Ian Bruce became interested in betting in 1987, when he landed a winning Yankee on his first attempt. That stroke of luck (and he its that's exactly what it was) sparked an interest in understanding the strategies behind successful wagers. Over the years, he has become one of the UK's most prolific writers on betting and gaming, and is best known for his systematic approach to winning. Ian's career in the industry now spans over three decades. His favorite betting method is Dutching because, in his words, "It's the one I win with more often than not."
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Pavel dedicated seven years to working with Unibet, the flagship brand of Kindred, before ing SportsCasting.com in 2024. He holds an MBA in Marketing and, as a Senior Editor, ensures the accuracy and reliability of the site's content. Pavel is committed to promoting responsible gambling, stressing the importance of setting limits and making informed choices to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for all.
All posts by pavelpudakovEurope has some of the finest real-world casinos around, but there are countless more European online casinos that you can visit without even leaving your armchair. In this article, we look at why UK players might want to explore European casinos, why it’s both safe and legal to do so, and what you can expect from them.
Why Play at European Online Casinos?
Casino fans in this country already have access to gaming sites that our own UK Gambling Commission regulates, and the best of them are featured on our online casino sites page. That being the case, why would anyone feel the need to play at European online casinos that the UKGC doesn’t regulate? There are actually several very good answers to this question. Here are some of the main ones:
Greater Range of Games
The first reason why many people like to play at European casinos is simply to get access to a greater range of games. Just as different countries have different tastes in food and music, so they can also have different tastes in the types of games they play at online casinos. g up to play at European gambling sites allows you to explore and enjoy titles that might not be available at the average casino in the UK.
Additional Game Features
There are some game features that the UKGC have deliberately made unavailable to players via the casinos it licenses. For example, many popular slot games these days are designed to give players the option of triggering a special feature (such as free spins) by paying to do so. But the UKGC has banned that “buy bonus” option in the name of keeping players safe. Other regulators aren’t nearly so strict in this area, so when you play at EU online casinos, you’ll get access to the full set of game features instead of just some of them.
Alternative Payment Methods
While there are plenty of payment methods that are accepted by UKGC casinos, you’ll have even more at EU casinos that accept UK players. Consider credit cards, for example. These used to be accepted at UK casinos, but the UKGC banned them for all gambling purposes in April 2020. Similarly, you won’t find any UKGC-regulated site that accepts cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum. That isn’t the case at European online casinos, many of which accept both credit cards and crypto, along with the usual debit cards and eWallets.
Even More Bonuses
The range of bonuses that are available at European casinos online can also be more varied than those at sites regulated by the UKGC. The types of offers that you’re most likely to come across will be discussed later in this article. Of course, the bonuses made available will still have and conditions attached, but you may well find those to be a little more generous to players, with lower wagering requirements available to those who shop around.
Just As Legal
Finally, it’s just as legal to play at European online casinos as it is to play at those that the UKGC licenses. There is certainly no law that prevents you from doing so. It can also be just as safe as long as you are careful to play at a site that is licensed by an alternative regulatory body. You can rest assured that all of the European casinos for UK players that are detailed on this page meet that criteria, allowing you to play legally and safely but without many of the restrictions that are present at UKGC sites.
Regulated Casino Markets
Gambling in Europe is big business. There are said to be 29 million active gamblers in alone, and there are another 27 million in . That puts both of those countries in the same league as the UK (which has 29 million active gamblers), and there are plenty of other European nations that aren’t far behind.
EU regulations provide a general framework that governs gambling in Europe, but each country remains in control of its own rules within that framework. For example, cross-border gambling in is regulated by the Glücksspielbehörde, while the Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ) governs gambling in Spain.
The rules that apply in regulated casino markets are, as always, subject to change from time to time. In the Netherlands, for example, a Remote Gambling Act came into force in 2021, and the regulations imposed by that Act were tightened further in 2023, effectively banning most forms of untargeted gambling advertising. As this article is being written, further restrictions are being considered. Similarly, in Finland, the national betting agency, Veikkaus, is considering opening its market (it’s currently a monopoly) to allow overseas operators to apply for licenses.
While the European casino landscape is constantly changing, UK players can be confident that online venues will always operate lawfully if they are properly licensed.
European Licensing Bodies
We have already mentioned the licensing and regulation of Euro casinos a few times, so it makes sense for us to pause and discuss the topic in a bit more depth. As in the UK, for an EU casino to be considered legal, it needs to operate under a license issued by a recognised regulatory body. Some of the main ones that are working hard to keep online casinos safe and secure for players are detailed below.
UK Gambling Commission (UKGC)
The UK Gambling Commission was established in the Gambling Act 2005. We’re mentioning it here because many operators that want to specifically position their European casinos for UK players will do so by obtaining a license from the UKGC. If you play at an EU online casino with a UKGC license, you can be sure that it meets very high standards. Of course, it will also be prevented from offering things that are banned by the UKGC, such as buy bonus features and the ability to make deposits via credit cards or cryptocurrencies.
Malta Gaming Authority (MGA)
The Malta Gaming Authority is, next to the UKGC, one of the most respected gambling regulators around. It was established in 2001 and oversees a wide range of gambling activities, including online casinos, sports betting and even lotteries. The MGA is famous for its high standards, so if a casino has a license from this regulator it will be just as safe, secure, and fair as one that’s licensed by the UKGC. Indeed, before the UKGC was established in 2005, the MGA logo on a site was the only seal of approval players needed.
Curaçao Gaming Control Board (GCB)
The Curaçao Gaming Control Board has been issuing online gambling licenses since the late 1990s. It is known as being a rather liberal licensing authority, so it’s easier for an operator to get a license from the GCB than from a stricter regulator such as the MGA or UKGC. Even so, the fact that a casino operator goes to the trouble of obtaining a license says quite a bit about their intention to conduct their business in a legal and above-board manner.
Gibraltar Regulatory Authority (GRA)
Gibraltar has been the home of online gambling companies for decades. Because it’s a British Overseas Territory, it tends to take much the same approach to online gaming regulation as the UK. Indeed, as far as its reputation is concerned, the Gambling Regulatory Authority is on par with the UKGC, and it operates in accordance with the aforementioned Gambling Act of 2005.
Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC)
Established in 2000, the Alderney Gambling Commission is another regulator with high standards. Its criteria for awarding eGambling licenses are set out in its Alderney eGambling Regulations 2009 document, and if you read – or wade – through all the rules and regulations outlined there, you’ll see that AGCC licensees have to be just as fair and safe for players as those regulated by other bodies.
Many other regulatory bodies are also keeping European casino players safe, but the ones above are the main ones. Stick with sites regulated by any of them, and you won’t go far wrong.
How Are EU Gambling Winnings Taxed?
The European Union doesn’t impose blanket rules on member states regarding the taxation of gambling winnings. Instead, each country sets its own policy on this matter. The rules vary from country to country, but some general rules of thumb to be aware of are presented below.
Gambling winnings in the UK, and Italy are generally tax-free unless you’re a professional gambler. Note also that Italy treats lottery winnings quite differently, and those are subject to tax.
Most EU nations tax professional gamblers differently from those who gamble as a hobby. Casual casino players are typically exempt from paying tax on winnings or will do so at a lower rate than their professional counterparts.
Spain taxes all gambling winnings, whether you’re a professional or casual player. However, it also allows winning players to offset losses against their tax bill.
Note that while the UK doesn’t tax winnings, if you win cash from a casino based in another European country, you may be subject to the taxation laws of that country. It is your responsibility as a player to look into this personally should you be lucky enough to win. If in doubt, stick with casinos that are licensed and regulated by the UKGC.
Popular Casino Bonuses
The European online casino industry is just as competitive as the one in the UK, if not even more so. That means casino sites are all doing whatever they can to attract and retain new players, and one of the main ways they do this is by offering customers a variety of bonuses. Here are the main types of bonuses and promotions you can expect at EU casinos and how they work.
Welcome Bonuses
These are designed to encourage potential customers to sign up with a Euro casino, make a deposit and start playing the available games. When you do that, in accordance with the and conditions of the offer, you’ll be rewarded in some way. Often, your reward will be a number of free spins or a sum of bonus money related to the size of your first deposit, up to a stated maximum. The best European casinos will give you both free spins and bonus money, which is twice as nice!
No Deposit Bonuses
At a few EU casinos that accept UK players no deposit offers might also be made. As the term suggests, these don’t require any deposit, so the reward is given to anyone who qualifies in another way. Often it’s just for being an existing member of a casino. For example, the best casinos in Europe will give existing players a bunch of free spins every month or even every week to try out a featured game.
Cashback Offers
Even if you’ve read our guide to How to Win at Slots, the chances of you winning money week in and week out at an online casino are slim to none. For that reason, many European casinos online will treat their players by returning some of their losses as cashback. To give you an example, a casino might offer 10% cashback on losses experienced each month. If you were to lose €100 at the end of the month, you’d get €10 in cashback. This cashback is usually awarded as bonus money rather than cash, but it will at least give you another bite at the gaming cherry.
Free Spins
We’ve mentioned free spins already in relation to welcome offers and no-deposit bonuses, but they’re so popular with players that they’re worth mentioning separately. They don’t usually have a massive individual value (a typical online casino in Europe might give away free spins worth €0.10 each), but they tend to be awarded in multiples of 10, so they’re still worth claiming. Sometimes, a casino will give you as many as 50 or 100 free spins.
Free spins are generally given to existing customers for use on a specific game or selection of games that the casino wants to highlight, but with welcome offers, you can just as often use them on a much wider range of slots.
Loyalty Programs
Loyalty programs are aimed squarely at the existing customers of an EU casino. They are designed to encourage loyalty and give individual rewards based on a player’s gaming activity over a given period. For example, you might be given free spins or bonus casino money when you wager a specific sum over the course of a month.
With a regular loyalty program, players are usually enrolled automatically when they sign up to a casino. In other cases, the program will be reserved for “VIPs only,” and players will only be invited if their wagering activity gets them into the club. We prefer the former approach, as it’s far less exclusive, and we believe that all players should be rewarded for their loyalty.
European Online Casino Games
Euro casino games aren’t at all dissimilar from the ones that you can play at sites licensed by the UKGC. You’ll find slots, table games, live games and all the other genres that you’ve come to know and love. That said, there will be a few differences that are worth noting, so in this section, we take a look at the main genres and tell you what those differences are.
Slots
The best European casinos will have all your favourite slot games, and they may well have even more. That’s because they will feature games from providers in their own countries that might not be quite as active in the UK. The biggest difference with Euro slot sites, however, is that they will often have more features. Things like autoplay, the ability to speed up reel spins and the option to buy the bonus feature are all banned by the UKGC, but they’re perfectly acceptable features as far as many other respected regulators are concerned.
Jackpot Slots
European online casino players like having the chance to win big from a spin of the slot reels as we do, so you’ll find plenty of progressive jackpot slots waiting for you in Euro casino lobbies. These will work in much the same way as they do at UK sites. What you do need to note, however, is that you might have to pay tax on your winnings if you‘re lucky enough to actually land a jackpot. It depends on the country that hosts the casino you’re playing at, as discussed earlier, but it’s a point worth bearing in mind.
Blackjack
Blackjack is one of the most popular casino games in the world, so you’ll find numerous versions of it when you play at European online casinos. One of the best-loved versions, as you might expect, is European Blackjack. Here, the dealer is only dealt one card, face up, before you, as the player, make your decisions. Only when your betting is complete is the dealer’s second card dealt. That means you could lose more than in a regular game, as you might have already made the decision to split or double down, and so on before you get to that point. Of course, classic blackjack, as played in the UK and the US, will also be available.
Roulette
Another game that all but the newest casino players have enjoyed at least once is roulette. Again, the best European online casinos will have multiple versions of the game in their lobbies, and European Roulette is likely to be more common than American Roulette. That’s good news because the European version has just one zero on the wheel, so the house edge is lower, and the game is fairer to players. Another popular version to look out for is French Roulette. This is a variation of European Roulette that features a “racetrack” betting layout and returns half your stake if you bet on an even money shot and the ball lands in the single zero.
Live Table Games
Table games that are run by live dealers are just as popular on the Continent as they are here, so you’ll find lots of live casino games at the best European online casinos. Blackjack, Roulette, Three Card Poker and all your other favourites should be pretty easy to find. The big difference when playing at EU casinos is that the live dealers won’t always present the games in the English language. Of course, if you’re looking to brush up on your French, Spanish, German or Italian – to name just four of the possibilities – playing live games could be just as educational as it is enjoyable.
Live Game Shows
Last, but not least, European online casinos will give you access to a wide range of game show titles. Those will include all of the big titles, such as Dream Catcher, Crazy Time, Sweet Bonanza Candyland, and so on. It’s possible that you might also come across titles that are aimed at more local audiences, which makes things even more interesting. As with live table games, you can expect EU casino presenters to speak in other languages in addition to English from time to time, but that’s all part of the charm.
Popular Casino Games Providers
The companies that create and provide games to casinos are always keen to see them being played by as many people as possible. That means they tend to offer their games to casinos around the world, so you’ll recognise many of the brands when you visit an online casino in Europe. Naturally, some providers are particularly popular in Europe, so here are the ones that have the biggest presence at the time of writing:
 Microgaming |
 Blueprint |
 Playtech |
 Pragmatic |
Evolution |
 Play’n GO |
 Big Time Gaming |
 NetEnt |
Payment Methods at European Online Casinos
We mentioned earlier that you’ll have more payment options at the best online casinos the EU has to offer than you do at those regulated by the UKGC. Here’s a summary of the main options you can expect to be able to choose from when you make your first visit to a cashier.
Credit Cards
While the UKGC banned the use of credit cards for gambling purposes in 2020, no such ban was imposed by European regulators. That means you can use a credit card to make a casino Europe deposit at most sites. Of course, you should still be responsible and only deposit money that you can afford to lose, but if you like the convenience of credit cards, you’ll be free to use them.
Debit Cards
Most debit cards issued by banks in the UK will work just as well as European online casinos as they do here. It could happen that your bank questions the first transaction you make, especially if you only usually use your card in the UK, but all that means is that you’ll have to that it’s really you making the deposit. This can normally be done via your mobile banking app.
eWallets
eWallets are another option at European online casinos that you’re likely to be familiar with already. All of the big methods should be available, including PayPal, but obviously, not every method will be accepted by every casino. If you have a preferred eWallet that you want to use to make a deposit, be sure to check that a casino accepts it before g up.
Cryptocurrencies
It’s next to impossible to find a UKGC-regulated casino that accepts crypto deposits. That’s not because it’s illegal but only because current UKGC rules make it difficult for crypto casinos (with their emphasis on privacy, if not anonymity) to comply with player ID verification rules. There’s no such problem at most European casinos, so you’ll find that you can use Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and other cryptocurrencies to make deposits with a growing number of crypto casinos.
Can UK Punters Play at European Casinos?
As you should have guessed by now, the answer to this question is an unequivocal yes. UK players are always welcome at European online casinos, and it’s perfectly legal for you to sign up and play with them. Just that if the casino you play at isn’t licensed by the UK Gambling Commission, you won’t be protected by UKGC rules and regulations. Another thing to is that European casinos aren’t governed by UK organisations such as GAMSTOP.
On the plus side, the best European online casinos will be licensed by different and often just as capable regulatory organisations, such as the Malta Gaming Authority. You’ll also have more games to choose from, more features in those games, and more ways to make deposits.
FAQs
Do European online casinos accept UK players?
Is it legal to play at European online casinos?
Are European online casinos safe?
Can I make EU casino deposits with cryptocurrencies?
