How we rate UK online casinos

The review process, step by step

Every casino starts from zero. Before anything else, we locate the operator's licence number in the site footer and check it against the public register held by the UK Gambling Commission. If the number is absent, expired or registered to a different trading name, the review stops there and the site is never listed.

Once licensing is confirmed, a reviewer registers an ordinary account and works through the lobby the way a reader would: browsing the game categories, running searches, opening live-dealer tables, reading the promotional terms in full and testing the responsible-gambling settings. We record load times on a mobile connection and note anything that is unclear or hard to find.

What each criterion actually measures

Licence and regulatory standing (30%)

A current Great Britain licence is the entry requirement. Beyond that, we look at how long the operator has held it, whether the licence covers the products it advertises, and whether the group has a clean recent compliance record.

Game library (25%)

We count titles, but we weight quality higher. Studios with independently tested software, a genuine table-game floor, live studios with English-speaking dealers and working category filters all score well. Thin catalogues padded with unbranded titles do not.

Bonus fairness (20%)

The headline figure carries almost no weight. What matters is whether the wagering multiple is stated plainly, how long you have to use the offer, which games contribute, and whether any restriction is buried in a separate document. Offers written in plain English score highest.

Mobile experience (15%)

Each shortlisted lobby is opened on both a phone and a tablet in a standard browser. We score navigation, search, in-game performance and whether account settings remain easy to reach on a small screen.

Player safety and support (10%)

We check that limits, reality checks, time-outs and self-exclusion are available in a few taps rather than buried, and we contact support with a real question to measure response time and answer quality.

How positions and scores are produced

The list is ordered by editorial score, highest first. The score shown on each card reflects a site's position in the list you are looking at, so the ranking is always sequential and matches the visual order. Star ratings follow the same order. Because our mobile list can include sites we only recommend for phone play, mobile scores are calculated independently of the desktop list.

Commercial relationships and independence

We earn a commission from some of the operators listed when a reader visits them. That funding pays for the review work. It does not buy a listing, a score or a position, and reviewers are not told which operators have a commercial arrangement while they are scoring. If we cannot review a site independently, we do not list it. Read our editorial policy for more.

Re-reviews and corrections

The full shortlist is re-reviewed monthly, and sooner if an operator's licence status changes or its promotional terms change materially. Spotted something out of date? Tell us through the contact page and we will check it and correct the page where needed.

18+ only. Gambling can be addictive. Please play responsibly and see our safer-gambling hub for free support.