The Best Online Casinos in the UK

1. Safety is Our Priority

Only casinos licensed by the UK Gambling Commission are tested and published on Casivo, ensuring the complete safety of our players. We also look at several other safety aspects, including encryption and the protection of your personal data.

2. Selection of Games

During our reviews, we are looking out for the biggest names in gaming software, including NetEnt, Microgaming and PlayTech, amongst others. This guarantees a good selection of both slot and table games, and says a lot about the casino itself, as these software providers only work with reputable operators. We hope to see progressive jackpot slots, and there’s extra points given if there is a great live casino on offer.

3. Deposit Methods

Online casinos have had to keep up with the development of new payment methods, including popular e-wallets like Paypal, Neteller, Skrill and even popular Cryptocurrencies. Operators should provide more than just Mastercard and Visa payment methods, for both fast deposits and fast withdrawals.

4. Fast Payout Casinos

Although we appreciate that there’s an element of processing involved in payouts, some online casinos can be far too slow in giving players their money. A big part of our online casino testing criteria is how fast the payouts are… We would expect most e-wallets to be within 24 hours and some providers also have fasttrack card transactions with certain banks. We only recommend casinos with fast payouts.

5. Customer Support

One of the less obvious, but still equally important aspects we look at is the quality and availability of customer support. No online casino is complete without a great service team, and although not every casino we recommend has 24/7 support, they all offer multiple ways to get in touch including live chat, email and telephone.

6. Design and User Friendliness

Every online casino should be easy to navigate and optimised for every device, whether you prefer desktop, phone or tablet. We have tested each site on this page for usability, and the high scorers have user-friendly interfaces, seamless navigation and optimisation across devices.

What Are Wagering Requirements?

Wagering requirements are used by online casinos in an attempt to limit their losses. If a bonus has a wagering requirement of 30x, you must turn over the bonus amount 30 times. So for example, if you had a £50 bonus with 30x wagering, you must spin £1,500 before it becomes real cash.

Always look at the terms and conditions and requirements of a bonus, and then nothing will come as a surprise. Your bonus is locked in and not available as cash until wagering requirements are complete, so it’s always better to play knowing what’s needed to withdraw.

The wagering requirements set depend completely on the online casino you’re playing it. Anything above 25x would be considered high, and the lower the number the better. Right now, there is an increase in casino bonuses with no wagering requirements which are essentially free cash, but expect the value of these to be much lower.

Sticky Bonuses vs. Non-Sticky Bonuses

Casino bonuses tend to come in 2 different variations, sticky and non-sticky. The differentiator between these 2 bonus types is that a non-sticky bonus can be withdrawn, but a sticky one can’t.

For example; If you deposited £100 and received a 300% deposit bonus, you would be able to play with £400. No matter how much you won from this money, with a sticky bonus, you would never be able to withdraw the initial £400 bonus balance. If the bonus was non-sticky, once you met the wagering requirements, you could withdraw the whole balance, original bonus and winnings included.

You will often find that sticky bonuses are much more generous, anywhere from 200% to 500% deposit matches. We would usually expect non-sticky bonuses to be 50% or 100%. Always read the terms and conditions of any online casino bonus, so that you know exactly what bonus type you are accepting and what needs to be done to claim your cash.

What to expect from UK online casinos

Sites are going to continue getting better and better, and 2020 is going to be a huge year for the industry, with new casino sites launching regularly.

We expect to see a further rise in player interactivity, otherwise known as ‘gamification’. Gamification casinos are those that include levelling up, regular rewards, leaderboards and races, all designed to make the experience more fun for players. There’s also likely to be a further increase in the generosity of loyalty programmes and rewards for existing players, in a bid to compete with the new operators.

Why Use an Online Casino?

• There is never a queue or crowd at your favourite games, so you don’t have to wait around to have your fun
• You can play on any device, at any time, without having to leave the house
• There’s a hugely diverse selection of games
• The welcome bonuses at online casinos are incredibly generous
• Each online casino is regulated by the UK Gambling Commission, so you can play safely and enjoy your experience

Casivo Supports Responsible Gaming

The most important thing about playing at an online casino is that it should always be fun and safe. Gambling addiction is a serious problem, and something we at Casivo work to overcome by only working with operators licensed by the UK Gambling Commission.

If you feel like you are spending more than you can afford to lose, or are experiencing financial difficulty, we highly recommend utilising safe gambling controls such as deposit limits, cooling off or self exclusion. For help with a gambling addiction, or if you’re worried about your habits, call The National Gambling Helpline on 0808 802 0133.