Remote gambling is growing in popularity in the United Kingdom. According to the survey conducted by the Gambling Commission, as of March 2010, 10.7% of the 8,000 adults surveyed said they had participated in at least one form of remote gambling in the previous 4 weeks. The remote general betting (standard) (real events) operating licence allows you to provide facilities for remote (online) gambling to consumers in Britain. It allows the provision of facilities.

In the UK it is a criminal offence to commercially take bets or offer a betting exchange service if you do not have a Gambling Commission (GC) license.

In this article we list bookmakers license numbers from our own recommanded bookies, we explain why gambling licences are needed in the first place, what they mean for operators, how bookmakers get hold of these licences and what happened if they contravene the conditions of the commission. We also discuss gambling law, including the latest Gambling Act 2014 and what this means for both the betting industry and the punter.

Gambling law in the United Kingdom provides some of the most stringent legislation and protections in the world. Gambling licences are in place to protect not only punters from unlicensed operators but also to protect bookmakers and betting operators.

Gambling Law:

Gambling License Details For Major UK Bookmakers

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Name	Location	License Number
Licence Malta, Location Curacao	43173	Read Review
Gibraltar	39430	-
Europort, Gibraltar	39028	Read Review
St Julian's, Malta	39091	-
Europort, Gibraltar	39584	Read Review
Atlantic Suites, Gibraltar	54743	-
Santa Venera, Malta	39426	Read Review
Waterport Place, Gibraltar	39544	Read Review
World Trade Center, Gibraltar	39576	Read Review
Dundalk, Ireland	39469	Read Review
Licenced and Located in Gibraltar	54743	Read Review
Gzira, Malta	39325	-
Birmingham, UK	537	-
Maidenhead, UK	38750	-
London, UK	44448	-
Based & Licensed In Gibraltar	54743	Read Review
Sliema, Malta	39198	-
Europort, Gibraltar	39448	-
Silema, Malta	39264	-
Silema, Malta	39483	-
Pieta, Malta	39170	Read Review
Douglas, Isle Of Mann	39440	-
St. Venera, Malta	39426	Read Review
World Trade Center, Gibraltar	39576	-
London, UK	22201	-
Zug, Switzerland	45143	-
Licenced from Zug in Switzerland	45143	Read Review
Pieta, Malta	54498	Read Review
Vilnius, Lithuania	39126	Read Review
Registered Under Platinum Gaming Limited, Gibraltar	45322	Read Review
St Julian's, Malta	44662	-
Watersport place, Gibraltar	39225	Read Review

Is Gambling Online Legal in the UK?

The simple answer is yes but only under licence. It may surprise many that up until 2005 the industry was unregulated online and until 2014 operators based outside the UK didn't have to have a UK licence. If you gamble with an agent that does not possess a licence they are operating illegally and you risk losing your funds.

Clicking on the licence numbers in the table above and this will take you to that operator's specific gambling commission issued licence. You can also search for licences of operators not in the table. Never gamble with a betting website from within the UK that doesn't have a licence, if you do your funds will have no protection under the law.

What is a Gambling Licence

This is a licence that all gambling providers who are based in or operate in the UK are required to have. This came in to force under the Gambling Act of 2005 and stipulates that anyone wishing to commercially advertise to or transact with customers for the purposes of gambling must carry a licence.

To apply for a licence companies are required to demonstrate they have several protections in place for the prevention of crime and protection of customers.

The Gambling Commission was set up to issue and administer licences. You can check if an operator has a licence by visiting their site. Operators must also display their licence details properly on their website or premises. You will either see a reference for the licence or the full licence number, either can be searched on the commission's website. In the table at the top of this page we list all the licence numbers for bookmakers reviewed on our site. Clicking the number will take you to their individual licence.

Often licences are held by holding companies that then operate several branded gambling entities. Each bookmaker listed on this site have a full UK gambling licence, details of which can be found in the table or in our betting site reviews.

It is quite amazing in a way to think that internet gambling went unregulated until 2005 and in many countries it still is. This is why betting in the UK betting and gaming industry is now one of the safest in the world.

Remote Gambling Licence Uk Online

Who Are The Gambling Commission

The Gambling Commission was originally set up in 2005 under the previous gambling Act. The body is an independent non-departmental public body that receives funding and support from the UK governments department for culture, media and sport. The commission acts as regulator for all commercial gambling operators including bingo, bookmakers, casinos, gaming arcades, etc. The commission is also responsible for regulating lotteries in the UK including the National Lottery since taking over the responsibilities of the National Lottery Commission in 2013.

The commission employ over 250 people, are based in Birmingham and are largely funded by licence fees paid by bookmakers and other operators. The gambling commission do not cover spread betting and other forms of index betting, this falls under the jurisdiction of the financial conduct authority (FCA).

For more about the UK Gambling Commission read our dedicated guide.

What Do the Gambling Commission Do?

The GC have some principal objectives:

Crime Prevention – This is both in terms of preventing illegal bookmaking (protecting the punter) and betting fraud from punters (protecting the bookie).
Promote and Open Industry – This includes promoting honesty about betting operations and gambling including responsible gambling. For example offers, terms and bonuses need to clear and transparent without conflicting or false language.
Protect Venerable People – Possibly the most important aim of the commission ensure children under the age of 18 and vulnerable people are prevented from gambling. This includes age and identity checking and monitoring. See responsible gambling.

What Don't the Gambling Commission Do?

The commission is there is ensure a safe and responsible industry they will not:

Mediate Customer Complaints – Operators must have their own systems in place to properly handle complaints. If you want to escalate a complaint you can us