Safety Index
Attractive graphics and big bonuses tell you little about how a casino treats players. That’s why, alongside our standard casino rating, we show a separate Safety Index.
The index leaves out the number of games and the appeal of the promotions. It looks at the things that show how safe a low deposit casino is: its licence, its record with the regulator, the protection of customer funds, and what players say about it.
What is the Safety Index?
The Safety Index is our own rating for the UK market. It has three levels: Very Safe, Safe and Moderate. We set each level with the same rules, using the Gambling Commission‘s public register, the customer funds protection level stated by the casino, and Trustpilot scores. Commission from casinos does not change these rules.
Safety Index levels and criteria on mindepositcasinos.co.uk
🟢🟢 Very Safe
Definition: The strongest safety signals we can check for a UK player.
To be rated Very Safe, the casino must meet ALL of the following:
- 1. Licence and record An active UKGC licence, with no penalty, settlement or warning on the Commission’s register in the last 24 months.
- 2. Customer funds Either “High Protection” of customer funds, or “Medium Protection” together with a Trustpilot score above 4.0/5.
🟢 Safe
Definition: A fully licensed casino with no serious regulatory action in the last 24 months.
To be rated Safe, the casino must meet ALL of the following:
- 1. Licence An active UKGC licence.
- 2. Regulatory record No serious sanction in the last 24 months. By serious we mean a penalty or settlement of £500,000 or more, or a formal warning. A smaller penalty does not lower a casino below Safe.
- 3. Player feedback No Trustpilot score below 2.0/5, where we hold one.
Please note: this level does not require protection of customer funds, and some Safe casinos state that funds are “Not Protected”. Check the casino’s terms if this matters to you.
🟡 Moderate
Definition: A licensed minimum deposit casino with a warning sign you should know about before you deposit.
A casino is rated Moderate if either of the following applies:
- 1. Regulatory record A serious sanction in the last 24 months: a penalty or settlement of £500,000 or more, or a formal warning.
- 2. Player feedback A Trustpilot score below 2.0/5.
Casinos we do not list
No casino on our lists is rated below Moderate. We do not list casinos without an active UKGC licence, or casinos shown to refuse to pay out winnings. If this happens to a casino on our lists, we remove it.
How we keep the index up to date
A level can change. We check the register again when we update our rankings, and we lower a casino’s level at that check if its record no longer meets the rules. The levels were last checked on 4 November 2026.
What the index cannot tell you
We do not hold a Trustpilot score for every casino, so some levels rest only on the register and the casino’s stated fund protection. The index is our opinion, not a guarantee. A licensed casino can still make mistakes, and gambling always carries the risk of losing money.
Glossary of Safety Index terms – What do these terms mean?
Here is an explanation of the difficult terms we use in our safety assessment:
- ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution): An independent service (e.g. IBAS) that resolves disputes between you and the casino. For disputes of up to £10,000, the decision is binding on the casino if you accept it.
- Customer funds protection: The casino’s terms must state how well your balance is protected if the company becomes insolvent. The levels run from “Not Protected” to “Medium Protection” and “High Protection”.
- Segregation of Funds: A UKGC requirement to keep players’ money in a separate bank account. A separate account alone does not protect your balance if the casino becomes insolvent.
- KYC (Know Your Customer): A mandatory check of your identity and age, which UK casinos must carry out before you gamble.
- RTP (Return to Player): The percentage return to the player. If a slot has an RTP of 96%, then theoretically, for every £100 staked, £96 returns to players over a very large number of spins.
- Independent game testing: Labs such as eCOGRA, iTech Labs and GLI check that games are fair. This is not part of the level, because we cannot confirm it in the same way for every casino.
- GAMSTOP: A free scheme that stops you using gambling websites and apps run by companies licensed in Great Britain, for the period you choose.