Top Online Casino Sites in the UK 2022 🔥

What is Important When Choosing an Online Casino?

As mentioned, there are so many things to contemplate, and this is not an exhaustive list, but let’s take a look at some of the main things you should examine and evaluate about a UK online casino site before committing and making an online casino account.

Games Library

You should always explore the games library of UK casinos that you are potentially considering. Make sure you check out their range of popular table games. Do they have all the favourites, like poker and blackjack, but also baccarat? Do they have variations of the favourites like football roulette or Cincinnati poker? Check out their slot selection; which providers do they host? Do they have plenty of different themes? Do they have slots with progressive jackpots? If you like online games with actual live dealers, then ensure the casino has these on offer too.

Promotions and Bonuses

The casinos with the highest reputation don’t always have the best bonus offers. Your first port of call should be to look for great welcome bonuses, but you should also look at what the casino site offers in terms of ongoing promotions. It is all well and good to have a great start to your betting with a casino, but the best casino will offer ongoing fun for years to come.

Payment Options

With cryptocurrency, the gig economy, and the abundance of online payment services, our money is everywhere these days. That’s why the top online casinos offer a wide range of payment options. It is not only the services and options they offer for payments, but also the limits they place on deposit and withdrawal amounts. Online casinos in the UK are businesses, and businesses run on profits. This can become most clear when it comes to deposits and withdrawals. The upper limits on deposits and withdrawals can be completely different and, most often, you can deposit a lot more at one time than you can withdraw.

Withdrawal Restrictions

Online casino players want access to their winnings as soon as possible. With this in mind, another thing you should consider when selecting an online casino is the withdrawal time frame for their various payment options.

Live Dealer Table Games

When it comes to live casino choices offered by online casinos, it is not as simple as; do they offer it? You will also want to look at who the games provider is that supplies their live gaming content. There are houses that have built casinos that are not open to the public and are dedicated to hosting various tables streamed for online casinos. If live table games are a priority for you, you should thoroughly check the live offerings of UK online casinos before committing.

Customer Support

This may not seem important when you initially sign up, but if you encounter any problems, you will want a casino with fantastic customer support offered 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Security

Extremely personal, confidential, and financial information is shared with gambling sites to set up your account. Naturally, you want to be assured of their security procedures. No one wants to be the unfortunate victim of a hack leak. Make sure the online casino you intend to register with is up to date with the latest security technology. Since leaving the EU, the government may look to remove GDPR guidelines from British law. As a result, you will want to look for a casino site that is committed to these good practices even when they are not required.

Legislation & Licensing

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) was launched as part of the Gambling Act 2005. They regulate gambling sites and ensure they are following fair practices and meeting responsible gambling guidelines. For an online casino site to operate legally in the UK, it must be registered with and approved by the UKGC. The information on their certificate should be displayed at the bottom of every page of their website.

Reviews and Ratings

You will not get a better indication of whether you will enjoy something than personal testimonials. TrustPilot is a good place to look at ratings from people who have used the website. You could also seek word of mouth recommendations by asking your peers.

New Technologies and Gamification

There is a growing trend for online casinos to offer elements, across their website and specific to games in their library, that are typically associated with console and desktop video games. This could include gathering items or XP, daily missions, or spinning wheels. Tournaments have been an element of gambling for a long time, but newer ones that more resemble esports tournaments are becoming more popular. If this is something you are interested in, then be sure to check the availability of gamification on your new casino sites.

How Do I Start Enjoying an Online Casino?

Getting started with UK online casino sites varies for every individual online casino, but as a general rule, here are the steps it takes for you to start enjoying the best online casino sites.

1. The first step is the one you currently find yourself on; choosing an online casino.
2. Once you have chosen, find the login section and click register.
3. Registering will involve completing a registration form with personal information and choosing some login information, which tends to be a username or email, and a password.
4. This is also when you might need to input any codes required for a welcome bonus.
5. Once you are registered and logged in, you will need to authorise a payment method.
6. You should now be able to make a deposit, but also make sure you meet the terms for any welcome bonus.
7. Now you should have funds and potentially bonus funds to start enjoying your new UK online casino.

The Most Popular UK Online Casino Games

The best online casinos will host a wide variety of the best online casino games. Their games library should host a good variety of online games that can be enjoyed by all walks of life. Let’s take a look at what you can and/or should expect from the best UK online casinos.

• Slots: Slots are the most common of online casino games and make up the majority of an online casino’s library. Among the slots that they offer, you will want to look for a wide variety of themes and slot types. Look out for a collection of video slots, slots with progressive jackpots, Megaways slots, etc. You should also look out for collections from your favourite game providers.
• Roulette: Roulette comes in many variations on casino sites UK. You should check the assortment of roulette games that the online casino you are potentially joining has on offer. Look out for a choice of stakes like 10p roulette, as well as Lightning roulette, European roulette, and even Quantum roulette.
• Blackjack: A true favourite of casino attendees across the world, this is a fundamental that any UK casino site worth its salt should offer. You should also look for a casino that offers a large choice of blackjack games. There are quantum versions of blackjack too along with blackjack surrender and Frankie Dettori’s Magic Seven Blackjack.
• Baccarat: Baccarat is not one of the most well-known or popular casino games, but it is offered by the majority of online casinos. It is a two-player game played against the banker which involves making the best hand out of what you are dealt.
• Keno: Keno is another game which is not widespread, so it is a good indication that you are dealing with the best UK casino sites if they host this game. It is a lottery-style game that has become popular in modern casinos and therefore with online casinos.
• Video poker: With poker nights in pubs up and down the UK and poker sets benign unwrapped for Christmas and birthdays every year, poker is ubiquitous. As a result, you should expect a healthy selection of poker games from the best casino sites. Some UK online casinos specialise in poker and these will have variations like fusion poker or five card draw, which you may not find in even the best UK online casinos. They should, however, include basic variations like Texas Hold ‘em, Stud poker, and Casino Hold ‘em.
• Bingo: Bingo is very popular in the UK, and so the best UK online casinos will have a choice of bingo games. Ensure they have pure bingo games and don’t be fooled by slot games that use bingo as a template.
• Scratch cards: An online casino game using modern technologies that is spreading across the top casino sites is online scratch cards. If a casino offers scratch cards with customisable stake options they are potentially a top casino site.
• Craps: Craps is that casino game you regularly see in movies set in Vegas, with a hoard of people cheering around a long table as someone throws dice to the end. The online version may not be as glamorous but should be included on gambling sites.

Deposit and Withdrawal Methods in the UK

The payment methods that an online casino offers should be a huge factor in whether you are considering them as a serious option. The UK benefits from being an important part of the world’s economy and has a huge selection of payment options. Ensure that the best casino sites you are considering offer deposit and withdrawal methods, suitable for you. The choice should include a variety of card payments, bank transfers, online payment companies and e-wallets, including:

• Visa: UK players will be very familiar with Visa debit cards. If they own one, then they are likely accustomed to using it for both online and offline payments. Any online gambling website should offer this.
• Mastercard: Mastercard credit cards are not permissible for payments to online casino sites so players are not able to use money which is not theirs for online gambling. As a result, Mastercard debit cards can be used for online payments.
• Maestro: Maestro are a type of prepayment card that can be used for online and offline payments. Although they are less widely used these days and there are potential plans to phase them out of European circulation.
• Bank transfer: This is a fantastic option as it rules out the use of a third party and purely involves your bank and the casino. The issue is setting this option up can take longer than one working day but once authorised it can be a very convenient choice.
• PayPal: PayPal is an online payment company that can be used for making deposits and withdrawals with top-rated casinos. PayPal does not charge fees for personal use which makes them one of the best online payment service options. Once you have a PayPal account linked with your card or bank, you are only required to input your login information to deposit, which reduces the need to share financial information with a casino site.
• Skrill: This is one of the most popular e-wallet options for UK players of UK online casinos. It can involve fees, especially for withdrawals.
• Neteller: Anyone who has moved money abroad is au fait with Neteller, but they can also be used for domestic payments, possibly for payments to casino sites. They are an English company and work similarly to PayPal in that once this account is set up the login information is all you need to share with the online casino.
• ecoPayz: Another popular e-wallet service in the UK. It has the option of working in tandem with debit cards or singularly as a payment method.
• Cryptocurrency: This is a growing payment method and is not the most widely accepted payment method. It is not even accepted by the most popular online casinos, but fame does not always equal quality. If you are a keen crypto wizard then this is something you will want to consider when choosing an online casino site.

The UK Gambling Commission & Protection from Harm

The UKGC is committed to making gambling safe for UK players. There are several areas where they concentrate on this commitment:

1. Compliance: They focus on businesses involved in both offline and online gambling and ensure that they prioritise customer safety and, most importantly, follow the rules.
2. Marketing: The UKGC relaxed rules on advertising gambling services in 2007, leading to a sevenfold increase in gambling adverts on television. Now they are concentrating on driving gambling adverts away from the eyes of those under 18. Breach of advertising guidelines leads to fines and suspensions.
3. Payment methods: A step which we have mentioned above is the banning of gambling through the use of credit cards. This keeps people safe by preventing betting through the use of money that they do not have. They also introduced Know Your Customer procedures to help prevent fraud.
4. Protecting young people: The KYC protocols also extend to protecting young people, as with stricter age and identity checks those under 18 are protected from the harms of online gambling.
5. Customer support: A big step that has been made towards more responsible gambling among UK players is changing the way casino sites UK interact with customers. This includes welfare checks plus sharing users’ activities.
6. Protective bodies: They have also been responsible for setting up the National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Arms and they have a framework agreement with the independent charity GambleAware. Access to resources from these bodies should be easily accessible from all UK casinos, it is usually displayed at the bottom of casino websites.

Best UK Casino Bonus Offers

The potential to offer bonuses and promotions makes a massive contribution to the proliferating popularity of the best online casinos over brick-and-mortar ones.

Welcome Bonuses

Welcome bonuses are a great way for the best online casino sites to attract the attention of potential UK players. They usually come in the form of first deposit matches or first deposit matches with free spins. Those free spins are usually restricted to one slot machine or slot games from a particular provider. This can sometimes involve depositing more than the minimum required, even with low deposit casinos.

No Deposit Bonuses

This is a type of bonus that involves rewarding players with bonuses regardless of whether they deposit. No deposit bonuses are extremely rare in the UK. Even the biggest online casinos don’t tend to offer no deposit bonuses as these are hard to include due to the stringent UK gambling laws.

Reload Bonuses

These are extremely rare bonuses across online casinos and tend to only be offered by the best casino sites. These are bonuses for making future deposits. Perhaps you haven’t gambled with a casino online for a while, and when you return, they reward you with some bonus funds. These are difficult to offer to UK players because they somewhat encourage habitual betting, which is not permitted in UK gambling laws.

Typical Terms & Conditions of UK Casinos Bonuses

Bonuses are a form of loss leader for online casinos, and so naturally, there is usually fine print in place that protects the casinos from losing too much when offering promotions.

• Wagering requirements: Wagering requirements refer to how many times bonus funds have to be staked before the winnings from them can be withdrawn as cash.
• Max bet limit: This is a limit on the amount of bonus funds you can use at one time. For slots, it is typically the minimum total stake amount allowed on games, such as £0.20. This stops players going all-in with their deposit bonus on one colour on roulette for example.
• Winning cap: A winning cap limits the amount you can win when using funds gained from promotions.
• Maximum withdrawal limit: It is incredibly frustrating when an online casino has vastly different upper limits on their deposit and withdrawal amounts. The best UK online casinos will have identical deposit and withdrawal limits.
• Time-related limit: Time limits can be related to the use of bonus funds or the window to meet wagering requirements. Either way, failure to meet time restrictions results in the loss of deposit bonuses and winnings generated from them.
• Payment method verification: Registered payment methods need to be properly verified. This usually involves Know Your Customer procedures that prove you are who you say you are.

Void after withdrawal: This is a condition that is present everywhere among casino sites. It involves the loss of bonus funds if the money used to redeem them is withdrawn before wagering requirements are met.