European online casinos are almost as popular with UK players as they are with gaming fans on the continent. But why are Brits choosing to play at EU sites when there are so many great casinos operating on our own shores? There are actually several good reasons. We’ll explore all of them here, and then we’ll explain how you can find an EU casino that’s safe, secure and suits your needs in every way.
As a casino gaming fan in the UK, you can play at any online venue you want to. It doesn’t matter if the casino is based in London, Paris, Madrid, or somewhere even further afield. You just need to be aware that not all casinos are equal. And when you play at casinos that aren’t licensed by the UK Gambling Commission, that particular regulator won’t have your back if you run into a problem. Fortunately, there are plenty of other trusted regulators around, so if you restrict yourself to playing at EU casinos that are properly licensed by one of those, you can enjoy all of their benefits without any issue.
Gaming fans enjoy playing at European casinos online because they have a number of advantages over those based in the UK. Here are just some of the things that Brits love about playing at the best online casinos Europe has to offer.
One reason why people enjoy travelling abroad is because they like to explore different ways of doing things. Many of the games we love at UK casinos will also be available at European online casinos, but there will also be some subtle variations of them, as well as games that simply aren’t available here. For example, French Roulette is a lot more common on the continent than it is here, and so are slot games that reflect European cultural themes.
The UKGC has set strict limits on stakes for online slots (£2 per spin if you’re 18 to 24 and £5 per spin if you’re 25 and over). Those limits apply irrespective of how large your bankroll is. Outside the UK, other regulators allow players more freedom, and that means you’ll often find higher stake limits at EU casinos.
Another thing that the UKGC has limited in the name of keeping players safe are certain game features. For example, you can’t have a Buy Bonus feature on a slot game in the UK. Nor can you spin the reels faster or get the game to play itself on Auto Play mode. Even the ability to play slots for free in Demo Mode has been restricted. The good news is that all of these features and more are commonly available at European casinos online.
UK casinos are often wary of advertising big bonuses for players because the UKGC might accuse them of encouraging people to gamble. European casinos that are beyond the remit of our own regulator have no such reservations. That means you’ll often find their bonuses and promotions to be a lot more generous than the ones you’re used to here.
Another reason why Brits love to play at EU casinos that accept UK players is because they tend to accept more payment options. For example, you can’t make gambling deposits using a credit card in the UK, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a UKGC casino that accepts cryptocurrencies. In Europe, however, both options are available, and the number of crypto casinos in operation is increasing at a particularly rapid rate.
To further illustrate the difference between UKGC casinos and those licensed by other EU regulators, here’s a table showing how they compare in several key areas:
| Feature | UKGC Casinos | EU Casinos |
| Buy Bonus | No | Yes |
| Auto Play | No | Yes |
| Demo Mode | No | Yes |
| Maximum Slot Stake | £2/£5 | N/A |
| Deposit by Credit Cards | No | Yes |
| Deposit by Crypto | No | Yes |
Because most European casinos won’t be regulated by the UKGC, you need to be particularly careful about which ones you sign up with. Fortunately, spotting the best and safest casinos around isn’t difficult. All you have to do is make sure they have all of the features detailed below:
First and foremost, you should check to confirm that the Euro casino you’re considering is licensed and regulated. Trusted regulators include the Malta Gaming Authority, the Curaçao Gaming Control Board, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, and more. Check the footer of the casino you’re looking at and make sure that it displays a valid licence number. This will confirm that the casino is properly regulated and that it will be doing its utmost to provide a safe, fair and honest gaming environment.
Next, take a look at the games that the casino is offering. If you have particular games or slots titles that you want to be able to play then you should obviously make sure that those are present. Beyond that, check to see that there is a broad range of games available and that they are of good quality. We expect blockbuster games from plenty of big names at the best online casinos Europe has to offer, and if a venue also offers a selection of niche games and exclusive titles, so much the better.
The easier an EU online casino is to use, the better. The best sites are those that make things as smooth and intuitive for players as possible. Look for games to be nicely categorised so that you can find and launch whatever title you’re interested in within a few taps. There should also be a search bar so that you can find specific games by name. Games should run smoothly, and it should be easy to make deposits and withdrawals.
We mentioned earlier that the bonuses and promotions at European gambling sites tend to be much more generous than they are here, so don’t get short-changed. Take a look at the bonuses available for new players and the promotions you can take advantage of if you stick around for the long term. Also, remember to take a look at the wagering requirements that will be attached to them. If you aren’t suitably impressed by what you see, then look elsewhere.
Making deposits and withdrawals should be no more complicated than making any other kind of financial transaction online. Explore the banking options that the casino offers and confirm that at least a handful are suitable for you. If you have a preferred way to make deposits and withdrawals, you should obviously check to see that the casino offers it. There are plenty of crypto and credit card casinos around, and most of the best will also accept eWallets, so just make sure that you’re happy with the methods available.
The best European online casinos that accept UK players will have a dedicated customer support team on standby to offer help and advice if you need it. In an ideal world, customer support will be available 24 hours a day and accessible via Live Chat or email. If 24/7 support isn’t available, just make sure that will be accessible during your usual gaming hours. In all cases, we advise contacting the support team to ask a question about the casino just to take it for a test drive and confirm that it’s as helpful and friendly as you want it to be.
Since you’ve already confirmed that the casino is properly licensed and regulated, you can be pretty certain that it’s safe and secure. That said, it’s always worth double-checking. Take a read through the Privacy page to see how financial transactions are handled and how your personal information is stored. You’ll want to see that the casino encrypts data when you make deposits and that firewall technology is used to keep stored information safe at all times.
The last thing you need to confirm is that the casino is as mobile-friendly as you need it to be. Almost all of the best online casinos EU operators launch are designed to run well on mobile devices as well as on desktop and laptop computers. In fact, many of them have apps that you can install on your smartphone or tablet to make your gaming life as easy as possible. We doubt you’ll come across many licensed casinos that aren’t mobile-friendly these days, but it’s well worth checking, just in case.
The exact range of games you can expect to play at European casinos online will vary from venue to venue. You’re likely to find a mix of genres at most sites, but some will choose to specialise in one or more genres, such as slots or Live Game Show titles. We think the best online casino Europe has to offer will provide plenty of games in all of the following categories.
One big difference between EU casinos and British ones is that European venues tend to be much more generous with their bonuses and promotions. There are several different types that you can expect to come across, and the main ones are detailed below:
When a player signs up as a new player at a UK casino, they might be offered 100 free spins when they deposit £10. New customers at an EU online casino, by comparison, might be offered a deposit bonus of €400 or even more and a few hundred free spins thrown in for good measure. The amount you’ll get will depend on the size of your deposit, of course, but the welcome bonuses at European online casinos leave British venues standing.
Every casino game gives the house an advantage, so losing money is an intrinsic part of the hobby. The best EU casinos know that, but they try to soften the blow by giving players cashback offers. These will return some of your losses back to you at the end of a certain period. For example, you might be offered 20% cash back on losses suffered over a particular weekend or 10% back on losses suffered over a whole calendar month. The cashback will normally be given as bonus funds that you can use to play more casino games.
We don’t know many online casinos anywhere that don’t offer free spins. Some give free spins to new players, others give them to regulars, and the majority of casinos hand them out to both. When you’re offered free spins, they will be for a specified value and can either be used on any game of your choice or, just as often, on a game or range of games dictated by the casino. You’ll get to keep any prizes that your free spins win, but note that those winnings might have wagering requirements attached, as we’ll discuss shortly.
EU casinos work hard to attract new players, so it makes sense for them to try and retain them. One way they do this is by having loyalty programs in place. These give you points for the games you play. When you’ve earned enough points, they can be redeemed for rewards. The rewards vary but often include free spins, bonus cash, higher levels of cashback and more.
When your online casino account runs out of cash, you’ll need to add more to continue playing. Many online casinos in Europe will let you claim a reload bonus for doing so. They won’t normally be as generous as their welcome bonuses, but they will often be worth 25% or sometimes even 50% or more of your deposit value. Reload bonus funds will let you enjoy even more gaming for your money, so they’re always worth looking out for.
Those of you who have a competitive streak might like to participate in game tournaments that run at most of the best European online casinos. These will award points as you play certain games during a certain window of time, and the players who finish the tournament with the most points win prizes. Those prizes will obviously vary from place to place but usually include cash sums, bonus funds and/or free spins.
All of the above bonuses will normally have wagering requirements attached. In other words, you won’t simply be able to sign up, make a deposit, get the bonus and then withdraw the whole lot. Instead, you’ll need to play the bonus a stated number of times before you can withdraw it. This is the case at all online casinos, and it’s a measure that’s designed to weed out people who aren’t genuinely interested in playing the games on offer.
A wagering requirement is normally stated as the number of times the bonus amount must be played before it can be withdrawn. It will also have a maximum bonus value and a time limit within which the requirement must be met.
For example, a casino might offer a 100% welcome bonus when you make a deposit of €20 or more, up to a maximum value of €150. The wagering requirements might be 35 times the bonus total, with a time limit of 7 days. In this case, if you get the maximum bonus, you’d need to wager €150 x 35 = €5,250 within 7 days for the bonus to be withdrawable.
You should note that wagering requirements only ask you to wager the bonus a certain number of times, so they’re not asking you to lose money. On the contrary, if you wager your €150 bonus 35 times and you end up with a profit, the bonus still becomes yours to keep, along with all the winnings that you managed to accumulate on the way.
We’ve said it already, but we’ll say it again – you should only ever play at European online casinos that are properly licensed and regulated. There are lots of gambling regulators around the world that work hard to keep players safe. The most relevant ones, as far as EU casinos are concerned, are as follows:
This is our own gambling regulator, and we mention it here because many European casinos that want to advertise directly to UK players seek UKGC authorisation to do so. It’s one of the most trusted regulators in the industry, but it’s also one of the strictest. That means any casino licensed by the UKGC – even if it is based overseas – must adhere to its rules. For that reason, they won’t be able to offer certain game features, accept stakes over a stated maximum or take payments via credit card. If you want any of those things, you will need to play at a Euro casino that’s licensed by a different regulator.
The Malta Gaming Authority is another regulator that has a very good reputation for its high standards. While it doesn’t put as many restrictions on casinos as the UKGC, it is still considered one of the strictest licensing bodies around, and it isn’t afraid to come down hard on any venue that gets even slightly sloppy. If you see that an EU online casino has a licence from the MGA, you can sign up and play with confidence.
This regulator was founded in 1999, so it’s been issuing licences to gambling organisations for decades. For a long time, a “Curaçao licence” was considered fairly weak (at least in comparison to those issued by the UKGC or MGA) because casinos didn’t have to reach particularly high standards to acquire one. However, the regulator has upped its game considerably in recent years, and you can be sure that any casino getting a Curaçao licence today will have earned it.
You won’t see as many EU casinos operating under a licence from the Kahnawake Gaming Commission as from the other regulators we’ve mentioned, but you might come across them from time to time. This regulator was set up to oversee gambling organisations based in the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake in Canada. However, online casinos there will often be happy to accept players from overseas, so it’s perfectly possible that you’ll get the opportunity to play at one.
All online casinos try to make it as easy as possible for players to deposit funds, so you’ll normally have at least a handful of payment methods to choose from. The exact range of options will obviously vary, but the most common ones can be grouped into the categories outlined below.
The UK might be just a short channel-hop away from mainland Europe, but the differences between EU casinos and those on our own shores can be substantial. European casinos not licensed by the UKGC offer more game features, higher stake limits, bigger bonuses, and a wider range of payment methods to choose from. Just be sure to do your due diligence, as explained in this article, and they could help you enjoy a whole new world of gaming excitement.
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