Casino & Betting Licenses

For any company to be allowed to offer services that include playing (betting) for money they will need a betting license.  The most common way of betting or playing for money today is online. More specific online casinos and betting sites such we usually call bookmaker...  

Licenses

There are many types of licenses from many different jurisdictions depending on if you are a game provider who is then developing the games that we play or if you are a casino which offers these games to customers directly. There are different licenses for sportsbook and casino games and much more.

But we are just going to mention the few facts that affect you as a player as this is of course much more relevant unless you are thinking about starting your own casino or betting site.

More Relevant than ever

Today it's more relevant than ever to discuss casino and betting licenses as more and more countries are creating their own licenses. You might think its strange that this is just happening but it has been hard for most countries to adapt as the industry has grown so rapidly since its launch in 1994.

Main Licences

Today there are still just a few "main" licenses which you will see on the casino sites you play at. Those are Malta, UK, Denmark, and Curacao. There are a few others as well such as Alderney and Costa Rica but those are not at all as common as the ones mentioned before.

Look for the right license

What you want to look for depends on a lot where you reside. For example, if you are a UK citizen you would like to play at a UK licensed Casino (UKGC) because of the local regulations which are in your favor and also you can then always get help from the UKGC (United Kingdom Gambling Commission) or a Solicitor if you would ever have a problem with one of those casino sites.

Specific License

If you are residing in Europe but not in a country with its own specific license such as Denmark you would want to be looking at another European license as a Maltese license for example because winnings from those sites you don't need to pay any tax on and so on.

Outside EU

If you then reside outside Europe those things would not matter as much. But the licenses that are given in, for example, UK or Malta (EU licenses) are keeping the licensees on a much more tighter leash than for example a Costa Rica license. This will also protect you as a player when it comes to the rules and regulations the casino needs to follow.

Research

Hopefully, this gives you a little better insight into what the licenses do for you as a player and how you can use it to your advantage. But also remember that a Curacao licensed Casino could always be much better than a Maltese licensed Casino.

Casino

It always comes down to the Casino itself but it's a good guideline to follow. Also, check out the footer of the Casino you play at for the license logo and you should be able to press that logo to see the status of their license. If you can't find that or if the status of the license is not active, There is probably a reason for that... So find a new casino instead.