Are UKGC football betting sites safe?

We’re all interested in staying safe when we bet on football online. Knowing how to tell a safe site from an unsafe one is one of the most important skills you can have as an online bettor. One of the big questions around security in online betting is the efficacy of the UKGC—the commission which issues licenses to all betting operators, online included. Are these sites really all safe? While it’s never an automatic guarantee, today, we’re going to look at a few reasons why UKGC football betting sites are the safest out there.

Let’s look into this.

1. Licenses

The biggest thing about GC football betting sites is that they are officially licensed. If an operator is not a UKGC betting site, then they are not licensed to offer betting services. This has a whole host of ramifications. The UKGC currently issues licenses to about 2,600 operators, many of which are exclusive football betting sites.

Operators that do not run with proper licenses are operating illegally. This, at the very least, should tell you that licensed football betting sites are safer. They are operating legally, under the regulations set out by the law.

Let’s look into the specific safety issues for you when you use a UKGC betting site.

2. Fairness

When it comes to the betting itself, one of the biggest things is the fairness. Naturally, one of the big things that regulatory bodies work to ensure about football betting sites is that they operate fairly. Though the house will always have an edge, there are limits to how far this can go.

If you are not using a UKGC football betting site, they are bound by none of these rules. The games could be skewed entirely against you, giving you virtually no chance of winning. Either way, you’re going to be at a big disadvantage compared with licensed sites.

3. Security

With football being by far the biggest sport for betting in the U.K.—around 15% of all sports betting—there’s a huge market for cyber-attacks. This is another reason UKGC sites are safer. They abide by much stricter rules on security.

This includes their own firewalls to prevent hacks and data leaks, as well as requiring robust security for each individual account, with features such as 2FA. UKGC sites have to abide by certain security requirements—unlicensed sites do not.

With around 1,200 data breaches occurring every year, knowing the site you’re looking into has robust security is really essential for betting online on football.

4. Regulation

Finally, we have the broader spectrum of regulation which UKGC sites are required to abide by. These, too, are all much safer under licensed sites. These take a variety of forms, but particularly about the issue of problem gamblers. Regulators put special responsibility on licensed sites to prevent and avoid making problem gamblers worse. Non-GC sites do not, and may target problem gamblers.

But there are wider social implications, such as how they advertise, and whether they attempt to appeal to children. All of these things are codified in law for GC betting sites—non-GC sites are under no obligation to follow these rules and make their football betting sites safer.

It’s really a no brainer, then, that UKGC football betting sites are safer than non-licensed sites. They are fair, they have robust security, and abide by all the relevant regulations from the official body. Non UKGC football betting sites may offer enticing incentives for using their sites, but they will never be worth the risks you are otherwise taking. Take the time to find a licensed site.