Caesars UK: Not Legal There — Sold Off to 888 in 2022

Caesars UK: The Brand That Isn't There Anymore

Caesars is not legal in the UK, because there is no Caesars-branded sportsbook or casino operating there — the company sold off the UK business that could have carried the name. This page covers why a reader searching "Caesars UK" lands on William Hill instead, and who actually holds that license today.

Legal status in UK

The UK runs gambling under a single national regime, the Gambling Act 2005, enforced by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) — there is no state-by-state question the way there is for Caesars in the US. Caesars Entertainment bought all of William Hill, including its UK betting shops and online operation, for roughly £2.9 billion in a deal that completed in April 2021. It kept only the US digital sportsbook, which it rebranded Caesars Sportsbook that August, and immediately moved to offload everything else. On September 8, 2021, Caesars agreed to sell William Hill's non-US business — the UK shops and online brand — to 888 Holdings plc, initially for about £2.2 billion, repriced to roughly £2.0 billion in April 2022. That sale closed July 1, 2022. 888 Holdings itself later renamed its parent company to evoke plc in 2023, while keeping William Hill as a consumer brand. The upshot: Caesars has held no UK gambling license, shop, or website since mid-2022, and nothing with the Caesars name has replaced it.

State gambling authority: UK Gambling Commission (UKGC), under the Gambling Act 2005 — but Caesars itself holds no UKGC license. The William Hill brand operating in the UK today is licensed through evoke plc (formerly 888 Holdings), which bought the business from Caesars in July 2022.

Type "Caesars UK" into a search bar and the honest answer is: there isn't one. Caesars is not legal in the UK because no Caesars-branded sportsbook or casino operates there — the company that owns Caesars Palace and Caesars Sportsbook sold off the UK business that could have carried the name back in 2022, and nothing has replaced it since.

Is Caesars Legal in the UK? A Short Ownership Chain Explains Why Not

Caesars Entertainment completed its purchase of the entire William Hill group — UK betting shops, European online operation, and all — for roughly £2.9 billion in April 2021. It only wanted one piece: the US digital sportsbook, which it rebranded Caesars Sportsbook that August. Everything else was for sale almost immediately. On September 8, 2021, Caesars agreed to sell William Hill's non-US business to 888 Holdings plc, and that deal closed July 1, 2022, after the price was trimmed from about £2.2 billion to roughly £2.0 billion. From that date on, Caesars has held no UK gambling license.

Where the name went: 888 Holdings renamed its parent company evoke plc in 2023 but kept William Hill as a working consumer brand in the UK. If a reader wants the operation that used to be under Caesars' roof, William Hill — not anything called Caesars — is where it ended up.

Is Caesars Legit in the UK? There's Nothing to Rate

Legitimacy questions usually mean checking a license, a complaints history, a regulator. None of that applies here in the way a reader might expect, because there's no UK-facing Caesars product to hold a license in the first place. Caesars Entertainment is a real, Nasdaq-listed company (CZR) running a sizeable US sportsbook and the Caesars Palace resorts — genuine legitimacy, just not one that extends across the Atlantic into a betting account a UK resident can open.

Is Caesars Safe to Use in the UK?

If something online is using the Caesars name to take UK bets, treat that as a red flag rather than reassurance — it isn't operating under any license Caesars Entertainment holds. The actual safe, regulated option in that lineage is William Hill, licensed by the UK Gambling Commission and run today by evoke plc. Checking that the operator on screen is the one actually named on the license matters more here than almost anywhere else on this site.

Who It Fits

Nobody, as a UK sportsbook or casino search — that product doesn't exist under the Caesars name. UK readers who remember Caesars owning William Hill briefly in 2021 and 2022 should look for William Hill itself, now under evoke plc, for a UKGC-licensed account. US and Canadian readers wanting the real Caesars Sportsbook should check this site's state and Canada pages instead. 18+, and BeGambleAware.org for support, regardless of which operator a reader ends up with.

Caesars Sportsbook UK — Frequently Asked Questions

Is Caesars legal in the UK?

No, in the sense that matters — there is no Caesars-branded sportsbook or casino licensed to operate there. Caesars Entertainment owned William Hill's UK operation briefly, from April 2021 to July 2022, then sold it to 888 Holdings. Nothing UK-facing has carried the Caesars name since.

Is Caesars legit in the UK?

There's no UK product to evaluate for legitimacy — Caesars doesn't run one. Caesars Entertainment itself is a legitimate, Nasdaq-listed company (CZR) with a real US sportsbook and Las Vegas casino properties, but that corporate legitimacy doesn't translate into a UK betting account, because none exists.

What happened to William Hill after Caesars bought it?

Caesars completed its roughly £2.9 billion purchase of the entire William Hill group in April 2021, wanting only the US digital sportsbook for its Caesars Sportsbook rebrand. It agreed that September to sell everything else — the UK betting shops and online business — to 888 Holdings, and that sale closed July 1, 2022. William Hill's UK operations have run under 888 Holdings (renamed evoke plc in 2023) ever since, with no Caesars involvement.

Is it safe to use a site that says "Caesars" in the UK?

Be cautious. Caesars has no licensed UK product, so a site or app using that name for UK betting isn't operating under any Caesars Entertainment authorization. The legitimate option for a UK bettor wanting the brand that was once Caesars-owned is William Hill, now run by evoke plc under its own UKGC license — not anything badged Caesars.

Can I use my US Caesars Sportsbook account in the UK?

No. Caesars Sportsbook in the US runs on geolocation tied to licensed US states and is not accessible or usable from the UK, and there is no parallel UK account to open since Caesars sold off that side of the business in 2022.