Casinos to Avoid
Casino Rating
Straight to the Point
Although there are hundreds of casinos accepting UK players, only a handful of them can be trusted. We’ve reviewed dozens of operators and divided them into two groups: those worth your time and those you should avoid at all costs.
For every online casino that gets blacklisted by the UK Gambling Commission there seem to be ten more on the brink of following in their footsteps.
In this post we're going to go over some of the worst casinos out there, as well as looking at some of the reasons why we advise our readers to steer clear of them.
If you’re in a hurry, here are the five worst online casinos currently operating in the United Kingdom.
#5 Karamba
Karamba is a casino that's managed to build up a pretty bad reputation since it entered the market back in 2016. Ascaris worms have better health records. There are just way too many things wrong with this casino to even consider playing there. But for the sake of being thorough, here are some of its drawbacks:
- Slot spins don't contribute toward turning bonus money into real money. (Important: read terms 3.2 & 3.4)
- Bonus money can't be played on jackpot slots or table games. (Important: read term 4.c)
- If you win less than 5x your initial deposit, you won't be able to withdraw that money. They get to decide what qualifies as legitimate winnings and what doesn't. (Important: read term 6.1)
- Once you accept a bonus, you have to play through your deposit and bonus amount 35 times before you "compleley wagered" and can withdraw any associated winnings. (Important: read term 3.1)
- If you make a second deposit without specifically contacting customer service, all bonus money will be removed from your account. Yes, all of it -- even if you've only withdrawn a small portion of your deposit and bonus amount.
Their T&Cs aren't just burdensome; they're malicious. For instance, taking an bonus means you only have 24 hours to play through the first half of your welcome bonus before it disappears -- Poof! Gone. And if you fail to play through the first half of your bonus within 24 hours, you forfeit everything -- Poof! and Piffle! gone. You also have to playthrough the 2nd half of the bonus within 24 days -- or else.
To give you an idea of how draconian these terms and conditions really are, check out this thread over at Wazzuk on TwoPlusTwo where several players--who had accepted the bonus--lost their entire balance to these hidden rules after making a 2nd deposit.
There has got to be some kind of consumer protection law against this sort of thing, right? Apparenly not.
We added Karamba to this list because even amongst the worst of the worst, it stands out as particularly repugnant.
Oh, and one more thing: Their slot games don't even contribute towards meeting the playthrough requirements by the same percentage as other games. Check out this email they sent to a player, obtained via AskGamblers:
This table is from their T&Cs but notice that in this email they're using different weightings. Furthermore these weights can change at any time and without warning -- because they can.
Welcome Bonuses are a great way for casinos to attract new business and, let's face it, almost every single online casino offers them. But these sorts of arbitrary restrictions and weightings are absolutely unconscionable.
For more information, check out our full review below.
#4 Betway
UK Fine: £1.579 million
Making it onto our "worst casinos" list isn't necessarily based on any major transgressions.
Sure, in BlueRibbon's case it was for outright theft -- but most of the casinos you'll see listed here are avoided mostly because of their treatment of players who've satisfied all of the requirements only to have their winnings confiscated after the fact.
Such is the case with Bluebird's big win -- one that the casino, in typical fashion, deemed to have been achieved through fraudulent means i.e. Bluebird using a strategy (called flat betting) that the house didn't like.
BlueRibbon Casino (Now Listed as Chisela Casino)
Another casino to make both lists is BlueRibbon - now re-branded as Chisela Casino and currently blacklisted on a number of gaming forums. As per their current terms and conditions (which, again, ought to be read in their entirety before depositing), Chisela Casino reserves the right to revoke any and all bonuses – including those already cashed out – at any time and for any reason. Even worse, they can close your account at any time and keep all of the money you've already satisfied the wagering requirement on.
A quick search of gaming forums turns up pages of threads - mainly from jackpot winners - whose accounts were suspended and winnings confiscated after the fact. Here's one typical example:
It's hard enough satisfying the sometimes onerous play-through requirements needed to draw down a bonus but when the goal posts are moved after the fact it's both maddening and, quite frankly, illegal. Exploitative clauses like this have no place in the online gaming industry and casinos found using such language in their T&Cs should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Then again, BlueRibbon/Chisela isn't alone here. These kinds of one-sided terms and conditions are far too common in the online gaming world and need to be called out for what they are - theft.
For a more detailed rundown of BlueRibbon's shady practices, read our full review or jump straight to their forum discussion thread.
Betway has long been considered one of the top UK online gaming sites but that reputation took a serious hit in November, 2020 after it was hit with a hefty fine by the UKGC for Betway's failures to "uphold the rights of vulnerable customers."
Among the long litany of sins (you can read the full judgment here) was Betway's refusal to pay out £1.579 million to a compulsive gambler. The UKGC found that Betway:
- Failed to interact with the customer
- Failed to conduct adequate checks
- Failed to identify the client behavior as likely indicative of harm
- Failed to act on internal alerts
- Failed to effectively manage and implement affordability checks
- Failed to effectively manage and implement self-exclusion procedures
Those are some pretty damning findings and the £1.579 million fine is basically pocket lint to a company the size of Betway so from that standpoint the penalty is essentially meaningless.
That being said, Betway did agree to pay the compulsive gambler $1.5m plus the £1.579m fine imposed by the UKGC so justice was served in that regard.
Still, the damage has been done and it'll take a long time to earn back the trust of UK punters who have long considered Betway one of the safest, most reputable brands in the country.
#3 Mr.Green
Mr. Green might just be the classiest guy you'll ever meet in a casino - unless, of course, he's the namesake for a shoddy online gambling operation that routinely rips off its customers. Unfortunately, it's the latter definition that applies here.
Mr. Green is yet another casino that has been dinged for changing the goal posts after the fact to deny players big wins.
One recent example involved a player named Alex who hit a jackpot of €185,000 playing the Hall of Gods slot game. Mr. Green then proceededly revoked the win citing section 7.1 of their terms and conditions which states:
"Any dormant account that does not display any activity for a period of 12 months will be charged an administration fee of €10 per month."
Alex admitted his account had indeed sat dormant for 12 months or more but he also said he had logged in during that time period and was even playing slot games when he hit the jackpot. Regardless, Mr. Green held firm and refused to pay him the money.
Alex then took his complaint public and posted a series of emails between himself and Mr. Green customer support. In one exchange, a Mr. Green representative admitted that the clause had been mistakenly included in the casino's T&Cs and had been removed as of March 25, 2021.
Alex said that he hadn't seen the casino had updated its terms until after he'dsatisfied the conditions for receiving his bonus ... To which Mr. Green replied:
#2 Ladbrokes Coral Group
The UK Gambling Commission exists for one simple reason: to ensure that gambling operators acting under the Commission's license "operate fairly and with integrity."
When companies fall short of this standard, it's the UKGC's job to step in and impose appropriate penalties to rectify the situation. That's exactly what happened in December, 2020 when the UKGC fined William Hill £6.2 million ($8.5 million) for "multiple failings" in its interaction with problem gamblers.
To put that fine in context, William Hill was acquired by the Caesars Entertainment in a deal valued at $3.7 billion.
In announcing the penalty, the UKGC noted that William Hill permitted a compromised third party to use one of its VIP accounts to gamble away more than £1.3 million. The UKGC further stated that William Hill failed to adequately investigate sources of deposited funds from a second VIP account, thus allowing another compromised individual to gamble away £540,000.
Perhaps most egregiously, however, was the UKGC's finding that William Hill refused to refund a Compulsive Gambler £136,000 even after admitting it had breached its licensing agreement.
Ladbroke Coral Group owns several well known UK gambling operations including Coral, Hillybilly Hunter, Partypoker and Ladbrokes.
All four of those properties have been dinged by the UKGC for various violations and collectively have been hit with fines totaling more than £5 million (~$6.7 million).
The biggest single fine - £3.6 million (~$5 million) - was imposed on Ladbroke Coral Group itself for “failing to ensure that transactions on organised gross gambling revenue (“RGF”) were made at the correct exchange rate.” The error went on for seven years before being discovered.
Hillybilly Hunter was fined £322,00 ($455,000) for three violations:
- Failing to communicate transaction information accurately and truthfully
- Failing to make sure customer interactions were fair
- Failing to provide accurate self-exclusion services
Coral was fined £408,000 ($565,000) for failing to prevent hackers from accessing the personal data of 41 clearly identified vulnerable customers.
Partypoker, which paid a record £10.5 million ($14.7 million) fine in 2019 for Anti-Money Laundering (AML) violations, escaped punishment related to those violations but was hit with a relatively minor £73,000 ($103,000) fine for failure to satisfy responsibly gambling requirements.
On top of these financial penalties Ladbroke Coral Group is now facing a private criminal prosecution from the UK’s Serious Fraud Office over allegations of money laundering. Ladbroke Coral Group has denied any wrongdoing.
Needless to say none of these transgressions inspire a lot confidence in these operators and for the sake of their own customers they'd best shape up quickly or face extinction.
#1 Jealous Max
Ascaris roundworm eggs. Nothing to worry about, right?
Not only is Jealous Max one of the worst casinos operating today it might just be the most dishonest.
Jealous Max holds down the #1 spot on several prominent gambling blacklists for numerous violations, the worst of which involves outright theft - specifically, stealing winnings.
Jealous Max isn't anywhere near as established as some of the other casinos on this list but it still manages to distinguish itself as one of the worst actors in the online gambling space.
Like BlueRibbon, Jealous Max is singled out here mostly due to its treatment of big winners who have fulfilled all of the requirements for paying out their winnings only to have the casino confiscate them anyway. Jealous Max's terms and conditions are long and convoluted but the gist of it is that the casino reserves the right to rescind any and all bonuses at any time and for any reason.
Here's an excerpt from their terms that lays out the general philosophy guiding Jealous Max's business model:
"5.3. We reserve the right to accept or decline any bet or part thereof from any customer for whatever reason and at any time without providing a reason. 5.4. We may, set off, offset or deduct for any reason and at any time from the positive balance on a Player's Account, any amounts payable under these Terms and Conditions, in respect of any other account which is linked to or associated with this Account (whether or not such Account remains open or has been closed). 5.5. Without derogating from the generality of clause 5.4 above, in respect of any free bets, bonuses or promotional offers awarded to Players which we, in our sole discretion, deem to have been received or attributed erroneously, fraudulently or otherwise in breach of these Terms and Conditions, we shall be entitled (i) to declare all bets placed by a Player made whilst in receipt of such free bets, bonuses or promotional offers void; and/or (ii) to declare the Players Account in material breach of contract and to close such Account."
What this boils down to is that Jealous Max can simply declare that any bonus received was gained "fraudulently" and thereby reverse any winnings earned with that bonus. This provision is so broadly worded that it could potentially apply to any win, ever.
Naturally, Jealous Max buries this language deep in their terms and conditions and most people - reasonable people, that is - wouldn't have any issue with bonuses being rescinded if they were obtained through fraudulent means.
The problem is that Jealous Max expands the definition of "fraud" to include virtually anything they don't like, such as winning too much money or engaging in play they deem to be too risky or not in the spirit of the game. Here are a couple examples from their FAQ:
As you can see from these responses, Jealous Max can and will retroactively rescind bonuses and confiscate winnings for virtually any reason it chooses. In the second response above, the player in question only made eight bets over the course of six days yet the casino arbitrarily decided that their play was "abusive" and therefore opened itself up to having its bonus revoked.
It's hard to think of a more insidious way for an online gaming operator to fleece its customers but Jealous Max has made a veritable art form out of it.
Other casinos might target vulnerable players (see: ) but at least they satisfy the requirements needed to collect their winnings. Jealous Max simply takes the money whether its clients have met the requirements or not.
How to Spot a Bad Online Gambling Operation
Do They Have a Good Reputation?
If you're reading this, chances are you've come across an online casino that strikes you as being too good to be true and you want to know if it actually is. The first thing to do is run a Google search of the casino's name along with the words "review," "blacklist," "scam" and "forum."
That should give you a good cross-section of opinions from players who have had experience with said casino - both good and bad. Red flags include a preponderance of complaints about withheld winnings or last-minute changes to the terms and conditions that allow the casino to confiscate winnings after the fact.
Another good resource for checking out a casino is askgamblers.com which maintains a running tally of player complaints regarding payment issues, slow payments and refusals to pay out on apparent wins. No casino is ever going to be completely free of complaints but a cursory glance at askgamblers.com should give you an idea of how serious the problems are at any particular property.
Does It Have a UK License?
All reputable casinos accepting UK players should prominently display their UK gambling commission license number. If you can't find this number anywhere on the casino's website it probably isn't licensed by the UKGC - and probably isn't legit either.
The UK Gambling Commission exists to protect UK punters and operating under its license should guarantee a certain minimum level of quality and trustworthiness. Of course, even the UKGC isn't perfect and there have been a few high-profile failures of UK-licensed operators in recent years (see: 32Red, ).
That said, if a casino is trying to hide its licensing status it's probably best to move along.
Is It Too Good to Be True?
Best Bally Slots Online You Can Play in 2023The old adage that something is too good to be true usually applies to online gambling sites offering incentives that seem just a little bit too generous. Nothing in life is free and if a casino is giving away bonuses without strict requirements for cashing out the associated winnings, it's probably because there's some trick up its sleeve.
Look carefully at any bonus offer to ascertain the wagering requirements, time constraints and other provisions. If they seem overly restrictive that's a red flag but so is a lengthy manifesto filled with arbitrary restrictions and prohibitions designed to give the casino maximum discretion in determining who can cash out and when.
Don't Deposit Until You've Read the T&Cs
It used to be that signing up at an online casino began with selecting a user name and submitting some basic biographical information. That's no longer the case as today's casinos often require you to read and accept a lengthy manifesto known as the "terms and conditions."
These T&Cs lay out the specifics of the business relationship between you and the casino including details about bonuses, wagering requirements, time constraints and other important information you'll want to know before depositing. Surprisingly - or maybe not - many winners who contact the private investigators at Sherlock Holmes International School of Forensic Science to help recover their winnings said they weren’t aware of the casinos’ stringent terms and conditions.
Of course, that's usually because they didn't bother to read them beforehand. No casino is going to make it overly easy to withdraw jackpot winnings and there will always be stiff play-through requirements attached to any bonuses you accept. That said, there's read and there's READ.
Print out the T&Cs and sit down somewhere quiet and undistracted and carefully read through the entire document. Have the casino support staff explain any portions that are unclear and don't depart until you understand everything.
Once you've accepted the T&Cs there's nothing you can do about it so make sure you're fully informed before hitting that "accept" button.
The Dangers of Offshore Gaming Operations
Why are
