How to check an online casino before you deposit
Published · updated · 4 min read
Checked by The Proofmark editorial team against our methodology before publishing
The graphics are slick. The welcome bonus is large. There is a padlock in the address bar, and a row of licence badges in the footer.
None of that tells you whether they will pay you when you win.
That is the only question. Everything below is how to answer it before you deposit, rather than after.
The badge is not the licence
A logo in a footer is an image. Anyone can save one and upload it.
Check the licence on the watchdog's own register. Type its address in yourself.
For Great Britain that is the Gambling Commission's public register at gamblingcommission.gov.uk/public-register.
The Commission tells players to do exactly this. In its words: "check that the business has a Gambling Commission licence."
The register does more than confirm a name. It lets you "see what type of activities gambling businesses can offer, and if we have ever taken any regulatory action against them."
That second half is the useful part. Regulatory action against the operator is public, and it is on the same page.
What a licence changes
It is not a promise that you will win, and not a promise the company is pleasant to deal with.
It is a promise that somebody above them can be appealed to.
The Commission puts it plainly: "If the business has a Gambling Commission license, you will be protected by consumer and gambling protection rules in Great Britain."
Without one, there is no route. A dispute with an unlicensed site is a dispute with the site, and that is the end of the ladder.
Ask the same question we ask about any platform: if they refuse to pay me, who do I complain to, and can that body make them? If there is no answer, you have your answer.
Where the money actually gets stuck
Almost nobody has trouble paying money in. Trouble starts when you take it out. It is usually one of three things.
Identity checks that begin only when you win. Verification is normal and legally required. Doing it for the first time on the day of a payout, with a growing list of documents, is not.
Bonus terms with a wagering requirement. Accept a bonus and your winnings can be locked until you have staked the money many times over. It is in the terms, it is legal, and it is where most "they won't pay" stories actually begin.
A limit you did not know about. Maximum withdrawal per week. Maximum win from bonus funds. Both are in the terms, and both are easy to miss.
Read three things before you deposit
Not the whole terms. These three.
- The withdrawal section. How long, what limits, what fees.
- The verification section. What documents, and when they ask.
- The bonus terms, if you take the bonus. Look for the wagering multiple and any cap on winnings.
Fifteen minutes now, or an argument later that you cannot win.
The search that is worth doing
Search the site's name with the word that describes the problem, not the word "review".
"[name] won't pay". "[name] withheld winnings". "[name] account closed".
Review pages are often run by affiliates who are paid for every player they send. Complaints are harder to fake and easier to recognise, because they all describe the same step going wrong.
One complaint is noise. The same complaint from twenty people, about the same stage of the same process, is a pattern.
A note on offshore licences
Many sites hold a licence from somewhere with a light touch. It is a real document.
The question is the same as for any platform: what stands behind it. Whether that regulator publishes its enforcement actions, and whether it will hear a complaint from you, in your country, in your language.
If you cannot find out, treat the licence as decoration.
Not sure how to read what you found? Send it to us. We will look at it with you, free — and we will never ask you to pay to get money back.
Sources
- Gambling Commission (Great Britain), Make sure that the gambling business is licensed, checked 30 September 2026: https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/public-and-players/guide/page/make-sure-that-the-gambling-business-is-licensed
- Gambling Commission (Great Britain), Public Register: https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/public-register/
Frequently asked questions
How do I check if an online casino is licensed?
Use the regulator register, not the badge in the footer. For Great Britain that is the Gambling Commission public register at gamblingcommission.gov.uk/public-register. It also shows what activities the business may offer and whether the Commission has ever taken regulatory action against it.
Why will a casino not pay out my winnings?
Usually one of three things, and all three are in the terms. Identity checks that only start once you win. A bonus wagering requirement that locks winnings until you have staked the money many times over. Or a withdrawal limit you did not know about. Read the withdrawal, verification and bonus sections before you deposit.
Are casino review sites trustworthy?
Treat them carefully. Many are run by affiliates paid for every player they send. Search the name with the problem instead — "won\u2019t pay", "withheld winnings", "account closed". One complaint is noise; twenty describing the same stage going wrong is a pattern.
Why do online casinos dispute big wins more often than small ones?
Because the financial incentive to find a reason not to pay scales with the size of the win. Terms around 'bonus abuse,' account verification, or vaguely defined rule violations are often written broadly enough to give an operator discretion — discretion that gets exercised far more often on a five- or six-figure win than on a routine small payout.
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