Top 10 online UK gambling sites
Updated June 2020
Here on British-casinos.co.uk, we have a thorough guide for which UK gambling sites to pick, but there is another topic that requires attention. Which casino is a good choice for you largely depends on how your interest aligns with the casino’s offer. Some online casinos focus solely on video slots, while others have a sophisticated live casino where you can play roulette with a live dealer. Alternatively, some casinos offer types of gambling like horse racing, greyhound racing, or bingo. It’s true that some of the best UK online casinos offer all these gambling options, but sometimes you prefer a specialized casino.
How to start playing at an online gambling site:
1. Compare & find your favourite
18+ Full T&Cs Apply. New UK players Only. £10 min. deposit. £5 max. bet using Bonus. 40 x wagering applies. Bonus valid for 14 days. 20 Spins on pre-selected games will be credited instantly + then 20 per day for 9 days. Free Spins valid for 72 hours from credit. Max. Free Spins winnings £100. Ewallets excluded. www.begambleaware.org.
The first step to finding your perfect online casino fit is to know what you’re looking for. Although some of the big UK online casinos offer every possible type of betting, from baccarat to the newest video slots, live poker and bingo, but sometimes you might prefer at a casino that specializes in just one or a few of these types of betting. If it’s a live casino focusing on blackjack, you’ll find a lot more like-minded people there and therefore interactions around the live table will be different. There are plenty of reasons to prefer one type of casino over the other, but in the end, the only thing that matters is your own preference. When you know what you’re looking for, you can compare your favorite options in terms of sign-up offers, bonus deals, and overall usability of the site.
2. Signing up
Once you have a good grasp on what’s out there and what works best for you, simply follow one of the links here that will take you straight to the online casino’s registration page. Keep in mind that some online casinos require a different account for example for sports betting and conventional gambling like video slots and fruit machines. The possible advantage of that is that some of these casinos also give out separate bonuses for their sportsbook and gambling site.
3. Deposit funds and claim your bonus
I’m sure that casino players agree that the most exciting part of playing at a new online casino is the welcome bonus. The online gambling sphere is highly competitive, which means that as a player you have the advantage that casinos give out generous bonuses in order to snatch you away from one of their competitors. Just be mindful that the welcome bonus is as good as it looks by reading terms & conditions. In the lucky case you’ve claimed a no-deposit deal, you don’t first have to deposit money into your account in order to receive the welcome bonus. Although this doesn’t happen often, when it does, it basically means free playing money! Gambling sites usually offer a good number of ways to deposit money into your account, for example via credit card, Paypal, Paysafecard, or Neteller.
4. Play
After your deposit, you can start playing instantly. Some of the casinos offer free slots to play and practice before you play with your money for real. That might be a good option if you’ve never played slots online before. Browse the site, explore your favorite games, slots, table games, or favorite sport to bet on and start gambling right away!
How do we select the best online casinos?
Before we feature UK gambling sites on British-Casinos.co.uk, we carefully review them according to a number of factors. For instance, the games assortment, bonus offers, quality of the live casino, customer service, and the required casino licensing operates in the UK. Because the gambling market evolves quickly, we like casinos that keep up with the changing demand of its players. For example, the popularity of sports betting continues to grow, and with that comes a player demand for a large sports assortment to bet on and a great variety of bets you can place. We’ve also studied and compared the bonus deals offered by different casinos, so you can easily compare them. When you gamble online, it can be rewarding to stay loyal to one brand. Below I’ll explain why that is and how some online casinos are preferred over others.
| Reliability | Convenience | Banking | One wallet | Loyalty Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| When you’ve played at a top-rated casino for a while, you know you can trust the way it operates. You know payouts are processed quickly and the games fair. When you play at a casino that offers a big assortment of slots, live table betting, and sports betting, you have everything conveniently in one spot. In some cases, that loyalty also pays off in extra bonuses. When you first sign up at a casino, you’ll have to go through the steps of completing some checks. The advantage of playing at just one casino is that you don’t need to go through these formalities again. | Although playing at an online casino is a pretty straight-forward process, there are some formalities involved. For example, registering for an account, depositing money in the account, verifying your ID if you want to withdraw funds above an x amount. If you have more than one casino you play at, that quickly becomes a tedious task. That’s why we recommend carefully comparing casinos according to your gambling needs and sticking to one account. Switching between different types of games on-site is without much fuss. | As mentioned above, when you have multiple casino accounts, you have funds in different places. Now that can be absolutely fine, but the obvious advantage of having just one account is that you have everything in one place. Especially in the light of responsible gaming, keeping an easy overview of your funds wins, and losses are most definitely something we recommend. If you were to choose otherwise, please keep track of your records for example by maintaining a spreadsheet. | The advantage of working only with your one trusted casino site is that you can stick to your favorite payment method. For example, not all casino sites let you pay with PayPal. When you can stick to your favorite wallet method, you keep a good overview which is also important in the light of responsible gaming. | As I mentioned above, most online casinos have a loyalty program for their players. That could mean that every time you deposit an x amount into your account, you get an extra percentage on top of that. Naturally, this bonus is an incentive to have you continue playing, but if you handle it responsibly, you can get a nice advantage here. |
Gambling options
the assortment of each online betting site is different, but there are a couple of things they have in common:
1. Online casino
The most fundamental part of almost any online casino is that it offers an assortment of slots, modern video games and fruit machines alike. At most casinos, you will also find the classic table games like roulette or blackjack. Stakes start as low as a few pennies to budgets a little higher.
2. Sports betting
The popularity of online sports betting is a fairly new phenomenon. Many big online casinos have leveraged this opportunity by adding a sportsbook to their online casino. That way you get to play slots and try your luck on sports bets under the same roof. A good sportsbook offers at least football, tennis, basketball, and horse racing. For a more dynamic game, bet live on your favorite fixtures. Bigger sportsbooks also stream live sports matches.
3. Poker
You can find the classic game of poker on almost any online casino these days. But, if you’re looking for a more specified casino that offers a variety of poker games, you usually need to dig a little deeper. We have listed some of our top choices on this site and here below. They offer poker tournaments, you get to pick your contest; player vs. player or player vs. house, and there are many more options to choose from.
4. Bingo
Bingo might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but there are many people who love it. It’s the perfect game to relax and zone out. Our casino top-picks offer a good number of bingo games where you’re free to buy into a game from as little as a few pennies.
Mobile gambling sites
We find it important to only include casinos that are mobile-friendly for both iOs and Android. That means each site is perfectly optimized to give their players the best experience, even while playing from their fairly small phone screens. There goes much more into mobile optimization than you might think, so when a website gets it right, we love it.
Gambling apps
Beside optimized sites for mobile phones, many online casinos also have an app on which you can play. You might wonder what the difference is to bet on your browser vs. on an app. The quality of your experience in terms of browsing games, playing slots, and navigating on the site’s content is made much more convenient on the app. Our top UK gambling sites offer mobile apps that you can download for free.
What types of bonuses are there?
Online casinos give out bonuses and free spins to their players regularly. Below you find an overview of the bonuses our UK gambling sites offer and how you can claim them.
Match deposit bonus
When you first start playing at an online casino, you might feel confused by bonus offers like “200% extra”. Usually, that refers to the so-called match deposit bonus. Basically the casino doubles the amount you deposit into your account. Let’s say you deposit £50 into your account, a casino that offers a 100% deposit bonus will then give you another £50 on top of that. Do make sure to read into the terms & conditions if there are any.
Free spins
This is one of the most frequent and common bonuses you can find when playing at an online casino: the free spins. You receive an x number of spins that you can use on a slot of your choice. Sometimes you don’t get to choose the slot and there might also be conditions to how you use your spins. But overall, whenever you get free spins, there is definitely an advantage for you to find. Many casinos give out free spins to new players, but it also happens while you’re playing. Casinos often also use free spins as a way to promote a new slot, which is a fun way for the player to try them out but also to have a chance to win a little extra.
No deposit bonus
You are only required to create an account in order to receive this bonus. Although this type of bonus is rare, it’s fun when you do find them. Some online casinos and bingo sites give out an x amount of money to play with after creating an account. Others will only give you a couple of free spins. Either how, read terms & conditions carefully so you know what you’re receiving.
Temporary Promotions
Online casinos operate like any other business, that’s why the smart ones make sure to offer their players a nice promotion every once in a while. Some of the bigger UK online casinos will have a new promotion every week, which you will be notified about if you sign up for their newsletter. Sometimes this promotion is a number of free spins at a new slot or you get awarded an x amount of extra funds because you have been depositing money into your account regularly.
Terms & Conditions
Always make sure to read terms & conditions when you get a bonus while playing video slots or a table game like blackjack. Many bonuses have wagering requirements or a time limit, so in order to make the most of your bonus, read yourself into it.
Deposits and Withdrawals
You can be sure that most online casinos offer traditional payment options like debit and credit cards. But if you have an alternative way of payment you’d like to use, make sure that it’s accepted before signing up. A few popular options for its anonymity and safety is, for example, Neteller or Skrill, PayPal or Paysafecard. In the casino’s FAQ, you can look up important information like withdrawal times or processing time.
PayPal payments
Many players love PayPal for its convenience and safety, but not all UK gambling sites offer it. One of the big advantages of using PayPal is that you get to withdraw funds very quickly, sometimes even at the spot. Look up your favorite UK gambling site to see if they accept Paypal. You will likely find it in their FAQ under the topic of ‘banking options’
Gambling tax
Quite an important topic to familiarize yourself with, because if you win, how big a portion do you actually get to keep? In the UK or Ireland, you’re lucky, because what you win on online gambling sites is tax-free, on all games. That is not to say you might not be taxed at all, but at least not under gambling tax.
