Gambling Commission (UK)

The British Gambling Commission was established under the Gambling Act 2005. As regulators for (online) gambling, the Gambling Commission started actively targeting the gambling market on September 1, 2007. The regulator strives to guarantee a safe and responsible offer in gambling companies and betting sites. It should also ban dishonest, irresponsible and suspected gambling companies, so you as a player are protected. The Gambling Commission UK was appointed by the English politicians as the official regulator. A regulator must supervise the monitoring of activities related to gambling games and must act as an authority and enforce it where rules are broken. The Gambling Commission also issues licenses for the provision of gambling games. Supervision and compliance with regulations are better guaranteed. The Gambling Commission UK is also responsible for monitoring all land-based casinos and bookmakers. A task that should certainly not be underestimated in a country like Great Britain. After all, there are few European countries where gambling takes place as much as in Great Britain. Here you can find almost every corner of the street a betting office.

What is the Gambling Commission?

The Gambling Commission is a UK-based regulator that oversees fair and safe gambling. One of the main requirements of a license from the UK Gambling Commission is that money flows that arise within the casino must be segregated. Therefore, income from deposits must be kept in a different account than the profit the casino makes and the total assets of the casino. This requirement is intended to prevent when a casino does not make enough profit or goes bankrupt, players’ funds are not at risk. If a casino goes bankrupt, the money of all players of the online casino is still available. The funds can be transferred back to their bank account or credit card.

Another condition is the so-called accountability clause. This stipulates that the casino offers entire liability to its players regarding the protection of gaming credits, personal data, and access to a complaints procedure. Suppose you have a conflict with the online casino you are playing at. In that case, you can submit this problem to the UK Gambling Commission, and they will mediate in solving the problem. If the casino follows the recommendation of the UK Gambling Commission, the committee may decide to revoke the casino license. Suppose you play at a casino that does not have a license. In that case, there is no way to submit your problem to an independent organization. You will have to solve the problem with the casino.

What rules does the Gambling Commission regulator apply when issuing a license?

The license that can be provided by the Gambling Commission is one of the strongest in Europe in existence to this day. Take, for example, the check carried out by the organization concerning the technical operation of the online slots. In particular, the payout percentage is continuously monitored by the UK Gambling Commission. Many bookmakers and casinos are not eligible to obtain a license from the Gambling Commission. Mainly because they have not had their random number generator checked. This check must always be carried out by an independent and, moreover, specialized audit firm.

Online bookmakers and casinos that want to receive a license from the Gambling Commission must, of course, also be able to demonstrate that they have everything in order financially. This is also quite a requirement. Moreover, this reserve must be continuously replenished. After all, only in this way is it possible to provide players with financial security, not for a short time but continuously. Another point that casinos must comply with is offering an exclusion option. In other words, does a player feel like he or she is becoming addicted? Then it must be able to exclude itself to prevent further financial loss.

Constant and strict control by the Gambling Commission

We can say that the United Kingdom regulator Gambling Commission is one of the strictest regulators in the world. But how reliable is a license issued by the Gambling Commission really? What if a bookmaker – with a license from the Gambling Commission – ignores all the rules? How secure and protected am I as a player under the supervision of this supervisor. Pretty sure! We dare to say that. After all, the Gambling Commission is not solely responsible for issuing a license. It also has to ensure that the terms of the license are actually complied with. Does it appear at a certain point that a particular bookmaker no longer meets the requirements? In that case, the license will be withdrawn immediately. However, it goes without saying that this news release could be the death knell for an online gambling company. In practice, it really rarely, if ever happens, that a bookmaker or casino simply does not comply with the rules and the gambling companies meet the conditions correctly. In concrete terms, this means that online bookmakers who have a UKGC license can almost all be seen as reliable.