UK licensing evidence
How to read the UKGC public register
The UK Gambling Commission public register can support a dated statement about a recorded business, licence status, activity and domain. It cannot prove that a site will pay quickly, treat every customer fairly or remain solvent. This guide shows how to read the dataset field by field and preserve what you actually found.
Direct answer
Use the register as a dated evidence source, not a safety guarantee
Search the official business register, open the matching legal account, then record the exact domain, applicable remote activity, current status and displayed dataset date. Check the separate regulatory-actions register too. A match supports only what the current official record says. It is not a regulator recommendation or a promise about future conduct.
This page owns the narrow task of interpreting and recording UKGC datasets. For the broader decision process, including operator identification and warning signs, use the complete casino licence-checking guide.
Start with four search inputs
The UKGC business register accepts a business name, trading name, domain name or account number. Search more than one input when the first result is ambiguous. Type the hostname without assuming that a logo, footer number or link supplied by the site is correct.
Swipe sideways to see every column.
| Input | Record exactly | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Business name | The legal company name shown in terms or the footer. | Similar names can belong to different legal entities. |
| Trading name | The consumer-facing brand and every spelling tried. | A trading name is not the legal account name. |
| Domain name | The exact hostname currently in the browser address bar. | A close spelling or different top-level domain is a different hostname. |
| Account number | The complete reference claimed by the site. | A real number can be copied from an unrelated business. |
Read the business record without skipping status words
The account number is the Commission's unique business reference and the account name is the legal name. The recorded head-office address may be incomplete where the business has requested that the full address is not shown. Treat that as an explicit dataset limitation, not evidence for or against the business.
Swipe sideways to see every column.
| Displayed status | What the register says | Evidence treatment |
|---|---|---|
| Active | The licence is active and up to date. | Continue to the exact activity and domain. Do not stop at this label. |
| Pending | A new licence has been applied for or varied and is not yet active. | Do not describe pending status as current authorisation. |
| Suspended | The Commission has suspended the licence pending investigation. | Record the status and check time without predicting the outcome. |
| Expired, lapsed, revoked, forfeited or surrendered | Each label records a different route by which the licence is no longer active. | Preserve the exact term rather than replacing it with a generic label. |
Match the applicable remote activity
An active business account alone does not show that every product or website activity is covered. Open the record and identify the remote licensed activity relevant to the service being checked. Save its label, status and "activity from" date where shown. If only a different activity appears, record that mismatch instead of upgrading the overall account status into broader permission.
The UKGC register is evidence about the Great Britain licensed sector. An overseas licence belongs to a different regulatory system. The Great Britain legality and licensing guide explains that jurisdiction boundary; this page does not decide the legality of an individual consumer's conduct.
Match the exact hostname and separate names from entities
Record the hostname exactly as it appears, including spelling and top-level domain, then compare it with the domain dataset inside the business record. Also record whether the register labels the domain Active, Inactive or White label. A trading-name match does not replace an exact-domain check, and a domain match does not make the trading name the legal operator.
Read regulatory actions without inventing an endorsement
The separate regulatory-actions register can be searched by account, operator name or details and filtered by licence type and outcome. When a relevant action appears, save the operator, action type, outcome, decision date and direct URL. Read the underlying record before summarising it.
No result found is only a dated search result for the terms tried. It does not prove good conduct, the absence of complaints, complete compliance or future safety. An action also needs neutral wording: record the published outcome rather than adding an accusation.
Proof and non-proof matrix
Swipe sideways to see every column.
| Finding | What it can support | What it does not prove |
|---|---|---|
| Exact hostname listed with relevant active activity | A dated statement that the official record connects that hostname and activity to the named account. | Withdrawal speed, solvency, fair treatment or future licence status. |
| Active account status | The Commission displayed the account as active at the check time. | That every product, activity or similarly named domain is covered. |
| Trading name listed | The record connects the supplied trading name with the legal account. | That the trading name is a separate legal entity or that every same-name site is connected. |
| Published regulatory action | The action, outcome and decision date shown by the Commission. | A wider conclusion beyond the wording and scope of the published record. |
| No action found | The documented searches returned no matching action at that time. | Good conduct, no complaints, no investigation or regulator endorsement. |
| No business or domain result found | A reproducible non-finding for the recorded inputs and dataset date. | Fraud, illegality or the absence of every possible record. |
A register record does not establish how an operator protects balances if it becomes insolvent. Use the dormant-account and customer-funds guide to check that separate disclosure without treating it as a repayment guarantee.
Preserve both dates and the direct source trail
Record the register's displayed dataset update date separately from the time you performed the check. On this source review, the business register displayed "Last updated: 08 September 2026". That date may change independently of this guide. Keep the direct record URL, the register section used and any downloaded official dataset file. A screenshot alone can omit the URL, search terms or later-expanded fields.
Document a non-finding without turning it into an accusation
- Copy the exact hostname. Remove the path, but do not change the spelling or top-level domain.
- Search alternative identifiers. Try the claimed account number, legal company and trading name separately.
- Record every variant. Keep the query, register section, check time and displayed dataset date.
- State only the result. Use wording such as "No matching record was found for these searches at this time."
- Keep limitations visible. A spelling difference, recent change or incomplete identifier may explain a non-finding.
Copyable register evidence card
Copy these field labels into a secure note for each check. Fill a field with "not shown" or "unresolved" rather than guessing. Do not include passwords, payment-card details or unnecessary identity documents.
Swipe sideways to see every column.
| Evidence field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Search and section | Search term, spelling variant and business or regulatory-actions section used. |
| Legal account | Account number, exact account name and any address limitation shown. |
| Status and time | Exact displayed status, local check date, time and time zone. |
| Applicable activity | Remote activity label, status and activity-from date where shown. |
| Exact domain | Hostname checked, dataset spelling and Active, Inactive or White label status. |
| Trading name | Name shown, its status and its separation from the legal account name. |
| Regulatory action | Search result, relevant outcome and decision date, or careful non-finding. |
| Dataset evidence | Displayed update date, direct record URLs and saved official data files. |
| Unresolved limits | Non-finding attempts, variants, missing fields and questions still unanswered. |
If the record does not match, reduce exposure first
Do not deposit money or send identity documents while the legal operator, exact hostname, relevant activity or current status is unresolved. Preserve the page already open without repeatedly revisiting a suspected site. The suspected copied-licence reporting guide explains evidence-preservation and official reporting routes. If a dispute already exists, organise the record with the casino complaint evidence pack.
A register check is not a reason to resume gambling, bypass self-exclusion or increase spending. If gambling is causing harm, stop the operator research and use the safer-gambling support area.
Sources and method
- UK Gambling Commission: Public registers and datasets
- UK Gambling Commission: Register of gambling businesses
- UK Gambling Commission: All regulatory actions
- Google Search Central: Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content
The editorial team checked each controlling source on 8 September 2026 and compared the register's current search options, field definitions, disclaimers and action fields with this guide. UKGC sources control register claims. Google's guidance informed the original evidence-card and proof-boundary design, not a legal or licensing claim. Corrections can be submitted through our editorial corrections process. Register fields and the displayed data date are scheduled for monthly review, with an earlier check after a material UKGC register change.