What happens to your balance if a casino hands back its licence

When an operator withdraws from Great Britain, halts trading or surrenders its operating licence, that single contractual entry defines where the customer stands.

The requirement applies to all licensed remote and non-remote businesses holding deposits, winnings or account balances. Under condition 4.2.1, the operator must set out whether customer funds are protected in the event of insolvency, the level of protection that applies, and the exact method by which that protection is achieved.

The rule exists because deposits made with a gambling company do not automatically enjoy statutory protection. Without a formal trust, an insurance policy or a dedicated security structure, deposited funds are treated legally as the property of the operator. If the company enters insolvency, those funds form part of the general assets of the business. Licence condition 4.2.1 forces the business to declare this arrangement openly before a customer deposits, using terms established by the regulator rather than language tailored by the firm.

The sentence in the terms that decides this

The decisive text in any operator's terms and conditions is the customer funds insolvency disclosure. This section is not optional. The Gambling Commission dictates the structure of the disclosure, requiring operators to declare their rating clearly so that the status of customer funds in the event of insolvency is visible.

The disclosure specifies the level of protection and the mechanism used to maintain it. If an operator uses a separate account, an insurance policy or a formal trust, the terms must name that arrangement.

The language matters because British gambling licences do not impose a single, uniform standard of fund security across the industry. The regulator does not require gambling companies to guarantee that balances will be returned if the business ceases trading or becomes insolvent. Instead, the framework relies on mandatory classification and disclosure. The customer is informed of the risk profile chosen by the business, and the business is held to the category it publishes in its register filings and user agreements.

Three ratings, and what each one secures

The Commission divides fund protection into three distinct categories: not protected, medium protection, and high protection.

The lowest category, "not protected", contains two separate regulatory tiers depending on how the business operates:

• "Not protected, no segregation": Permitted only for non-remote and ancillary remote operators. Under this arrangement, customer money sits alongside the everyday operational cash of the business. If the operator becomes insolvent, the money offers no protection whatsoever.
• "Not protected, but segregated": The regulatory baseline for any remote operator holding customer money. The funds sit in bank accounts kept separate from the everyday business accounts, but they remain legally part of the company's assets if the firm fails.

The scheme underwent a major structural change with effect from 29 April 2019. Prior to that date, the Commission permitted a rating described as "basic protection". Under the 2019 revision, the basic tier was abolished. Arrangements that previously qualified as basic were reclassified as "not protected". Any operator that had described its fund security as basic was required to inform its customers of the new "not protected" rating at their next deposit.

Above this baseline sits "medium protection". This tier applies where an operator places customer funds into separate accounts backed by arrangements intended to distribute the money to customers if the business fails. These mechanisms typically include a Quistclose account, an insurance policy, or an equivalent financial structure.

The highest tier is "high protection". To qualify for this rating, the operator must place customer funds into a formal trust account. This trust must be legally and practically separate from the company's affairs. In addition, the trust must be verified and controlled by an independent trustee or an external auditor, removing the funds from the operator's control.

What "not protected but segregated" means when a company fails

Most online gambling balances in Great Britain are held under the "not protected, but segregated" classification. For remote operators, this arrangement is the absolute minimum standard permitted by licence condition 4.2.1.

The word "segregated" causes widespread confusion. In accounting terms, segregation means the operator maintains two distinct banking pots. One pot holds the cash used for payroll, marketing, supplier invoices and day-to-day trading. The second pot holds the cash deposited by players and any accrued winnings.

This separation prevents an active operator from spending customer balances on everyday running costs. That is all it does.

Segregation does not create a trust. It does not transfer legal ownership of the cash to the customer. If the operator becomes insolvent, the boundary between those bank accounts dissolves in the eyes of company law. The segregated funds remain part of the business's general assets. Because the money belongs to the company, it becomes available to creditors.

Even moving up to the medium category does not eliminate financial exposure. The Gambling Commission explicitly warns that under medium protection arrangements, such as insurance policies or Quistclose accounts, there is no absolute guarantee that funds will be protected in the event of insolvency. While the arrangements are designed with the intention of returning balances to customers, their effectiveness depends on legal interpretations and the specific terms of the underlying financial instruments.

The reminder that now arrives twice a year

Regulatory requirements around the lowest tier were tightened further following policy consultations. Since 31 October 2025, any licensed operator with a "not protected" rating must send an active reminder to its customers at least once every six months.

The notification cannot be a passive banner hidden within an account dashboard. Under the rule, the operator must clearly remind the customer that their funds are not protected in the event of insolvency.

The reminder must also state the exact cash balance the operator holds for that individual customer at the time the notice is delivered.

The six-month cycle ensures that players who leave balances sitting in inactive or infrequently used accounts are repeatedly notified of the legal status of that money. If an operator's commercial position weakens or if it decides to exit the British market, the customer has received a recent accounting of their balance along with the explicit confirmation that the money carries no insolvency protection.

When the arrangement changes while you hold a balance

An operator cannot alter the protection status of its customer funds quietly. Under Gambling Commission rules, if a licensee decides to alter the arrangements it uses to hold customer money, it must inform customers before those changes take effect in its terms and conditions.

Notification alone is not sufficient to satisfy the licence condition. Customers must actively acknowledge the changes before they are permitted to use their funds for gambling under the new structure. An operator downgrading its tier or altering its banking mechanisms cannot treat customer silence as consent.

When a company decides to leave the market, surrenders its licence or has its operating permission revoked, it ceases to hold a British licence. At that point, its British product stops being offered.

The official place to check whether an operator still holds valid permission to trade in Great Britain is the Gambling Commission's public register. The register records the live status of every operating licence, including whether a licence is active, under review, suspended, surrendered or revoked. It provides the definitive public record of whether a company remains bound by British licence conditions.