Black Cat Games Limited holds a Remote Gambling Software Operating Licence from the UK Gambling Commission, account 67371, granted on 18 September 2025. The studio had not begun trading when it was granted — which is how British licensing is supposed to work, and is worth explaining.
What was announced
The Gateshead studio, founded by Doug Charnley and Adam Quickfall, said the licence had been approved and that it planned to start trading in the fourth quarter of 2025. It named Yggdrasil Gaming and Million Games as partners and mentioned Captain's Curse among its titles. Director Doug Charnley said the licence “opens doors to endless possibilities”.
Licensed before launch, not after
Britain does not license a supplier that is already operating. The Gambling Commission expects the licence to be in place before any gambling software reaches a British player, which means a new studio applies on the strength of its plans, its people and its finances rather than its trading record.
The application asks for the founders' backgrounds, funding sources and control structure, along with technical and policy documentation. For a two-year-old company that is a substantial exercise, and clearing it is a meaningful signal about the people behind it — it is close to the only regulatory signal a pre-revenue studio can have.
The partners named are the other half of the picture. A new studio without its own distribution reaches operators through an established one, and Yggdrasil's network is a route rather than an endorsement.
What our records show
We hold one licence for Black Cat Games: the UK Gambling Commission entry (067371-R-341229-003), at our highest tier because we opened the register ourselves. We record it live in one market, the United Kingdom.
It was founded in 2023 and builds visually rich online slots — Druid's Drop and Island Ices among them — distributed through third parties rather than its own platform.
If you are buying
A new studio with a British licence and a distribution deal is a reasonable early bet, but ask when it starts trading and how many titles are certified. A licence granted before launch says the people cleared the Commission's checks. It says nothing about whether the games work, because there are not yet enough of them live to know.
- Black Cat Games
