Last Updated: Monday, 06 January 2025 08:07
Online Casinos Licensed with UKGC (United Kingdom Gambling Commission)
If you're living in the United Kingdom, you may know that it's possible to play casinos legally. Within the UK, there's a thing called The Gambling Commission. What is it? How does it work? Read down below!
So, the UK Gambling Commission is an executive governmental body, which regulates gambling. The main goals of the Commission are keeping it safe for residents to play. The Commission gives out the licenses to gambling operators and can also revoke them. Moreover, players always can leave an application. They may do it in case there's some shady activity from the operator. The UKGC also protects vulnerable segments of the population from getting addicted.
Some people may think that there's only one license that gambling companies may get. Even so, this is not true. Several kinds of licenses depend on games and provided services. So, what kinds of licenses can be found in the UK Gambling Commission list? Let's make it short. So, here's the list of licenses:
- operating license
- personal management license
- personal functional license
- premises license
The application process contains a lot of details just so the UKGC would be sure about the applicant. First of all, the applicant has to choose the activity for which he would like to be authorized by the license. After that, he gets an address from the operator where he should bring the documents. It's also an important thing to know for the UKGC if the applicant has been ever convicted of a crime.
Operating License
Starting with an operating license we can surely say that this is the main document of all casinos in the UK. It contains a lot of subtypes, divided by what is offered by the casino company. This type of license divides into arcade operating licenses, bingo licenses, and so on. There are many different kinds of this license, but there's no need to know the exact type the casino has. Whatever its license type is, the casino should be included in the list of licensed casinos. You can find the list on the Internet, that is not a big deal. Those casinos that are mentioned in the list are safe for playing.
Personal Management License
The next thing to explain is the personal management license. You can guess its definition by its name - this is the license that a person in a key position possesses. The casino itself as a company, for sure, needs a license, but this is also necessary for its employees. By employees we mean those who are responsible for security, finances, and so on.
Another type of license is a personal functional license. This kind is mainly for any casino worker that is connected to handling money or the process of gaming. It works this way just to make sure that every employee is reliable and there's no need to worry.
The last type is the premises license, this license is for land-based casinos. If the casino is located outside the UK, then it is got to have this type of license also.
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UK Gambling Commission Reputation & Players Protection
The UK Gambling Commission appeared in 2014 as an independent government body. After that, the UK started regulating the gambling world more strictly. The creation of the Commission made the UK become one of the strictest casino regulators. Even now it's still so and there are pros and cons, for sure. It's hard for any casino to get a license, as it must match lots of requirements. Down below there's a shortlist of them.
First thing's first, the Commission must be sure that all the players have fair chances of winning. All players must have the same opportunities to play and gain, and also set deposits. Moreover, every player should get his chance to withdraw money via different services.
The second thing second is that every casino should pay its taxes to the UK Government. This is a rigid rule for every casino, as it's becoming a part of a huge financial system of the UK.
Another thing is that there should not be any way of breaking the rules when it comes to the security of services (terms and conditions). This is not only about the casino funds, but also about sharing players' information. Personal information should be hidden from third parties. Of course, it doesn't have to be this way if third parties are mentioned in the Terms and Conditions.
Last but not least, the Commission should be sure that all the casinos are working legally in the UK. Every casino, even if it's not located in the UK, should work in accordance with UK laws. So it'd work within the country.
As you can see, UKGC is a serious organization that regulates all the casinos in the UK. But what is more? Shortly saying, there are several interests. They are the protection of players, fair play, funds protection, and operator responsibilities. Down below you are going to get all the information about it.
How does the Commission work?
Generally speaking, the UKGC doesn't really differ from any other licensing institution. But there's a thing that makes it different. The point is that it will live off nothing before any website can get a UK casino license. The United Kingdom Gambling Commission handles regulating gambling activities in the UK. So, it gives them a license that wishes to operate under UK jurisdiction within the country. So, if there is a website that wants to start offering its services to UK players, it's got to apply for a license. After this, it's needed to wait to become one of the UK Gaming Commission’s best-licensed casinos if all goes well. And it is not an easy task, because the UKGC will do a complete review of the casino's security. Only after that, the casino will be able to enter the list of authorized casino sites in the UK.
Casino owners will need to provide a set of documents proving their ownership. Moreover, it is important to show that they have enough money to pay future earnings to UK players. If the casino gets the UK online gambling licenses, UKGC's job is still not done. Even after giving out the license, the UKGC continues working with the casino. Its work is mostly concentrated on watching the casino. The UKGC usually pays lots of attention to how the casino works. If there is a problem the license can be cancelled. Then the casino will be deleted from the list of regulated casinos. The Commission's job is to protect the players, so they are always working hard on that. There are cases when the casino does not protect vulnerable customers. Nothing prevents them from revoking a license in this case.
- Players Protection
So, what are the main things for any player when it comes to casinos? Feeling safe and enjoying the game, right? UKGC provides them with all.
One of the main interests of the UKGC is that any player is protected during the game. That includes financial and informational security and also protection from getting addicted. The UKGC makes sure that all the information that you give to the casino will not be stolen. Any casino must have enough sources to keep all the data safe, or it will not get the license. Meanwhile, UKGC states that all the gamers should enjoy the game, but not get addicted to it. That's why the UKGC works at decreasing the number of slot game players and the popularity of the game.
- Fair Gaming
What's the most important thing when it comes to slot games? Fair game, for sure! That's why the UKGC always checks if every player has a real chance of winning. Thanks to this, all the players can know their chances from the very beginning.
One of the main goals for the UK Gambling Commission is to keep every game fair. This is why the UKGC is so careful when it comes to details. It works this way just so every player would be sure that his win is fair and there's no cheating.
- Funds Protection
Financial safety is also one of the key points in the UKGC's work. The UKGC needs to check if the players' funds are being kept separately. It's made this way just so no one had any access to the player's money. It has its impact on payment services that can be used for withdrawal also. Talks have recently started to ban credit card payments for online gambling. This is more likely to cause significant damage to the industry as a whole. Meanwhile, players will be much better protected from overspending and financial disclosure.
- Operator Responsibilities
The key principle of UKGC is that the casino operator is responsible for any action. In case there is a problem or the Player suspects any shady activity, he can fill out a form and get a quick response. Besides, the UKGC doesn't only answer these kinds of forms but also takes real actions.
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