One of the most popular gambling activities in the United Kingdom has recently been playing live dealer games at online casinos on the World Wide Web. There are plenty of online casinos offering a live casino section for the residents of the United Kingdom and all of them have a valid license and are regulated by the UK Gambling Commission. The primary goal of live casinos is to take the current online gaming experience to a whole new level of fun and entertainment with its true-to-life features and capabilities.
The studios and land based locations from where live casinos are providing their high-quality streaming is based in London and the live dealer games are operated by well mannered, professional, and friendly croupiers that speak native English. Becoming a professional live dealer is not as easy as one might think, as they require a proper education. There are plenty of professional croupier schools providing intense training to further enhance your live dealer gaming experience online. UK residents can also chat to live dealers in real time, thanks to a live chat facility, and enjoy friendly and helpful support from each of these live dealers. In addition, there are loads of UK friendly live dealer games available online, and all of this is made possible by the UK Gambling Commission.
In this review, I will take you through the UK gambling jurisdiction and regulations, provide some of the top rated live dealer casinos available in the United Kingdom, and give you a brief description of the live dealer games you can expect to play at each of these live casinos.
Top Live Casinos In The UK
| Rank | Online Casino | Bonus | Devices | Rating | Review | Play |
1st |
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$888Welcome Bonus |
Play Now | |||
2nd |
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£100Welcome Bonus |
Play Now | |||
3rd |
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$1000Welcome Bonus |
Play Now | |||
4th |
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$2500Welcome Bonus |
Play Now | |||
5th |
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£300Welcome Bonus |
Play Now |
Legality of live casinos in the UK
Unlike many other regions spread across the world, the United Kingdom gambling laws that relating to live casinos and live dealer games are relatively straightforward. There are some complicated sections of the legislation, but this only applies to those that offer gambling services in the country.
For UK citizens looking to bet online the laws are easy to understand. Most gambling forms in the United Kingdom, including online gambling, are legal and the online gaming industry is extremely well regulated.
The UK Gambling Commission, answering to the government’s Department of Culture, Sport, and Media, regulates the industry under the terms of the Gambling Act of 2005. It’s worth mentioning that this does not include spread betting, as the Financial Conduct Authority regulates this. They also ensure that operators offering gambling services, including online gambling, meet the required standards.
As a result, gaming and betting is a huge business in the United Kingdom. There are plenty of poker rooms and land based casinos throughout the region along with hundreds of different retail betting shops. There’s also many UK-based online gambling sites, and an abundance of foreign based online sites providing their services legally to UK residents.
The Gambling Act of 2005 & The UK Gambling Commission
The Gambling Act of 2005 introduced the UK Gambling Commission and within two years assumed full control. The UK Gambling Commission took over most of the responsibilities previously held by the Great Britain Gaming Board, and became responsible for online gambling regulation.
In 2013, it also took over regulation from the National Lottery Commission. As per the Gambling Act of 2005, the UK Gambling Commission has the right to issue a license to gambling operators and revoke licenses or impose fines if necessary. The Gambling Act of 2005 states the objectives of the UK Gambling Commission are as follows:
- To prevent gambling from becoming a source of disorder or crime, be associated with disorder or crime, or be used to support crime.
- To ensure gambling is conducted in an open and fair way.
- To protect vulnerable people and children from being exploited or harmed by gambling.
When it comes to offering online gambling services to the residents of the United Kingdom, only companies with their operations based in the United Kingdom can receive a license by the UK Gambling Commission. However, the UK Gambling Commission does have a whitelist of gambling jurisdictions that are approved. Operators who their obtained licenses from within the approved jurisdictions can also offer their services to UK customers.
As a resident in the United Kingdom, you can safely gamble online knowing that it’s legal to do so. The only factor will be your age, so if you’re 18 or over, you are more than welcome to register with a live casino. You will have a plethora of online sites that will warmly welcome you, including all the most reputable and biggest in the United Kingdom. Compared to other players across the globe, you have it quite easy, and one of the most difficult factors will be to choose a live casino site to join. Luckily, I have included my top live dealer casinos to help you do just that.
Top Rated Live Casinos in the UK
Not all live casinos in the United Kingdom have a UK license. UK residents are therefore restricted to live dealer games from the following software providers:
- Evolution Gaming: A total of 8 live dealer games streamed from studios in Malta and Riga.
- Extreme Live Gaming: A total of 3 live dealer games streamed from studios based in Brentford, London
- MediaLive: A total of 3 live dealer games streamed from studios based in Gibraltar
- Playtech: A total of 7 live dealer games streamed from studios in Philippines and Latvia
- NetEnt: A total of 2 live dealer games streamed from studios based in Malta
There are several live casinos that don’t hold a UK gambling license and still pursue UK players. Most of them are based offshore and therefore pay no taxes to the government. Keep in mind that it’s not illegal to play at any of these live dealer sites, in fact, some of the most reputable ones are listed on my site. So, in my opinion, these are the top-rated UK live casinos offering live dealer games to UK residents:
Grosvenor Live Casino
Grosvenor recently went through a major revamp with their live casino and made a smart investment by moving their dedicated tables from the Evolution Gaming studios in Riga to the studios based in Malta. They produced a brand-new area hosting 7 different blackjack tables and 1 Roulette table with plenty of additional space to expand.
As mentioned, Grosvenor utilises Evolution Gaming software and provide an arsenal of live dealer games, including Blackjack, Casino Hold’em, Roulette, Caribbean Stud Poker, Ultimate Texas Hold’em, Dreamcatcher, and Three Card Poker. They also offer a fantastic range of stakes along with a comprehensive set of payment methods, excellent promotions, and superb customer support.
Genting Casino
Genting Live Casino also received a marvellous makeover in 2016 by investing quite heavily in getting things right. They ended up with two dedicated studios, including Crocksford Live Casino for high rollers and Genting for regular players.
Genting is arguably the best destination for a studio-based live casino experience and Evolution Gaming can be thanked for supplying the software. Players can look forward to a host of different live dealer games, including Blackjack, Ultimate Texas Hold’em, Baccarat, Three Card Poker, Caribbean Stud Poker, Casino Hold’em, Roulette, and Dreamcatcher. The stakes are more on the lower side at Genting and there’s no drama with their trusted banking section. The same can be said about their excellent customer support.
LeoVegas Live Casino
LeoVegas might have only launched their live casino in 2015 but they are showing their competitors how it should be done with a remarkable 7 different software developers providing power to their live casino. LeoVegas also has its very own dealing room known as the ‘Chambre Separee‘ that is based in Evolution Gaming’s studios. The live dealer games will be country restricted, so not all the games will be available to UK residents, but this doesn’t mean that you’ll be limited to game choice.
Players can expect to play live dealer games that are either streamed from land based casinos or from studios and includes every live dealer game imaginable. They offer a great range of different stakes to suit any type of player and a complete set of payment methods to fund your account. Players will also be impressed by their promotions and bonuses, as well as their friendly and helpful casino representatives when something goes wrong, which is quite rare.
William Hill Live Casino
William Hill is renowned as one of the best live casinos in the world with more dedicated tables than any other live casino online.
To find an open seat will never be a problem and there’s a selection of dedicated tables with different themes, so you can enjoy a different atmosphere depending on your mood.
The live casino is powered by two of the leading software providers, including Playtech and Evolution Gaming. They further impress with a staggering selection of live dealer games, including Roulette, Blackjack, Dreamcatcher, Ultimate Texas Hold’em, Casino Hold’em, Baccarat, and Three Card Poker. They also offer both low and high stakes and a wide range of payment methods. Players will also be generously welcomed with unforgettable promotions and bonuses along with top-notch customer support to look after your every need.
