What a remote licence covers
Operators that offer online casino games to people in Great Britain need the relevant licence from the UK Gambling Commission. That status comes with conditions on identity checks, advertising standards, game fairness testing and how staff must respond when play looks harmful.
Protections you should expect
Licensed sites must provide tools such as deposit limits, time reminders and self-exclusion, and they must participate in schemes like GAMSTOP for online self-exclusion. Age verification is mandatory; under-18s should not be able to open an account.
Fairness rules require random number generation for online games to be tested to recognised standards. Live dealer games are still subject to operator controls and studio procedures, even though a human dealer is visible on camera.
How we use licence status in scores
Licence clarity is a pass/fail filter first. Beyond that, we score how visibly protection tools appear in the product and how easy it is to find help links. A deep live lobby never compensates for buried safer-gambling controls. See the homepage scorecards for how that lands per operator.
Complaints and oversight
If an operator mishandles an account issue, raise it with their support team first. Unresolved disputes can escalate through the operator’s alternative dispute resolution process and, where appropriate, to the Commission. Start with the resources at gamblingcommission.gov.uk.
Further reading on control tools lives on our responsible gambling page.
Guide reviewed: 8 August 2026. Evergreen overview — not a news bulletin.