Outside UKGC regulation there is no regulator who will get your money back for you. That makes the checks you run before depositing the only real protection you have. All of the following take minutes and cost nothing.
Step 1: Verify the Licence in Three Minutes
A licence logo in a footer is an image. It proves nothing. What proves something is the number behind it appearing in the regulator's own register.
Scroll to the casino's footer and find the licence number and the named operating company. If either is missing, stop here.
Open the regulator's public register directly — type the address yourself rather than clicking the casino's badge, which may link anywhere.
Search the number. The register should return the same company name the footer gives, with a status of active.
Check the domain. Some licences list the exact domains they cover. If the site you are on is not among them, the licence does not cover it.
Registers worth bookmarking: the UKGC public register (for checking whether a site is UK-licensed at all), the Malta Gaming Authority licensee register, and the Curacao Gaming Authority.
Step 2: Red Flags Before You Deposit
No licence number, or one that does not resolve. The single strongest signal there is.
No named operating company. A site that will not say who runs it has decided you should not know.
Cloned design. A layout identical to an established brand with a different logo is a recognised scam pattern.
No published terms, or terms that will not load. Terms you cannot read are terms you cannot rely on.
Support that will not answer a written question. Ask, before depositing: what triggers verification, how long does it take, and what is the wagering multiple. A site that dodges those in writing will dodge them later.
Pressure tactics. Countdown timers on a welcome offer, or a bonus that expires in minutes, exist to stop you reading.
Recent one-star reviews describing the same thing. One angry reviewer is noise. Twenty describing “withdrawal under review” after a large win is data.
Step 3: The Clauses That Let Them Keep Your Money
Most money lost at offshore casinos is not lost to an outright fake site. It is lost to a real site with a clause you did not read. Search the terms page for these:
“Sole discretion” or “unlimited discretion” to void winnings. A clause letting the operator decide not to pay is a clause that will eventually be used.
Retroactive changes. Terms that can be amended without notice and applied to a bonus you already accepted.
Maximum win caps on bonus play. Common and often reasonable — but check whether the cap also applies to winnings from your own deposited funds.
Withdrawal caps buried in bonus terms rather than on the banking page. A “£2,000 monthly maximum” turns a £20,000 win into a ten-month instalment plan.
Maximum bet while a bonus is active. Usually £5. Exceeding it once, often accidentally, voids the entire bonus and everything won with it. This is the single most common reason a legitimate withdrawal is refused.
Wagering on deposit plus bonus. Check the base, not just the multiple. On a £250 deposit with a 100% match, 30x on the bonus alone is £7,500 and 30x on deposit plus bonus is £15,000.
Dormancy fees. Some operators drain an inactive balance monthly.
Step 4: Habits That Limit the Damage
Deposit the minimum first and withdraw immediately. Before you fund an account properly, put in the smallest qualifying amount and request it straight back out. What you are buying is the answer to the only question that matters: does this operator pay?
Complete verification before you win. KYC requested after a big win is where delays happen. Submit documents on day one.
Screenshot everything. Bonus terms as they read on the day you accept them, your balance, the withdrawal request and every support reply.
Withdraw by the route you deposited with, and expect that requirement to be enforced.
Never send a full photograph of a card. Cover the middle digits and the CVV. No legitimate operator needs either.
Use one dedicated e-wallet. It keeps gambling transactions off your main account and limits exposure if the operator's systems are compromised.
If a Withdrawal Is Blocked
Open a written ticket. Not live chat — email or a ticket system that leaves a record. State the amount, the date, the method and attach screenshots.
Ask which specific term they are relying on. A refusal that cannot name a clause is not a refusal, it is a stall.
Escalate to the regulator after 72 hours. Complain to the authority named in the footer, quoting the licence number. Enforcement varies enormously by jurisdiction, but a complaint on file costs you nothing.
Consider a chargeback last. Your card issuer may reverse the deposit, but expect the casino to close your account and forfeit the balance. This recovers a deposit, not a win.
Post the facts publicly. A factual review naming dates and amounts is what warns the next player, and it is what triggers a re-check on our list. Tell us too.
What We Cannot Do For You
We have no relationship with these operators beyond an affiliate link. We cannot recover funds, force a payout or unlock an account, and neither can any other comparison site — be sceptical of any that implies otherwise. What we can do is remove an operator from our list and say why. Read How We Rate for what triggers that.