赌博在英国文化中历来盛行。早在中世纪时期，人们就开始为体育赛事、棋盘游戏、竞技锦标赛、骑士枪术比赛以及简单的概率游戏下注。.
Exclusive Gaming Establishments Emerge
十九世纪，英国首批赌博场所出现，为上层阶级绅士俱乐部提供纸牌游戏等娱乐活动。1828年在伦敦开业的克罗克福德赌场，为这类高端博彩场所设立了标准。光顾者包括贵族、政要及其他具有影响力的精英阶层。.
Horse racing tracks were also permitted to accept bets, while there were also underground betting rackets operating throughout major cities in the UK. The popular British cult series Peaky Blinders provides some insight into illegal gambling rackets during the early 20th century.
Legalisation Opens Gambling to the Masses
1961年之前，赌博活动主要局限于赛马场和私人俱乐部。随着新法规出台，博彩商店首次获准在英国商业街公开营业，赌场也实现合法化，为中产阶层和工薪阶层消费者开启了更具吸引力的博彩场所。.
当代市场由主要行业巨头主导
Presently, a few big hospitality groups operate most of the land-based casino in Britain. Genting and Rank Group are the largest, collectively owning over 80 gaming and entertainment venues. However, smaller chains like London’s famous Hippodrome Casino also successfully attract visitors.
1961年法律修订后，博彩公司率先开设英国首批持牌投注站。随着社会接受度提升，企业竞相建立全国连锁门店提供体育博彩服务。酒吧俱乐部很快引入水果机，老虎机厅也遍布全国。消费者如今仍可在当地商业街便捷获取这些服务，例如梅库尔游戏公司目前就在英国城镇运营老虎机厅。.
Online Gambling Emerges
随着拨号调制解调器将互联网带入家庭，英国接入万维网。该国首批在线赌场于1990年代中期出现，由微格游戏和加密逻辑等公司开创。这些网站注册于海外，因当时英国尚未规范网络博彩。同期还有众多在线扑克平台迅速崛起。.
已具规模的英国公司随即展露兴趣，1998年该国首个在线体育博彩平台与海外网络赌场同步上线。当时赌场游戏主要为经典三卷轴老虎机、视频扑克及二十一点、百家乐、轮盘等虚拟桌游。.
在玩家安全方面，eCogra曾是主要认证机构。秉持公平运营的赌场可通过遵循其框架获取认证标识。该认证声名卓著，多数玩家会主动规避未获得eCogra认证的赌场。然而英国政府认为eCogra提供的保护与游戏测试仍不足够，同时担忧博彩资金外流规模。.
2005 Law Establishes Gambling Commission
The Gambling Act 2005 introduced a licensing system and regulatory body to govern remote gambling in Great Britain. Major established gambling operators were among the first to achieve licensed status under new rules in 2007, allowing them to legally offer online casinos and wagering to British consumers. The rules did not only apply to online casinos. It also meant that software providers needed to register with Britain’s new licensing authority, which is still in place today – the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC).
目前UKGC规章适用于实体与在线博彩娱乐场所，以及微格游戏、蓝图游戏和Playtech等软件供应商——这些企业当时已是英国市场的重要参与者。.
The Era of Broadband
The next big step in the evolution of online gambling in the UK was the introduction of broadband. Slow dial-up modems were replaced by high-speed internet able to handle more data through its expanded bandwidth. Online casinos and software providers were quick to evolve, bringing out 3D slots with animations, larger reel configurations such as the 5×3 slots and networked progressive jackpots.
当今网络带宽已非制约因素，开发商得以推出“百万之路”老虎机、任意位置支付游戏甚至有限轴数游戏，例如Reel Play、NetEnt和Yggdrasil游戏库中的产品。此外，Pragmatic Play Live、Playtech和Evolution等供应商提供真人荷官娱乐场，通过桌面设备、平板或手机直播真实荷官、赌桌与牌局，还原实体赌场体验。.
Mobile Gambling
随着3G/4G网络与智能手机普及，赌场最初开发专用应用程序。但随着浏览器技术演进，现仅需采用最新HTML5网页代码进行适配，玩家通过任何支持HTML的移动操作系统即可访问赌场平台。.
持续改革强化英国博彩保护体系
尽管2005年法案构建了基础框架，针对现代数字博彩的法规仍在持续完善。最新改革强化了负责任博彩义务，包括支付能力核查与投注限额设置。英国由此维持以消费者安全为核心的可控博彩环境，持有UKGC牌照的在线博彩网站被视为当今最安全的网络博彩场所。.
