UK Gambling License 2020
Gambling Consulting Expert provides practical and insightful consultancy, data, and market reports for the UK gambling industry.
UK iGaming License
The United Kingdom comprises the whole of the island of Great Britain — that contains England, Wales, and Scotland — as well as the northern portion of the island of Ireland. The name Britain is sometimes used to refer to the United Kingdom as a whole. The capital is London, which is among the world’s leading commercial, financial, and cultural centers.
From an economic point of view, the United Kingdom is a highly developed and market-oriented country, and it is the fifth-largest national economy in the world measured by nominal gross domestic product (GDP) and twenty second-largest by GDP per capita, comprising 3.3% of world GDP.
The UK is using the pound sterling as currency, which is the world’s fourth-largest reserve currency after the United States Dollar, the Euro, and the Japanese Yen. Gambling is a huge industry in the UK, ever since ex-Labour PM Tony Blair’s government has liberalized the UK’s gambling laws by introducing the Gambling Act 2005.
Currently, there are over 9000 betting shops across the country. The UK market statistically is the biggest gambling market in Europe, which makes it exceptionally attractive and competitive at the same time.
The UK gambling industry reported hit astonishing € 16.1 billion in the UK just two years ago, with online game accounting reaching € 5.3 billion in the gaming industry. The UK has been and seemingly will continue to be a country that is open to gambling to take place, it is part of the culture of the people.
The government of the UK offers casino operators, software, and service providers in the gambling industry, with a gambling license that allows gambling operators to conduct business related to casino, lotto, and other gaming-related activities. UK Gambling License is one of the most coveted licenses for online casinos worldwide.
The UK is widely acknowledged as being one of the stricter jurisdictions in the world, putting great emphasis on player protection and social responsibility, as well as defining clear technical standards as well as implementation guidelines. What many people don’t know is that the United Kingdom was one of the countries leading the way in defining regulatory standards by creating their own online gambling licensing model.
Under the Gambling Act 2005, there are three key licensing objectives: keeping gambling crime-free, making sure that gambling is fair and open, and protecting children and vulnerable adults. Decisions regarding the application will be made in accordance with the licensing objectives. The UK Gambling Commission currently licenses over 1000 companies for remote gaming.
It also lists over 200 gaming development firms as having an active gambling software license. UK’s infrastructure offers a wide array of services for online gaming operators and providers, such as high-capacity private racks, private cloud services, custom dedicated servers amidst other hosting options.
The UK has long been recognized as one of the preferred locations for Online Gambling operators to base their operations. This success has been due to a combination of factors, such as a progressive legislative system, political stability, first-rate telecommunications facilities, and a well established financial services industry. A wide range of gambling sites operates out of UK including sports betting, casino sites, poker, bingo, and more.
UK Online Gambling Regulations
The Gambling Commission is an executive non-departmental public body of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for supervising gaming law in Great Britain. The UK Gambling Commission was created and empowered under the Gambling Act of 2005 to regulate the UK gambling industry, with a particular focus on online gaming. It is often held up as a prime example of a gambling regulator best practice and used as a benchmark for comparing regulatory bodies in other countries and states.
Gambling operators must obtain an operating license and any relevant personal licenses from the UK Gambling Commission before applying to the council for a gambling premises license. The UK Gambling Commission received a substantial increase in power for the country’s remote gaming industry in 2014. This required all companies that operate online gaming in the UK to receive a license in the country.
The UK Gambling Commission also reviews software and policies for fairness. Online gambling operators must comply with the rules set down by the Gambling Commission, or else risk having their license revoked and potentially facing investigation or prosecution. Most significant online gaming operators will also require remote Personal Management Licenses for their senior staff members.
This means that anyone who is in charge of important business areas such as financial budgeting, overall strategy, regulatory compliance, and IT provision and security must come under scrutiny and gain approval for a Personal Management Licenses before being allowed to legally make any operational decisions. National Anti-Money Laundering Regulations, Unusual Transactions Act, Counter-Terrorism Financing Regulations and Know Your Customer Policies are applicable to all UK Gambling Companies.
As part of its duties, the UK Gambling Commission monitors gaming businesses and services to ensure that they operate according to the standards and regulations of the Government of the UK.
Compliance audits are conducted on a regular basis to ensure that the terms of the license are met. Licensees must maintain a complete audit trail for each player making a deposit with an operator, including financial transactions and individual bets.
Gaming systems, including back-end software logs, must be made available to third-party auditors. Gaming rules, results of games and pay-outs are to be made available to the UK Gambling Commission for five years.
Let’s talk more about the benefits by understanding the reasons why obtaining a Gibraltar igaming license may be ideal for you.
How to Start An Online Gambling Business in UK
When starting a UK Online Gambling Business, first of all, it’s important to think about one of the most essential procedures, that is company registration and acquisition of the license. UK Gambling License gives many excellent opportunities to each licensee and makes their business profitable. UK gaming companies are required to pay a 15% gaming tax.
The UK has political stability, first-rate telecommunications facilities, and a well-established financial services industry. In addition, it maintains an attractive environment for international online gaming companies. UK Gambling License is recognized by many countries all over the world, so you will have a large potential customer base after getting it.
In order to obtain a UK Gambling License, the decision to approve the application is at the discretion of the UK Gambling Commission, based on the documentation submitted by our experts. The UK issues one Online Gambling license which covers all gaming operations, igaming service providers, network operators, affiliates, white-label operators, and igaming software suppliers.
With this UK Gambling License, online gaming companies can operate legally. Each applicant undergoes a thorough assessment, ensuring that licenses are only awarded to those applicants who are able to demonstrate such a financial standing and integrity as to preserve the international reputation of the UK as an online gambling hub.
In case something does not correspond to requirements, the UK Gambling Commission will provide a checklist of necessary improvements. A UK Gambling License covers all forms of online gambling including Casino, eSports, Poker, Sports Betting, Lotto, Bingo, Horseracing, Bitcoin Casino, Fantasy Sports, Games of Skill, and other gaming-related activities. UK Gambling License enables companies to operate all over the world.
In order to receive a license from the Local Regulatory Authority, there strict guidelines to be followed. To apply for an Online Gambling License in the UK, you will need to incorporate your company in the UK. Then the UK Gambling Licensing process will begin. To secure your online gambling license in the UK, our specialists will work closely with UK authorities to comply with Due Diligence and KYC policies.
In addition to complete identification of the Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO) with a detailed and transparent description of the games to be offered. The last step is to obtain equipment for the transit server, which will transmit all the data of the gambling project to the jurisdiction for the control conduction.
You will need to have hardware-based in the UK with at least your client database on the local server in order to comply with the Permanent Establishment Requirement. The UK offers a number of reliable and established providers of hosting services, specifically geared towards the intricate needs of the iGaming industry. A UK Gambling license can only be formalized after all services have been registered.
UK Gambling Requirements
- Residence in the UK. Operators wishing to offer their services to the UK gamblers must be residents of the UK, EU, or EEA and they must obtain the relevant licenses and authorizations from the UK Gaming Commission. In case the company is a foreign entity, it must appoint a local authorized representative, whose domicile is in the UK, to deal with the competent authorities in the country and have the power to conclude contracts on its behalf
- Opening of a bank account with one of the banks in the UK where the operator would need to deposit the players’ money. Licensed remote gaming operators will only be allowed to make payments to players through the payment processors that have been approved by the licensor
- Requirements regarding the minimum share capital of the company depending on the type of game it offers
- A monthly declaration giving details regarding income from games of change as well as the fees due will have to be submitted to the licensor on a standard form
- Compliance with the principles regarding the protection of minors as well as with the content of the promotional material used and the locations where they can be displayed
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