Licensing and safety
A licence is the single most important safety signal for a gambling brand. In the UK, the relevant register is maintained by the Gambling Commission, and you can check whether an operator is licensed and for what activities.
Verdict Desk treats every licensing claim as needs verification until we have recorded the regulator, licence number, operator entity, source and check date. We do not repeat an operator’s claim as if it were independently confirmed fact.
What a UK licence means
A Gambling Commission licence imposes requirements on fairness, player funds, responsible gambling and verification. It does not mean you will win, and it does not guarantee a specific withdrawal time.
A licensed operator is still subject to the terms of its own promotions, which you must read separately.
How to check the register
Search the Gambling Commission register by operator name or licence number. Confirm the operator entity matches the site you are using — lookalike or clone sites are a known risk.
Check that the licence covers the product you plan to use: a betting licence may not cover casino, and vice versa.
Red flags to look for
No operator name or company number in the footer.
A licence claim that does not match any entry on the register.
Pressure to deposit quickly, or bonuses that appear risk-free or guaranteed.
Our policy on licensing claims
We store licence data as a separate entity with source name, source URL, checked date, checked by and verification status. A change to a brand’s licence re-opens every page that references it for re-verification.