How betting licensing works in Great Britain

The short version: if a business offers betting to people in Great Britain, it needs a licence from the Gambling Commission. Here is what the law and the regulator say, with the page each fact comes from.

Who needs a licence

Anyone who wants to provide gambling facilities to players in Great Britain needs an operating licence from the Gambling Commission. That includes providing remote gambling, online or by other means, and advertising to consumers in Great Britain.Source: Gambling Commission

Under section 33 of the Gambling Act 2005 it is an offence to provide facilities for gambling unless an exception applies.Source: legislation.gov.uk

Betting online

Betting is remote when either party to the bet uses the internet, telephone, television, radio or another electronic technology to make or accept it, and a remote operating licence is then required.Source: Gambling Commission

Section 36 of the Gambling Act 2005 applies the section 33 offence to remote gambling facilities when equipment is in Great Britain, or when no equipment is in Great Britain but the facilities are used there and the provider knows or should know it.Source: legislation.gov.uk

What a licensed site must show

Remote operators must display on their website and app a statement that they are licensed and regulated by the Gambling Commission, their account number, and a link to their licensed status on the Commission's public register.Source: Gambling Commission

That statement is what you check against the register. How to check a licence walks through it.

Advertising

The CAP Code requires gambling marketing to be socially responsible and not directed at under-18s, and says no-one who is or seems to be under 25 may be featured gambling or playing a significant role, with a narrow exception on an operator's own transactional site.Source: Advertising Standards Authority and CAP

What this means for this site

This site covers Great Britain only. Northern Ireland is regulated separately and is not covered here.

We list only businesses that the register shows as holding a current remote betting licence, and the Visit buttons lead only to them. We are not a regulator and we do not give legal advice. For anything that depends on your circumstances, ask the Gambling Commission or a solicitor.