Foreign online casinos have flooded the British betting market, and their popularity continues to rise. What makes them so attractive to the UK gamblers? Looking at it from another perspective, we may ask, why do British gamblers choose not to bet on the UK online casinos?
Most reasons for seeking opportunities to bet elsewhere boil down to three factors, namely the UKGC’s legislative and financial policies, GamStop, and the quality of services. This article is an attempt to throw some light on the problem. We shall try to understand what it is that makes gamblers in this country turn away from local casinos, and look at what overseas gaming providers offer them instead.
Table of Contents
Oppressive vs. lenient policies
The number of restricting laws grows almost as fast as the number of non-UKGC casinos does, and the laws change too frequently as well. The entire industry seems firmly tied down with the red tape, and it’s impossible to even offer clients some new games without obtaining lots of written permissions first. Besides, the know-your-customer policy has practically turned into the big-brother-is-watching politics.
Non-UK casino sites, on the contrary, do their best to make their services as accessible and convenient as possible.
- It takes a few minutes to sign up, and an absolute minimum of documents will be required for the purpose.
- There are only two restrictions in most cases: you must be of age, and you can’t have more than one account.
- The identity verification procedure is precisely what the name suggests: that is, non-UK casinos don’t try to “to know their customer”, they only want to know who their customer is.
- Non-UKGC casinos accept a large variety of payment methods, including e-wallet, and some of the options are quite innovative, such as cryptocurrencies and deposits from your phone balance.
- When it comes to withdrawals, virtually all payment systems are supported by the reputable overseas operators, which certainly adds to the overall convenience of their services.
Financial limitations vs. generous offers
On the financial side, the extortionate licensing fees compel casinos to increase their service fees accordingly. Besides, limitations on the amounts players may spend legally increase too. In 2020, for instance, the Gaming Commission responded to the pressure from the APPG by imposing a £50 daily limit on online gambling.
Since non-UK casinos are not subject to the UKGC regulations, they’re less burdened financially as well legally, with the following consequences.
- They offer numerous betting options and a good choice of games that aren’t even available in the country, and all their games are frequently updated too.
- Their price lists are significantly lower.
- There’re no maximum deposit or wagering amounts.
GamStop
More than 50% of British adults enjoy gambling, and the joy isn’t compulsive in the vast majority of cases. While GamStop is certainly helping an extreme minority of the gambling community to overcome their addiction, it has in most cases become a public as well as legal coercion of sane gamblers to abstain from the main national recreational activity, without any clear benefits of that for the addicts. As GamStop has no legal power over non-UK providers, however, the latter may freely accept all players, which makes them an ideal way to bypass GamStop altogether.
Nonetheless, overseas casinos do take the issue of gambling addiction quite seriously too, and they can block you from their sites in case you feel your gaming habits are getting out of hand. Should you begin to suspect that, you can always contact their customer support, and some self-exclusion scheme will be negotiated with you. The difference is, it will be a genuinely voluntary step on your part, and all necessary restrictions will be imposed strictly upon your consent.
Technical and customer services
Apart from the administrative and financial limitations, many online gamblers do admit that the UK-licensed casinos seem to lag behind in their software development. Overseas operators, on the other hand, are quite keen on applying recent technological advances
- to improve the effectiveness and convenience of their interfaces
- to expand the selection of betting, gaming and payment options
- to increase the level of the client’s personal and financial security by means of the most up-to-date SSL encryption,
- to use the artistic aspect of the interface design in order to attract clients and keep them satisfied.
Finally, British online casino users commonly agree that non-UK customer support is impressively more friendly and responsive than should be expected from local operators.
Conclusion
We’ve had a closer look at the differences between local and overseas casinos, and the possible reasons for such differences. Considering the current state of legal and financial affairs on the UK online casino market, and the options non-UK platforms seem to be able and willing to provide, it’s no wonder their number and popularity are growing so rapidly these days.
