Casino licenses are important as in most of Europe it’s legally required in order for an operator to offer their services to paying customers. A license ensures that a casino has met certain guidelines, been checked out, and has policies in place to verify and protect their players. They have to show they can be trusted with your data and your payments and be able to help should you have any questions.
WHAT IS A CASINO LICENSE?
Casino licenses are a kind of ‘seal of approval’ from the country it’s issued in, confirming that the casino has met their specific requirements. The requirements are likely to vary from country to country, but generally this can include things like the owners of the company being checked out, the company proving they are upstanding and above board, proving their system is safe and efficient, showing they have processes in place to protect customer data, verify customers and protect vulnerable people, fraud prevention measures, and much more.
The casino has to provide a lot of real and verified documentation on it’s owners, it’s business and it’s systems before a license will be approved. They must have a clear structure, process and methods, all of which must be shown and upheld, even after the license has been issued. Failure to comply will result in an application being denied or a license being revoked.
WHY DOES A CASINO NEED A LICENSE?
In essence, casino licenses are to protect the players and the countries where the operator is based and offering their service. If anyone could open a casino without licensing, there is no way to know if they can be trusted with player information, credit card details, and large amounts of money. The license ensures the company and the people in charge have been fully checked out and are deemed trustworthy with your money.
WHY SO MANY DIFFERENT LICENSES AND WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES?
There are a few different kinds of casino licenses and it’s possible for a company to have more than one. In the world there are some ‘regulated markets’. These are countries who offer their own gaming license and only companies approved by them can offer their services to players there. Markets such as Italy, Spain and more recently, the UK. These countries demand that casinos have a base in their country and a license in order to access players who reside there. This stricter legislation is a bid to make gaming safer, bring revenue into the country, and generally keep a closer eye on online gaming.
Not all countries are regulated markets. For example, although Malta issues licenses, operators don’t have to have a Malta license in order to accept players from here. They just have to have a recognised casino license, wherever it’s from.
In general, if you’re in Europe, you should play on casinos with a European license (Malta, Gibraltar) as these are deemed the safest, however non-EU Curacao is also considered a good license to have.
AS A PLAYER, DO I NEED TO BE INTERESTED IN THE CASINO LICENSE?
Yes, absolutely. When you sign up to an online casino you are providing them with your personal details. These can vary but almost always include name, date of birth, address, as well as payment information. To play on a casino you have to put money in- would you give just anyone your full card number and security code on the back? Would you give your PayPal or Skrill username and password to a stranger on the street? Of course not, you need to be sure that the person you’re sending this information to will only use it for the purpose you intend, and nothing else.
At the very least, when you sign up to a new casino you should double check they have a casino license from a trusted country. All casinos should display this clearly on their site, or provide this when asked. If they won’t then alarm bells should start to ring. A casino operating without a license is breaking the law, so who’s to say they’ll keep your data, passwords and money safe?
WHERE CAN I SEE ALL THE CASINO LICENSES AND WHICH CASINOS HAVE THEM?
That’s exactly what we’ve created for you in this section. See the list of the gaming commissions which are able to issue licenses in order to find out more about them, plus see a list of all the casinos holding that license.
Courtesy netentcasinos*