UK Casinos
Casinos have grown in popularity in the UK over recent years thanks to several changes in the law and the resulting increase in number of more attractive, appealing facilities. There are now over a hundred and twenty casinos in the United Kingdom including over twenty five in London alone.
In addition to the huge growth in popularity of casinos as an entertainment destination in the UK there has been an enormous surge in the number and variety of internet casinos. Online gambling has been one of the internet’s biggest growth industries and it is now possible to play a range of casino games from the comfort on your own armchair. There are many UK based casinos all competing with one another to offer the best odds, prizes and bonuses for new and existing players.
Online casinos work in much the same way as ordinary casinos. Some require the user to download some software to enable the punter to play certain games but the basic principle of play is the same as a traditional venue.
The rise in popularity of casino gambling in the UK over recent years can be traced to the Gambling Act passed in 2005. Prior to this casinos has been smaller “members only” facilities which players had to join in order to participate in table games. There were also restrictions on the number of slot games that a casino could house.
The Act of 2005 relaxed the laws and so it is now possible to attend a casino without having previously been a “member”. Casinos require that a visitor provides one or two forms of identification but now punters can gain entry to a casino spontaneously without having to join a club in advance. The law also brought online gaming under regulation for the first time.
There are many large and reputable casino operators in the UK. The main high street clubs are operated by Gala, Grosvenor, Mint and Circus and these offer traditional table games (roulette, black jack, craps) and gaming machines. There are many online casinos in operation run by companies as diverse as Intercasino, Virgin and PartyCasino. Existing well-known bookmakers chains such as Ladbrokes, William Hill and Betfair also have a strong online casino presence in the UK.
Most UK internet casino sites offer the same table games as a punter would expect to find in their local club. Card games including baccarat, black jack, stud poker and Pai Gow poker are generally available in addition to other table games including European Roulette (only a single zero on the wheel) and craps. There are also a wide range of slot machines available in many online casinos.
One of the advantages of UK online casinos is that almost all of them offer players a series of bonuses on a punter’s initial sign-up and as a regular player. The bonuses are normally in the form of either a cash lump sum or the casino will, for example, double a punter’s initial stake.
The three main factors to consider when punting at a UK casino are these:
- Is it regulated? the casino should be regulated in the United Kingdom or within a recognised European jurisdiction
- The casino offers fast payouts. Many so-called “rogue” casinos deliberately make it difficult for punters to withdraw winnings in the hope that they will continue to punt their winnings in that particular casino. It is essential that an online punter finds a site which ensures fast payouts for any winnings. For example, casino site William Hill allows UK based punters to collect their casino winnings from any of their high street bookmaker stores.
- The casino has a secure banking system. As with any online transaction a punter should ensure that the casino they use has the highest standards of security when handling cash transactions.
Another main advantage of using a UK based online casino is that the websites themselves have superb gambling resources. Many of the sites have extensive “help” sections which provide punters with tutorials on how to play certain casino games, what to do in certain situations and explanations of both the rules of casino games and methods for profitable play. For example, may UK casinos offer a black jack guide to enable punters to know whether they should stick, hit, double down or split depending on the cards they and the dealer are dealt.
Whilst there may be a wide variety of both high street and online casinos available to punters in the UK there has yet to be a public consensus about the opening of huge Las Vegas style “super casinos” along the lines of the Treasury in Brisbane or Star City in Sydney. The 2005 Gambling Act intended to permit the building of larger casinos in the United Kingdom but opposition to the proposals was fierce and by the time the Act came into force the Government had reduced their commitment to one single super-casino. This was then shelved in 2008 which means that casinos in the UK will remain small, town-centre based facilities rather than giant gambling resorts.
The casino industry in the UK is thriving after the relaxation of the gambling laws in the last decade made it easier for casual punters to play the variety of casino games on offer. The rise in popularity of online gambling also contributed to the huge number of reputable casinos online all offering very lucrative bonuses to play their table and slot games.
