List of UKGC Licensed Casinos Approved By iGamblingSites

Online Casinos Reviewed

When it comes to the best real money online casinos, the UK is one of the biggest gaming markets worldwide. There are hundreds of great casino websites to choose from, that it can often be difficult to know where’s best to play. We’re aware of this and this is why we’ve formed an online gambling guide. We have over 20 years of experience reviewing gambling sites – we’re sure we have played at most of them, at one time or another. We’re confident that we know what makes a top online casino site and which ones should be avoided, as our experience has also taught us how to spot unsafe and unreliable casinos. In fact, our blacklist is full of them so that you know you can trust our casino top-recommended lists.

Best Online Casinos December 2023

What Does “Return To Player %” Mean?

RTP is the abbreviation for ‘Return to Player Percentage’ which is the payouts a player can expect to win back from playing online slots and various other casino games. The average slot usually offers an RTP % of around 96%. It’s important to realise, however, that the % RTP is an average payout achieved over time, which is performed over a significant number of game plays and not each time the slot is played.

A slot games' average RTP % is generally measured over 100,000 games or greater. As an example, if an online slot displays a 95% RTP, you should not expect to win an average of 95p for every £1 you stake during your play session. The 95% is the theoretical payout for all games played on that slot over time. RTP percentages vary between different slots and software/game providers, so we always advise you to check this figure out before you start playing. 

Usually, the online casino/software provider will publish this figure under the games information or you will often be able to find the number within the rules of the game / on its paytable. Checking a slots RTP % is the best chance to play a game with the fairest odds – at least odds that will be more in your favour. We recommend playing slots with the highest RTP %.

What Does Game Variance Mean?

We covered what RTP % means above, but a game's variance (or volatility) is something completely different. RTP is often mistaken for the variance of a slot (and vice-versa). Whilst these two concepts are closely related, they aren’t the same thing at all. ‘Variance’ essentially defines the way in which a slot game’s RTP % is accomplished. Low variance slots are calculated in a way where you’ll have numerous smaller wins, that will help your bankroll stay in the plus and your head above water to play many game rounds without going bust first.

On the opposite side of the coin – high variance slot games normally have most of their RTP % located in the games bonus features (such as free spins, gamble features, pick and click features etc.) that can provide some really big wins. However, to counterbalance these big wins, these slots don’t offer as many small to medium wins within the base game. This is why it’s important to read about slot games before you commence playing.

Knowing how a slot machine behaves fundamentally, could result in you going bust or not. You need to know how the game might play out to manage your balance correctly. High variance slots aren’t for everyone as they can munch away most of your money before you see any big wins. Of course, this notion goes both ways – lower variance slots aren’t for everyone either, such as those who like to win large or engage in a games risker betting tactics.

Our Casino Reviews Are Real & Unbiased

According to The Business Research Company, the global gambling market is expected to reach a value of around £565.4 billion, growing at an annual rate of 5.9% through to 2022. It’s clear that gambling online is ever-growing in popularity and overtaking the land-based business as a source of gambling and entertainment online.  And this is why iGamblingSites.com exists. As you can see, gambling online has never been more popular, so it's imperative that casino players and online punters alike,  have trustworthy and reliable resources such as our website, to help them find safe, fair and responsible casino sites online. 

Our online casino reviews are conducted by a team of casino industry experts, which take a good couple of hours to complete. We always check each casino regularly to ensure that they are just as safe and reliable as they were when we reviewed them the first few times. All of our 100+ casino reviews are based on a number of important casino comparison criteria and checklists. 

We’ve tried to make it as easy as possible to get a feel for each casino’s gameplay and overall casino experience from our reviews and tables. Read on to find out more about our casino reviews, how we tackle them and join the thousands of other players around the world who we’ve helped to find the perfect suited casino!

How We Review Online Casinos

As mentioned, we go all out when reviewing online casino sites to ensure that we are recommending the best ones; and only the best ones. We don’t however, expect you to just trust that we do without us telling you how we review casinos and what we look out for. The strict criteria we go by below will give you some insight on what to look for when choosing a new casino site to join:

Games & Software Choice

We regularly check a casino’s game selection, not only to ensure there’s a large selection of casino games, slots (including large-paying progressive jackpots) and live games from premium and trusted vendors, but we also check games ourselves with real money, to really get a true feel for the games and the casino experience on offer. It’s also important to choose casinos with a “quality over quantity” approach. There are tons of superior games available – why opt for a casino where you have to sort the wheat from the chaff? 

Top casinos, like the gambling sites we recommend, only offer premium quality games and slots from trusted and well-respected providers. This means you’ll have ample choice of popular UK slots, award-winning live dealer games as well as progressive jackpots which offer real and legit jackpots in the multi-millions!

Security & Trust

First and foremost, it’s imperative that you play at safe and trusted casinos. This is so your money and your personal information is 100% safe and secure when gambling online. As part of our casino review process, we check for legitimate gambling licensing and regulation for the fairness of games and casino bonuses. Plus, we look out to sure that a casino's website uses the best possible encryption on all pages and data; another benchmark for safety and legitimacy. Also, a casino's RTP should also be displayed (or should be easy to find) on the casino’s site, so customers know they’ll be getting a decent payout when they win. This is sitewide and also games wide too.

Casino Offers: Bonuses & Promotions

One thing that sets aside an online casino versus a land-based casino is the bonuses and rewards you can get for your custom. Usually, land-based casinos reserve bonuses for their VIP customer, but online casinos offer every new customer a welcome bonus of some kind. Welcome bonuses provide a great initial addition to your bankroll and are usually easy to claim. We make sure that they have fair wagering requirements and in most cases, try to give preference to those online casinos which offer no wager bonuses. This is so you have the highest possible chance of cashing out your winnings (always remember to read the terms and conditions yourselves, however).

We’re also on the lookout for other promotions offered after you have used the welcome bonus. Bonuses such as reload bonuses, cashback bonuses and VIP bonuses are musts, as well are rewards programs and VIP programs that are designed to reward you for your loyalty. Whilst it’s up to you if you want to play with casino bonuses, it’s often a good benchmark when a casino offers competitive bonuses and offers so you have the choice

Banking Options: Payment Methods Supported

A trusted casino will offer a wide range of secure banking options so this is an essential check when we review casinos. It’s important that not only do you have enough banking options available, especially in your localisation, but it’s also easy and smooth to carry out. Depositing and withdrawing should be quick and easy, especially when it comes to cashing out your winnings.

It’s not acceptable that a casino keeps you waiting for your money. Most casinos will have a 24 hour pending window, but after that, you should be able to get your winnings as fast as your payment method allows. This is what we check – and if casinos can offer lightning-fast and instant payouts, – that’s another tick for our checklist.

Customer Service Options

Hopefully, you won’t have to use a casino's support centre too often, but in case you do, you should be able to reach a support agent easily. Customer support should be available around the clock, with as many methods of reaching the casino team as possible. We look for live chat support (fast to answer and must be 24/7) as well as email and telephone options. Although you hopefully won’t need to use it, a good customer support service should be available around the clock.

Mobile Casinos

With over 60% of customers preferring to play casino games on their mobile or tablet, a casino must have a state of the art mobile casino site or mobile App. The casinos that pass our criteria test each has a faultless mobile site, which is easy to use, fast to load and has as good a game choice as you’d find on the casinos desktop version. Whilst we’re not too worried about mobile Apps, we understand some people like to download casino apps, so if a casino offers this function – then that’s just another pro point awarded in the review process.

General Accessibility

Whilst you may be reading this from the UK, some others may be reading from around the globe, this is why we look out for casinos that accept players from various different countries, but moreover – offer localised currencies, localised language support, specific currency bonuses and even localised interesting games. Casinos should offer a tailored experience in different regions for those wanting to play around the world.

Online Casino: Games & Slots

The best online casinos are the ones that offer an array of casino games in all varieties and limits. Top casino sites usually have over 3,000 casino games and slots available across all devices. Yes – over 3,000! Games are often provided by as many as 50+ different software vendors, with the most popular and state of the art companies including Netent, Microgaming, Big Time Gaming, Play ‘N Go, Playtech, NeoGames, Elk Studios, Yggdrasil, IGT, NYX, NextGen, Bally, Barcrest, Relax Gaming, Spinomenal, Evolution Gaming (top for live dealer games) Thunderkick, Quickspin and Blueprint Games. But there are so many more. The following casino games can be found in many varieties at UK casino sites:

• Baccarat
• Slots (Including Progressives, Slingo, Megaways, Must Fall Jackpots)
• Blackjack
• Craps
• Keno
• Poker
• Roulette
• Live Dealer Casino Games (Including game shows like Deal or No Deal, Football Studio) Blackjack, Craps, Baccarat, Mega Ball, Teen Patti, Monopoly Live & Dreamcatcher.
• Video Poker
• Texas Hold’em / Casino Hold’em

How To Play At Top Online Casinos - Getting Started

It really is simple to play at online casinos. Most, if not all casinos are available across all devices and platforms, so it doesn’t matter if you intend to play casino games on your main computer desktop, mobile or tablet – you will be able to register and play games in a browser in no time. With that said, if it’s your first time playing, then simply follow our instructions below and you’ll be enjoying the best casino games the UK has to offer in next to no time:

Pick A Safe & Legit Casino Only

In order to ensure you pick a safe and licensed online casino, simply pick one of our top recommended casinos for UK players above. As mentioned on this page and throughout this website – we only ever recommend casinos that are safe, trusted and ones which we’d play at ourselves.

Register A New Account At the Casino

Once you have compared and picked the casino you can see yourself having a good time, head to the casino and register a new account. You’ll be asked to complete a simple registration form with some personal details to get started. Once you’ve done that, you’ll usually have to verify an email or sometimes, your mobile phone number. This process should only take a couple of minutes.

Make A Deposit With Secure Localised Banking Options

Once done, you will now be able to get started playing casino games and slots. To play real money games, you’ll need to make a real money deposit. Head to the banking section of your casino account and select the payment method preferable to you. Common deposit methods at online casino sites include Visa, Mastercard, Skrill, PayPal, Boku, Pay By Mobile, Klarna, Trustly and good old fashioned Bank Wire transfers.

Claim Your Welcome Bonus

The best casino sites like the ones we suggest on our website will offer new players a generous welcome bonus which you can usually claim when making a deposit. Make sure that you follow the onscreen instructions at this point so you don’t miss out on claiming the welcome bonus (if you want one). If you get into difficulty, you can always contact the casino live chat support staff who will only be too glad to help you out.

Start Playing Your Favourite Games & Slots

Once you have made a real money deposit, now’s the time to select the games you want to play! The best online casinos will make it easy for you to find games or browse different types of games and slots. Now it’s time to have fun and hopefully win big!

Why It's Important To Only Play At Regulated (Licensed) Online Casinos

It’s important for not only your security and safety that you play at regulated casinos but also to ensure that the industry stays safe and healthy too. The UK Gambling Commission was set up under the Gambling Act 2005 to regulate commercial gambling in the UK in partnership with licensing authorities. The UKGC is there to help gamblers in the UK stay safe and stay in control. Playing at regulated casinos will give you tools to help you gamble responsibly, offer you fair and unrigged games and fair bonuses that will make sure that if you win money fair and square; you’ll see it in your bank account. We can’t stress enough the importance of playing at UK licensed casinos because the licensing is there to protect you.

Responsible Gambling: Staying In Control

Essentially, responsible gambling means that you’re having fun, and feel in control of how you play when you gamble online. If your gambling is creating financial stress, worry, depression, or it’s affecting your life in a negative way overall, then it may develop into a problem. This is why it’s important to remain in control. Many online casinos have developed handy tools over the years to help you stay in control, including deposit limits and time outs. If those don’t work, you can also join the Gamstop scheme which will basically ban you from every UKGC licensed casino. Here are some tips on how to gamble responsibly at online casinos:

• Gambling is for entertainment; working is what will make you money. Make sure that you treat online gambling as an entertainment expense, rather than a way to make yourself money.
• Only gamble with money you can afford to lose.
• Take a break at regular intervals: if you gamble continuously without taking a break, your judgement will become impaired.
• Know your limits: be clear about what your limits are before you start playing
• Don’t gamble when you’re upset, sad or depressed. Talk to friends or family or if you feel you need to talk to someone outside your social circle, then use the support contacts which can be found on our main responsible gambling page to talk to someone.
• Engage in other hobbies and pastimes aside from gambling online. It’s important to have a well-balanced lifestyle.
• Don’t go chasing bets or losses.

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