The United Kingdom Gambling Commission is a regulating body for all gambling-related things in the country. It overlooks bookmakers, online casinos, land-based casinos, arcades, bingo halls as well as family entertainment centres (FECs). Every licensed casino is regulated by the Gambling Commission and adheres to the laws and codes of practice established in the UK – play at Coz`ino.
But do all the casinos play by the rules? Are there online casinos that are not regulated by the UKGC? In this article, we answer these questions as well as provide some key information on the effect of the UKGC on casinos.
Table of Contents
How does the UKGC work to regulate gambling?
To begin with, let’s look at the first statement that is clearly visible on the UK Gambling Commission’s website:
“We regulate in a transparent, accountable, proportionate, and consistent way. Using a risk-based approach, we focus our resources on those issues and gambling businesses that potentially present the greatest risk to the licensing objectives.
All commercial gambling businesses which hold a licence under the Gambling Act must comply with that legislation and our License conditions and codes of practice (LCCP).”
As we can see, any casino that wants to operate lawfully will first have to acquire a license to do so from the Gambling Commission. There are a few factors that go into it: the RNGs that the casino uses go under testing and verification by independent companies specialising in this; the terms and conditions of the casino go under review by the UKGC; the persons that own, create and manage the casino have background checks and criminal record checks completed.
- To acquire a license to operate, the online casinos undergo in-depth examinations to ensure that they will practice fair, open and crime-free gambling.
“Rogue” casinos
It so happens that not every casino wishes to acquire a license or practice fair Online Cricket Betting ID. There are casinos widely-known as “rogue” ones. These are unlicensed casinos that are NOT regulated by the Gambling Commission.
Although best effort is made to seize these casinos and remove them from circulation, certain rogue casinos still manage to make it into the daylight as well as the search bars of punters looking for a casino session. A player can get burned badly by these unlawful companies, and while experienced players know how to spot them, there is a great number of beginners who are none the wiser about where they choose to play. These people are the main audience/victims of rogue casinos.
What are the dangers related to “rogue” casinos?
By playing in an unlicensed casino, the player risks:
- Being cheated by rigged games and games that do not use an approved and fair RNG.
- Being cheated by plagiarised games, which do not offer the same payouts or quality as the original ones.
- Being cheated out of their money by the casino. Rogue casinos can confiscate players’ funds and ban their accounts as they wish.
- Being cheated by unlawful terms and conditions that are written to gain from the player.
- Having their card details and personal details stolen/sold to third parties.
How to spot a “rogue” casino?
- Poor overall image and design of the website, untrustworthy promotions.
- No mention of licenses in place.
- No game information such as RTP.
- Ever-changing rules and conditions.
- Plagiarised, poor-quality games.
- Bad reviews online!
- Poor customer service.
Conclusion
Always read reviews for your chosen casinos to make sure they are legitimate, licensed and regulated by the UKGC. This is the only way you can protect yourself from shady companies. While most casinos available in the UK will be licensed, it is always good to keep your eyes peeled – it is all for your own good!
