There are some protections in place for gamblers in the UK, including those who want to bet on sports. The Gambling Act of 2005 was signed into law as a way of protecting consumers, standardizing regulations and bringing casino resorts to the UK. Though in 2008 Gordon Brown ended the plans for the casino resorts, the regulatory body is still there.

The Gambling Act of 2005 created the Gambling Commission, whose website can be found at gamblingcommission.gov.uk. The Gambling Commission is an independent non-departmental public body that permits and regulates various types of gambling. That includes any casino that operates in the UK, as well as bingo halls, lotteries, and any remote gambling that uses “British-based equipment.”

Sports betting that does not involve a spread is regulated by the Gambling Commission. However, they do not regulate spread betting. That is regulated by a different group, the Financial Services Authority. The FSA regulates not only spread betting, but also all UK banks.

Currently neither group regulates online casinos that are located overseas but accept UK customers. Despite operating in the UK, those gambling websites are only white listed and the UK trusts other jurisdictions to oversee them. In the wake of the Full Tilt Poker scandal, though, there is a great push to remove the white listing system and have the Gambling Commission begin regulating foreign online gambling operators. The commission would then require any gambling websites that accept UK customers to obtain a license from them and follow their policies and regulations. UK regulation of overseas online gambling sites could happen as early as next year.