Best UK Online Casinos

Small UK Flag Icon If you are a resident of the United Kingdom, then you can consider yourself lucky when it comes to selecting and playing at an online casino. The UK has a long history of legalized gambling across many verticals, and when the Internet Casino arrived, the government was sure to put in measures to keep it a top-notch jurisdiction. From online versions of the land based betting shops that the British have come to know and trust, to the new kids on the block, all UK residents have a myriad of choices in front of them. So how do you navigate all these options to find the online casino that is best suited to your needs? Look no further and LegitCasinosOnline.com. Not only do we put our knowledgeable staff to the task of reviewing every casino available to the UK market, but we have also come up with our own ranking system. This allows us to quickly and decisively provide you with the sites we feel are going to bring the most enjoyment to our readers.

Our Recommended UK Online Casinos

Reading through this page will give you the tools necessary to do your own research into the online casinos that you find. However, if you would just like to skip past that and get to playing, then you can trust that our recommendations will not steer you wrong. Here is our list of

What to look for in an Online Casino in the UK

As we mentioned, we leave no stone unturned when we are reviewing online casinos open to playing from the UK. That shouldn’t stop you from doing some research on your own, and with that in mind, we want to give you an idea of what you should be looking for in a casino that is worthy of your deposit. Here are some of the categories that you would find discussed in our individual reviews of UK Online Casinos:

Safety and Security

First and foremost in the minds of all online casino players in the UK should be determining if an online casino is safe for both their money and their information. Fortunately for all British players, the Government has put regulations in place that make it all but impossible to gain a license unless operators pass a stringent series of qualifications. The UK Gambling Commission was established in 2005 for the express purpose of providing license and regulation for the growing UK gambling industry. In addition to regulating the land based gambling industry, the Gambling Commission is tasked with keeping all online gambling in check; they are there to protect players to ensure no one is taken for a ride by a rogue online operator. To obtain a license from the Gambling Commission, any online operator who applies must be prepared to have everything about them scrutinized. From their personal background, history in the space, to the financial means to support an online casino operation, the Gambling Commission check it all to make sure they don’t find any red flags. That isn’t where the Gambling Commission stops, however. On top of investigating the companies themselves, all online casino software suppliers who want to be on the white list of approved for the UK market must subject themselves to regular tests of their Random Number Generators. These tests are performed by approved third-party auditing firms such as TST and eCogra. Once the software successfully passes those tests, it is considered acceptable for the British casino player. Finally, the online casino websites themselves have to meet a minimum security requirement in the UK. This is to prevent hackers from gaining access to private, secure information about the players including any banking information that is supplied to make deposits and withdrawals. All this work behind the scenes means that if you find a casino that features the Gambling Commission log on their website, you know you are playing at a safe site. You should note that there are sites that are not licensed by Gambling Commission; these sites are operating illegally, and if something goes wrong then you will have no recourse to defend yourself. For more information on the Gambling Commission, we encourage you to visit their website.

Software Supplier

One very advantageous aspect of playing online casino games in a market as heavily regulated as the UK is that you end up with an abundance of riches when it comes to choices of software. In the wake of the changes in regulations in other parts of the world, many of the best casino software companies have focused their attention on the UK market. When you visit one of our reviews, you will be informed of what software a UK-friendly online casino is using for their offering. Every software company will have a different look and feel, and as a result of aggressive licensing agreements, they can offer some of the best content to their players. Online casino software giants such as Playtech, Microgaming, NetEnt, and IGT are all available for operators to use, and if you find a casino that used one of these guys, you should definitely check them out. All reputable online casino software suppliers these days will offer both a download and instant play version of their games, which appeal to different styles of players. In either case, a Gambling Commission-licensed software supplier will bring you a high quality of games in whatever format you prefer.

Mobile App

Another bonus for UK online casino players is that with regulations in place, the mobile platform providers found it much easier to allow real money operators to have their own bespoke apps in their App Store. Why is that important? Well, to start, having an app on your phone means that you will have a higher quality of graphics than you are likely to find in a browser-based game. Also, the speed of the game will be much better as the packets of information that need to be sent back and forth to the cloud are not nearly as significant as they are for web games. When you are selecting a casino for play in the UK, you should check out the app store and see if they have an app. It is highly unlikely that a non-licensed operator will have been approved to have an app, so there is an extra layer of security built into your online casino search.

Game Selection

For any online casino player, finding the casino that offers all the games you wish to play is a top priority. UK players will find that their options are even wider than most of the other countries, as the broad spectrum of players in the region means a casino will want to spread more games. Not only that but in the day and age of Internet gambling, games are no longer regionalized. You can see this in the lobby of any UK-friendly casino; without having to put real tables and dealers in place, you will see all different variants of your favorite games. You should be looking for online casinos that take UK play that offer the following games at a minimum: You will also find that these days, online casinos are trying as hard as ever to replicate the feeling of playing in a live casino. To that end, many UK-licensed online casinos offer their players a Live Dealer Casino. This casino is more interactive than the standard digital offerings; the games are filmed live in a special studio, and dealers use a special extra-large deck of cards to play the games you know and love. Live Dealer casinos are becoming more popular on a daily basis, and with the robust broadband connections available to all UK residents, the speed of the game should not be affected by playing in a Live Dealer game.

Banking Options

One consistent horror story that most online casino players tell and hear is about a casino that took forever to pay them their winnings, or was almost impossible to make a deposit with; both of these cause endless frustration in players around the world. British players do not have nearly the struggle that their friends in North America face from a banking perspective. As all UK-licensed casinos face stiff penalties for abusing the banking policies, players can rest assured that their deposits are safe with one of these brands. It can’t get much easier for UK online casino players than to be able to use their Visa, Mastercard or Maestro cards to make a deposit. The process is just as simple as making any other online purchase, and usually, within a matter of seconds, your money is in the casino account and ready for play. Many other payment options are available to UK players including third-party processors like Neteller and Skrill. What usually ends up being the deciding factor for most players in the UK is the turnaround time for withdrawals; getting your money to a casino is important, but not nearly as crucial as knowing how quickly you will get your winnings when you hit the withdrawal button. All our casino reviews provide an overview of the available payment methods as well as the withdrawal times where they are noted on a casino website.

Bonus Offers

One way that most online casinos will try to attract British players is through a series of bonus offers. It is important that players understand what offers are out there, and to be able to weed through some of the less attractive promotions to maximize the deposits you are going to make. The casino bonus system is extensive and at times complicated; what we try to do in our online casino reviews is explain what bonuses will bring you the best and quickest return on your money, highlighting the ones we feel are best for the UK market. Online Casino Bonuses can take on many forms, and UK players should also be looking for the value in a localized promotion. Any bonus or marketing that is restricted to players from the UK usually means you are playing in a much smaller pool for prizes, giving you a better chance of winning. Also, it is important to look at the wagering requirements for any cash bonus that is offered to UK residents. Some sites have lower requirements than others and finding the best for your style of play means you will have a better chance of clearing that bonus before you run out of money. Other aspects of the promotional campaigns that UK online casino players should be investigating are the Comp Programs and VIP Programs that an operator offers. You can find great value in these programs if you play certain games and at certain limits. Taking full advantage of these programs is another way to make your deposits go further and hopefully bring you home a winner. Finally, all UK players should take note of the currency in which your casino is offering their promotions. While a casino may be licensed by the Gambling Commission, they may, in fact, be operating from another country, and as a result, their promotions may not be listed in British Pounds. If that is the case, it’s just a matter of a quick conversion to fully understand what the value is to our British residents.

Customer Service

There is nothing worse for a player than the feeling of helplessness when something goes wrong with their experience, and there is no immediate way to contact a casino to solve the problem. For a lot of online casino players around the world, this usually means sending an email or if they are lucky trying to catch a live chat agent. UK residents, however, get another benefit from a heavily regulated industry as all the recommended online casinos feature 24/7 phone, chat, and email Customer Service. Each of the sites, regardless of where they are operating from, will have a local number for UK residents to be able to call to have issues dealt with in real time. If you want to take it a step further and play with one of the established brands such as Ladbrokes or Coral, then you will be able to walk right into your local betting shop, and the agents at the desk will be able to address first level problems.

Conclusion

In many cases, the term “regulation” comes with a negative connotation. In the online casino world, most regulation only creates more confusion. This is not the case in the United Kingdom, where the regulations are clear, understood, and have created a safe, secure playing environment for the residents of that region. There are so many fantastic options for online casino players from the UK that we are confident you will find what you want from a site. You can check out all our individual reviews of UK-friendly casinos for more details.