United Kingdom

Best UK - United Kingdom Online Casinos

Gambling became legal in the UK long ago. The legalization of gambling in the UK started with the 1960 Betting and Gaming Act. Legalization applied to bookmakers and casinos. Then the 1968 Gaming Act paved the way for more auspicious conditions and the opening of more casinos. The 2014 Gambling Act made its contribution for the regulation of online gaming sites for UK based players. So when you use such sites, you will have the confidence that these online gaming or betting spots will provide safety and security brought by continuous monitoring. UK based punters do not need to look for online gambling sites which are based overseas. They have a variety of UK based sites at their disposal, where they find vast selections of games and security of depositing and withdrawing. Furthermore, they are legally not obligated to pay taxes on revenues from gambling.

The legal age for gambling in the UK

To be able to gamble, customers must provide confirmation of their age, which must be 18 years at least. That is the legal age at which gambling starts to be permitted in the UK. Only for scratchcards and for the National Lottery the minimum age is lower, 16 years.

Regulation of gambling in the UK

In the United Kingdom, the regulation of the gambling industry is carried out by the Gambling Commission. The Commission was established in compliance with the 2005 Gambling Act. It regulates brick and mortar casinos, the National Lottery, poker rooms, bookmakers, scratchcards, all of which are available for online gaming as well.

The 2005 Gambling Act was set up for the regulation of all forms of gambling in the country, including online gambling. The Commission which was established at the same time as the Act started to issue licenses to companies for online betting, and afterwards regulated their operation, monitoring the observance of the applicable laws in their operation.

The 2014 Gambling Act was the next regulating Act, and was concerned with licensing and advertising. It guarantees that all remote operators are regulated on a permanent basis. Under this Act, operators are obligated to pay a tax of 15% on their profits. Before 2014, online site operators based outside the UK established their offices in locations where they were not subject to UK taxing, like Malta and Gibraltar. With this Act, the taxing revenues were brought to the country, because online operators offering services to UK based punters are now subject to this tax.

A deadline was set for online gambling operators to license their activity. Some of them withdrew, fearing that would entail legal complications. But the operators which completed their licensing are now fully regulated and that is an advantage for UK based punters.

Large revenues from online betting and gaming

The data for the revenues accumulated from online betting and gaming show these revenues form a large part of the overall revenues for the gambling industry in the UK as a whole. These revenues are rising, because the number of online gaming and betting fans is mushrooming.

Online site players are not affected by taxes in the UK

Winnings in online sports betting and online casino gaming are not subjected to any UK taxes. That is another incentive which contributes to the soaring interest in online gambling.

Using online gambling sites extended to UK based players is risk free

As mentioned above, online operators must be fully licensed under the current regulations for the UK. That means online gambling activities are risk free.

Further advantages of using online casinos UK

For UK based players, there are further advantages which facilitate them, and attract new and new customers on online casinos UK.

Firstly, there is a very large number of operators, all competing for the attention and retention of customers, which ensures they maintain a large variety of games and keep up efficient customer service.

As a result of that competition, most online gambling sites offer exciting welcome bonuses and diverse other promotions.

Yet another perk of online casinos UK is the increasingly frequent offering of games which can be directly played in web browsers, without the need for downloading casino software. This makes online gaming more convenient and easier. Punters can also open mobile optimized versions of gambling sites in the browsers of their mobile devices. So the conditions for gambling are even more auspicious. Being able to play Flash based and HTML5 based games directly in a browser is especially welcome for uses having Mac and Linux computers. The casino softwares that need to be downloaded can only be used by owners of Windows computers. Now, directly playing in browsers, numerous more gamblers can enjoy online gaming.

Before starting your gaming experience on online casino sites UK, check for the licensing

To ensure that you will be playing on a fully licensed site, you must first check for the licensing of the online operator you have selected.

On licensed operators' sites, you will find information on safe gambling, as well as the urging of visitors to gamble responsibly, without exceeding the limit over which players become addicted. Most of these operators also provide advice on how players can control their betting.

The safety and security of payments procedures on online casinos UK

The payments procedures on online casino operators offering services to UK based players are securely encrypted. The modern encryption used on online casinos is SSL encryption. It ensures the safety of banking details and the protection of security when customers make their payments. On the other hand, customers also have their obligations. They are obligated to provide the correct details, and to comply with the terms and conditions of the respective online operator. Otherwise, if they provide false information, their winnings can be withheld. In serious cases they can even be prosecuted.

Thus the legislation on online gambling in the UK ensures the fairness and safety of winnings and payments.

An array of payment methods for depositing and withdrawing

On online casinos UK, players have a diversity of payment methods to choose from. They can use all of the most popular payment options, like Visa and MasterCard cards, bank transfers, and the most popular e-wallets NETELLER and PayPal. There can be minimum and maximum limits for some of the payment methods, so please check in advance about the limits, the possible fees charged for some methods, and the speed at which withdrawals are received.