Uk Online Casinos

There’re many top online casinos in the UK, but as a beginner, it’s hard to find them. You’re most likely to stumble upon fraud gambling sites and lose most if not all your money. The article is packed with meaningful information collected by USA Casino Expert, so make sure to read attentively.

The full UK online casinos list is here! We've researched the UK market and listed all UKGC licensed casinos. Stop searching & Start comparing UK casinos. If the game’s payout rate is 98%, it means that the casino takes 2% (it is called “house edge” and returns 98% to its players as winnings). I recommend playing in online casinos that have a high average RTP rate and thus provide best online casino payouts in the UK. The top 4 is the following: Viva Fortunes. UK online casinos, as pointed out in the text above, feature all the regular gameplay options found at the top online casinos worldwide. Therefore, all you have to do is go through their RTPs, or simply choose from the casino games already known to offer the best chances of a big payout – blackjack, roulette, baccarat, craps and video poker. It is the UK that ranks first in the field of online entertainment. This market brings to the country’s budget about two billion pounds annually. At the same time, development continues at a rapid pace. Until 2014, online casinos focused on UK residents preferred to operate under the jurisdiction of the Isle of Man, Alderney, Malta or Gibraltar.

You’re going to learn about the choice of casinos, various games and their rules, casino types and some banking options present on most UK casinos.

How to Choose Online Casinos?

Safety and security

The most meaningful factor making the reputation of a UK online casino is its safety. While choosing a UK online casino, make sure to check if the site has a license. For the casino to be legal in the UK, the platform needs a UK gambling commission license.

Games and software

Check how many pokies and what software providers are available on the UK casino site. Trusted gambling sites have at least 500 or more games and many worldwide providers. The most popular companies are Microgaming, NetEnt, Evolution Gaming, Amatic and more titles.

If you don’t want to get bored later on – look into the game types. A casino wanting to entertain the users should have slots, many table games, video poker, roulette and live dealers.

Banking options

Another vital point of a UK online casino is the payment methods. You don’t want to deposit money onto the site and later on find your withdrawal method to be missing. Find out what methods are available, withdrawal limits and periods.

Support

The last thing to look at on UK online casino sites is the quality and availability of support. High-quality gambling platforms have a 24/7 support team, present and ready to solve your problems.

Read Expert and Real Player Reviews

Expert reviews

Despite the criteria being quite useful, they don’t prove to be true in every case. An online casino can tell you anything on their own website. Don’t be too trusting and read expert and real player reviews before making the decision.

Search for articles like Top 10 UK online casinos. For example, USA Casino Expert offers these reviews or other professional sources. Experts making the reviews carefully research the gambling sites and give you their opinion.

Real Player reviews

However, don’t stop after looking through a professional review. Look at even more trustworthy information sources. The sources are reviews made by players who had some experience gambling at the casino.

People who had a direct encounter with the casino don’t lie and usually provide true information. If you see only negative real player reviews and a really positive expert review – you should trust gamblers more than the experts.

Types of Online Casinos

After you’ve learned about choosing the right UK casinos, have a look at UK mobile casinos and desktop gambling site types.

UK desktop casinos

Instant-play

The very first desktop type — are instant-play online casinos. These gambling sites are very convenient and easy in use. You only have to sign up and you instantly receive access to the whole game catalogue.

The instant type of casinos is great for people who want fast gambling, may have low internet connection or just like to play in-browser.

Downloadable Casinos

Another UK online casino type is a gambling application. To begin playing, you need to install the casino app on your device. There shouldn’t be any problems since these apps are optimized for practically every possible device.

The pros of these casinos are their quick functionality, unlike in-browser, bigger number of games in the lobby. You can notice the graphics on these programs being better and more realistic than graphics at instant-play sites.

Live Casinos

The last desktop casino type is a live gambling platform. If you don’t trust the random number generator – your best choice is here. These websites offer you to only play against real people on the other side of the screen – dealers.

The main hit of these gambling places is in their safety and trustworthiness. However, you need to have a fast internet connection for these sites because of video streaming.

UK mobile casinos

iPhone Casinos

The very first type of UK mobile casinos is iPhone gambling sites. You need to play at these casinos if you have an iPhone. To begin gambling, you have to install an application on your device from the App Store because of Flash.

However, after such a small, annoying step you receive a fantastic gambling experience. The great experience is due to the outstanding graphics and fast loading power Apple devices offer.

iPad Casinos

There’re special casino sites in the UK for iPads. You can enjoy in-browser online gambling platforms and install casino programs from the App Store. The second variant is for you if you want a full-screen experience.

Android Casinos

Before choosing the casino type, make sure your gambling site can be used via a browser. The step is necessary because Google Play Store has only started allowing real money casino apps recently.

Online casino programs on Play Store can only stand out with their graphics. They still lack a big game choice and many slot types.

Tablet Casinos

A casino type with big expectations is tablet websites for gambling. The casino industry on tablets has big opportunities due to the bigger sizes of tablet screens compared to mobile phones. You can use the UK casino site much easier with a tablet compared to a smartphone. People expect many more casinos of the type to appear in the future.

Types of Online Casino Games

Getting so far into the article, examine the main games you might meet at a UK online casino.

Slots

Slots are the major game type at every online casino. The pokies are machines you need to spin. You choose a bet per spin, the bigger the bet – the more money you may win.

The pokies have special bonus features, giving you a chance to hit jackpots and win large money pots. Make sure to choose slots with high volatility if you’re up for huge wins. Choose low volatility if you just want to chill.

Roulette

Another game available on almost every UK online casino is roulette. The game has numbers from 0-36 and 00. There’s a big choice in how you can bet. You might bet on a single number, red or black, odd or even, rows and columns. The biggest sum you can win is hitting the 00.

Bingo

Bingo is a famous card game where a gambler receives a 5X5 card and has to bet on it. The dealer starts showing and naming numbers. The main point of the game is to make the word BINGO on the card. If you’re done first – the money is all yours.

Craps

Craps are pretty hard to play for beginners. The game goes around number 7 and offers many places where you can bet. You can bet on the Pass and Don’t Pass Lines. Numbers 7,11 win while 2,3 and 12 lose on the Pass Line. The exact opposite happens on the Don’t Pass Line. All other numbers form an established point.

You may also bet on the Field Line with 2,3,4,9,10,11 and 12 being the winning numbers. You can use the Come and Don’t Come Lines after a point is established. The lines are the same as the Pass and Don’t Pass Lines.

Baccarat

Baccarat has become famous at UK online casino for an extraordinary way of destroying your entire balance in seconds. In the game, you can bet either on a player, banker or a draw.

The dealer gives cards to both sides and the side with a higher finishing number wins. A draw takes place if the numbers are equal.

Most Popular Types of Bonuses

After getting acquainted with the main games and casino types, time for you to learn about the most popular freebies at the UK casino site.

Free Cash

The most typical freebie you can receive is just pure money. For example, a 100% up to $100 promotion gives you just cash.

The bonus sounds really good, since you just get funds on top of your deposit, but the process isn’t simple. The freebie is usually followed by big wagering requirements and the money can only be used in slots.

Free Spins

Another promotion you can get from a UK online casino is free spins. You can receive 20 free spins for depositing a certain amount of money — bonuses like these.

However, free spins are under the wagering requirement and are allowed to be used only in specific slots. The machines for the use are mentioned in terms of the bonus.

Bonus Codes

The last and the best bonus type on the list — no deposit bonus codes. These codes don’t have any wagering requirements, nor limits. You can receive them by watching streamers play at a UK casino site. Another method is getting codes from the gambling site’s staff.

Most Used Payment Methods in UK Online Casinos

PayPal

PayPal is a really convenient banking option to use at UK online casinos. Using the payment method, you can control your money, deposits and withdrawals made. The transactions are very fast and secure.

Feel free to use the banking variant since the option is available at all UK casinos.

Paysafecard

Paysafecard is the best choice for people who want to stay anonymous on the internet. You don’t need a bank account and credit card to use the method. You don’t need to share any valuable data with the casino making the banking option safe.

Visa or Mastercard

Debit and credit cards are the most widely spread payment options. You encounter Visa and Mastercard at every online casino in the UK. These methods are very protected but may involve some fees because of their high safety levels.

Online Gambling Laws in the United Kingdom

Good news for you – gambling in the UK is legal and the laws are pretty easy to understand. The entire casino industry is regulated by the UK gambling commission formed by the Gambling Act in 2005.

The act has been formed to prevent you from getting scammed by the casino, to ensure fair gambling and to protect children from gambling.

If you want to legally play at casinos in the UK, you need to check one vital thing. The UK casino site needs to have a UK Gambling Commission approval.

UK Online Casino FAQ

📌 Are there any other licenses a UK casino can have to be legal?

Yes, there’s actually a whitelist of other gambling jurisdictions. All licenses have been checked by the UK and considered on the same level of protection as the UK Gambling Commission.

📌 How do I know if the support team at a UK online casino works well?

Before signing up on the gambling site, you can test the site out by typing a question into the live-chat. You can see if support helps you or not. In case, the option is unavailable – go ahead and read real player reviews.

📌 What should I do in case an online casino in the UK scams me?

If you’ve followed our advice and chose a legal UK casino – the process is simple. You need to get in touch with the license of the gambling site and the company should help you retrieve the money.

Welcome to the OnlineCasinos.org.uk online casino guide. In this section you can find everything you need to know about casino from in depth reviews of the best casino sites to detailed guides on software, payment methods, offers and bonuses.

Between us we have over 30 years of direct experience playing in land based and online casinos which we have used to create comprehensive casino guides to allow you to choose the right online casino for you. All content displayed on this site is written by us from our own knowledge and understanding and not by freelance writers. We don't recommend any one operator as we know everyone has different requirements when it comes to finding the right casino, software, bonuses or banking methods however we only list reputable brands that we ourselves would be prepared to gamble with.

Although we prefer to give more in depth advice we know some people are after a list of the best quality casinos, therefore we start off with a list of our top 10 casino sites. More information on terms and conditions can be found on our casino offers and casino bonuses pages.

We're currently busy working behind the scenes researching, writing and testing and this section is still under construction, but we'll be adding to it regularly.

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Popular Pages

Casino Sites

Reviews of top online casinos, all UK licensed and approved by our testers.

Casino Bonuses

Thousands in deposit bonuses up for grabs when you sign up with a new casino.

No Deposit Bonuses

Completely risk free trials. Welcome bonuses & free spins, no deposit required.

Casino Offers

Quickly compare casino offers in our table. Plus reload bonuses and much more.

Casino Software Guides

Most online casinos buy in their games from casino developers rather than make their own - after all, it's probably best to leave something this complicated to the experts. Plus it allows for unique branding leading to games based around films, TV Shows and even bands. There are a number of different software houses making games ranking from the big power houses of Microgaming, NetEnt and Playtech through to the smaller specialist companies who produce only a handful of unique games.

Casino Game Guides

No matter what your favourite game is at the casino, you'll almost definitely be able to find it online. With thousands of different variations of slots, blackjack, roulette and video poker on the web - including unique forms never before seen or not possible in a land based casino (ever played roulette with 3 balls at once?). In our game section we cover the basics of each game along with a bit of history and strategy. Then we'll guide you through the weird and wonderful variations that have made their way online.

Live Casino Games

Live Casinos have been increasing in popularity over the past few years, although the number of games that are available hasn't changed too much and most casinos tend to stick to the classics - blackjack, roulette, baccarat and craps. In a live casino you're connected via video stream to a real world casino (or special studio), allowing you to chat with dealers and watch the roulette wheel spin and the cards turn in real time. Perfect if you're not a fan of RNG's, or just thing online casinos are missing the human interaction found in a brick & mortar establishment.

Payment Methods and Banking

There are plenty of options when it comes to buying chips at an online casino and cashing out your winnings. Some are quicker than others, whilst others have handy features - it all comes down to personal preference. Some online casinos even let you get your winnings in cash from high street betting shops. In this section we cover the main methods you can use, as well which casinos accept what. We even cover the casinos with the lowest (and biggest) deposits for those of you who only want to bet a few pounds.

About our Online Casino Guide

Here at OnlineCasinos.org.uk you may have noticed we don't do things by halves. We know everybody is looking for something different when it comes to an online casino and it's our aim to try to cover every angle so that you can pick the best casino site for you.

Our reviews are comprehensive. We don't just list a load of games and software with a bonus and expect that you will be able to understand what you are getting just from that. Instead we discuss all aspects of online casinos including: the value of the welcome packages, loyalty for existing customers, banking options, interfaces, platforms, mobile options, licencing information, responsible gambling and much more. All of this is written form our first-hand experience and we don't farm this out to third party freelancers. What you see is what you get at OnlineCasinos, you will notice we don't list hundreds of casinos and offers, this is because only a few of the plethora of casinos are good enough to be recommended by us.

We have divided our casino guide into sections that we hope makes it easy to find the information and operators that you need. On our casino sites page, you will find summaries of our recommended online casinos with links to the in depth review. Our offers page shows you all the casino introductory deals in one place with information about how to get the best value from sign up promotions and our bonuses page gives you more detailed descriptions of the offer terms for each bonus in turn.

If you are looking for more information on how to use online casinos from strategies to information about licencing and law see our casino articles. If you want to select a casino based on payment methods visit our banking section where we list not only the casinos that accept the various payment methods but we also include relevant minimums, maximums, fees and other critical information. Finally if you want to play casino based on the software and games or simply find out how the various software platforms work visit our software section.

Everything You Need to Known About UK Online Casinos

It's no secret that people love to gamble. So it should come as no surprise to learn that online casinos started to spring up not long after the internet was invented. The first casinos were unregulated, poorly designed and came equiped with only the most basic games. But over the past twenty five years they've evolved into fully fledged digital casinos, with some even offering virtual reality games that seat you right at the table in front of a real life dealer.

On this site we cover everything you need to know about playing casino games on the internet both for fun and for real money. We'll show you what you can play and where as well as providing hints and tips to get the most out of your gaming. But first, let's address the elephant in the room... is it legal?

Uk Online Casinos 2020

Are Online Casinos Legal?

This is a very important question. After all, no one wants to get in trouble for playing a few hands of blackjack on the internet.

In the early days, online casinos were very much like the wild west and whilst early casinos weren't illegal they weren't regulated either. Fast forward a couple of decades and the legal landscape in the UK is made up of a complex array of regulatory bodies and commissions, set up to protect players, stop money laundering and to ensure that the casinos pay their fair share of tax.

Because of this, British players can gambling online legally provided that all of the following are true:

Uk Online Casinos Blackjack

• The Casino is Licensed in the UK - All real money casinos that accept players from the UK need to be licensed with the UK gambling commission. You can check if a casino holds a license on the UKCG website. Casinos are also required to list their license number on their website.
• You are over 18 - Gambling is a form of adult entertaniment and you must be 18 or older to participate. The only except to this is the National Lottery which is 16, although there are calls to increase this in line with other forms of gambling.

Note: You may need to provide proof of your identity when playing for money laundering purposes - a process known as KYC or 'know your customer'.

About Online Casinos

It’s likely that pretty much anyone who enjoys a bet will have been into a casino at some point. From the moment you enter the (usually) lavish venue, you can feel the sense of excitement, with noise emerging from every corner and people engaged in a to-and-fro battle with the croupiers and electronic machines.

How can online casinos possibly hope to compete with that environment, in which money seems to seep out of the walls? The answer to that comes in the form of being able to offer punters pretty much any game that has ever existed, from card games through to variations of roulette via slot machines and different types of bingo. There’s also the chance to play against real live croupiers thanks to the development of live video gaming.

Online casinos are still fundamentally different to real-world casinos, of course, but whether or not you think that’s a good or a bad thing will be dictated by your personal preference. After all, there’s no chance of having to talk politely to strangers or avoid drunken louts at an online casino, which may well make them an appealing alternative.

One downside is that online casinos lack the variation that you might find in the real world. Rather than having a choice of numerous different types of casinos, online players often find that the cyber-alternatives are the brainchild of the same software company but have a different ‘skin’ on them in order to make them unique to the company behind them. Even then, though, once you start playing the games you’ll notice that they look and feel the same.

Those that are used to seeing physical actions take place in front of them might naturally mistrust computerised games, feeling as though the machine operating them could be ‘rigged’ or somehow set up to work against them. As long as in the UK you make sure that you’re betting with companies that have Gambling Commission licences, though, that simply can’t happen.

They use Random Number Generator systems to ensure that games are as fair as possible and the best ones will tell you how often people win on them, so you’ll know which games are more likely to pay out than others. In other words, bet with a reliable company and your money will be safe. That doesn’t mean that you’ll win all of the time, of course; online casinos are just as liable to the vagaries of fortune as real life ones, after all. Here we’ll have a look at how they’ve developed over the years and the current state of play.

The Gambling Act, Licensing and Regulation

The very first casino that launched online was called Gaming Club and did so in 1994. It was powered by a then-little known software company called Microgaming, which went on to take the industry by storm. It proved to be a moment that would revolutionise the world of online gambling, with Cryptologic launching the following year and soon-to-be powerhouses like Playtech and NetEnt coming hot on its heels.

It wasn’t until 1996 that an online casino launched in the United Kingdom when InterCasino, powered by WagerLogic began accepting customers. That was a subsidiary of Cryptologic and it carried just eighteen different casino games for players to get involved with.

Back then, of course, the world of online betting was something of a Wild West, with no specific legislation of which to speak. Indeed, gambling in general in the United Kingdom was governed by the Betting and Gambling Act of 1960, as well as the Gambling Act that was passed eight years later, until the UK Gambling Act came into being in 2005. That was also the year that the Gambling Commission was formed, with the specific intention of establishing some sort of control over the world of online gaming amongst other things.

The establishment of an organisation that was able to add some structure to a previously chaotic industry could have been seen as something that might have limited the world of online gambling but instead it allowed it to flourish. Previously players were unsure of where they stood in terms of the reliability of the sites that sprung up left, right and centre.

The formation of the UKGC meant that rules and regulations were put in place to ensure that money was guaranteed, which in turn increased the customer base and weeded out the less reliable websites. As a result, the amount of money being spent with online casinos and other gambling companies went up year-on-year as more and more custmers began to trust the burgeoning technology. By 2017 the UK online gambling industry had grown to the point that it was worth £4.5 billion.

Regulated UK Online Casinos Are Flourishing

The landscape has moved and altered in numerous different ways, not just in terms of the legislation in place to regulate them. In terms of that legislation, though, it too has had to develop. When the Gambling Commission was first created there was a loophole in the rules that meant that companies could avoid paying taxes by basin themselves abroad.

As a result, changes were introduced to ensure that that wasn’t the case and that any company that wanted to offer its gambling services to a UK audience needed to have a remote operating licence in order to do so. The UKGC also takes jurisdiction in any disputes between customers and the companies that supply them with services, meaning that it’s far more difficult for disreputable companies to form and take advantage of those looking to place bets online.

In the end, of course, everyone knows that the house always wins and players accept that that’s part of the challenge of taking on the casinos, whether it be online or their bricks and mortar alternatives. Online casinos have had to roll with the punches in order to maintain a customer base, being one of the first industries to realise that the internet could be a goldmine for business.

Ensuring that customers had a top-class experience when gambling online became key to allowing companies to grow, with those that didn’t prioritise that side of things soon struggling. When the online poker site PKR went into administration in 2017, customers of the company cited the the lack of a slick experience at the front end as a big part of the reason why. LeoVegas, meanwhile, set themselves up with the specific aim of becoming the number one mobile gambling company and became a major player in the industry when they achieved just that.

How things will develop in the future remains to be seen, if for no other reason than the potential impact of Brexit. What we can tell you is that online casinos are braced for a change to the ways in which they’re allowed to operate in terms of stake sizes and caps to the amount of money that players can wager.

The government’s decision to cap the stakes placed on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals to £2 hit the industry hard and has given operators pause for thought in terms of whether or not their online casinos might also have similar caps put in place on them before too long. The fact that FOBTs have been referred to in the past as ‘the crack cocaine of betting’ means that they were always likely to be dealt with much harsher than online casinos, but it’s still something that will be interesting to watch the development of in the future.

How Will Brexit Affect Online Casinos In The UK?

One of the main ways in which Britain leaving the European Union is likely to change the world of online gambling, if it does indeed happen, is regarding the manner in which workers for the biggest companies will be able to actually go about their business.

One of the largest off-shore locations for online casinos is Gibraltar, with around a quarter of the country’s GDP coming from the industry. More than three thousand people are employed by the likes of 32Red, Bet365 and William Hill, with a solid majority of those workers living in Spain and commuting across the border to work on a daily basis into the British territory.

If the EU choose to close the border between the two countries then that will make life very difficult indeed and the companies that operate their will almost certainly have to move back to the UK.

A move back to the UK isn’t just complicated in terms of the logistics of finding somewhere to operate. Most of the employees living in Spain are unlikely to want to relocate their entire lives, so a new workforce will have to be found.

That, in turn, brings its own complications when it comes to how much people are paid, how much tax is paid and benefits that need to be put in place for those workers, all of which costs money. Might it be more worthwhile for operators to simply stop offering their services to the UK rather than deal with all of that?

Obviously the relative strength of the pound is something that companies will need to bear in mind when it comes to where and how to operate in the event of the UK leaving the European Union, but that’s as nothing compared to the terms on which the country departs the biggest collaboration of nations in the history of the continent.

If the United Kingdom leaves the EU with no deal then it’s likely that many industries will be forced to fall back on World Trade Organisation rules and regulations. The big issue for online casinos and other operators is that the rules offered by the WTO do not allow for gambling operators to get market-access to the European Union. That would mean that British-based businesses would be excluded from bidding for any possible new business within the EU, amongst other things.

Obviously nobody knows what will happen in the event that the UK does indeed leave the European Union, but such instability is not something that tends to lead to a thriving business environment in any industry. Whether it be just in the short-term or not, the UK’s economy will almost certainly take a hit, which will have an effect on online casinos just like any other business.

Regulation would change, taxation rules would be altered and the available market of players would shrink considerably. Only time will tell how much Brexit will affect the gambling industry, with the complexities involved in the result of the country’s narrow vote in favour of leaving numerous and far-reaching, but the job losses alone are likely to change the lives of many people in the immediate.

Rule Changes: Bonuses, Free Spins & Wagering Requirements

One of the ways in which online casinos encourage punters to use their services over those of their competitors is in the form of bonus offers. Normally these involve things such as £100 in bonuses if you deposit £100 or 50 free spins on a slot machine when you make your first deposit into a new account.

In order to take advantage of these offers customers have to meet certain requirements, such as the need to roll their deposit and the bonus over a certain number of times before they are allowed to withdraw any winnings. That would mean that you would need to stake the equivalent of the wagering requirement multiplied by the bonus (or sometimes deposit + bonus) before being able to take any money out of your account.

In recent times the UK Gambling Commission and the Advertising Standards Authority have started to crack down on the language being used by online casinos to ensure that the system is fairer for punters. For example, companies can no longer refer to ‘Free Spins’ if they are not actually free, which is to say that if you need to place a deposit in order to be able to get spins then you’ve spent money and they’re therefore not ‘free’ as such. Instead these must now be called something like ‘Extra Spins’, ‘Casino Spins’, ‘Bonus Spins’ or the likes.

The idea is to make things clearer for players and safer for everyone involved. There is to be increased clarity all round, avoiding the possibility of people getting confused about what they’re being offered by the companies that they sign up with.

The result, predictably enough, is that online casinos are now being more careful than before when it comes to the language that they put on their offers. You’ll notice that references to welcome bonuses offering ‘Free Spins’ will say something like ‘winning from spins in real cash’, whilst other offers will inform you every clearly what they entail.

For example, one site we looked at with a £100 welcome bonus said clearly underneath the offer ‘Bonus wins are capped at £500, to withdraw bonus & related wins, wager 30 x (bonus amount) within 90 days’. That is what you will start to see more and more of in the coming months and years as online casino companies ensure that they’re complying with the new rules and regulations introduced by the UKGC.

The ASA & Gambling Advertising Guidelines

One of the chief things that online casinos have had to get used to in recent times is the manner in which the Advertising Standards Authority has begun clamping down on adverts that appeal to children.

It’s worth noting that though it says ‘adverts’, the ASA and the Committee of Advertising Practice are actually referring to any freely accessible space that children could find their way onto in an online environment, which is why companies are being restricted in what they can put on their own sites.

Games that are likely to appeal to anyone under the age of eighteen, perhaps because of bright colours or the use of cartoon characters, are likely to come under scrutiny from the ASA.

As a result, online casinos are having to either remove such content in its entirety or else move it to somewhere within the site that children can’t get access to it freely. That’s why you can still play games that feature cartoon characters or themes with fairytale references or the like, but you’ll only be able to access them once you’ve logged into your account.

Any ‘Play-For-Free’ games that might appeal to children or content on social media that could be appealing to a younger audience will be clamped down on by the ASA, leading to issues for the company responsible.

It’s not just content that might be appealing to children that the Advertising Standards Authority is responsible for monitoring, of course. The gambling industry has been asked to take a particularly strong interest in ensuring that adverts and promotions do not appeal to consumers that are at risk of being problem gamblers in recent times.

Companies are now asked to ensure that there is no sense of urgency in the offers they put forward, nor that gambling is trivialised in any manner. They’re also asked to ensure that the winning of money is not put forward as a primary motive for players and that the idea of things being ‘Risk Free’ is not promoted.

There has also been a move to stop companies from making fun of mental health issues, such as when an online gambling company produced an advert telling consumers to ‘save themselves’ in front of a silhouette of a man hanging from a rope by his neck.

The Health Of The UK Casino Industry

The UK boasts the world’s largest regulated online gambling market, with a gross gambling yield of around £4.7 billion every year. It’s entirely fair to say, therefore, that it’s in rude health at present. Indeed, the Gambling Commission report into the matter stated that it was expected that the online industry would increase its share of the market from around 34% to closer to 50% in the following few years.

That information is in stark contrast to other parts of the gambling industry. The government’s decision to introduce a £2 stake limit to Fixed Odds Betting Terminals, as mentioned before, hit the sector hard and left many bookmakers concerned about their future.

The limit in stake size might not seem very important, but a huge amount of the money made by bricks and mortar bookmaker shops is because of the machines, meaning that many fear the reduction in stake will shops having to close around the country as they fail to meet their overheads. The move to betting online might be helping the businesses that are based in the electronic world but it’s coming at a cost to those that are exclusively in the real one.

One such example comes in the form of GVC’s offer to buy Ladbrokes Coral, the final price for which is dictated by the result of the government’s limiting of the FOBT stakes. That said, it’s not as though anyone should be feeling overly sorry for or concerned about the gambling industry. According to statistical analysis firm Statista, the gambling industry is worth about £14 billion.