Trust in Online Casinos: Players Barely Pay Attention to Licensing

We analyzed studies and player surveys from Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Conducted between 2018 and 2026, these studies address the same question: what factors determine whether a player trusts an online casino? The answers vary across countries, but licensing is rarely the main criterion. Some players do not know how to verify a license, while others focus on website usability, brand recognition, and confidence that their winnings will be paid out.

Attitudes Toward Licensing

🔵 In Sweden (November 2024 survey), 72% of players cannot distinguish between licensed and unlicensed operators.

🔵 In the same survey, only 42% consider a local license when choosing an operator, compared to 28% in 2023.

🔵 In the United Kingdom, players generally consider licensing important, but many do not know how to verify it. Almost no respondents could name even one illegal gambling website, while some mistakenly identified licensed companies as illegal.

🔵 In Australia (2018 survey of 1,001 players), licensing received little attention from both offshore and domestic gambling customers. Players primarily chose websites based on usability and whether the platforms catered to Australian users.

Brand Recognition

🔴 Unlicensed operators build brand awareness in much the same way as licensed companies — through sports sponsorships. When British players were asked how they first learned about illegal operators, 13% mentioned football club sponsorships, making it the second most common answer after social media.

🔴 During the 2025/26 Premier League season, 11 clubs featured gambling brands on their shirts, and six of those brands did not hold UK gambling licenses.

🔴 According to the UK regulator, most of these sponsors target Asian markets and do not operate in Britain. Back in 2020, GLMS, an organization monitoring betting activity for state lotteries, noted that such operators used partnerships with major European football clubs to establish credibility among Asian players.

Payouts

🔵 The main reasons Swedish players avoid illegal gambling websites are concerns about unpaid winnings, data breaches, and the risk of developing gambling addiction.

🔵 When withdrawals are delayed, players often submit public complaints that can be viewed by anyone considering a particular casino. On one casino complaint platform, delayed payouts were the most frequently reported issue in Q1 2026.

🔵 Regulators have also increased their focus on payment processing. Since 2023, the Swedish regulator has been able to block payments to illegal operators through Swedish banks without a court order. In the United Kingdom, payment companies have joined a government working group tasked, among other things, with disrupting financial transactions to illegal gambling operators.

Conclusion

For players unfamiliar with licensing requirements, legal and illegal online casinos may look almost identical: branding, advertising, and website design can all be replicated. For the same reason, the Swedish regulator rejected the idea of introducing a special badge for licensed operators, as it could easily be copied. The only reliable proof is an entry in an official regulatory register, but few players are accustomed to checking it. To steer players away from illegal gambling websites, it may not be necessary to explain the importance of licensing. If a casino cannot consistently process deposits and withdrawals, players are unlikely to stay.