What to look at when comparing UK online casinos.

Most casinos look similar from the outside. The differences that matter — terms, payments, limits and safer gambling tools — are usually one or two clicks below the homepage. Here is the order we use, and you can use it too.

1. Check the licence first

A real UK casino lists its UK Gambling Commission account number in the footer. You can look that number up directly on the regulator's site. If a casino targets UK players but does not show a UK licence, that is a reason to stop.

2. Read the offer terms, not the headline

A promotion headline is marketing. The terms underneath it are the contract. Look for the wagering multiplier, the time limit, which games count, the maximum bet while wagering and any country or payment-method restrictions. If any of those are missing from the page, that itself is information.

3. Walk through the cashier

Before depositing, look at the deposit methods, the minimum and maximum amounts, and the stated withdrawal processing time. UK-licensed casinos must show realistic timescales. Long, vague windows are a sign to slow down.

4. Try the safer gambling tools

Open the account area and find deposit limits, loss limits, time-outs, reality checks and self-exclusion. They should take a few clicks at most. Operators that hide these tools usually take a similar approach to other things you care about.

5. Test the mobile experience

If you play on a phone, do the whole flow on a phone — search, deposit, set limits, log out. Sites that work well on a tablet can be cramped on a 5.5-inch phone in portrait.

6. Compare like with like

When you put two casinos next to each other, compare them on the same criteria: licence, term clarity, payments, mobile build and safer gambling. That is the same method we use across our reviews.

If you would like the formal version of the method we use, read our editorial review policy.