Best Online Casinos UK (2022)

Welcome to this guide detailing the best online casinos available to use in the United Kingdom.

In this guide, we’ll take a brief look at the big picture of online casinos in the UK, what they are, what they offer, how they work, and how they are governed.

Then, we’ll go into the nitty-gritty of how the best online casinos in the UK stack up against each other. We’ll compare things like the games on offer, the fun factor, reward programs, and how easy it is to deposit and withdraw money.

We’ll also run through some FAQs to give you guidance on how best to use online casinos and because we’re super-kind people, we’ll give you some exclusive sign up bonus codes to get you off to a flying start!

By the end of this guide, you’ll be fully clued up as to which UK online casinos are rocking it the most at the moment. You’ll also know exactly how to go have some fun at the virtual tables and hopefully win some money - fingers crossed!

What Are Online Casinos?

If you’ve ever been inside a real-life casino (or you’ve watched pretty much any James Bond film), you’ll know what a casino looks like and the kind of games you can expect to see there.

Online casinos are not all that different. You get the same range of primary games in most offline and online casinos - blackjack, roulette, and slots. In some brick and mortar casinos and online ones too, you get extra games such as Punto Banco, 3-card poker, Craps, etc.

All the games offered in an online casino are games of chance, which means that the outcome of any given wager is completely random. The payouts vary from game to game as the probabilities (odds) are different for each.

To play at an online casino you first need to deposit some real money which can be used to wager at the tables. Most online casinos have a minimum deposit of £5 or £10 and many will match (double) your initial deposit after you have wagered a certain amount of money.

You can withdraw your money at any time from online casinos. Depending on the withdrawal method, you may get your withdrawal instantly or wait for up to 5 working days to receive it.

Best Online UK Casino For Slots

Slots are a fun way to try and win some money in online casinos. The basic aim of the game is to get matching symbols when the slot reels stop spinning to win cash prizes, trigger a feature game, or even get a slice of a big progressive jackpot.

Betfair is one of the best casinos in the UK for online slots, with hundreds of different slots games available with a big variety of themes. The best thing about Betfair Casino’s slots is the regular tournaments which run every 20 minutes and give you the chance to win free spins.

Betfair Casino’s slots payout percentages range between 92% and 97%, which is a good range for an online casino. The lower percentage ones tend to be the jackpot slots as they take a percentage from the stake of each spin and add it to the progressive jackpot.

Best Online UK Casino For Roulette

Roulette is the most common table game in any casino - offline or online. It’s fun to play, easy to learn, and there’s a chance to win big if you pick the right number. You bet on the outcome of a metal ball spinning around a numbered and coloured wheel. You can bet on red or black, groups of numbers, or individual numbers.

Dream Vegas is a great site for roulette as they have great software, but they also have a fantastic three-stage welcome bonus offer with 200% match promotions, which can add up to more than £1000 if you clear all the wagering requirements. 

As well as standard roulette, Dream Vegas also offers Lightning Roulette which has prize multipliers of up to 500x, so you can win really big if you’re lucky!

Best Online UK Casino For Blackjack

Blackjack, similar to the British card game called Pontoon, involves a dealer dealing out two cards to each player face up, plus one card down and one up to himself/herself. The aim is to beat the dealer and double your stake, by getting as close to a total of 21 as you can.

On your turn, you can opt to hit (get dealt another card face up) or stand if you think you can beat the dealer with your current total. If your total exceeds 21, your hand is bust and you are out of the game. The dealer must keep hitting until their total exceeds 17.

Netbet Casino is the best place to play blackjack online as they have a payout percentage of 99.91% for blackjack, one of the highest of any UK sites, plus they have good promotions and bonuses.

Best Online UK Casino For Bingo

Bingo is a wildly popular game that is played in bingo clubs, casinos, or online. Organising bingo games is also a popular way for charities to raise money.

To play, you are given a bingo card with numbers on it. A bingo caller draws numbered balls from a bag or spinning machine, calls the number out and if it matches a number on your card, you tick it off. Online casinos use a random number generator. The first person to get a line of numbers horizontally or vertically wins a prize, and a bigger prize goes to the person who first ticks off all the numbers on their card.

888 Casino is widely regarded as the best place for online bingo. They have a dedicated 888 ladies bingo site that is focused on providing the best promotions for bingo players online. They also have a good range of ticket/card prices and have some of the best bingo jackpot prizes available to be won online. 

Best Online UK Casino For Live Casino Games

Live-action online casino games are traditional casino table games such as roulette and blackjack that use a live video feed to a real croupier or dealer.

Live-action casino games add to the fun of online casino gambling, as there is more interaction and a realistic feeling. Also, people may trust live dealers more than software random number generators.

Mansion Casino offers the best live-action casino table games, with dozens of live games available at any time of the day, plus they have high stakes games running for any high rollers out there. 

Best Online UK Casino For Baccarat

Baccarat is a casino gambling card game that involves the player betting against the dealer, also known as the banker. The object of the game is to score 8 or 9 total across two cards and beat the banker, with cards valued at ten or above valued at 0 and aces valued at 1.

Mansion Casino offers both low stakes and high stakes baccarat on their site. Baccarat is not offered widely online, but Mansion provides a safe and secure place to get involved in the action.

Best Online UK Casino For Video Poker

Video poker is an automated card game that involves being dealt 5 cards and trying to make the best hand by selecting 0 to 5 cards to re-draw. In other words, if you have 4 cards of the same suit, you can select to redraw the fifth card to try and make a flush and win a bigger prize.

888 Casino offers some fun and exciting video poker games if that’s what you’re looking for. The payout percentage is high for video poker on 888 Casino, standing at 97.79%. With a no-deposit welcome bonus of £88, you can’t go too far wrong with 888.

Best New Online UK Casino 

There are new online casinos popping up all the time in the UK. Several new online casinos are licensed to operate in the UK each year. Some don’t last long, but others go on to thrive, especially those that offer the best bonuses and most fun experience.

The Sun Play Casino is the best new casino, launched in 2021. We chose Sun Play Casinos as it has a really good selection of games and a 100% match welcome bonus of up to £400. You’re sure to enjoy playing there and with the big newspaper brand “The Sun” behind it, it’s likely to be a success.

Best Online UK Mobile App Casino

Mobile apps for online casinos are becoming increasingly popular. The convenience of being able to pull out your smartphone wherever you may be and play a few hands of a casino game is powerful.

888 Casino comes up trumps with its mobile app. The mobile app software is second to none, reliable, and well-designed. Simply download it onto your Android or Apple device and off you go.

The guide to UK online casinos that follow has been made by comparing various features and factors.

Range of Games

Let’s face it, the main reason people gamble is for fun, excitement, and the chance to possibly win some money. That’s why we compare the range of games on offer at each online casino and how fun they are to play.

We also take into account any unique features offered by the online casino, loyalty schemes, or innovative technology, for example.

At the end of the day, we wouldn’t want to play at a casino that’s boring or dull, so we don’t expect you to either!

Safety, Security & Licences

One of the most important things to consider is safety and security when playing on online casino sites. Fortunately, here in the UK, there are tough licensing laws in place that make it easy to find gambling sites that are regulated properly.

We recommend that you only play at online casinos that are fully licensed by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC).

The UKGC license means that the casino is fully legitimate, handles customer funds responsibly, has fair games, and promotes responsible gambling. All of these factors are important to ensure that you have a good time and you’re also protected by a good level of security.

Any online casino that wants to operate legally in the UK and take payments from UK players, needs to apply for and obtain a UKGC license. The UKGC logo will be displayed on the website of online casinos that hold this license.

The casinos on our list of top online UK casinos are all UKGC licensed.

Fair Play

In this guide, we compare casinos to make sure that they are providing fair play to their customers.

The principle of fair play covers:

• the randomness of the casino games
• player’s deposits and funds are protected
• fairness of bonus release systems
• compliance with regulations, laws, and licensing rules.

All UK licensed casinos must use effective random number generators (RNGs) and offer an acceptable Return to Player (RTP) rate, as set out by the UKGC. They must be tested and approved by independent third-party testing companies, such as eCOGRA, to qualify for a UKGC license

The UK government sets out guidance for gambling bonuses and promotions which should be followed by the online casino.

Payout Percentages

The Return to Player (RTP) rate or payout percentage is a percentage value of the money that will be returned to players for each wager that they make. For instance, let’s say the RTP is 97%, which means you would get back £0.97 for every £1.00 that is wagered.

However, this doesn’t mean you’re always guaranteed to get that amount back each time you play. The RTP is calculated over a large sample of events, often in excess of 1 million plays. For example, you may bet £1.00 on each spin of a slot machine, but lose £100 with no return, or win £200. But if you had enough money to play 1 million spins, you would get back approximately £970,000 if the RTP is 97%.

The RTP is a good measure of the fairness of online casino games and you should always look for the games and casinos that offer the highest overall RTP percentage. In this guide, we take RTP into consideration when comparing online casinos to find the best one.

Welcome Bonuses

Most online casinos that are licensed to operate in the UK offer some kind of welcome bonus.

For instance, one casino may offer to 100% match your initial deposit, up to a certain amount, which means that if you deposit £100 you’ll get an extra £100 after you’ve placed a certain amount of bets. Some offer 200%, which means you’ll get an extra £200 if you deposit £100.

Other casinos offer things like free bets or free spins, up to a certain value. This means that if you win from these free bets or spins, you get to keep the winnings, and if you lose, you don’t lose a penny.

The type of bonus depends on the site and some are more generous than others. We compare the generosity of the welcome bonus, as well as how easy it is to clear the wagering criteria (how much money needs to be bet to release the bonus).

Banking Options (Deposits & Withdrawals)

We take into account the variety of banking options that online casinos offer for both deposits and withdrawals, as well as any fees, length of time taken, and limits on amounts.

In general, the more options an online casino provides and the speedier they process transactions, the higher we rate them in this category.

In the UK, in April 2020, the government banned the use of credit cards to fund online gambling accounts, to protect customers from irresponsible gambling.

Acceptable deposit and withdrawal methods in the UK may include - Visa debit, Bank Transfer, Trustly, PayPal, Paysafecard,  Skrill, Neteller, etc.

E-wallets such as Skrill or Neteller and open banking providers such as Trustly often offer the fastest deposits and withdrawals - usually instant deposits and withdrawals within 24 hours.

Customer Support

We only recommend UK online casinos that offer excellent customer support and service. 

Excellent customer support means:

• Providing multiple contact methods, including live chat, phone, social media, and email.
• Available 24/7.
• Dealing with requests and queries quickly, politely, and smoothly.

Mobile casino

We realise that most people want to be able to play casino games on a mobile device such as a tablet or smartphone. That’s why we include mobile-friendliness in our ranking of UK online casinos.

Some sites offer mobile casino apps that can be installed on Android or Apple iOS devices - the most convenient option. Others provide mobile responsive browser access to online casino games.

Online gambling in the UK is covered by the Gambling Act 2005 which was enacted to make sure that UK gambling is fair, safe, and free of criminal involvement.

All online gambling operators, including UK online casinos, need to be licensed by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC). The UKGC only issues licenses to online casinos who can prove that their games are fair and that customer funds are secure.

To prove the fairness of their games, UK online casinos need to be tested by third party testing agencies such as eCOGRA.

eCOGRA stands for eCommerce Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance and they run checks to make sure that online casinos offer games that are truly random and have a fair payout percentage.

All of the online casinos that we recommend are fully licensed by the UKGC and undergo strict testing by agencies such as eCOGRA.