The Gambling Commission remit ends at the border of UKGC-licensed operators. Offshore sites offering remote gambling to UK customers without a licence commit an offence under the Gambling Act 2005.
UK Gambling Commission · · · gamblingcommission.gov.uk
What this site covers
Six chapters, each opening the topic and linking to the full page.
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Chapter 01
GamStop explained
GamStop is the national online self-exclusion register for remote gambling in Great Britain. It is operated by the National Online Self-Exclusion Scheme Limited, a company limited by guarantee, funded through contributions from UKGC-licensed remote operators and formally endorsed by the UK Gambling Commission as the required self-exclusion mechanism for the licensed remote market.
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Chapter 02
The legal position
The short answer is that a UK adult who places a stake with an offshore operator does not, by that act alone, commit an offence under the Gambling Act 2005. The Act creates an offence at section 33 that is squarely directed at the operator, at the party providing facilities for gambling to a customer in Great Britain without a UKGC licence.
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Chapter 03
The risks explained
UKGC oversight of a licensed operator is a continuous exercise. It includes annual regulatory returns, quarterly complaint intake, targeted compliance assessments, thematic reviews on identified risk areas, sanctions where breaches are found, and public statements that name the operator and describe the finding.
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Chapter 04
Payments and checks
The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017, cited throughout this page as the MLR 2017, are the domestic statutory instrument that carries the fourth and fifth EU Anti-Money-Laundering Directives into UK law, updated by the amending regulations of 2019 and 2022 and read against the sixth directive for scope. For casino operators the Regulations trigger customer due diligence at a single transaction of 2,000 euro or its sterling equivalent, and enhanced due diligence at 10,000 euro across a series of linked transactions, both figures measured in stakes plus withdrawals rather than net position.
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Chapter 05
Coming off GamStop
This page is written to serve a specific and narrow purpose. It sets out, in plain paragraphs, the single official pathway by which a UK adult who is enrolled on the GamStop national self-exclusion scheme can end that registration at the point at which the fixed-term period reaches expiry.
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Chapter 06
Getting support
The National Gambling Helpline is delivered by GamCare, funded through the Statutory Levy on gambling operators that came into force on 6 April 2025 under the Gambling Levy Regulations 2025, and available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, on 0808 8020 133. It is free from any UK landline or mobile, it does not appear on itemised bills, and it can be used by the person who is gambling, by a partner, a parent, an adult child, a colleague or a friend.