UK players should always look for new casinos with UK Gambling Commission license, or at least a license from an EU country. Many new brands are unlicensed – avoid those. They carry a great risk since they can appear overnight, take the money from the players and disappear without ever paying out. It is important to narrow down the overwhelming catalogue of casinos that hold a license with the United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC). The UKGC regularly updates its public registry of licensees.
The Best Online Casinos with a UK License in 2021 Online casinos need to be licensed to offer their games to UK based players – and from the player’s perspective it is virtually a ‘no brainer’ to stick to the legitimate licensed UK online casinos in 2021. Simply put, the benefits in terms of safety, trust and protection outweigh any reasons to ‘go offshore’. This page outlines the. It doesn’t matter whether the casino in question is located in the UK or not; if they want to let UK players use their site, they must hold a valid license from the UK’s Gambling Commission. Now, thankfully, despite displaying worrying signs of overreach when it comes to the regulation of online gambling, the UKGC is incredibly strict with. With so many new casino sites to choose from, picking a new place to play can be a bit overwhelming. Safety should be on top of your mind when choosing a new casino in 2020. All new UK casinos listed on Bojoko feature: A valid UK licence; Tested and fair casino.
Thanks to the strict regulations in the UK, online casinos need to build a safe and fair gaming environment. The best casinos go the extra mile: they create an outstanding experience with great usability, a huge game selection and a wide range of banking methods. Have a look below and discover the best online casinos in the UK!
On this curated list, you'll find the top 10 UK online casino sites. Use the quick filters to fine-tune your search and best UK-licensed online casino sites in any category. The top picks are based on the opinions of players, testers, the gaming industry and the Bojoko team, as we explain below.
We want you to enjoy top-notch online gambling in the UK. Here on Bojoko, you'll only see safe casinos regulated by the UK Gambling Commission.
'The best online casino in the UK' doesn't mean the same thing for every player. Instead of giving you a single list, our selection tool helps you find what you consider top quality.
The quick filters give you several categories of the best UK casinos to suit different preferences. Click on the filter name to update the list.
You may have a very specific set of criteria for your gaming experience. In order to see sites that tick all the boxes, you can create your own custom filter. It's very easy:
There are 40 different filters and you can apply any number of them. Filter and sort casinos based on various criteria, including bonus details, banking methods, game selection etc.
We all have our own casino preferences. Not every aspect is equally important to all players. On Bojoko, we recognise this and want to offer a fair and transparent account.
On this page, you'll find the top casino sites, based on the opinion of:
Return to our selection tool and browse our quick filters. You'll find the top picks of all of these groups.
Members of the Bojoko team have extensive experience in online casinos. We've played on hundreds of sites, created casino selection tools and followed the industry as it evolves. With this experience, we can confidently say whether or not a casino can provide value to players.
An original approach is important, but before you learn to run, you've got to learn to walk. To get on our lists, a casino needs to offer a solid overall experience, starting from the basics.
Here's what we're looking for when selecting the best casino sites in the UK:
Below, we'll explain what these criteria mean in practice.
The British casino licence sets out standards of technical quality and fair play. All casinos listed on Bojoko are 100% legal and licensed by the UK Gambling Commission, the gaming regulator in Britain.
Trusted online casinos are serious about your safety. Here are some of the most important benchmarks of safe online casinos:
We asked Peter Bassill, the founder of Hedgehog Security, how safe it is to play in a UK casino. According to him, there's no such thing as an unhackable online casino. In general, though, casinos licensed by the UK Gambling Commission take their safety measures seriously:
You can find more information about the UKGC and gaming regulations in our Guide to casino licences.
Most casino websites aim to stand out by offering a little extra to their customers. Almost every online casino in the UK welcomes new players with bonuses.
They come in all shapes and sizes. Learn the basics by checking out our Online casino bonus page. In addition, we've created separate pages for different bonus types, including:
Online casinos take different approaches in building their game selections. While a few sites are built for a niche audience, most try to cater to everyone. This means offering many different types of games, including:
We explained all of these in detail on our Casino games page.
Game suppliers also matter. Most casinos have massive libraries featuring titles from dozens of studios. Keep your eyes peeled for these household names:
You can browse a complete list on our Game suppliers page.
Most UK players are now using their mobile phones and tablets to access online casinos on the go. Understandably, operators invest heavily in mobile usability. Now you can play your favourite games anytime, anywhere.
You can access practically every casino directly from your mobile browser. Some mobile casinos also feature their own app. Downloading the app isn't mandatory, but it can create a smoother overall experience.
Return to our casino list and apply the Mobile casino apps quick filter. You'll see top-rated mobile casino sites offering a separate app for iOS and Android.
More payment methods in an internet casino means more flexibility for you. The best online casino sites feature many different banking methods, such as:
Besides offering many ways to transfer money, the best internet casinos also cut the transfer fees to the absolute minimum. For example, there are plenty of no-fee PayPal casinos available for UK players.
All UK-based casino sites offer some form of customer support. Depending on the site in question, casinos tackle their customers' issues via email, phone, live chat, and social media. Since these sites are tailored to the UK market, you can expect to get help in fluent English.
Responsive, knowledgeable and easily available support staff provide a solid backbone to quality casinos. This also helps them differentiate themselves from their competitors. The best ones offer help around the clock and process payments even on weekends.
We talked to Peter Sjöberg, Head of Customer Services at Videoslots, about the role of the casino customer support team.
The key aspects of the support experience have remained the same even though the gambling industry has undergone major technological and regulatory changes over the last decade.
According to Sjöberg, there's no difference in the customers and their needs across different support channels.
The support teams always aim to offer exceptional service. To help them achieve this, Sjöberg has a very simple tip for the players: 'Verify yourself as an account holder and provide a detailed description of your query or issue.'
On Bojoko, all casino operators that sign up create the listings themselves. The online casinos are then reviewed by players just like you.
Good easy fun and more bonuses than most family will love it
Great first experience for a casino I just signed up to.It definitely doesn't need any work or upgrades to it. I would...
This site helps you and it’s great to use
The registered members or the Bojoko community can share their casino experience and rate the sites based on multiple criteria.
You'll find more information about the rating system and criteria on our Casino review page.
For more top-rated casinos, return to the casino list and choose the Best user ratings quick filter.
We want you to have a balanced and accurate picture of each casino listed on Bojoko. In the listings, casinos explain their unique value in their own words. However, this view is biased by definition. User reviews are great in gauging the overall sentiment of the community, but the short reviews don't cover every aspect of the casino.
To solve this, we added tester reviews. We asked experienced players and gaming industry professionals to test every casino listed on Bojoko. This means:
The result is an honest account based on up-to-date user experience. We asked the testers to tell it like it is and spare no blushes of the casinos.
When it comes to user experience, Lottomart wanted to offer something different from the other casinos. And the Lottomar...
Reach for the skies with Sloty Casino and their celestial theme. As soon as you enter this casino, you will feel cradled...
The saying goes ‘as easy as 123’ right? Well not so much here as I found myself wanting to chew my keyboard a few times....
Casino Gods offers a huge game variety, vibrant design and nice bonuses - all providing a heavenly online casino experie...
Use the Best tester ratings filter on the casino list.
The online gambling industry is a competitive environment. Companies emerge and fizzle out at a fast pace. Becoming a household name takes years of hard work and business acumen.
There are several award galas in the industry calendar, the most prestigious being The International Gaming Awards (IGA) and eGaming Review (EGR).
The gaming companies are recognised, nominated and awarded in several categories. Many of them are B2B companies that don't interact directly with the consumer. That's why listing them together with best casino operators doesn't provide much value to players.
However, there are a few high-quality casinos that often top the charts from year to year. These popular online casinos have managed to build a large player base, a trusted brand and a nice shelf brimming with trophies.
Here are 5 top quality casinos with a robust reputation for a solid player experience:
Each of the casinos listed above has its own unique recipe for success. They have been in the business for over a decade and have had the time to fine-tune their product. Some of them have operated since the early 2000s, i.e. the early years of the online gambling boom.
We'd also like to mention a relatively new casino: MrQ Bingo & Slots. It grabbed the Rising Star award in the EGR 2019 gala and has been one of the most popular casinos on Bojoko ever since its launch in 2018.
You can find more recent launches on our New casinos page.
An online casino is an online version of the traditional brick-and-mortar casino.
Online casinos allow gamblers to play different casino games over the internet, with real money. The game selections often include:
Online casinos are available 24/7 and can be accessed with your computer, smartphone or tablet. Use our casino selection tool to find the ones best suited for you.
The core essence of online casinos and land-based casinos is the same, there are some major differences between them.
Online casinos:
Brick-and-mortar casinos:
Online casinos are a great form of entertainment. They have many benefits compared to traditional land-based casinos. These include:
For a complete comparison, see our answer to the question How do online casinos differ from land-based casinos?
It is perfectly legal for UK residents to play in an online casino, as long as:
Underage gambling is strictly prohibited and players must be over 18 to open an account and participate in online casino games.
You can find more info in our Guide to online gambling licenses.
Trustworthy online casinos always have a valid licence from the UK Gambling Commission and are not afraid to show it. The licence number plus the UKGC logo are usually found on the footer of the page.
There's also a link to the casino's UKGC licensing status page, where you can also see possible enforcement actions, e.g. fines.
On Bojoko, we only partner up with licensed online casinos, so you won't find any scams or rogue casinos here.
Online casinos without a UK license are not allowed to offer their games in Britain. In order to accept players from the UK, they need to be licensed by the Gambling Commission.
As a UK player, you have absolutely no reason to play anywhere else than at UK-licensed casinos. You are protected by some of the strictest gambling rules on the planet, which casinos in other jurisdictions don't need to follow.
If you're accessing Bojoko from the UK, all the online casinos listed on the site will have a valid UK gaming licence.
If you're outside the UK, you may have access to online casinos which don't have a UK gambling licence but hold a valid licence from another country. The most prominent regulators outside the UK are Malta and Estonia.
For more info about the UK gaming licence, check out our Guide to casino licences.
Yes. As long as you're playing at UK-licensed casinos, online gambling is just as safe as popping to the local betting shop.
Casinos licensed by the UK Gambling Commission are carefully vetted. They need to follow a strict and constantly updated set of guidelines called licensing conditions.
On Bojoko, we only work with trusted casino companies and show you safe, reliable, UK-licensed online casinos. We have a zero-tolerance policy for rogue gambling sites. If we find casinos acting illegally, they are immediately removed from the site and blacklisted forever.
As a player, you can make your online casino experience safer by:
Check out our Responsible gaming page for more information.
No. In licensed online casinos, games are programmed to give random outcomes. They have a built-in winning percentage called return to player or RTP. In most popular games such as online slots and table games, the return rate varies between 95-98%.
The fact that the games have a built-in house edge doesn't mean they're rigged.
Casino games use a random number generator (RNG) to determine the outcome of each round. To make sure the games are fair, these mechanisms are tested by independent laboratories and certified by accreditation agencies For casinos, the certified games are a prerequisite for getting a gaming licence.
We cover concepts like RTP and RNG in more detail on our Casino games page.
There are hundreds of online casinos available in the UK. Picking the right one can be difficult, especially for newcomers.
Your personal preferences play a big role in choosing a casino. Here are some of the most important things we pay attention to:
We explain these in the section Best casino criteria.
Yes. There are a few online casinos that have roots in the English gambling industry, going back generations. The most prominent English casino sites include:
Then there are casinos built around a British theme:
Click on the link to see a complete review of each casino, including insights from our casino testers and users.
Most online casinos offer the opportunity to test the game with play money before moving on to real money gambling. However, you first need to create and verify your account.
Once you're comfortable with the game, you can move on to make a real money deposit.
You can also take advantage of No deposit bonuses. They let you try the game on the house and offer a chance to win real money. The link will take you to a dedicated page.
Absolutely – millions of players around the world have played and won real money repeatedly.
The majority of online casino games are based 100% on chance, meaning there's no element of skill involved. These include online slot machines, scratch cards and online roulette.
Other games require a varying level of skill. Skill-based games include poker, sports betting and blackjack. However, even skill-based games have a built-in house edge. You can play them well, but the odds are still not in your favour.
Never play with money you can't afford to lose.
We explore this topic more closely on our Casino games page.
UK players don't need to pay any taxes for their winnings when they play at a UK-licensed online casino. The winnings are tax-free because the casino's licence covers all the tax payable. While online casinos have to pay their fair share of tax, you never should.
Casinos without a valid UK gambling licence may have hidden taxes on winnings.
On Bojoko, you'll only find UK-licensed casinos with tax-free winnings. Return to the casino list and find the one you like.
Opening a player account is quick and easy:
Once you've verified your account, you can start playing.
Casinos need to protect themselves and the players against fraud by rigorous KYC (Know Your Customer) procedures. They also perform AML (Anti-Money Laundering) checks if they spot suspicious banking patterns.
After 7th May 2019, all casinos operating in the UK need to verify the following details before giving players access to the games:
In addition, casinos may need to know your source of wealth and make sure that you're not using banking methods registered to anyone else.
At some point of your player journey, casinos may ask you to submit some documents. Many casinos only ask for extra verification, when your cumulative withdrawals exceed £2,000.
Here's a list of documents you may be required to submit:
Proof of ID verifies who you are. Casinos require you to show them a government-issued picture ID, such as a driver's licence, an ID card or a passport.
Proof of address verifies where you live. This needs to be an official letter with your name and current address. The proof of address can't be older than 3 months.
Casinos accept utility bills, bank statements, card statements, insurance documents and other official letters. Gym membership bills and such are rejected.
Proof of payment method tells the casino you're not using someone else's banking details. The document required depends on the banking method.
Debit card: take pictures of the front and the back of your card. Show all four corners of the card, the first 6 and the last 4 digits of your card number, plus your signature. You should cover the middle digits and CVC code on the back of your card.
E-wallets: take a screenshot showing your account details, including your name, email address and the account number.
Bank account: take a screenshot of your online bank statement with your name and account details. You can also scan/photograph the bank statement letter.
“Safety first” is an old cliché. Like most clichés, it has become a tired old saying because it’s got something useful and true in it. In the online gambling world, it is still very useful and very true.
In fact, in this case, it’s a cliché that’s well-worn because it needs to be. Print it out and put it over the screen you use to gamble or write it on your hand.
Remember it is the message here.
There’s been a lot of coverage in the UK media about the dangers of online gambling. Now it’s also a cliché that the UK media is among the worst and least trusted in the world. However, there is something to what they’re saying.
It is possible to gamble online safely. There are horror stories, and most of them are true, but the millions of people who do gamble online without any problems don’t make the news.
It’s also possible to get into an awful lot of trouble – financially, emotionally, and legally – with online gambling.
You can put yourself on the right side of that line, and keep yourself there, but you might have to put some effort in.
Don’t treat gambling like just another activity. The fact that it is heavily regulated isn’t an accident. Like alcohol and drugs, gambling is regulated because it has a proven potential to do harm. Whatever your views on gambling law, you should recognise what those laws signal.
There are tools out there to help you. We’re hoping to add another one to your armoury here. But all these tools rely on you spotting them, rely on your spotting that you have a problem, and using them.
Addiction isn’t a sign of weakness or failure. Recovery is perfectly possible. Asking for help is a sign of strength.
So let’s take a look at how to gamble safely in the UK. The laws and regulations that we discuss here should be assumed to be those that relate to safe online casino sites.