The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) says it has warned Bitcoin operators that gambling offerings to UK residents require a license, even if conducted through alternate currencies.

The UKGC website published an FAQ with the title, “Why has the Gambling Commission written to Bitcoin operators?” in which the UKGC expressed its concern over illegal gambling operators providing services in the country. The UKGC insists that “an operator needs to be licensed by the Gambling Commission regardless of where they are located in the world, if they provide facilities for gambling to consumers in Great Britain.”

The commission also confirmed that it wrote to a number of operators which had been offering “prizes of money or money’s worth to gamblers,” stating that as Bitcoin comes under the category of money’s worth, therefore any operator offering this facility to gamblers in Britain requires a UK operating license or they are acting illegally.

UKGC CEO Jenny Williams said that the Commission wrote to these operators who are either advertising gambling illegally or illegally offering gambling products to consumers, or both.