What to check before choosing a bookmaker

Before opening an account with a bookmaker, check five things: that it is licensed to serve customers where you live, what its terms say, how it handles verification and withdrawals, which payment methods it accepts, and what safer-gambling tools it provides. For customers in Great Britain the first check is the most important, and it takes a minute on the Gambling Commission's public register.

Start with the licence

Any operator offering gambling to consumers in Great Britain, including one based overseas, must hold a licence from the Gambling Commission. The licence brings the operator under British rules on fairness, advertising, identity checks, the protection of customers and complaints. How UK gambling licences work explains what it covers. To check it:

• Find the operator's licence number, usually in the website footer or in its terms and conditions.
• Search the Gambling Commission public register by the business name or the name of the website.
• Confirm that the licence is active, that it covers remote betting, and that the website address you are using is listed against it.
• Be wary of a site that shows a licence badge whose number does not match the register, or that advertises itself as outside GamStop.

Sites licensed only in other jurisdictions are not covered by British player protections, and recovering money from them can be difficult. The risks are set out in what 'non-GamStop' means.

Terms, withdrawals and payments

Terms and conditions are long, but a few sections repay reading: the general betting rules (how void bets, abandoned events and obvious pricing errors are handled), the conditions attached to any betting bonus, and the rules on limiting or closing accounts. Operators can restrict stakes or close accounts at their discretion; why bookmakers restrict accounts explains the reasons.

Look at how withdrawals work before you deposit, not after: which methods are available, whether there is a minimum withdrawal, how long the operator's own processing takes and whether any fees apply. Operators licensed in Great Britain must verify your age and identity before you can gamble, so expect to provide information, and sometimes documents, when you open the account. Some further checks, including on source of funds, can be requested later. Processing times depend on both the operator's checks and the payment method; why withdrawal times differ covers the factors, which apply to sportsbooks as well as casinos.

On payments, check that the methods you use are accepted for both deposits and withdrawals, since some are deposit-only. Credit cards cannot be used to gamble with operators licensed in Great Britain; that ban has applied since April 2020. Some promotions also exclude particular e-wallets.

Safer-gambling tools

Licensed operators are required to provide tools that help customers stay in control. Before depositing, find out where they are in the account settings and how they work:

• Deposit limits by day, week or month. Reductions take effect straight away; an increase applies only after a cooling-off period of at least 24 hours and once you confirm it.
• Time-outs that lock the account for a period you choose, from 24 hours up to six weeks.
• Reality checks that remind you how long a session has lasted; these are required on online casino-style games.
• Self-exclusion from the operator, and participation in GamStop, the free national self-exclusion scheme for online gambling in Great Britain, which licensed online operators are required to join.

Setting a deposit limit when you open the account, before any money goes in, is a simple precaution. It is easier to decide on a sensible level at that point than in the middle of a losing run.

What matters less than it looks

Welcome offers, price boosts and advertising are the most visible differences between bookmakers and the least important. An offer is used once; the licence, the terms, the way withdrawals are handled and how easily you can control your spending last as long as the account does.

Finally, check the complaints route. Operators licensed in Great Britain must have a complaints procedure and give customers free access to an independent alternative dispute resolution (ADR) provider if a complaint is not resolved within eight weeks. Knowing who that provider is before anything goes wrong is part of choosing sensibly.