Oldest UK Online Casinos

Gambling has been a favourite pastime in the UK almost since the dawn of time. Whether this involved having a flutter on the horses, playing a game of cards, or taking a few spins on a fruit machine. Since the launch of the internet back in the ’90s, gambling operators soon cottoned onto the idea of offering their services on the world wide web.

The internet revolutionised the entire industry overnight, and players were soon able to test out the exciting new concept of British online casinos. This opened up a whole new world, giving gamblers the chance to leave bingo halls, bookies, and land-based casinos well and truly behind. 

In this article, we take a look at the movers and shakers throughout this exciting period of time. The companies that opened up the very first doors of their online casinos to UK players.

InterCasino

There’s a bit of confusion as to which was the official first launched UK online casino was. Some say it was the ‘Gaming Club’ - a site that was then owned and operated by Microgaming. Other sources say that InterCasino is the UK’s oldest site - launched in 1996 it had just 18 casino games for its customers to enjoy. It’s hard to imagine any online casino with so few games, and before the site closed to UK players in 2019 - it had over 1,800 titles on offer. 

888 Casino 

This powerhouse is undoubtedly one of the industry leaders when it comes to any form of online gambling in the UK. A company that has always had its roots based firmly in online casinos. Its first site had a handful of games and was launched in the UK in 1997.

888 Casino now sits pretty as one of the big names in the global gaming and has branched out with individual sites offering sports betting poker, and that great British favourite - bingo. 

Ladbrokes

This company can trace its history back to the racecourses of Worcestershire in the 1800s, where it quickly became the favoured bookmaker for the rich and famous. Its bookie’s shops can still be found on many UK high streets, where its eye-catching red and white logo is easy to spot. 

Ladbrokes dipped its toes into the online casino market where it launched its first UK site in 2002. Serving up a few thousand casino games as well as retaining its origins with an online sportsbook.

William Hill Casino

This gambling operator first began in the 1930s when Mr William Hill offered a postal betting service. Whilst the brand has always had its foot in the sports betting world it also wanted a piece of the online casino pie. It launched its first UK online sportsbook in 1998 and quickly followed suit in 2002 with a fully stocked online casino. 

Betway 

The Betway Group was founded in 2006 and whilst it started off small in the UK, it’s now classed as one of the leading global brands when it comes to all aspects of online gambling. It hit the ground running in the same year, by launching an online casino tailored to the needs of UK players.

Benefits of Playing at an Oldest UK Online Casino 

There are many advantages to playing at any of the sites we’ve mentioned. The greatest one is peace of mind - knowing that you are putting your trust in an online casino that has been around for many years.

• Huge selection of games: Older sites have already built up good reputations in the industry, where gaming providers will be hungry to have their titles associated with them. You’ll be able to take your pick from thousands of the best games for a truly top-class experience;

• Generous bonuses: These oldest UK online casinos are well established and have the capacity to offer some huge casino bonuses to both new and regular players.

• Safety: You’ll find that each of the casinos above is operated and owned by companies that work hard to maintain your safety. They do this by acquiring many different gambling licenses from all around the world. This gives greater credibility to the site as well as top-class security systems to keep you safe at all times. They really don’t want to risk those gold-standard reputations!

• Mobile Casino: It’s hard to believe that some of the earlier online casinos were around before the invention of smartphones and broadband. Playing games on a PC using good old fashioned dial-up internet must’ve taken some serious dedication. We are truly spoiled now with reliable mobile casino apps, 5g, and fibre optic lightning-fast internet. 

• Customer satisfaction: You will be able to benefit from many years of knowledge and experience if you play at an older online casino. These sites have weathered the test of time and know-how to give amazing service, with a smile!