Player funds protection at UK casinos

What player funds protection means at UK casinos

When you deposit at an online casino, your money sits with the operator until you stake it or withdraw it. If that business became insolvent, the question would be whether your balance belonged to you or formed part of the company’s assets available to its creditors. Player funds protection is the Gambling Commission’s system for making that answer visible before you deposit, rather than after a casino has closed.

The Commission is clear that money held by a gambling business isn’t protected by government in the way bank deposits are. Its guide on what happens to your money if a gambling business goes bust (opens in a new tab) also warns that keeping customer money in a separate bank account, which online licensees must do, doesn’t by itself guarantee you would get it back. What it does guarantee is disclosure: you must be told the level of protection in plain terms. For other rules that protect your balance, see our UK casino rules hub.

The three customer funds protection ratings

Each licensee chooses one rating for its customer funds and must state it in its terms and conditions. The wording varies between operators, so search the terms for ‘customer funds’, ‘insolvency’ or ‘segregation’.

The Commission’s individual explainers on unprotected funds (opens in a new tab) and medium protection (opens in a new tab) give the official definitions. A ‘not protected’ rating doesn’t mean a casino is unlicensed or unsafe in other respects; it means your balance would be at risk only in an insolvency.

What counts as your money: customer funds defined

The protection rating applies only to ‘customer funds’. The Commission’s page on customer funds (opens in a new tab) lists three categories:

• money you have deposited into your online account;
• winnings owed to you, or left sitting in your account;
• bonus money you have become entitled to under the terms of an offer.

Two things fall outside. Money staked on an open bet, meaning an event that hasn’t yet happened, isn’t customer funds until the bet settles. And bonus money you haven’t yet earned under the offer’s terms doesn’t count either. Holding your money in an overseas bank account doesn’t change your rights; the same rating applies.

Worked example: which part of a £400 balance is customer money?

If this casino rated its funds ‘not protected’ and went bust, the £310 would be treated as company assets and probably lost. With high protection, that £310 would sit in a trust outside the company. Either way, the unearned bonus and the open bet stand apart. Bonus balances and wagering are explained in our guide on how wagering requirements work.

The disclosure rule: LCCP 4.2.1 and your acknowledgement

The legal hook is licence condition LCCP 4.2.1 on disclosure to customers (opens in a new tab). It requires licensees to say in their terms which rating applies, what it means and how it is achieved, and to have you acknowledge that information before your first deposit is used. That acknowledgement is usually a tick box or a short screen during registration or at the first deposit.

Because it often appears alongside other sign-up steps, many players accept it without reading. It is worth pausing at that screen. The same registration stage is where you now set a financial limit, which casinos have had to prompt for since 31 October 2025; our deposit limit rules page explains that requirement.

Since 31 October 2025: six-monthly reminders for unprotected funds

A rule that took effect on 31 October 2025 made the information harder to forget. If a casino rates your money ‘not protected’, it must now remind you every six months, telling you how much it holds for you at that time, and you must acknowledge the reminder before using those funds to gamble. Affected operators had to send the first reminder within six months of the start date, so by the end of April 2026 every customer with an unprotected balance should have seen one.

The Commission’s advice when you receive such a reminder is practical: if you’re uncomfortable with the rating, consider withdrawing your money promptly and think about whether you still want the account. Casinos rated medium or high don’t have to send the reminder.

How to check a casino’s funds protection rating

1. Confirm the casino is licensed on the Gambling Commission’s public register; ratings only apply to British licensees.
2. Open the casino’s terms and conditions from the website footer or help centre.
3. Search the page for ‘customer funds’, ‘insolvency’, ‘segregat’ or ‘protection’.
4. Note the rating and how the casino says it achieves it, such as a trust account or insurance.
5. If the wording is unclear, ask customer support in writing which of the three ratings applies.
6. Keep a screenshot with the date, because ratings can change.

We haven’t verified the rating chosen by each of our partner casinos, so we don’t quote them here; check the current terms for the brand you use. The guides to checking a casino licence and reading the casino website footer show where to find the licensing details.

When a UK casino closes: what happens to your balance

Most casino closures aren’t insolvencies. Brands are often merged, rebranded or withdrawn by a solvent operator, and in those cases a solvent operator would normally let you withdraw your balance. Insolvency is the rarer situation where the protection rating really matters. Our guides to what happens when a casino closes and what happens to my balance if a casino closes? cover both situations, and the closed casinos list records recent exits.

What player funds protection does not cover

A slow or disputed payout from a casino that is still trading is a complaints issue, not a funds protection one; see casino complaints and ADR and what to do if a casino won’t pay. Your other withdrawal rights, including the reverse withdrawal ban, apply whatever the rating.

Practical ways to protect your casino balance

The rating tells you the risk; your habits decide how much is exposed. Keeping only what you plan to play with in the account limits the damage from any insolvency and also supports a budget. Withdrawing winnings soon after a session means a sudden closure would affect less money. A worked example makes the point: a player who leaves £50 in an unprotected account has £50 at risk, while one who lets £1,500 of winnings build up has thirty times as much exposed for no benefit.

• Withdraw winnings you don’t intend to play with, rather than leaving them as a running balance.
• Set a deposit limit so the amount going in matches your entertainment budget.
• Use the same payment method for deposits and withdrawals to avoid delays under closed-loop rules.
• Read any six-monthly reminder, and act on balances you’d forgotten.

Our gambling budget guide explains how to set and stick to a spending plan.

Player funds protection timeline

We will add any future change to the ratings with its date; see the latest UK casino rules feed for everything else.

Checking funds protection at licensed casinos

Only casinos licensed by the Gambling Commission have to disclose a funds rating, send reminders and follow the other withdrawal protections. Coral Casino (LC International Limited, account 54743) and PlayOJO (Skill On Net Limited, account 39326) are both licensed; their current terms state the rating that applies to customer funds.

New customers aged 18+ can claim the offers below; terms apply. At Coral, deposit (some types excluded) and bet £10+ on slots during the offer period, 1 October 2026 to 1 February 2027, to receive 100 free spins on selected games at 10p each, which you accept within 48 hours and use within 7 days; spin winnings have no wagering, and Neteller, PayPal, Paysafe, Skrill, prepaid cards and certain debit cards don’t qualify. At PlayOJO, a first deposit of at least £10 earns 80 free spins on Big Bass Bonanza at 10p each, with cash winnings and no wagering; Northern Ireland is excluded and the offer can’t be combined with others. Keep your balance to what you plan to spend on entertainment.

18+. Gambling should be entertainment that costs money, not a way to make it. Set a deposit limit before you play: how to set deposit limits. Free, confidential help: National Gambling Helpline 0808 8020 133.