What is a gaming license list and what it contains?
A gambling (or gaming) license is the official allowance to operate on some specific market or throughout the world (depending on the license conditions and powerfulness). Many countries of the world, which are entitled to give their gaming license, have proper legislation demands, where they basically say that licensing:
- prevents any connection of the gaming house with illegal activity like money laundering, financing of terrorism, or tax avoidance
- makes sure that all games are unbiased, the gaming settings are fair for everyone and transparent, and that gamers’ money is safe and sound on their casino’s accounts
- makes transactions not postponed or canceled without a reason, as well as accounts of gamers aren’t blocked unreasonably
- makes it impossible for children and incapable persons to take part in gambling in the venue.
Not having a license means that every gamer in such a venue is endangered, has threats imposed on his or her money, and that gaming is not fair.
There are super reliable licenses on the market, which cause the utmost trust among gamers. These are provided by the UK, Alderney, Antigua and Barbuda, Isle of Man, Gibraltar, Curacao, Malta, and Kahnawake. If you see that an online casino has any of these, you can be absolutely assured of its trustworthiness. However, enter the name or other data of this casino to the search field of a website of one of those jurisdictions just to check whether it truly has a license (to exclude the possibility of fraud). Sleep tight if it has.
The list of modern jurisdictions entitled to provide the gambling licenses is as follows (excluding those already mentioned):
- Andorra
- Argentina
- Armenia
- Australia
- Austria
- Belgium
- Belize
- Bulgaria
- China
- Costa Rica
- Cyprus
- Denmark
- Estonia
- France
- Georgia
- Germany
- Hungary
- Ireland
- Italy
- Jersey
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Montenegro
- Nevada, the US
- Panama
- Poland
- Serbia
- Spain
- The Netherlands
- The Philippines
- Vanuatu.
Each type of license has its own rules of usage and application to domestic and foreign territories. Basically, if your country is not allowed to play in the casino with a specific license, you will find out about it right upon the entrance to the website – it will ban you based on your country’s IP.
Obtaining a license for an online casino is a big deal (and in some jurisdictions, costly). But casinos go for it in order to have an influx of clients, which is a must for every such type of business.
The things that are considered by the licensing bodies before granting a license are:
- whether the house operators/owners have profile experience and enough money to afford sustainable operation (in order to prevent the casino from busting in a few months or when several big winners occur out of the blue)
- proof of crystal clear criminal background
- identification of an end beneficiary
- proof of unbiased gaming practices and settings.
Conclusion
A license is a proof that a casino strives to make fair gambling. You should find out its license info before depositing any money. And it would also be great if you report any unlicensed casino you found online to any of the named bodies (preferably, in the casino’s registration jurisdiction) so adequate measures can be taken.
If you’re satisfied with the fact of the license, your mind will be calm.