Check a Gambling Licsence UK: How to check a gambling licence register in minutes
The UK's Gambling Commission advises checking the footer for licensing details, but you need a bit more than that. The full check means matching the account number, license number, trading name and license…
The quick check
When you land on a new gambling site, you'll likely soon see a prominent logo in the footer with wording like "Licensed by the Gambling Commission". The Commission advises players to look out for that badge, but it’s not a full validation until you can match the details in the register.
The process can go quickly if you keep the browser tabs in parallel. With the site open, keep a lookout for the “Licensed by the Gambling Commission” badge in the footer. This usually includes
- The licence number field, labelled
- The licence operator field, labelled
- The licence issuing authority, in this case the Gambling Commission for UK sites.
Keep the site open and in a new tab go straight to the Gambling Commission’s public register of business licences.
Once on the business licence register page,
In either case, you are looking for:
- The site’s licence number to appear [where?]
- To see the company name and account number [where?].
But so far, you have only checked the operator name and number.
In many cases, the gambling site’s own front-facing brand name will be different from the one the commission uses. That’s because one licence holder may run.
With that in mind, look for a “trading names” section within the register’s account page.
The register will show multiple brands if you’re on the page of a gambling conglomerate. Verify your chosen site by seeing if its brand appears in the register and is marked as active.
Check too if the site itself or the active trading name is marked for a particular domain.
If all that matches, the site is compliant in principle. Just make a last check that the licence status in the register shows it as “Active” and not lapsed, surrendered or suspended, in which case the licence is not live.
The Commission’s wording
But it does point out things you should look for,, while noting that consumers
You can check all the above listed fields against the register. For the record, you can search the register by
In the register, when you look up a course via the site, you will find
If you match the register entry, your checks are:
- Brand name vs register’s legal name
- Licence number vs register’s licence number
- Domain status
- Licence status
If all looks good, you can play with a quickened mind, knowing you can always re-check the site’s registration if you spot anything worrying.
However, this might not always work in peace...
There is another issue. This is the “full online market in GB” register, which
These sites are then And into the register only via