Casino licensing and regulation – a complete guide

The gambling industry is made up of a complex web of organisations, from charitable support organisations to casino operators themselves. One of the most important branches of the industry is the regulatory sector, especially the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC). In this guide, we’ll be exploring the responsibilities, objectives, and powers of regulators.

Casino licences

To operate legally, casinos and gambling operators must have a licence. 

Why must a casino have a licence?

Gambling thrives on trust. Players need to know that when they gamble, they do so with a fair chance of winning.

Both land-based and online casinos must follow strict licensing and regulatory rules to ensure a fair and safe environment. Gambling regulations protect players, prevent illegal activities and promote responsible gambling. 

Licences ensure that technical requirements and standards are upheld to ensure fair play. The requirements relate to things including the protection of players’ data and funds, fairness, and promoting responsible gambling. 

In short, a robust licensing system gives players peace of mind, and enables them to enjoy gambling in a safe environment, whether it’s online or land-based.

What types of licence are there?

There are many different regulators around the world, each with their own systems and jurisdictions. Within the UKGC’s structure, there are three main types of casino operating license:

• Remote: A remote licence permits the licensee to provide services remotely, whether that’s through the internet, TV, or mobile networks.
• Non-remote: A non-remote licence is required by betting shops, racecourses, and land-based casinos.
• Ancillary: An ancillary licence is less common, required for specific types of remote betting including betting by email or phone.

There are different licence types within each of these three categories, but all operators will be required to hold at least one, depending on the services it offers.

Licence fees and application

Online casinos must apply for a licence from the appropriate authority. The applying casino or operator is required to include details about the casino's operations, business plan and finances.

The regulator will carry out a comprehensive background check on the owners, directors, and key investors. The applicant must also prove that they can cover player winnings and operational costs. 

Operators licensed by the UKGC generally need to pay an initial licence application fee of around £370. They then pay annual fees depending on the licence type, as well as the casino’s annual income. Annual fees between £3k and £500k are typical.

Licence conditions and codes of practice

To meet the requirements for a UKGC licence, there are strict technical requirements that operators must satisfy. These include using certified random number generators (RNGs) to ensure fairness, along with regular testing and auditing. 

Security measures must be in place to protect players' personal and financial information.  This includes data encryption, secure payment systems, and adherence to data protection laws. 

Money laundering is a significant concern for the gambling industry, with online casinos being particularly vulnerable. Before granting a licence, operators need to meet anti-money laundering (AML) requirements, including the use of Know Your Customer (KYC) verification.

The protection of vulnerable individuals, including children, is a vital aspect of online casino regulation. Online casinos must also facilitate responsible gambling initiatives such as:

• Providing customers with self-exclusion options
• Safer gambling tools such as deposit limits, reality checks and time outs 
• Access to support services

What do regulators do?

Broadly, regulatory bodies oversee the gambling industry to ensure compliance with laws and regulations. More specifically, the UK Gambling Commission’s duties include:

• Issuing licences to operators
• Ensuring compliance with gambling law
• Monitoring consumer gambling activities 
• Enforcing penalties for non-compliance
• Shaping national gambling legislation
• Implementing the wider government’s requirements
• Safeguarding individuals and organisations

The Gambling Commission is well-respected industry-wide and globally – perceived as promoting fair play and doing things ‘the right way’. In many regards it acts in a semi-PR capacity representing the industry in the face of scrutiny by the media and anti-gambling organisations.  

Why do we have regulators?

We’ve already talked about how good casino regulation protects players, but it has a number of wider cultural, economical, and societal benefits too:

• Economic impact. The gambling industry contributes to national and local economies while creating job opportunities. It also yields significant tax revenues.
• Social implications. Addressing problems such as gambling addiction is an important part of regulation. 
• Industry support. Regulators create a framework that enables gambling businesses to operate in a sustainable, practical, and safe way.
• Enforce accountability. Regulators hold operators accountable for breaches of their license.

What powers do regulators have?

Regulators function as an arm of the government, and therefore have significant powers when it comes to shaping and enforcing the law. 

Most of the time, when there’s a breach, the regulator will issue a large fine. Regulators may also prosecute those who fail to follow the rules. 

Regulators have the power to suspend or withdraw a licence if an operator is failing to comply. This can lead to shutting down a casino entirely. Additionally, and alongside, regulators have the power to impose heavy fines – often in the 7 figures.

However, there are some areas in which regulators’ powers don’t extend as far as some would like. For instance, when it comes to bringing down illegal, unlicensed operators, regulators may struggle. 

The UKGC and other regulators have a balance to strike, and they have sometimes been accused of overregulating and encroaching on individual freedoms. 

Different regulators have different levels of power within their respective jurisdictions, and these powers are granted by respective governments.  

What protection do regulators provide?

As a governmental organisation (the UKGC effectively reports to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport) a regulator serves the public. A primary objective is, clearly, to offer protection to players. 

These protections include guarantees about fairness and service quality. They also ensure that there’s a path of recourse that consumers can take, if they run into any problems.

The UKGC is responsible for acting on and investigating reports of wrongdoings, irregularities and illegalities. These are the protections that it affords players who use licensed sites.

How regulators police the industry

Casinos that fail to comply face substantial fines and, in some cases, have their licence suspended or revoked. There have been several cases of gambling companies being hit with severe punishments for regulatory breaches:

• The Commission fined 888 Holdings £7.8 million in 2017 for failing to protect vulnerable customers. The company allowed over 7,000 self-excluded customers to continue gambling, resulting in vulnerable players losing money.
• Entain was hit with a record fine of £17 million in 2022 for a series of regulatory breaches, including failures in the areas of anti-money laundering (AML) and social responsibility procedures. 
• In 2018, William Hill was fined £6.2 million for non-compliance issues. The Commission found that William Hill had inadequate procedures in place to prevent money laundering.
• Gambling advertising is carefully scrutinised. It must be responsible – not appealing to either young or vulnerable people.  

Important lessons have been learned from these breaches. Regulators take infringements seriously, but they also take individual player protection seriously. 

• In early 2025, the High Court found that Sky Betting & Gaming guilty of targeting a vulnerable player, setting a new legal precedent. The Commission then urged operators to step up their consumer protection.
• Also in 2025, a long-standing dispute between a player and Paddy Power resulted in the operator having to pay out a £1 million jackpot after five years of refusing to do so. The Commission is expected to address the underlying issues in future legislation.

Unlicensed and illegal casinos

At No Wagering, we only recommend UKGC-licensed operators to UK players. The UKGC is one of the most well-regarded regulators in the world. 

If a casino doesn't have a UK licence it doesn't necessarily mean they aren't reputable or licensed by another reputable regulator (Malta Gaming Authority, Gibraltar Regulatory Authority, Curaçao Gaming Control Board and Kahnawake Gaming Commission for example). Typically, these casinos won't accept UK players anyway – simply because they're just not licensed for UK players.

A casino without a UKGC licence only becomes illegal when it accepts UK players. And it’s only the really dodgy casinos that would do that – ones who often have no licence at all. This is where players must tread very carefully – protection is at best, minimal and usually non-existent. There are numerous risks, that may include:

• Inadequate customer support
• Predatory terms and conditions
• Unfair withdrawal restrictions or excessive wagering requirements. 
• Rigged games
• Non-adherence to industry-standard encryption and security practices. This can expose players to data theft and fraud.

Your best bet? Stick with a UKGC-licensed casino.

Online vs land-based casinos

Online and land-based casinos require different types of regulation, different licences, and different approaches from the regulator. Balancing this is one of the major challenges faced by regulators.

For example, the fact that online casinos can be accessed from anywhere in the world means that more cross-border regulation is important. AML and KYC requirements are often harder to carry out remotely, and protection from data breaches is an online-only concern.

Land-based casinos require physical inspections and must meet certain premises requirements, and staff must be trained to identify vulnerable players by eye. 

The same principles of protection, fairness and accountability apply to both, but are supported in different ways. 

Regulatory and licensing bodies

The UKGC is a leader in its field. However, many casinos that operate beyond Britain hold licences from the Commission’s international counterparts, each of which is defined by its home territory, whether or not its licences are accepted internationally. 

UK Gambling Commission

The UKGC was established by the Gambling Act 2005. It is responsible for regulating all commercial gambling activity in the UK, and its CEO is Andrew Rhodes.

Aside from its role in regulating and licensing gambling activity, the Commission has been responsible for shaping gambling legislation, especially implementing the 2023 Gambling White Paper Review. Since its conception, the UKGC’s contributions to the national gambling landscape have included a ban on credit card gambling, enforced age verification checks, and light touch financial vulnerability checks.

The UKGC also conducts and funds research to better understand gambling. This research underpins the basis of many new laws and regulatory frameworks. 

Malta Gaming Authority (MGA)

Malta may seem an unlikely centre for global online gambling, but it provides a base from which many companies operate internationally.

Generally less restrictive than a UK licence, an MGA licence allows casinos to work within a legitimate, regulated environment, while still retaining flexibility in how they operate. Tax incentives have also drawn many large gambling operators to Malta. 

In practice, a number of brands that operate across Europe hold a UKGC licence for UK operations, and operate on an MGA licence for players within the EU. As a result of the popularity of Malta’s regulatory structure, gambling now accounts for 12% of the country’s GDP.

Gibraltar Regulatory Authority

Gibraltar also has a licensing structure for online gambling, which is overseen by the Gibraltar Gambling Commissioner. A British Overseas Territory, Gibraltar has autonomy in how it regulates gambling and, crucially, its corporate tax structure. 

Non resident-owned companies in Gibraltar are subject to corporation tax of just 10%, a significant advantage for operators compared with the UK where corporation tax is currently 25%. 

With a system for regulation and licensing that is generally regarded as more flexible than the UK’s, Gibraltar is an attractive destination for many betting and casino companies.

Curaçao Gaming Control Board

Curaçao is a tiny island in the Caribbean, home to just over 150,000 people. Although another unlikely destination for corporations, the island has made gambling regulation one of its main industries. Thanks to a combination of low taxation, light-touch regulation, and low application fees, Curaçao has issued hundreds of licences.

The restrictions and regulations on operators are set at a lower level than other national regulators, coming nowhere close to the rigour of the UK, Malta and others. Curaçao licences are available relatively cheaply to anyone seeking a licence to operate an online gambling brand.

Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC)

The KGC is a regulatory body located in the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake, Canada. It was founded in 1996 and provides licences to online and land-based operators, both within its region and for remote operations. It’s in no way affiliated to the UKGC, but it is one of the oldest online gambling regulators in the world, and many sites operate under it.

Kansspelautoriteit (KSA)

The KSA is the gaming regulatory authority for the Netherlands. It was founded in 2012 and is chaired by Michel Groothuizen. It enforces regulations, manages licensing, and looks after consumers within the Netherlands. It’s best known for being a strict regulator with a focus on the safety of consumers. It implemented the Remote Gambling Act, which enabled the proper regulation of online gambling in the Netherlands.

Other important industry organisations and what they do

There are various other important organisations which are related to the gambling industry. The following don’t set regulations or issue licenses, but they often have a seat at the table and a strong influence on the industry.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)

While the UKGC operates under the UK government, it is a non-departmental body, meaning that it operates at arm’s length from the central functions of government. The Commission reports to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which has overall responsibility for the operation of gambling, as well as overseeing culture, arts, media, sports, and tourism.

Betting & Gaming Council (BGC)

The Betting & Gaming Council represents the interests of more than 90% of licensed operators in the UK. Its Chief Executive, Michael Dugher, is a former Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. The BGC’s CEO Grainne Hurst was appointed in 2024. 

As what is effectively the voice of the gambling sector, the BGC has a lot of clout. It generally campaigns for the interests of its members and weighs in on legislative matters. It also runs initiatives including Safer Gambling Week. 

Advertising Standards Authority (ASA)

In the UK, the Advertising Standards Authority governs how casinos can advertise, and will hold them accountable for irresponsible marketing. This is especially relevant to the protection of minors and vulnerable individuals. 

The ASA regulates advertising across all UK media. It was founded in London in 1962 and Guy Parker has been the CEO since 2009. The ASA is especially important to the gambling industry as it ensures that adverts are legal, honest, and directed appropriately..

Independent Betting Adjudication Service (IBAS)

The Independent Betting Adjudication Service is a third-party organisation that works to resolve disputes between gambling operators and customers. It acts impartially, on the basis of consumer protection laws and regulations set by the UKGC. The IBAS is recognised by the Commission as an approved alternative dispute resolution (ADR) provider. If a customer has a grievance with a casino that can’t be resolved directly, the IBAS is their next port of call.

International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR)

The IAGR is a global not-for-profit organisation that provides a forum for gaming regulators to collaborate and share information. It was founded in 1980 and its president is Ben Haden. The IAGR holds annual conferences to encourage discussion about best practices and specific regulatory challenges. Collaboration between regulators is good for everyone, and the IAGR facilitates these efforts.

Conclusion

Gambling regulation isn’t all fun and games, but regulators are a vital part of a healthy industry that can be enjoyed by players safely. They are vital for maintaining the integrity of the gambling industry. Fair play, transparency and player protection are essential. 

All casinos on No Wagering are licensed by the UK Gambling Commission. Our commitment to featuring only these operators ensures your peace of mind, knowing that you are protected by strict regulations that guarantee fair play and put customer safety first.