This licence covers bingo halls and remote bingo services where people pay to play. The operating licence is what is needed in most circumstances if you’re providing bingo services, which covers all online platforms. Premises licence (issued by the local council, not the UKGC).Some businesses may be in need of all three licences, while others might only need one, it just depends on the nature of the business and where it operates. The UK Gambling Commission offers three different types of licences that bingo businesses may need to apply for before they can legally offer products to gamers. The UKGC monitor all licence holders and deal with any complaints they receive about them, and if any company is found to be breaking the terms of their licence they can be issued with heavy fines and even have their licence suspended in extreme circumstances. Assistance is readily available to people who are currently, or may be in the future, affected by problems relating to gambling.

No underage or vulnerable people are able to be harmed or exploited by gambling.

All gambling going on is conducted in a fair and open way.

Under section 24 of the Gambling Act 2005, the UK Gambling Commission issues codes of practice to the platforms wanting to acquire a licence in order to ensure that: You can find their status by either searching the UKGC website here, or by scrolling to the bottom of the gaming site in question where they have to display their license number and a link to it. Because of this, any platform wishing to offer bingo games to the UK public needs to have acquired a licence from the Gambling Commission in order to do so legally. However, while there isn’t any statutory definition of bingo, the UK Gambling Commission has published its own view of what the game is and how it differs from other forms of gambling. While there isn’t any legal definition of the game of bingo, or a standard set of rules under which the game is played, the product has evolved to the point where it is considered equal chance gaming. Any platform offering real money online games to players in the UK should be fully licensed and regulated to do so by the UK Gambling Commission. So, the first thing you should do when looking at potentially joining a new gaming site is to check its’ license status. This means that, provided you’re playing through a licensed bingo site, you’re guaranteed a fair game. Unlike many other countries, online bingo as well as other forms of ‘for money’ gaming are not only legal in the UK, but also licensed and regulated.

Are online bingo games legal