New online casinos: how to evaluate one

Why new casinos need a closer look

A newly launched online casino has no history of paying withdrawals, handling complaints or treating players fairly that you can look back on. Some are new brands from established, licensed groups; others are run by companies with no regulated track record. The checks below help separate the two before you deposit.

1. Verify the licence on the regulator's own register

A licence logo in a website footer is a claim, not evidence. Look up the operating company and the exact domain on the regulator's public register:

UK Gambling Commission: licensed businesses must display that they are licensed and link to the Commission's public register, which shows what activities a business may offer and whether the Commission has taken regulatory action against it.
Malta Gaming Authority: the MGA Licensee Register lists authorised operators; the MGA's player pages are the route for complaints about its licensees.
Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission: the Online Gambling Licensee Register shows each entity's licence status, and the GSC also publishes a list of former licence holders whose licences ceased from 1 January 2020.
Gibraltar: queries about remote gambling go to the Gambling Division of HM Government of Gibraltar.
Germany: the GGL publishes an official whitelist of providers holding a permit under the 2021 Interstate Treaty on Gambling.

Confirm that the domain you are using is listed against that licence and that the licence covers the country you live in. A licence for one market does not make an operator legal in every market.

2. Find out who owns and runs it

The footer and the terms and conditions should name the company that operates the site and that you contract with. That name should match the regulator's register. Different company names in the footer, the terms and the register, or no company name at all, are reasons to stop. If the brand belongs to a group, look at how the group's other sites are regulated and whether any regulator has taken action against it.

3. Read the terms before you deposit

Withdrawal processing times, minimum and maximum withdrawals, and any fees.
Identity and source-of-funds checks, and when they are triggered.
Bonus terms: wagering, maximum bet, game weighting, expiry and maximum win.
Clauses that allow the operator to void winnings, and how broadly they are worded.
Inactive-account fees and what happens to balances if the site closes.

4. Payments

Check which deposit and withdrawal methods are offered in your country, whether withdrawals must go back to the deposit method, and whether there are fees or limits. Payment methods that are widely used and traceable give you more options if something goes wrong than methods that cannot be reversed.

5. Complaints and dispute resolution

In Great Britain, you must first use the operator's own complaints procedure. If you are not satisfied after eight weeks, you can take the complaint to an approved Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) provider, which the Gambling Commission describes as a free, independent service. The operator may give you a deadlock letter confirming that you can refer the dispute.

For MGA licensees, the Authority asks players to try to resolve a dispute with the operator first. Licensees must make their complaint and ADR procedures easy to find and refer disputes to their ADR entity. Since 1 April 2019 the MGA's Player Support Unit no longer rules on the merits of individual disputes, but it still accepts complaints that a gaming service is unlawful, unsafe, unfair or not transparent.

A new casino should name its ADR provider in its terms. If it does not, ask before depositing.

6. Responsible gambling tools

MGA licensees must offer self-exclusion, at least one of deposit or wagering limits, and reality checks. Check that these tools exist and are easy to find before you play.

Red flags

No operating company named, or a company that does not appear on the regulator's register.
A licence number that cannot be found, or a domain that is not listed against it.
Main domains that redirect through tracking or affiliate addresses instead of loading the casino itself.
No named ADR provider or complaints route.
Bonus terms that are missing, hard to find, or allow winnings to be voided for vague reasons.
Pressure to deposit quickly, or offers presented without any terms.