To check a UKGC licence, use the Gambling Commission's public register. It is a free search that lists every licensed gambling business, with its status, activities, domain names and any regulatory action. This guide shows the search step by step, explains the status values, and sets out what to compare and which red flags to look for. On 9 November 2026 the register listed 2,629 businesses and 142 regulatory actions.
What the register is
The public register is published by the Gambling Commission on its own website. It has separate sections for gambling businesses, personal licences, regulatory actions, public statements and premises. The section most readers need is the register of gambling businesses.
The businesses section can be searched by business name, trading name, domain name or account number. It can also be filtered, and the data can be downloaded in Excel and CSV, or as a Zip file with all datasets. It is the primary source for everything this site says about a licence, and every brand page here is built from it. The search is at the Commission's register of gambling businesses.
Step by step
- Collect what the site tells you. Find the company name in the terms and conditions, usually near the end, and note the domain exactly as it appears in your browser.
- Open the register of gambling businesses. Use the search box on the Commission's page.
- Search by domain first. Domain names are declared by the licensed business, so a licensed site's domain should appear against a licence holder. Enter the plain domain, such as example.co.uk, and leave off the prefix that sits before the domain in a browser address.
- If nothing comes up, search by name. Try the company name from the terms, then the brand name as a trading name. Many brands trade under a name that differs from the legal company.
- Open the licence holder's entry. Note the account number, legal name and status.
- Check the activities. The entry lists what the business is licensed to do, such as casino, bingo or general betting, with a start date for each.
- Read the sanctions section. It lists any settlements or sanctions imposed by the Commission, with dates.
- Compare. Match the entry against the site, using the list in the next section.
If the domain is not listed under any licence holder, the site is not licensed for Great Britain, whatever its footer says.
The fields in an entry
The register describes its own fields. The main ones are:
- Account number. The unique reference number of the business.
- Business name. The legal name of the gambling business.
- Head office. The current recorded head office, though the full address may not show if the business has asked for that.
- Status. The state of the licence, explained below.
- Licence dates. The date the business was most recently granted a licence for the product, and the date it stopped operating the product, if it has.
- Trading names and domain names. Counts and lists of what the business has declared. A trading name is Active or Inactive. A domain is Active, Inactive or White label.
- Premises. The number of premises known to the Commission.
- Sanctions. Sanctions and settlements imposed after regulatory action or an investigation.
The Commission notes that domain names and trading names are provided by the gambling business, and that it does not take responsibility for the accuracy of information provided by third parties.
The status values
The register defines each status:
| Status | What the register says |
|---|---|
| Active | Licence is active and up to date |
| Pending | A new licence has been applied for or is being varied, and is not yet active |
| Suspended | Suspended by the Commission pending investigation |
| Revoked | Withdrawn as a result of regulatory action or breach of licence conditions |
| Revoked (Non payment of fee) | Withdrawn because the annual fee was not paid |
| Surrendered | Given up by the business because it is no longer required |
| Expired | The licensee did not apply for a new licence after the current one reached its end date |
| Lapsed | The business was liquidated, sequestrated or declared bankrupt, or the licensee cannot carry out the activities |
| Forfeited | A court has ordered that the licence no longer has effect |
Only Active means a business is currently licensed. Every other value is a reason to stop and look further before using the site.
The licence number format
The licence numbers on the register follow a pattern. In the entries we read on 9 November 2026, a number such as 039028-R-319297-014 has four parts joined by hyphens. The first part is the account number padded to six digits: 39028 appears as 039028. The second part was the letter R in each remote licence we read. The last two parts are numerals.
You do not need to decode the number. What matters is that the whole number a site displays matches the number on the register entry for the company that runs it. A number that matches no entry is a red flag.
A worked example
Take BetMGM. The register shows the domain betmgm.co.uk against LeoVegas Gaming PLC, account number 39198, status Active, with licence number 039198-R-319450-029. The activities listed are bingo, casino and general betting, with the casino activity starting on 1 November 2014. That tells a reader two things: the brand is licensed through a different company name, and any complaint or sanction belongs to that company. See the BetMGM page and the LeoVegas Gaming PLC operator page for the full record.
A second case shows why the holder matters. Unibet and 32Red both sit under Platinum Gaming Limited, account 45322. A search by either domain leads to the same entry, and the sanction shown on the register belongs to that one company. See Unibet and 32Red.
For wider licensing background, such as how licences work in other places, there are other gaming licence guides that explain the subject beyond Great Britain.
One holder, many domains
A single licence holder can declare many domains and trading names. The register shows the count for each. For example, the entry for 888 UK Limited, account 39028, lists sixteen domain names, and the holder is licensed for bingo, casino and general betting. The brand 888casino is only one of them.
So a site may be licensed even though its name is not the holder's name. The reverse also holds: a holder being licensed does not mean every site run by the same group is covered. Always search for the domain you are using. If a related site is not declared by a licence holder, it is not covered by that holder's licence, however similar the name. The 888casino page shows the register data for that brand, and the 888 UK Limited page lists the holder's domains.
What to compare
Once you have the entry, check these five points against the site:
- Domain. Is it declared on the entry, and is it Active?
- Company name. Does the legal name match the company named in the site's terms?
- Status. Is the licence Active?
- Activities. Does the licence cover what the site provides, such as casino games?
- Licence number. If the site shows one, does it match the register exactly?
If all five match, the site is licensed by the Commission for the activities shown. That is a statement about permission, not about quality. For the other side of the picture, read the sanctions history and see UKGC fines and sanctions for what the entries mean.
Red flags
These patterns suggest the site is not what it says it is:
- The domain is not on the register under any licence holder.
- The footer shows a licence from another country and no UKGC licence number.
- A UKGC logo or licence number is shown, but the number does not match the entry.
- The company in the terms is not on the register.
- The status is anything other than Active.
- The site makes no reference to GAMSTOP, which every licensee must join.
- The only way to complain is a contact form, with no named ADR provider.
The Commission counted 586 illegal gambling sites reachable from Great Britain for September 2026, so these checks are worth the few minutes they take.
Limits of a register search
A register entry confirms permission and shows regulatory history. It does not show how fast a company pays, how it treats customers in a dispute, or whether the games are good. Domain names are declared by the business, so a very new domain may not be listed yet, and a brand may use a domain that is listed under a holder you did not expect.
Where a site has no UKGC licence but holds a foreign one, the register will not show it. The pages on licence countries explain what the main foreign licences mean for a UK player. The short version is that they do not bring GAMSTOP, the UKGC complaint route, stake limits or affordability checks. Playing at an unlicensed site is not an offence for the player, because the Gambling Act 2005 section 33 offence belongs to the operator, but the protections are absent. The trust and safety page lists where complaints can go.
Gambling help
Gambling is for adults aged 18 and over. If gambling is a worry, call the GamCare National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133, free and open 24 hours, or use GamCare. GAMSTOP blocks online accounts with UK licensed operators, and BeGambleAware has tools and advice.