Are Your Casino Funds Safe? Understanding UK Gambling Commission Protection Levels
Why a UKGC Licence Doesn’t Always Mean Your Money is Protected
From the Gambling Commission’s website: “Money staked or deposited with a gambling business is not protected by the Commission or government the way that personal bank accounts are.”
In this article we look at what happens to player funds in the rare event that an online gambling operator becomes insolvent.
You may think that your balance would be safe, but that is not always true. Some operators hold your money in legally protected arrangements. Others keep it separate from business funds but offer no guarantee if the company fails.
The UKGC requires operators to disclose if and how they protect customer funds. There are three levels of protection. We explain where to find this information on any gambling site further down the page.
The Three UKGC Protection Levels
Not Protected
- This is the weakest level, offering no meaningful protection.
- Your money may be held separately from the operator’s business funds, but there is no legal guarantee of repayment if the company becomes insolvent.
- You would join other creditors in the administration process and it is possible that you would get little or nothing back.
- In October 2025, the regulator added a condition that licensees with ‘Not Protected’ status should actively remind customers of this every six months, effectively acknowledging the risk is significant enough to require ongoing disclosure.
Medium Protection
- This is better than ‘Not Protected’ but still not a complete guarantee.
- It is required that arrangements are in place to protect customer funds, but there is still some risk they would not be fully repaid if the operator fails.
- The arrangement typically involves insurance, a trust arrangement, or a guarantee from a third party, but with limitations or conditions.
High Protection
- The highest level of protection
- Customer funds are held in an independent trust or an equivalent arrangement that ensures full repayment even if the operator becomes insolvent.
- Your money is legally ring-fenced and protected from the operator’s creditors.
Do Gambling Operator’s Ever Fail?
In practice it’s rare. But it can happen. Here are some examples.
- Genesis Global – a popular operator who held a UKGC license from 2014 to 2022, running a group of sites including Genesis Casino. In January 2022 the company fined £3.8 million for anti-money laundering and social responsibility failures. Later that year they filed for insolvency.
- Football Index – a high-profile case, Football Index was a unique gambling proposition where members of the site bought ‘shares’ in players on a virtual stock market. In March 2021 the company went into administration after it ran out of money and could no longer afford to pay the ‘dividends’.
These cases show that licensed operators can and do fail. It’s a competitive industry and businesses sometimes push too hard to maintain their position. Regulatory fines, market pressures, or poor financial management can all push even established companies over the edge.How to Check Your Casino’s Protection Level
How to Check Your Casino’s Protection Level
UKGC-licensed operators must display their customer funds protection status in their terms and conditions, usually under a section titled ‘Customer Funds’ or ‘Protection of Funds.’ It should be relatively easy to find.
Here’s how you can find your casino’s protection level.
- It’s a good idea to make sure that your casino is UK-licensed. Do this by checking the footer of the website for a licence number, then verify it on the UKGC public register. Usually if you click the number in the footer it will take you directly to the operator’s account page.
- Browse to the site’s terms and conditions and search for ‘customer funds,’ ‘protection of funds,’ or ‘insolvency.’
- If you can’t find the information there, contact customer support and ask directly: ‘What is your UKGC customer funds protection level?’
- You can also check our own casino reviews. We publish the protection level in the Safety and Trust section.
What Are The Most Common Protection Levels?
As we grow our database of casino reviews we will publish the balance protection levels of each operator here. So far we have found that most operators fall into the ‘Medium’ protection category.
Presumably businesses consider this to be adequate to build trust, without having the cost of completely ring-fencing the funds.
Still, some operators, including SuprPlay (Duelz Casino) and Recro Ltd (Casumo), are rated ‘Not Protected’. Both are established companies and on the face of it appear unlikely to go bust, but you can never know for sure.
Balance Protection Levels By Operator
| Operator | Flagship Brands | UK GC Account Number | Protection Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Star Planet Ltd | 10bet | 43173 | Medium |
| Recro Ltd | Casumo | 61549 | Not Protected |
| Dribble Media Ltd | Midnite | 42647 | Medium |
| Grace Media (Gibraltar) ltd | Cosmic Spins | 57869 | Not Protected |
| Eaton Gate Gaming Ltd | Kwiff | 4448 | Medium |
| L and L Europe Ltd | Pub Casino | 38758 | Medium |
| Skill on Net Ltd | Play OJO | 39326 | Medium |
| SuprPlay Ltd | Duelz Casino | 48695 | Not Protected |
| Tek Fox Ltd | MrQ | 60629 | Medium |
| White Hat Gaming Ltd | 247Bet | 52894 | Medium |
Frequently Asked Questions
Does ‘Not Protected’ mean the casino is unsafe?
No. It means there is no legal guarantee your funds would be returned if the operator became insolvent. The casino can still be fair, regulated, and trustworthy in its day-to-day operations. It is a financial risk, not a fairness or fraud issue. The Genesis case shows that even well-established licensed operators can fail — which is why the protection level matters.
Should I avoid ‘Not Protected’ casinos?
That depends on your risk tolerance. If you keep large balances in your casino account for extended periods, you may prefer Medium or High protection. If you deposit, play, and withdraw within the same session, the practical risk is lower. Consider the operator’s history too — a long-established group like SuprPlay (licensed since 2017) presents different risk than a new entrant with no track record.
Can an operator change its protection level?
Yes. Operators must notify the UKGC of any change to their protection arrangements and update their terms accordingly. Check periodically if this matters to you.
Do other regulators require this disclosure?
The UKGC is unusual in requiring explicit disclosure of protection levels. Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) licensees must segregate funds but do not use the same three-tier system. Other jurisdictions vary significantly.
Why is balance protection not included in the All Slot Sites Standard Safety and Trust rating?
Our Safety and Trust score focuses on regulatory compliance, responsible gambling tools, security standards, and player reputation. Funds protection is a separate consumer transparency issue. We believe it deserves its own attention — hence this article — rather than being folded into a score that measures different things. We do review our methodology periodically so that could change.
Conclusion
A UK GC license is a strong safety and trust signal, but it doesn’t guarantee that your money will is safe. Licensed operators can still go under. If they do, the protection level published in the site’s terms determines whether you get your money back or join the queue of unsecured creditors.
Fortunately, most players will never have to face that situation. Customer funds protection level is there to tell you what would happen in the worst case scenario. But if you play regularly, keep significant balances, or simply want to understand the full picture, checking your casino’s protection level is worth the two minutes it takes.
The UKGC’s October 2025 rule change — requiring ‘Not Protected’ operators to remind customers every six months — shows the regulator takes this seriously. Players should too.
Further Reading
Gambling Commission Rules – https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/public-and-players/guide/what-happens-to-your-money-if-a-gambling-business-goes-bust
Football Index Collapse – https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56401707
