Zack Wilson is an experienced sports writer with over a decade’s worth of professional work behind him. After cutting his teeth at Goal.com, one of the world’s biggest football websites, Wilson moved into the world of rugby league, and helped take Love Rugby League to its position as one of the UK’s premier rugby league websites. Particular highlights of his career include interviewing the dual-code rugby legend Jonathan Davies, and working in the press box the first time that Scotland played Australia, at Hull, and then England, at Coventry, in rugby league internationals.
Occasionally, punters break the rules, but even less occasionally, casinos break the rules. This is no good for anyone. Luckily, we’ve made sure we know which casino websites are blacklisted, so we can inform you.
We want you to avoid these rule breakers at all costs, because the last thing you want when online gambling is to be looking over your shoulder for a weirdo with a SWAG bag – that’s an analogy… I hope. Here are all the blacklisted casinos you should avoid and how to find them in the future.
Why Punters Should Be Aware of Blacklisted Casino Sites
Simply put, a blacklisted casino cannot be trusted. You can’t trust a blacklisted online casino to pay you your winnings, and a blacklisted casino can’t be trusted to keep hold of your deposits in a secure manner. Blacklisted casinos online will also give you no guarantee that you’re getting fair play in your slots and table gaming. This is because many of these sites are operating without a license.
As such, a blacklisted casino is also frequently one of the many illegal casinos. This means that you will get nothing in the way of customer protection should something go wrong with your wagering. The gaming site will be under no requirements to even answer your queries. So if you are looking for legal, safe and fair gaming, you’ll need to stay away from blacklisted casinos online. Thankfully we are here to ensure that you find a legitimate online casino site.
New customers only. Min. Deposit £5. Bet credits available for use upon settlement of bets to value of qualifying deposit. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and T&Cs apply. Funded account required, or have placed a bet within 24 hours. 18+ Geo restrictions apply.
New customers only • Promotion valid until March 16th, 2021 • 18+ • Min deposit of £/€/$10 with promo code CHEL40 • A qualifying bet is a ‘real money’ stake of at least £/€/$10 on Horse racing• Min odds 1.50 • Free Bets credited upon qualifying bet placement and on the 16th March 2021 and expire after 7 days • Free Bet stakes not included in returns • Restrictions apply to withdrawals, payment methods, and countries. Full T&Cs apply
New UK+IRE customers only. Paypal & some deposit & bet types excl. Min first £5 bet within 14 days of account reg at min odds 1/2 = 4x £5 free bets. Free bets valid for 4 days, stake not returned. No cashout, restrictions. 18+ begambleaware.com T&Cs apply
Top 5 Steps for a Secure & Fair Gambling Experience
So what do you need to do to avoid playing at any illegal casinos? After all, the majority of gaming sites will tell you that they’re giving you a safe and fair wagering experience. But we have created a handy checklist of things that you should look out for in all online casinos. Here are the five things that you probably won’t see at any blacklisted casinos online.
Licensing and Regulation
None of the illegal casinos will be licensed. We always look for licenses from the UK Gambling Commission before we recommend a gaming site to any UK customers. Such a license will prove that the site has passed all of the necessary tests to show that it can provide a safe and fair casino gaming environment. Can’t find any evidence of licensing? Take a look at one of our reviews like the Cool Cat casino reviews and you’ll see that we carefully examine each brand’s licensing to find out if it’s a blacklisted bookmaker online.
Online Security
All decent casino sites will have a minimum 128-bit SSL encryption. This ensures that all communication between your browser and the website stays in safe hands. You should also see details about additional security features like firewalls and secure servers in the brand’s privacy policy. Failure to provide such information could mean that it is a blacklisted casino.
Secure and Efficient Payouts
Illegal casinos are notorious for either being slow to pay out, or not pay out at all. Most decent gaming sites will give you a variety of secure withdrawal methods. These should include reputable debit card brands, ewallets, prepaid cards and bank transfers. You should ordinarily get your winnings paid back to you within a handful of working days. If you look at some of our reviews like the Casino Napoli review, you’ll see that we provide handy information about fast payout casino options.
Commitment to Fair Play
All good online casinos will give you a fair gaming experience. This means that you’ll always stand a fair chance of getting a winning result. This can’t be said for some blacklisted casinos online. Most decent sites will have a certificate from a third-party auditor to show that all of the games have been checked for random results. We look for certificates from testing agencies such as eCOGRA. Plus you might even see each casino game’s return to player ratio listed on some considerate online gaming sites.
Responsive Customer Support
There’s nothing more frustrating than not being able to get a response from a gaming site. This is a fairly common feature at blacklisted casinos online. Ideally, we’d like to receive professional customer support 24/7. This would mean being able to reach out to the brand via user-friendly customer service channels such as live chat, email and telephone. We also like those online gaming sites who include a handy FAQ section so that new customers can quickly get to grips with the casino platform.
Our Recommended Online Casino – 888
It’s not enough just to show you some of the blacklisted casinos online. So we thought that it would be helpful to nominate an example of an online casino that gets things right. In this case, look no further than 888. This is a highly regarded online gambling brand that has all of the relevant licensing and regulation. You should also know that your personal details and data will be safeguarded through rigorous online security protocols.
888 only features casino games from respected developers. This means that you can expect nothing but fair play from this online gaming site. Plus you can take comfort from the fact that 888’s games are all independently tested for fairness by third-party testing agencies.
We should also note that 888 is dedicated to giving you a safe way to make your deposits and withdrawals. You’ll get paid your winnings efficiently here which is more than can be said for some blacklisted casinos online. Plus with a friendly customer service team waiting to hear from you, it’s easy to see why 888 is a top choice for safe and secure gaming.
How Do We Test Online Casinos?
We are determined to help you avoid playing at a blacklisted casino. So we put together a thorough test process that checked each gaming site for a number of trust factors. Only if a casino passed all of these tests would we recommend the site for you. You can take a look at our Zodiac Casino review to get an idea of just how tough our tests are. But here’s a brief overview of the seven test categories that we put each online casino through.
Licensing & Security
We’ll never recommend a gaming site unless it has all of the necessary licensing and regulation. You should ordinarily see details of a casino’s licensing in the footer of its website. Similarly, no casino will be featured here unless it can show that it can safeguard your data and deposits. Most brands will detail their security protocols either in their FAQ, their privacy policy or their terms and conditions. If a site has failed to do all of this, it will be a blacklisted casino.
Bonus Offers
Most casino sites put on bonus offers. But how do you know which ones you can trust? If you take a look at our review of the Casino Extreme bonus codes, you’ll see that we’re very tough on any bonus offers. We’ll be checking for clear terms and conditions and reasonable wagering conditions.
If a bonus looks too good to be true, then there’s a good chance that it’s coming from one of the illegal casinos. Don’t forget that we host an excellent bonus comparison service that allows you to see the best deals from the most reputable operators.
Payment Methods
We pay close attention to how each online casino allows you to fund your wagering. Plus you should be able to make withdrawals in a safe and efficient manner. Take a look at our Wild Casino review and you’ll see how we judge a casino’s selection of payment methods.
Ideally, you should be able to withdraw from a reasonable minimum amount and receive your winnings in less than one week. Failure to do this could lead to the site being a blacklisted casino. We would also advise you to stay away from those sites who charge unreasonable fees for adding money to your account and making withdrawals.
Table Games
The table games on offer should all use a random number generator that has been tested to show that it gives you a fair chance of winning. But what if it’s a live dealer table game? We’ll make sure that the live dealers are all well-trained and professional in how they conduct the gameplay. This means that you should have a decent chance of getting a winning result when playing anything from baccarat and blackjack to poker and roulette online casino.
Slots
All of a site’s slots games should be independently checked for fair play. Many legitimate casinos will also give you information about each slot game’s return-to-player ratio. This can be helpful in showing you what your chances are of winning. Plus each slot game should play in a user-friendly and glitch-free manner. By sticking to slot games from the most esteemed developers you shouldn’t have any issues with your gaming.
Customer Service
Many blacklisted casinos online offer woeful customer service. Some of these sites won’t answer your calls. Others will be rude and dismissive in answering your queries. But the best online casinos will always be there to answer your questions.
Ideally, you should be able to get in contact with a casino’s customer support team around the clock. Common methods for getting in touch with a gaming site include live chat, email and telephone. Watch out for any high fees for using the telephone hotline.
VIP Scheme
Lots of online casinos will put a VIP scheme in place for existing customers. This will commonly give you betting credits for each real money bet that you make. We’ll be judging the quality of each loyalty program. After all, a blacklisted casino will have a scheme that costs you more money than you actually receive.
Take a look at our Play Ojo reviews to see how we judge each casino’s loyalty scheme. Remember that there’s nothing forcing you to take part in such VIP programs.
New customers only. Min. Deposit £5. Bet credits available for use upon settlement of bets to value of qualifying deposit. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and T&Cs apply. Funded account required, or have placed a bet within 24 hours. 18+ Geo restrictions apply.
New customers only • Promotion valid until March 16th, 2021 • 18+ • Min deposit of £/€/$10 with promo code CHEL40 • A qualifying bet is a ‘real money’ stake of at least £/€/$10 on Horse racing• Min odds 1.50 • Free Bets credited upon qualifying bet placement and on the 16th March 2021 and expire after 7 days • Free Bet stakes not included in returns • Restrictions apply to withdrawals, payment methods, and countries. Full T&Cs apply
New UK+IRE customers only. Paypal & some deposit & bet types excl. Min first £5 bet within 14 days of account reg at min odds 1/2 = 4x £5 free bets. Free bets valid for 4 days, stake not returned. No cashout, restrictions. 18+ begambleaware.com T&Cs apply
How to Find the Right Online Casino for You
We’ve taken plenty of time in helping you avoid illegal casinos and blacklisted casinos online. This might cause you to worry about whether there are actually any legitimate gaming sites out there. Thankfully, there are plenty of honest online casinos currently operating in the UK. We’ve even developed a handy comparison page that allows you to pick the best of the bunch.
Each of the sites featured in our comparison will be fully licensed and regulated. Plus you’ll find that you receive competent customer support and secure ways to make deposits and withdrawals. Don’t forget that each casino we recommend will have been checked so that you get nothing but fair play from its casino games. All you need to have a legal, safe and fair way to enjoy online casino gaming.
What is a Blacklisted Online Casino?
It’s sad to say that there are some illegal casinos out there. These will all be involved in behaviour that is at odds with all concepts of fair play. What makes things worse is the fact that these sites can be less than honest with how they handle your personal data. Plus you’ll get no guarantees that you’ll actually receive any winnings you make.
Thankfully, we are here to give you a complete list of all blacklisted casinos online. We will identify each blacklisted casino through our fair and impartial review process. Take a look at our Casumo review and you’ll see how we analyse all aspects of a gaming site’s operations to give you a safe way to play.
How to Spot a Blacklisted Casino Online?
All casino sites will want to look as legitimate as possible. But there are certain things that can help you identify any illegal casinos. The most obvious thing is a lack of licensing. You should normally be able to see licensing in the footer of a gaming site. Plus you might find a glaring lack of terms and conditions at blacklisted casinos online. This is because a blacklisted casino will aim to keep you in the dark about all aspects of its services.
However, the easiest way to spot any illegal casinos is to simply consult our list of blacklisted casinos online. Here are some of the main things that could indicate a gaming site being a blacklisted casino.
Casino Location
You’ll commonly find that the majority of legitimate online casinos are based in countries that have robust online gambling legislation. This is why the bulk of our recommended casinos tend to hail from either Malta, Gibraltar, the UK or the Isle of Man. However, it should be noted that some casino sites might be based in far-off locations such as Curacao or the British Virgin Islands.
Be careful with these gaming sites as they might not provide you with sufficient customer protection. We’d be cautious about using a casino that’s based in Asia or Eastern Europe as there’s a good chance that it will be one of the many illegal casinos. A good online casino will always make the location of its physical headquarters transparent on its website.
Dishonest Bonuses
Many blacklisted casino sites will try and lure in new customers by putting on welcome bonuses that are simply too good to be true. They do this in the hope that customers will deposit funds on their sites. What’s worse is that some illegal casinos will even outright steal the money that you deposit.
We’ve noticed how a blacklisted casino will often attempt to hide the terms and conditions of a bonus. Plus you might be faced with wagering conditions that are impossible to fulfil. Take a look at our review of the Vulkan Vegas bonus code deal to see how we analyse each casino bonus.
Bad Customer Reviews
It can take something as simple as a quick internet search to highlight any illegal casinos like Vulkan Vegas. You can find out a lot about a gaming site from the reviews of previous customers. This could be something as simple as a negative forum post. Or it could even be something as comprehensive as our Royal Panda review.
All of which can give you a good indication of whether you should trust the site with your data and deposits. So be sure to pay attention to what other gamers have to say about a casino site.
Online Reports
Many sites like our own take great pride in naming and shaming all illegal casinos. After all, these casinos are harmful and they can cause misery to gamers. It can be a good idea to check some of the most reputable casino resources before you lay your money down.
Information is power when it comes to safe online gaming. So be sure to do plenty of research into an online gaming site before you sign up to their services.
Dodgy Terms and Conditions
Most gamers will be guilty of skipping past the terms and conditions pages of an online casino site. However, it’s always a good idea to take some time in reading the small print to see what the gaming site is all about. You might find that the online casino will put an unreasonably small limit on the maximum winnings that you’ve gained.
Or, you might discover that the brand will put a nasty processing charge on each withdrawal that you make. All of which can be found by sifting through a casino’s terms and conditions.
Shifting Terms
We’ve noticed how some dodgy casino sites will constantly change their terms and conditions. This is a good indication that all is not quite right at the gaming site. After all, these sites are supposed to be dedicated to fair play. But how will you know if you can win if the rules are changing all of the time?
Shifting terms and conditions can often be found in the small print of casino bonuses. Take a look at our review of the Ruby Slots promo codes to see how we judge a casino site’s bonus terms and conditions.
Trusted Online Casinos
We want you to feel completely confident in your choice of online casino. The last thing that we want is for you to sign up to an illegal online casino site. So we’d recommend that you only sign up to those established gaming sites. You should research to make sure that the casino has a good reputation and is fully licensed in your country. We’ve got a great shortlist of legitimate casino sites in our comparison.
Each of these sites have honest terms and conditions and responsive customer support. What’s best is that these casinos will also give you a superior gaming service with bigger wins possible on the best slots and table games.
Why Our Reviews & Blacklist Can Be Trusted
We realise that many casino reviews can be subjective. After all, everybody has their own take on what makes for a good slot game. But there are some things that can only be objective facts. This means that our blacklist is a good way to add certainty to your choice of online casino site.
We’ll give you the truth about each online casino’s licensing, and tell you the facts about how likely you are to get paid your winnings. All of our reviews are completely independent and will give you an honest picture of how these gaming sites operate. Don’t forget that we’ll listen to your feedback to produce impartial ratings that all casino gamers can benefit from.
What to Do if You Think You Have Been Scammed by a Blacklisted Online Casino?
There are certain steps that you should follow if you think that you’ve been duped by a gaming site. The first thing to do is to make a record of exactly what’s happened. This could come in useful in reporting your case to the relevant online gambling authorities.
But first, contact the casino’s customer support team to make sure that you have exhausted all options of getting the dispute resolved. If this fails, then be sure to get in touch with the regulators and they will offer you professional advice about how to proceed with your complaint.
Can Blacklisted Casino Sites Improve Their Reputations?
All of our casino reviews will give you an accurate picture of how these gaming sites are operating right now. However, there’s nothing to say that these blacklisted sites won’t improve their services in the near future. While it’s unlikely that such changes will take place overnight, any decent casino will want to show that it hosts a legitimate gaming platform.
We’ll be constantly reviewing the performances of all online casinos to see whether they are still deserving of a place on our blacklist. If a casino continues to put on a bad service, we’ll make sure that their reputation stays tarnished. But if a gaming site manages to put on a rapid turnaround and improves its services, we’ll happily add them to our list of recommended casinos. However, any bad recent performances will always be a black mark against any gaming site.
It’s important to note that many online casinos have experienced changes in ownership. Such activities can have a dramatic effect in turning a bad online casino into a good gaming site, and vice versa. All such changes will be documented in our online casino reviews and the results will be reflected both in our casino comparison and our blacklist.
However, the sad fact is that the majority of blacklisted gaming sites rarely make much of an effort to improve their reputations. After all, there are enough novice gamers out there who won’t know what to look for in a legitimate casino site. As a result, there’ll be plenty of people who’ll get duped by the promise of evermore extravagant welcome bonuses. This is why we are determined to stay vigilant in guiding gaming fans to the safest online casinos.
Conclusion
Blacklisted online gaming sites might not be the first thing that crosses your mind when you want to play casino games. But such sites are a sad fact that have arrived with the online gaming revolution. Thankfully there are just a handful of illegal casino sites currently operating. Plus with our guidance, you should hopefully avoid giving these gaming sites your custom.
However, it only takes a few bad apples to spoil the bunch. This is why all modern casino sites will have to show that they take your online security very seriously. As a result, you can come to any of our recommended gaming sites to get the highest levels of licensing and customer support.
As long as you remember to do your research, there’s no reason why you can’t have a legal, safe and fair casino gaming experience. Plus with our help, you’ll always find an easy way to enjoy the best online casino sites.
New Casino customers only. Deposit min. £10. Applies to first deposit to Casino only. Max. bonus £100. 15x wagering (game weighting applies) on deposit and bonus to make the bonus balance withdrawable. Time limits and T&Cs apply. 18+
First Deposit: 100% up to £50 + 20 Spins on Starburst *Min. Deposit £10 Second Deposit: 50% up to £75 *Min. Deposit £20 Third Deposit: 50% up to £75 *Min. Deposit £20 After first deposit made, customers will get + 20 Spin for the next 4 days: 1st day after First Deposit: 20 Spins of Finn and the Swirly Spin 2nd day after First Deposit: 20 Spins of Book of Dead 3rd day after First Deposit: 20 Spins of VIP Black 4th day after First Deposit: 20 Spins of Aloha! Cluster Pays Winnings won with spins that require deposit, have to be wagered 35x. Bonuses that require deposit, have to be wagered 35x. This offer is available to players residing in United Kingdom only.
New customers only • Promotion valid until March 16th, 2021 • 18+ • Min deposit of £/€/$10 with promo code CHEL40 • A qualifying bet is a ‘real money’ stake of at least £/€/$10 on Horse racing• Min odds 1.50 • Free Bets credited upon qualifying bet placement and on the 16th March 2021 and expire after 7 days • Free Bet stakes not included in returns • Restrictions apply to withdrawals, payment methods, and countries. Full T&Cs apply
New UK+IRE customers only. Promo code: 20FREE. Paypal and certain deposit types and bet types excluded. Min £/€5 bet within 14 days of account reg at min odds 1/2 = 4 x £/€5 free bets. Free bets valid for 4 days on sports, stake not returned, restrictions apply. T&Cs apply
New customers only. Deposit £10 min and claim in ‘my offers’ 1x100% mobile in-play profit boost. Max stake £10. Max extra winnings £100. Valid for 30 days. Skrill/Neteller deposits do not qualify. 18+ www.begambleaware.org. T&C's apply
New customers only • Promotion valid until March 16th, 2021 • 18+ • Min deposit of £/€/$10 with promo code CHEL40 • A qualifying bet is a ‘real money’ stake of at least £/€/$10 on Horse racing• Min odds 1.50 • Free Bets credited upon qualifying bet placement and on the 16th March 2021 and expire after 7 days • Free Bet stakes not included in returns • Restrictions apply to withdrawals, payment methods, and countries. Full T&Cs apply
New customers only. Min. Deposit £5. Bet credits available for use upon settlement of bets to value of qualifying deposit. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and T&Cs apply. Funded account required, or have placed a bet within 24 hours. 18+ Geo restrictions apply.
New UK+IRE customers only. Paypal & some deposit & bet types excl. Min first £5 bet within 14 days of account reg at min odds 1/2 = 4x £5 free bets. Free bets valid for 4 days, stake not returned. No cashout, restrictions. 18+ begambleaware.com T&Cs apply
