Non-UK Casinos 2021

What is a Non-UK Casino?

A non-UK casino is an online casino that doesn’t have a license issued by the UKGC. Now, as touched on above, there are several benefits for an online casino with a UK licence. Their reputation of being safe means they gain immediately trust from players. Plus, they have the ability to legally operate in any country where online casinos are legal.

However, that being said, there are drawbacks to obtaining a UK license, including:

• Expensive Registration Fees
  • The UKGC has some of the highest registration costs of any gaming board. This is especially tough on new businesses with lower startup capital.
• Long Processing Times
  • Not only do UKGC licenses cost more but they can take also take up to four months to process, which is one of longest processing times in the world.
• Tighter Restrictions
  • UK-licensed casinos can only do so much to both attract and reward players, including limits of prizes and sign-up bonuses
• One License at A Time
  • Businesses can only apply for one UKGC license at a time, each with its own separate fee and processing time. Broadly speaking, there are 4 types of online gaming sites: slots (which many popular casino games fall under), poker, sports betting, and bingo. This makes things more difficult, not to mention expensive, for sites want to offer their players more than one product.

As a result of all this, startup online casinos are choosing to set up their businesses elsewhere. Instead of registering with the UKGC, non-UK online casinos get their licenses from gaming boards in countries like Malta and Curacao and comply with their regulatory bodies.

Curacao, a Dutch colony located in the Caribbean, has one of the world’s oldest most reputable gaming commissions – the Curacao Gaming Control Board (GCB). That being said, their registration process is far simpler than the UKGC’s. A single licence allows a business to offer any type of product and the registration process takes weeks instead of months.

Similarly, the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) is also one of the most respected gaming commissions in the world, offering a stable legal and regulatory framework for companies and players. Like Curacao, Malta offers cheaper registration fees and a fast application procedure. Maltese license holders can also advertise across the EU, except in countries with their own regulatory body – like the UK.

Because of how attractive both Malta and Curacao is gaming businesses, a high concentration of quality, reliable non-UK online casinos have chosen to set up there. As a result, they are known for having some of the best technology and the widest variety of games among international online casinos.

So, in short, Non-UK casinos still welcome and players from the UK, and still offer a vast range of your favourite games including slots, blackjack, roulette, poker, baccarat, and live dealer. The main and important difference is that they’re not regulated by the UKGC.

Why Are More Players Choosing Non-UK Online Casinos?

One of the UKGC’s main concerns is to make sure online casinos are fair and secure for players. However, the trade-off in this is that many players are find them increasingly restrictive in a number of ways, which negatively affects their experience on UK-licensed casinos. Some of these restrictions include:

• Lower jackpots and fewer bonuses
  • The UKGC gradually implemented restrictions on popular sign-up bonuses, such as free spins. They found some of them to be too generous to players and felt they encouraged problem gambling habits.
• D Requirements
  • The UKGC have increased id requirements in recent years, many of which are designed to decrease underage players gaining access to their sites. Naturally, this is ethical and the correct course of action, but it has also impacted players of legal age who are just looking to play their favourite games.
  • Similarly, some UK casinos have been known to ask for more id verification when a player requests to withdraw funds, which many players have found annoying.
• More control over playing habits.
  • Some players, after registering for Gamstop for a short time and wishing to remove their details, have had their request denied. This leaves them no choice but to look towards international casinos as an alternative.

Now, It’s crucial to understand that these regulations there to protect players – like you. First of all, they’re designed to protect you against those illegitimate online casinos that are actually out to scam players. Secondly, some restrictions are there to protect players from problem gambling. Limits such as how much you can win and how much you can deposit into your casino account are required compromises that enable legitimate online casinos to remain legal.

On the other hand, one of the main reasons an increasing number of non-UK casinos are launching is that there’s an increasing demand for them from players.  Companies in the gaming industry are choosing to set up online casinos abroad to cater to the ever-growing number of players looking for alternatives to those casinos with UK licenses.

The Pros and Cons of Non-UK Casinos

Let’s take a closer look at the advantages and disadvantages offered by casinos without UK licences.

Pros of non-UK casinos

• Larger Prizes on Offer
  • Non-UK online casinos can offer larger jackpots than their UKGC-licensed counterparts. They can also offer more bonuses, such as free spins, free credit, and other exclusive offers.
• Larger Deposit Limits
  • UKGC casinos have limits on how much you can deposit into your account on any given day. Non-UK casinos, on the other hand, have higher deposit limits, saving you the time of having to repeatedly put more funds to continue playing.
• Quicker Sign-up Process
  • Most international casinos have quicker registration processes than UK casinos, due to the fact they require less verification. By contrast, sites in the UK sites have lengthier Know Your Customer (KYC) verification processes – meaning you often have to fill in several forms, or even wait a few days until you can start playing. For more experienced players who want to get straight to the games, casinos without a UK license are preferable. In fact, some of them don’t actually require any verification at all and allow you to play anonymously.
• More Payment Methods
  • Non-UK casinos often offer more flexible payment options, such as credit and debit cards, e-wallets, and even popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Litecoin.

Cons of non-UK casinos

• Increased Risk
  • First and foremost, there’s simply a greater risk when you play on a non-UK online casino. International casinos registered with gaming boards in countries like Malta and Curacao aren’t subject to the strict guidelines set out by the UKGC. This means your funds aren’t guaranteed and the gaming boards don’t have to get involved in any disputes between you and the casino.
  • However, this risk is significantly reduced if you do your homework. If you want to play on a particular non-UK casino, look for reviews and recommendations to find out whether its reputable or not. Fortunately, news of international casinos that mistreat that customers spread very quickly…
• Withdrawals Can Take Longer
  • Compared to UK-licensed casinos, claiming your winnings can sometimes take longer, especially they’re based in another country. On a similar note, non-UK online casinos have withdrawal fees, so be sure to read their terms and conditions carefully before depositing your funds.
• Slower Customer Support
  • Online casinos based outside the UK may not have as good customer support as those required to by the UKGC.

Gamstop and Casinos Without UK Licenses

Gamstop is a service, ran by the National Online Self-Exclusion Scheme, that allows you to block yourself from gambling websites and apps, allowing you to self-manage the time you spend on online casinos.  You can choose to block yourself anywhere from 6 months to 5 years. As mentioned above, one of the requirements for a UKGC-licensed casino is to comply with Gamstop so players can easily stop themselves from visiting it, if they so choose.

While casinos without UK licenses don’t have to register with Gamstop, you can still block yourself from accessing the casinos in Malta and Curacao, you simply have to so on each site individually. In addition, just like with UK-based casinos, Gamstop will not stop you receiving marketing emails from these sites, nor will it automatically retrieve deposits you have with them.

Non-UK Casinos FAQ