UK Licensed Bookmakers and Betting Sites – Best New Licensed Bookies in UK [2024]

Best UK Licensed Betting Sites in 21 November 2024 – Updated List

Established under the Gambling Act of 2005, the United Kingdom’s Gambling Commission is responsible for overseeing all gambling in the UK with the exception of spread betting, which is monitored by the Financial Conduct Authority.

In 2013, the National Lottery Commission also became part of the Gambling Commission. The Commission’s objective is to keep crime out of gambling, to ensure that gambling is conducted in a fair and open manner, and to protect children and vulnerable people. It is a public body which operates under the Department of Culture, Media, and Sports.

The Commission is responsible for overseeing all aspects of licensing and enforcing regulations, both online on UK betting sites, but also offline in physical shops. Aside from issuing gambling licenses, they have the authority to fine, suspend, and revoke gambling licenses within their jurisdiction.

They also ultimately decide who can appear on the United Kingdom Gambling Commission’s “white list” which allows betting sites from UK from other jurisdictions to serve UK residents. They perform regular audits of both land-based operations and international gambling companies to ensure things such as systems, personnel, finances, and overall operations meet compliance.

As of March 2015, the Commission employs about 270 people, had carried out over 1,300 compliance inspections, revoked 12 licenses, taken other action against 6 companies and had formal engagements with another 53 operators. They handled over 67,000 inquiries. This is definitely a very busy group that takes its mission very seriously.

You can see some of the actions they took in recent years in the list below:

• In 2016, they fined Camelot Group 3 million Pounds for “verifying” a fake National Lottery ticket.
• In 2018, they fined William Hill 6.2 million Pounds for not taking protective measures against money laundering.
• In the same year, they fined Leo Vegas 600.000 Pounds for making misleading adverts.
• 32Red got a fine for 2 million Pounds in 2018 too, for failing to stop a problem gambler from playing and offering self-exclusion tools to prevent this.
• In 2019, they fined Ladbrokes 5.9 million Pounds for failing to prevent money laundering.

Basically, even the biggest bookmakers from UK cannot “escape” from the “gaze” of the United Kingdom Gambling Commission. New UK betting sites and old ones, as long as a website is in the UK licensed betting sites list, it gets audited by UKGC.

And this is a good thing. Such auditions protect customers and prevent problem gambling, which affects nearly 1% of the population.

The application process to become one of the licensed betting companies UK is not difficult: You can complete the whole process online:

If you want to make legal betting offers UK and accept British players as members, you must have a UKGC license, it is as simple as that. Gambling Act 2005 clearly states two things: one stating that gambling in the UK is legal and second the person or company that offer gambling services must obtain a license to be legal. So, being on the UK licensed bookmakers list makes your services legal and government-regulated.

Can sites without a UKGC license accept British players? Of course – there are no rules that bind them as they don’t own a license. But even if everything goes well, it will be almost impossible to make withdrawals. Gambling-related payments from abroad, regardless of the bookmaker’s currencies, are rejected by banks if they do not belong to UK licensed bookmakers.

More importantly, you take a lot of risks by playing on a site that is not on the online licensed bookies list UK. If things don’t go well, there’s nothing you can do. So make sure to pick a site that is on the list of licensed horse racing betting sites in UK, football, and even UK Bitcoin betting for those who enjoy crypto betting activities.

Although, if you would still like to learn how to bet online from abroad as a UK player, check here our guide.

There are other organizations that concern all UK licensed bookmakers. Some of them are official and some of them are semi-official organizations created by the companies that are on the list of UK licensed bookmakers.

If you’re having trouble choosing one of the new licensed gambling sites UK, check their UK betting tax and  if it’s a member of one of the organizations below. Because being a member of these institutions will guarantee that the quality and fairness of the service provided will not fall below certain standards.

When you choose one of the new online licensed betting sites UK, you can also take advantage of responsible gaming practices. Due to license terms, names on the list of UK licensed bookmakers must comply with the responsible gaming rules. In this context, they are obliged to offer self-exclusion practices. So:

• Players can set restrictions for their budgets. For example, you can set a limit of 10 GBP for arbitrage betting UK.
• Players can restrict the types of bets they can make. For example, you can set a special restriction for new horse racing betting sites UK, or even some fight sports like UFC.
• Players can restrict betting times. For example, you can limit the time you spend on the e-sports betting to 2 hours per day.

Bigger and older sites cover more sports and offer a technically smoother service. However, their odds are generally below the average and they do not offer new types of services such as betting exchange UK. New licensed sports betting sites UK offer such modern services and complete mobile compatibility too.

If you are looking for the best betting app UK, for example, you can be sure that you will find it on newly licensed UK bookmakers. Their betting odds are also much more competitive and you can find lots of no deposit betting UK offers. However, they cover a limited number of sports and tend to experience technical problems.

You don’t have to choose only one: We recommend you open a betting account on both types of UK licensed bookmakers. There is no rule that says you can be a member of only one website: On the contrary, you can get the best of both worlds by being a member of both types of sites.

Here are the names of licensed bookmakers UK we recommend: You can pick any of them to get the best free bets no deposit UK offers and the most competitive odds. This list will also be quite useful if you are planning to use match betting UK tactics: You can take advantage of their reload offers UK to guarantee a profit.

Remember that you can check our reviews to learn more about these UK licensed bookmakers. You can also share your experience with us and other visitors by leaving a comment.

As in any other jurisdiction, there is an onus on the complainant to try to resolve any dispute directly with the bookmaker. Punters should be sure to read the sports betting exchanges or sportsbook’s terms and conditions, as well as checking the Commission’s website to see if the particular issue is addressed.

Complainants will also want to be certain that the sportsbook is licensed and regulated by the UK Gambling Commission. If a satisfactory outcome cannot be reached then customers are urged to contact the Commission.

The customer should be careful to include any and all details concerning the complaint, as well as the steps taken to attempt to resolve the conflict. You need to be very clear about why you feel the need to report the operator.

The complaint can be sent by e-mail to info@gamblingcommission.gov.uk or it can be sent by post to Gambling Commission, Victoria Square House, Victoria Square, Birmingham, B2 4BP. The Commission will seek your permission to talk to the licensee about if they feel the complaint has merit.

If a complaint has to do with illegal activity such as fraud or money laundering, the Intelligence Department of the UK Gambling Commission will be deployed to investigate. The Intelligence Department will liaise with other agencies as well.

In other disputes where a complaint about a sportsbook, including mobile betting sites, is made, the Commission will request statements and evidence from the licensee. The evidence is then considered and the Commission will respond to the complainant with a ruling which details the reasons.

If a sportsbook is found to be in breach, the Commission has the authority to penalize the offending bookmaker with fines, license suspension, or revocation. As mentioned above, the Commission has revoked licenses in the past and customers can be sure that their complaints will be investigated and acted upon. The UK Gambling Commission has a good track record of resolving disputes quickly.

Betting on sports is perfectly legal in the UK provided the customer is of legal age. In the UK this age is 18. Any customers who use UK sportsbooks from outside the jurisdiction must be of legal age in their country of residency.

There are very rigid measures in place to verify a customer’s age, residency, and payment methods. This is in keeping with the UK’s mission of prohibiting underage betting as well as abiding by anti-money laundering laws, but for more, you can read UK gambling sites and law.

The UK has among the highest standards for sportsbook operators and getting a gambling license is not an easy task. The Commission needs evidence to support the identity and ownership of the company. All key figures in the company are thoroughly investigated to ensure that nobody has a criminal record and that they are people of high integrity.

All past and present finances are scrutinized and a strong financial posture must be established. The company needs to have a sound business plan and be run by experienced and competent people. These qualifications are closely checked. The Commission needs to be satisfied that the prospective internet betting company, including PayPal betting sites in UK, will comply with all of the rules and regulations that are in place.

There is also thorough testing of all infrastructure, including live betting sites,  to ensure it complies with the regulations. When the Commission is confident that the company has met the criteria they will be issued the license. Of course, every licensee can expect to be audited and inspected on a regular basis to ensure ongoing compliance.

These audits and inspections focus on every aspect of gaming operations from personnel to equipment and finances among other things. These measures result in UK sportsbooks being among the most respected betting sites in the world.

Be sure to check Gamblingjudge.com’s promotions section for the latest bonuses and betting promotions that are offered by the top sportsbooks in the United Kingdom.

If you want to place bets in a fair, safe, and supervised environment, you should choose one of the bookmakers by country or UK licensed bookmakers. The UKGC license gives you all these benefits in UK. For a quick start, you can choose any of the names in the list of UK licensed bookmakers above and start betting today, for example, at Genesis Casino.

Whether you are interested in horse racing or cricket betting UK, at least one of the new UK licensed bookmakers above will be the right choice for you. Good luck out there!

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