How to get a casino license: a short guide

Settling "How to get a casino license?" takes one visit to a public register. A licence number printed in a casino site's footer is a claim, and the licensing authority's public register is where the claim is checked. The register shows the company that holds the licence, its status and often the domains it covers. A match on all three takes a few minutes and says far more about a casino than any badge or review.

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Every licensing authority keeps a public register of the companies it licenses. Searching it by the licence number or the company name shown on the casino site should return a single entry, with the same company, an active status and, on many registers, a list of approved domains. A number that returns nothing, a different company or a domain missing from the list is a reason to stop before depositing anything.

A gambling licence binds the company that holds it to a set of rules: checks on the identity and age of players, tools for limiting play, fair handling of complaints and regular reporting to the authority. Breaking them can bring fines, conditions or the loss of the licence. What the licence does not do is guarantee a pleasant experience, and the strength of the rules varies a great deal between one authority and the next.

Answers in brief

Where should a licence badge link to?

To the matching register entry on the authority's own website; a badge that opens a page on the casino's domain shows nothing at all.

What statuses can a gambling licence have?

Active, suspended, surrendered or revoked. A suspended licence may still appear in a footer for weeks, since nothing forces a site to update its badge.

What does a licensing register entry show?

The company holding the licence, its status and, on many registers, the approved domains; a search by number or company name should return a single entry.

What should casino terms say about the operator?

The terms should name the company holding the licence and its registered address, and both details should match what the register shows.

Why must the casino company name match the register?

Sites often run on a platform company that holds the licence for them; the name in the terms should match the register exactly, and a mismatch deserves a written answer.

Does one licence cover every product a site sells?

Not always. A site licensed for casino games may lack cover for the sports betting or lotteries it also sells, and the scope is part of the register entry.