Reply from an ex-compliance / risk person
Ex-gambling compliance here (not your lawyer, this is general info only). Short version: UK rules are mostly written to control the operators, marketing and payments, not to chase individual players who click on offshore sites. In day-to-day reality, I have never seen regular UK players being prosecuted purely for placing bets with casinos not on GamStop.
Where you can run into trouble is indirectly. Payments to certain offshore gambling sites can be flagged or blocked for compliance reasons (anti-money laundering, card scheme rules, etc.). That doesn’t usually turn into "you broke the law" conversations, but it can lead to awkward questions from your bank if your account activity looks risky or inconsistent with your income.
If you are on GamStop, it’s a bit different in terms of responsibility. By signing up, you told the system you needed barriers around gambling. Actively seeking out casinos not on GamStop is essentially bypassing your own safeguard. Again, that’s not usually treated as a criminal offence, but it can matter if you later speak to a debt advisor, therapist, or even a court about financial harm or affordability. It weakens the argument that everything was out of your control.
The biggest practical risk isn’t "getting caught"; it’s being unprotected. Non-UK or non-GamStop sites might not follow UK standards on checks, fairness, or dispute resolution. If they refuse to pay, change bonus terms, or lock your account, you probably won’t have a UK regulator or ombudsman to back you up. You’re relying on an overseas licence that might not be very player-friendly.
Chargebacks are another grey area. Some players try to deposit, lose, and then dispute the transactions with their bank. Banks really dislike that pattern. Even if you win a chargeback or two, too many disputes with gambling merchants can get your account flagged, limited, or closed entirely because it looks like risky behaviour.
So in practice, it’s uncommon for a UK player to be directly "in trouble" just for playing at casinos not on GamStop, but you are absolutely taking on extra financial, legal and wellbeing risk. If you’re worried enough to ask this question, that’s usually a good sign to step back and stick with UK-licensed options or consider support instead of chasing workarounds.