The Pools
The Pools is an online casino and sportsbook operated by Football Pools Limited, a UKGC-licensed operator since May 2017. In 2025, the operator agreed a £375,000 regulatory settlement following failings in its Anti-Money Laundering and Social Responsibility controls.
Website Preview
About
The Pools is a UK-licensed gambling site at thepools.com, operated by Football Pools Limited. The site claims to offer casino games including slots and live casino, alongside sports betting. Payment options stated on their website include Visa and PayPal.
The operator's regulatory record has a significant mark against it. In March 2025, UKGC found failings in Football Pools Limited's Anti-Money Laundering and Social Responsibility controls between September 2022 and August 2023. The company agreed to pay £375,000 in lieu of a formal financial penalty as part of a regulatory settlement. That enforcement pushes the operator's trust grade to a D.
Football Pools Limited holds six active UKGC licences covering casino gaming, gambling software, general betting, and pool betting. With nearly nine years of continuous licensing, it's an established operator, but the recent settlement is a material concern consumers should weigh up.
Features & Offerings
Key Offerings
- Slots
- Live casino
Main Features
- Helpful customer service
- Quick response times
- Free spins and promotions
Can You Trust The Pools?
Positive Signals
- UKGC licensed since May 2017, with continuous active status across six licence categories
- SSL rated A+ with TLS 1.3 support and a certificate issued by GeoTrust
- Trustpilot score of 4.30 from 1,243 reviews
Concerns
- £375,000 regulatory settlement in March 2025 for Anti-Money Laundering and Social Responsibility failings
- Operator trust grade: D (score 55), reflecting the recent enforcement action
- WHOIS registration is not publicly transparent, limiting domain ownership verification
- No DNSSEC or CAA DNS security records in place
What Users Say
The Pools holds a Trustpilot score of 4.30 from 1,243 reviews, which is a relatively strong rating for an online gambling operator. The volume of reviews indicates a reasonably active customer base, though individual star-rating breakdowns aren't available here.
Regulatory Context
The operator's 2025 settlement included failings in Social Responsibility controls between 2022 and 2023. Social Responsibility requirements exist specifically to identify and protect customers who may be experiencing gambling harm. Without topic-level Trustpilot data, it's not possible to directly correlate user complaints with these control failings, but consumers should be aware that the gaps existed during that period.
Source: Trustpilot
UKGC Licence Status
Football Pools Limited holds six active UKGC licences, all granted on 25 May 2017. These cover: Remote Casino (permits online slots and table games), Gambling Software (permits development and supply of gambling software), General Betting Standard (permits online sports betting), General Betting Standard (Real Event) (covers betting on real sporting events), General Betting Standard (Virtual Event) (covers virtual sports betting), and Pool Betting (the original football pools product the operator is named for). All six remain active with no expiry dates listed on the UKGC register.
Regulatory Actions
On 27 March 2025, the UKGC concluded a regulatory review into Football Pools Limited. The review found failings in the company's Anti-Money Laundering and Social Responsibility controls during the period from September 2022 to August 2023. As a result, Football Pools Limited agreed to a regulatory settlement and will make a payment of £375,000 in lieu of a formal financial penalty. This is the operator's only recorded regulatory action on the UKGC register.
Site Assessment
Licensed Operator
The Pools is operated by Football Pools Limited, an active UKGC licensee with nearly nine years of continuous licensing since May 2017. The operator category is listed as mixed, covering both casino and betting products. No Companies House registration data is currently linked to this operator record, so company structure and registered address details aren't available through this source.
The 2025 regulatory settlement is the most material fact about Football Pools Limited's standing. It doesn't result in licence revocation, but it does show the operator had control failures over a sustained period. UKGC's Social Responsibility requirements are designed to protect customers from harm, so failings there carry weight for any consumer assessing whether to use the site.