one is not lightly regulated. It is unregulated, for you, with a logo.
How to check
Search the Commission's public register by licence number, not by brand name. Confirm the status is active and that the brand in front of you is listed as a trading name on that licence.
In our engine, a verified top-tier licence carries no penalty on the TrustAudit Index. No verified licence carries −3.0.