Gamblers from the United Kingdom enjoy playing casino, poker and bingo games online as well as betting on various sports events. However, there are so many online gambling sites that offer these products that it can be tough to choose the right one. We, at bestonlinegamblingsites.co.uk are here to help you in your journey through the complex network of gambling sites on the Internet that offer various products and services to UK players and bettors.
We have taken several top UK-friendly gambling websites and personally tried them out. After testing each site we selected only the best ones so that you know that you’re being directed to a reliable and safe gambling site.
We also give you useful information about the services and products offered at each site. We understand that it is very important to know a site before signing up with it. Therefore, we show you the best features of each site as well as about their exciting and generous offers. Also, for your convenience, on this page you will find direct links to the best UK online gambling sites including information about the most important criteria for choosing a site.
The table below lists the best online gambling sites in the UK by name and other features. They are all licensed and regulated, tested for fairness by third parties, as well as reviewed and ranked by our experienced team of industry experts. They offer British pounds as a currency option and a large selection of casino games such as slots, blackjack and roulette, UK pub fuities, mobile casino titles and more. Some of the sites also offer a wide range of sports betting markets including high quality poker and bingo content.
Selection Criteria and What to Consider
What follows are the most important factors to consider when choosing the best online gambling site for UK customers. When we were making the list of top notch UK gambling websites we made sure that each casino, bookmaker, bingo site and poker room adheres to these criteria. That’s why their names are on our list.
Reputation and reliability
First and foremost, the reputation and reliability of the operator owning or running a gambling site is very important. But how can you know more about this? The best thing to do is read online reviews and pay attention to the feedback of players. A review of a gambling site usually contains information about the operator and its experience and track record. Sometimes casinos and other sites give information about who owns, operates and runs the site.
In addition, if you have already picked a gambling site, find out more about it by reading customers’ feedback. From the feedback you can learn more about the user experience and specific details about the site.
Legal situation
This is another important factor you should consider. As a rule, all online casinos and gambling sites offering services and products to UK people must be licensed and regulated by the UK Gambling Commission. This is the regulatory body in the United Kingdom that issues online gambling licenses to operators that wish to offer casino, sport betting, bingo and poker content to UK gamblers. Gambling sites usually have this license displayed on the bottom of their homepage along with the license number. Most of the sites also have licenses from other well known gambling jurisdictions such as Curacao, Kahnawake and Malta.
Security measures
Before you invest your own money into a gambling site, you must always check whether it is safe and secure. A standard security measure casino sites employ is 128-bit Security Soccer Layer encryption. This technology enables secure transactions to and from casino servers. Players can also provide sensitive data to the site without worrying that they might be stolen. The encryption obscures all data that is transferred making it impossible for hackers to obtain it.
In addition, we advise you to read other security information available on the site such as what the casino does to your sensitive details. It should be stated in the terms and conditions that any sensitive data from players is safely stored and it’s not rented, borrowed or sold to third parties.
Customer support
Sometimes when you gamble online, you might come across a problem. If you are new to the site, you might have some questions or you might want to share your experience with the operator and give your feedback. Therefore, it’s important to check how responsive and helpful the customer support is. There’re gambling sites that have a customer support service that is available 24 hours, 7 days a week, but when you want to get in touch, you wait for hours until you get a response from a support agent. Even if you don’t have a problem or a question, check the responsiveness of the support.
In addition, check what contact methods the site offers. Common methods are phone number, fax, live chat and e-mail. Most UK-friendly online casinos also offer a toll free phone number for these customers.
Software and games
The reliability and trustworthiness of the software a gaming / betting site uses is another criterion to consider. Top notch gambling sites are powered by reputable and well known software providers with excellent track record. For example, real money casinos for UK players use software from providers such as Microgaming, NetEnt, Playtech, BetSoft Gaming, NextGen Gaming etc. These providers are one of the best in the online casino industry and develop and create excellent games. Casinos also provide information about the software they are using as well as their games.
Multiple-software powered UK online casinos also offer excellent game diversity. Almost all casinos offer slots, fruit machines, table and card games, video poker variants and instant win games. They also make sure that the lobby is easy to navigate and players can easily find what they want to play. Another advantage is that the games can usually be played both in free and real money mode. This is very beneficial especially if you want to check out a game or test a gaming strategy before you bet with your own money.
Sometimes casinos also list the payout percentage also known as Return to Player percentage of their games. This information is very useful as it tells you which games are generous and have high RTP. Reliable casinos also publish the audit reports of their games conducted by third party bodies such as TST and eCOGRA.
Mobile casino and live dealers
Offering a mobile casino and live dealer games is an additional plus for online casino gambling sites. There are many online casinos nowadays that also have a mobile friendly design. Thanks to the newest HTML5 technology operators can offer mobile products on the go accessible directly from a browser without the need of an app.
In addition, live dealer games also add up to the excitement of gambling online. The experience you will get from these games is similar to land based casinos. You play in front of a human dealer and in real time. It is also possible to chat with the dealer and the other players on the same table.
Bonuses and promotions
The best UK online gambling sites offer generous bonuses and promotions with good terms and conditions. The bonus offers in particular, have easy to meet wagering requirements and many games contribute towards the wagering. However, in order to find the best of the best, it’s advisable to compare the rules of a certain bonus type and claim the most generous offer. The most common types of gambling offers are:
- No deposit bonuses. They are given to new gamblers and require no initial deposit. With it players can try out the casino games or poker/bingo products without risking their own money. However, to claim the winnings from this bonus they must meet the wagering requirements stated in the terms and conditions. The winnings are also usually capped at a certain max amount.
- Deposit match bonuses. These offers require a min qualifying deposit. Afterwards, the gambling site matches your bonus up to a certain percentage and bonus amount. These bonuses often have lower wagering requirements than no deposit bonuses and are quite popular among gamblers. However, deposit match bonuses are available in many forms and sizes so always read their rules in order to know what you’re getting.
- Free bets. Free bets are offered by online UK bookmakers. There are various sub-types such as no deposit free bets or stake returned free bets. They work a bit differently from the other offers and their terms and conditions are unique for the sports betting site that offers them.
- Refer-a-friend bonuses. They are quite popular among casino, poker and bingo sites. As the name implies, they are bonuses given to players who refer their friends to the gambling site. When a player signs up and makes a deposit, you as well as your friend get a bonus. This offer also has wagering requirements and other restrictions.
- Cash back bonuses. Cash back bonuses are usually available at online casinos. This bonus is a percentage of money given back to players for losses incurred while playing games. The best thing about this bonus is that it usually comes with no wagering restrictions and the bonus money is immediately credited into your real money account and ready for wagering or cashing out.
- Loyalty rewards. Loyal gamblers are always rewarded by casinos and other gaming or betting destinations. The rewards can come in from of loyalty points players gather. These points are redeemable for real cash. They can also come in form of improved bonus offers, special invitations to events, entries to tournaments etc. The best casinos know how to retain the most important players and make their stay pleasant and enjoyable so they invest big cash in their accounts.
Choice of banking methods
Last but not least, good UK-friendly gambling websites offer reliable and efficient banking methods suitable for bettors and players from the United Kingdom. They can easily use them to fund their gambling accounts and cash out their winnings. Some of them are credit and debit cards such as Visa, MasterCard and Maestro, pre-paid cards such as Ukash, e-wallets such as Skrill, PayPal and Netller and bank transfer options. Ukash, in particular, is the most popular funding method in the UK at gambling sites and the card can be bought at various shops all over the UK. Banking at these sites is also available in British pounds.
Additional Criteria
Several other selection criteria include:
- Network. A good gambling site for UK players that offers poker must be connected to a well known and stable network. The network should be prepared to handle many players with little or no problems. UK poker rooms that use popular networks attract many players and the traffic at these rooms is pretty high.
- Traffic. When playing poker, especially poker tournaments, it’s important to have high traffic. This also means high competition, but poker is a peer-to-peer game and it’s important to have a good base of players to play with. The traffic at bingo rooms should also be high so that new games are unlocked. Also chat games are more fun when more people are playing.
- Markets covered. This refers to online bookmakers. Bettors like it when they have more sports markets covered at a site. Football and basketball might be the main markets available for betting at all bookmakers, but it’s fun to have more sports betting markets on offer such as cricket, darts, cycling etc.
- Community. UK bingo fans enjoy playing in a friendly and chatty community and reliable bingo rooms always make sure their players are satisfied and have a pleasant stay.
The Best Gambling Site for UK Players
All UK online gambling destinations we recommend adhere to the above mentioned criteria and industry standards. Let’s take 888 Casino for example. The site is licensed by the UK Gambling Commission and if you click on it you will see the reference number and other details. Furthermore, it is operated by the experienced Cassava Enterprises (Gibraltar) Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of 888 Holdings PLC, a well known gambling company. 888 Casino was established in 1997 and is an experienced operator with more than 20 million members worldwide.
The casino has also won many awards over the years. For example, it got the award for Best Digital Operator in 2014 at the Global Gaming Awards and the 2015 Gaming Intelligence Award for Best Casino Operator. Furthermore, in addition to online casino content, 888 also offers poker and bingo products as well as sports betting and customers can easily switch from one gambling activity to another using the same account.
888 Casino features over 300 games from various providers such as NetEnt, NextGen Gaming etc. including several in house developed games. It also offers mobile and live dealer casino games so you can play games on the move as well as in real time. Furthermore, it offers over a dozen sports betting markets including various bingo games in a friendly community and poker cash games and tournaments where the traffic is always high. Sports betting and poker is also available on smart phones and tablets. 888 Casino is also SSL encrypted, offers a variety of banking options in British pounds and has a very helpful Help center. It also offers a great deal of online gambling offers and promotions to all gamblers ranging from no deposit and welcome bonuses to high roller offers and VIP rewards.
Conclusion
To sum things up, it’s highly important for you to consider all selection factors when choosing the best UK online gambling site to join. There are people that don’t trust virtual gambling destinations and believe that they aren’t secure and protected. Of course, there are some unlicensed sites but you can identify them easily. Simply check the site by following each and every criterion for selection and you will find the answer. If a gambling site is not licensed and regulated by the UK regulatory body, says nothing about its security measures and offers somewhat dubious games and software, it’s highly likely that the site will only steal your money. Therefore, stay away from such sites.
On the other hand, if you don’t have the time to go through a site and check whether it adheres to the above mentioned factors, we highly recommend that you register an account with one of the best online gambling sites in the UK we listed on the table above. They have already been tested, reviewed and ranked by our experienced team so you don’t have to worry about your safely and security. You also don’t have to worry about your money- you can just relax and enjoy the games or have fun time betting on your favorite match.