Guide

How to complain about a UK casino: gambling complaints step by step

A practical route for gambling complaints against a GB-licensed casino: what to collect, how to escalate, where an unresolved dispute goes and what helps.

By Eleanor Hartley, editor · Checked on 1 November 2026

Gambling complaints about a licensed online casino start with the casino itself: every operator licensed by the Gambling Commission (UKGC) has a complaints procedure, usually described in its terms and conditions and help centre. If that procedure does not settle the matter, the operator's terms name an independent dispute resolution service that can look at the case. Most disputes come down to the wording of the terms, so the evidence you keep matters more than how strongly you put it.

On this page

1. Before you complain: check the licence and the terms
2. Common gambling complaints and the rule to check
3. Step 1: use the casino's complaints procedure
4. Step 2: take an unresolved dispute to the named service
5. What the Gambling Commission does
6. If the site is not on the register
7. When the complaint is about gambling harm

Before you complain: check the licence and the terms

Start by confirming who you are actually dealing with. A casino brand often runs on another company's licence, and responsibility for compliance sits with the licence holder. The Gambling Commission public register shows the licence holder's name, account number, licence status, the domains notified to the Commission and any regulatory action. The guide on how to check a casino's licence walks through the register.

Then find the rule your complaint turns on. For a bonus dispute, that is the offer's significant terms and the full bonus rules; for a withdrawal, the payment and verification sections; for a closed account, the general terms. Note the version date if the page shows one, because terms change.

Common gambling complaints and the rule to check

The guide to reading significant terms explains where these conditions usually sit and how they are worded.

Step 1: use the casino's complaints procedure

1. Gather evidence. Screenshots of the offer and its terms as shown when you opted in, the cashier history, transaction references, dates and times, and copies of any chat or email.
2. Write it down. Use the complaints route the terms describe, often a form or a dedicated email address. A live chat conversation alone can be hard to refer back to.
3. Be specific. State what happened, which term you rely on, and what outcome you want: a payout, a reinstated balance, a refund of a deposit over your limit.
4. Keep a reference. Ask for a complaint reference number and note the timescale the operator gives for a final response.

Ask clearly for a final response once the operator has investigated. That written decision is what an independent service will want to see.

Step 2: take an unresolved dispute to the named service

If the final response does not resolve the complaint, the operator's terms set out where to go next. BetMGM's terms, for example, say that if a customer is not satisfied with its response or a dispute cannot be resolved, the customer may contact IBAS (Independent Betting Adjudication Services), a dispute resolution service, and give its contact details. Other operators name their own service in the complaints section of their terms; look there rather than relying on a general list.

Send the service your evidence, the operator's final response and the outcome you are asking for. It will look at the operator's terms and what happened, not at how much was at stake.

What the Gambling Commission does

The Gambling Commission licenses and regulates operators in Great Britain and sets the conditions they must meet, including clear and fair bonus terms, participation in GAMSTOP and the rules on deposit limits. Its public register records any regulatory action against a licence holder. A pattern of problems with an operator is a licensing matter for the Commission; the outcome of your individual dispute is decided through the operator's procedure and the independent service named in its terms.

A misleading gambling advert is a separate matter: the Advertising Standards Authority rules on gambling ads under the CAP Code, including adverts by comparison sites.

If the site is not on the register

If you cannot find the operator or its domain on the Gambling Commission register, it is not licensed to offer gambling in Great Britain, and none of the GB protections described here apply to it. That is one more reason to check the register before you deposit anywhere.

When the complaint is about gambling harm

If the dispute is about money you could not afford to lose, or a sense that play got out of hand, consider support alongside the complaint. The National Gambling Helpline, run by GamCare on 0808 8020 133, is free, confidential and open 24 hours a day. GAMSTOP (gamstop.co.uk) is free and blocks access to accounts on participating gambling websites and apps, which every GB-licensed online operator must join, for 6 months, 1 year or 5 years. The responsible gambling page lists the tools and services available to adults aged 18 and over.