By Margaret Thornbury, Regulation & Safer Gambling Lead. Last updated
Who needs a Gambling Commission licence
Under the Gambling Act 2005, as amended in 2014, any operator offering remote gambling to consumers in Great Britain must hold a licence from the Gambling Commission, wherever the company is based. The 2014 change was significant: before it, operators licensed in certain overseas jurisdictions could serve British customers without answering to the British regulator.
Northern Ireland is not covered by the Gambling Act in the same way and has separate legislation. In practice, most online sites serving customers across the UK hold a Gambling Commission licence and apply its standards throughout.
What a licence guarantees you
A licence comes with the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice, a detailed rulebook that operators must follow. For bettors, the most important protections are these:
| Protection | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Age and identity verification | Your age and identity are checked before you can deposit or bet, keeping under-18s out |
| Safer gambling tools | Deposit limits, time-outs, reality checks and self-exclusion must be available |
| GAMSTOP participation | If you register with GAMSTOP, licensed sites must block you for the chosen period |
| Fair and open terms | Terms must be clear, and operators cannot rely on unfair terms to refuse payouts |
| Complaints and ADR | Operators must run a complaints process and offer free independent dispute resolution |
| Customer funds disclosure | Operators must tell you how well your balance is protected if the business fails |
| Advertising standards | Marketing must not target children or vulnerable people or be misleading |
How to check a licence on the public register
- Find the details. Scroll to the footer of the betting site. Note the licence number and the legal name of the company that holds it.
- Search the register. Go to the public register and search by account number or company name.
- Check the status. Confirm the licence is active and covers remote betting. A suspended, revoked or surrendered licence is a clear stop.
- Match the domain. The register lists the domain names the operator trades under. Make sure the website you are using appears there.
- Look at regulatory action. Note any public statements about fines or other sanctions, and read what they concerned.
Why the domain check matters
Copycat websites sometimes display a genuine licence number that belongs to a different company. The domain list on the register is the quickest way to confirm that the site in front of you is the one the licence actually covers.
How your balance is protected
Operators must tell you how customer funds are protected if the company becomes insolvent. The Commission uses three levels. Not protected means your balance is held alongside company money. Medium protection means funds are kept in a separate account with arrangements to pay customers first. High protection means funds are held in a trust or similar arrangement so that creditors cannot touch them. Look for this statement in the terms or during sign-up. Keeping large balances on any betting site is unwise regardless of the protection level.
What enforcement action tells you
The Commission regularly fines operators for failures in anti-money laundering controls and customer interaction, often after customers lost large sums without appropriate checks. These cases are published, and they show that the rules have teeth. An operator with past action is not automatically one to avoid, as many have improved significantly, but repeated sanctions for similar failings are worth weighing.
The Commission does not settle individual disputes. If you have a complaint, follow the operator’s process first and then use the dispute resolution service it names. For how licensing fits into a wider comparison, read our guide on comparing betting sites, and see our betting apps guide for checking that an app belongs to a licensed operator.
Questions readers ask
The legal obligation falls on operators, not individual customers. However, unlicensed sites offer none of the protections described here, and you would have little recourse if they refused to pay.
Not on its own. Since 2014, operators serving customers in Great Britain need a Gambling Commission licence, even if they also hold licences elsewhere.
No. It regulates operators but does not resolve individual disputes. Use the operator’s complaints process and then its approved dispute resolution service.