"Whitelisting" is in effect the opposite of "blacklisting", where proscribed organisations are banned
from an activity. If a person or organisation is whitelisted, it is specifically permitted access to
do or take part in an activity. This is important with regard to the gaming industry, because the UK
Gambling Commission operates a “whitelist” with regard to issuing licences for gaming operators to
offer gambling services to the UK market.
In addition to regulating gaming operators based within the United Kingdom, the UK Gambling Commission
also assumes a role in regulating operators located in certain overseas territories. This regulatory
role only applies insofar as it affects the operations of these companies within the United Kingdom market.
This role is particularly important, because so many (the vast majority in fact) of the major
players in the UK gaming industry are located overseas, for tax purposes. These territories
are all places which have an established link with the United Kingdom, both for current political
reasons, or past historical factors. This includes (for the time being at least), all members of
the European Economic Area (EEA). Other territories are mostly UK overseas territories, Crown
Dependencies and ex-colonial territories. These include the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands
of Alderney, Jersey and Guernsey: the Mediterranean overseas territory of Gibraltar, the
Caribbean islands of Antigua and Barbuda, and Tasmania. Malta is also often included, but
this island is a member anyway by virtue of its membership of the EEA.
Any corporation which is registered on these territories and wishes to take part in providing
gambling services to the United Kingdom based market is also allowed to apply for a gaming
licence. If granted, they also consent to be fully regulated by the UK Gambling Commission,
thereby falling within its jurisdiction, despite being nominally based outside the UK.
The UK Gambling Commission closed its whitelist to new applicants in 2009, so no further territories
are being permitted to apply.
For residents of the United Kingdom, any online bingo site which is licenced and registered
on these territories can also apply to be fully regulated by the UK Gambling Commission. This
means that they can be regarded as safe to play for players based within the United Kingdom.
This will always be indicated by the licencing and registration information on each site,
which can normally be found toward the bottom of the home page. The U&K Gambling Commission
logo will also often be displayed.
We always check this information before we review any site, so you can be sure that any title
featured here is fully regulated by the UK Gambling Commission and safe for you to play.