What Happens When You Complain to a Gambling Operator?

A gambling complaint should begin with the business itself. The Gambling Commission does not decide whether your bet should have been settled differently, whether a withdrawal should be paid or whether a bonus term was applied correctly.

Licensed gambling businesses in Great Britain must have a complaints process. They have up to eight weeks to complete it, including any internal escalation.

If the complaint concerns a gambling transaction and remains unresolved, it may be eligible for Alternative Dispute Resolution, usually shortened to ADR. This is a free, independent process outside the gambling operator.

This guide covers operators licensed to serve customers in England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland has a different gambling framework. The National Lottery also has its own complaints route.

Decide whether you are making a complaint

A support question and a complaint are not quite the same thing.

You may first ask why a withdrawal is delayed, why a bet was voided or what information is still needed for verification. If the answer resolves the issue, there may be no need to take it further.

If you are dissatisfied with how the operator has handled its licensed gambling activity, you can make a complaint. Gambling Commission guidance defines a complaint broadly. It can be spoken or written and can concern the result of a transaction, how the transaction was managed or the way the operator conducts its licensed business.

Common examples include:

• winnings or withdrawals that have not been paid
• a bet that has been voided or settled differently from the published rules
• a bonus or promotion term that you believe was applied incorrectly
• an account restriction or closure
• repeated or unexplained verification requests
• an IT fault that affected a gambling transaction
• a concern about how the operator handled safer-gambling information
• poor customer service connected with the gambling activity

You do not have to quote a licence condition. You do need to make clear what happened, why you disagree and what you want the operator to do.

Find the operator's complaints policy

Look in the website footer, help centre, account area or terms for a complaints policy.

The policy should explain:

• how to submit a complaint
• the information the operator needs
• its response times
• any internal escalation stages
• when the process reaches a final position
• which ADR provider handles eligible disputes

Use the route named in the policy where possible. A live-chat conversation may solve a simple problem, but it can be difficult to reconstruct later. If you use chat, save the transcript and ask for a complaint reference.

If the site claims to be licensed in Great Britain but you cannot connect it to a licensed business, check the operator and domain using our gambling licence guide.

Write a complaint that can be investigated

Start with a short account of the issue. Put events in date order and separate facts from assumptions.

Include:

• your name and account username or reference
• the date you first noticed the problem
• the relevant bet, game, transaction or withdrawal reference
• the amount in dispute
• what the operator told you
• the term, rule or account decision you disagree with
• the outcome you want

For example:

I requested a £500 withdrawal on 12 August. My account says verification is complete, but the withdrawal is still pending and I have not been told why. Please tell me what is holding it up and what needs to happen next.

That gives the operator the date, amount and problem without turning the complaint into a legal submission.

Do not send passwords, security codes or full payment-card details. Use the operator's secure document route if evidence contains identity or financial information.

Keep the evidence that matters

Save a copy of the complaint and proof of when it was received.

Depending on the issue, useful evidence may include:

• bet slips or transaction references
• screenshots of the game, account or withdrawal status
• the version of the terms that applied at the time
• promotion wording
• emails and live-chat transcripts
• verification requests and submission confirmations
• bank or payment records showing the relevant transaction
• the operator's previous decisions

Screenshots are most useful when they show the date, page address or account context. A cropped image of a number without its source may prove very little.

Keep the original files. If you highlight or annotate a copy, retain the unedited version as well.

What the operator should do

The operator should acknowledge the complaint, investigate it and explain its decision.

Gambling Commission guidance says acknowledgement should be provided as soon as reasonably possible. Its complaints timetable says within three working days, or within 24 hours where the business offers 24-hour gambling facilities. These acknowledgement periods are guidance. The binding eight-week limit comes from the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice.

The operator may ask for more information. Reply promptly and keep a copy. The eight-week timetable can be paused if a customer does not engage with a reasonable request in a timely way.

An investigation may involve checking account records, game logs, payment information, communications, terms and decisions made by specialist teams. The operator does not have to disclose confidential security controls, personal information about another customer or material it is legally prevented from sharing.

It should still give you a clear enough response to understand the decision and what happens next.

The eight-week limit covers the whole internal process

The eight weeks begin when the operator receives the complaint, not when it reaches a senior complaints team.

Any internal appeal or escalation must fit inside the same overall period. An operator cannot restart the clock each time the complaint moves to another department.

The process can end earlier if:

• the complaint is resolved
• you accept the outcome
• the operator gives its full and final position
• you and the operator reach deadlock

A final response should explain the decision, confirm that the operator's process has ended and tell you how to take an eligible unresolved dispute to an independent ADR provider.

You do not always have to wait for the full eight weeks. If the operator issues its final position earlier and the matter qualifies for ADR, it should provide the relevant signposting.

Complaint and dispute do not mean exactly the same thing

The Gambling Commission uses complaint for a broad expression of dissatisfaction about licensed activity.

A dispute is narrower. It is an unresolved complaint about a customer's gambling transaction or the management of that transaction after the first stage of the operator's process.

Disputes can include issues involving:

• the settlement or outcome of a bet
• access to winnings or account funds
• bonus offers and relevant terms
• account management
• the way a transaction was handled

The distinction matters because an operator may investigate a wide range of complaints, while ADR only considers matters within its scope.

A complaint about rude service may go through the operator's procedure but may not qualify for ADR. The Gambling Commission also says ADR providers will not accept complaints about an operator refusing to accept a bet or refusing a customer's business.

If the complaint is not resolved: using ADR

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) gives customers an independent way to pursue certain unresolved gambling disputes. The operator should tell you which accredited provider handles its cases and how to contact it. You should not be charged for using the service.

Send the ADR provider:

• your original complaint
• the operator's final response or deadlock letter
• the evidence you relied on
• a short explanation of what remains disputed
• the outcome you are seeking

The provider will decide whether the matter falls within its remit. If it accepts the case, it will obtain information from both sides and consider the relevant transaction, terms and consumer law.

ADR is not a second customer-service department. It may reject matters outside its scope, complaints that have not completed the operator's process or cases that do not meet its rules.

The accreditation system changed in 2026. The Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice now define an ADR entity by accreditation granted by the Secretary of State under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. The Chartered Trading Standards Institute oversees accredited ADR bodies. Use the provider identified by the operator and check current information before submitting a case.

What the Gambling Commission will and will not do

The Gambling Commission regulates licensed gambling businesses. It does not act as an ombudsman and has no power to decide an individual transaction dispute.

Information from customers can still matter to its regulatory work. Repeated complaints may help reveal wider failures involving licence conditions, consumer protection, safer gambling or illegal activity.

That does not turn a report to the Commission into a route for recovering money. Continue with the operator's process and ADR where the dispute is eligible.

Some issues belong elsewhere. The Commission's complaints hub separates operator complaints from National Lottery complaints, advertising complaints, data-protection complaints and complaints about an ADR provider.

If the operator stops replying

Check that the complaint went to the correct address or form and keep evidence of delivery.

Ask for:

• confirmation of the date the complaint was received
• the complaint reference
• the current stage
• the date by which the operator expects to issue its final response

Do not allow repeated transfers between teams to obscure the original receipt date.

If the operator has given a final response, follow the ADR instructions. If eight weeks have passed without resolution, ask for written confirmation that the internal process has ended and for the details of the relevant ADR provider.

A licence gives you a formal route to complain. It does not guarantee that the operator will agree with you or that ADR will accept the case. A clear complaint, a reliable timeline and the right evidence make it easier for each stage to address the actual dispute.