How to Check an Overseas Casino’s Licence

The licence check to complete before registering

You do not need to deposit money or submit identity documents to begin checking a licensing claim. Keep the casino website open in one tab and the relevant regulator’s register in another. Compare the information directly, rather than relying on a review, support message or badge that repeats the casino’s own wording.

1. 01
   Identify the website

   Record the domain you would actually use to open an account.

2. 02
   Find the operator

   Copy the company name and licence reference from the account terms.

3. 03
   Search the official register

   Use the domain, company or reference, as the register permits.

4. 04
   Read the record

   Check current status, licensed activity, relevant dates and any linked notices.

5. 05
   Check your market

   Establish the authorisation and registration rules applicable to your location.

The result should be a specific statement about one website and one account. “The group has a licence” is incomplete if you cannot connect that licence to the service you are considering. Our licensing and eligibility overview explains why these checks come before bonuses or payment comparisons.

Start with the country where you will use the account

“Overseas” describes location, not a category of permission. A company can be based in one country, hold licences in several others and operate different websites for different markets. Finding a real foreign licence is useful, but it does not establish that the business may offer gambling to you.

Great Britain and the United Kingdom are not interchangeable geographic terms. Northern Ireland has a different legal framework, so do not extend a statement about the Commission’s remit to every UK jurisdiction without checking the relevant rules.

A British flag, English-language support, GBP balances or a selectable country in a registration form does not settle authorisation. Those are website features. Keep the regulatory question separate from whether the software lets you begin registering.

Find the legal operator behind the casino name

Start with the footer, then read the terms governing the gambling account. Look for wording identifying the company that operates the service or contracts with the customer. Record its full legal name, the claimed regulator, the licence or account reference and any registration details that distinguish it from similarly named businesses.

The brand in the header, the parent group, the payment processor and the legal operator can be different entities. A corporate registration number shows a different kind of record from a gambling licence. Do not put it into your notes as though it proves permission to operate casino games.

If the website mentions several companies, identify their roles. One might process payments, another supply software, and another hold the player-facing licence. The Commission’s guidance on licensed businesses explains the licensing information its operators must display, including a link to its register.

Keep a copy of the terms you read. If the footer names one operator and the account contract names another, record the discrepancy and its date. An unexplained difference needs clarification before you treat either name as the verified counterparty.

Use the regulator’s own register

Navigate to the authority independently and find its register from there. A casino’s licence link can be a useful shortcut, but the destination must belong to the regulator or a verification service that the regulator itself links to. A polished certificate page on an unrelated domain is not equivalent evidence.

Searching the Gambling Commission register

The business register accepts searches by business name, trading name, domain or account number. Start with the exact domain, then try the legal company if necessary. Open the record rather than stopping at a search result. Read the licence status and activity information, together with the entries for relevant websites.

The Commission notes that businesses supply their domain and trading-name information. If the record and website disagree, investigate the difference. A search match is useful evidence, but you still need to establish that you have found the right account.

Checking Malta, Italy and Curaçao claims

The MGA provides both a licensee register and a URL checker from its official register page. Use them together when the casino’s trading name differs from its company name. Follow the authority’s links instead of guessing a verification address from a badge.

ADM’s Italian list connects concession numbers, concessionaires and websites. It is particularly useful for distinguishing brands owned by the same group. For Curaçao claims, begin with the current CGA register; an old certificate image or an account of a previous licensing arrangement does not establish present status.

Match the exact domain and the account contract

Read the address bar after any redirect. Two websites can share a brand while having different country endings, operators or account terms. Conversely, several brands may be associated with one company. Neither situation is automatically wrong; the task is to connect the particular website to the particular authorisation.

Copy the domain rather than retyping it from memory. Small spelling changes, extra words and different endings can lead somewhere else. If the register links to the operator’s website, compare that destination with the one you started from. Where the regulator lists only a base domain, do not assume every unrelated-looking address is covered.

An example appears in ADM’s published list: starcasino.it and betsson.it are associated with Azzurri Limited under separate concession references. Shared ownership therefore does not mean you can replace StarCasinò’s account terms with Betsson.it’s banking conditions.

The same care applies when a business announces a takeover or a move to a new platform. Establish which company is responsible now, which documents govern the account and whether the regulator’s record reflects the change. A press release describes a corporate event; it is not the complete account contract.

Check the licence type, status and dates

Does the authorisation cover the service?

A record for a real company may cover a different activity from the one you intend to use. Check whether it concerns remote gambling, a physical venue, software supply or the relevant player-facing product. A premises licence for a land-based casino does not by itself verify an online casino account.

The MGA’s licensing definitions distinguish a business-to-consumer gaming service licence from a business-to-business critical gaming supply licence. A supplier’s authorisation does not establish that the casino taking your deposit holds the appropriate permission. Read the role and activity, not just the familiar company name.

Is the record current?

Check the status today and read any effective dates or linked decisions. An application, historical entry or expired authorisation must not be described as an active licence. The Commission retains register details for three years after a licence ends, which is why simply finding a business is insufficient.

Also distinguish the licence’s status from the status of a trading name or website entry. Where a notice refers to suspension, surrender or cancellation, read the notice itself to understand the affected business and date. Do not infer present permission from a favourable status shown in an older screenshot.

Previous enforcement action and current authorisation are separate facts. A past penalty does not automatically prove that a current licence is invalid, while an active entry does not erase the history. The MGA’s enforcement register is one example of an official source for checking that additional context.

Recognise copied badges and misleading evidence

A regulator logo is easy to display. The useful evidence is the live record behind the claim, reached through a trusted route. Check the full destination of a verification link; a regulator’s name inside a longer address does not establish who controls that address.

The MGA publishes warnings about websites making false references to its authority or licences. Consult relevant warning lists when something does not match. Absence from a warning list is not a substitute for a positive licence check.

• A certificate image: may reproduce old information without showing current status.
• A valid licence number: may belong to another company or an unrelated service.
• HTTPS: encrypts the connection; it does not certify a gambling licence.
• Game-provider or payment logos: do not identify the permission covering your account.
• A company-register entry: does not replace the gambling regulator’s authorisation.

These distinctions help you evaluate evidence without guessing from appearance. A plain website with traceable records is easier to assess than an impressive licence badge that leads nowhere useful. Neither visual style alone proves how the operator will behave.

What to do when the details do not match

First rule out a search mistake. Check spelling, try the full legal company name and search the licence reference separately. Look for an official notice explaining a name change or transfer. If the register is temporarily unavailable, treat the check as unfinished rather than interpreting the outage as proof either way.

Ask the operator a precise question: which legal entity contracts with an account on this domain, what authorisation covers it, and where is the corresponding official record? Request a link and a written explanation. A reply that only says “fully licensed” has not answered the discrepancy.

Use contact details published independently by the authority if you need regulatory clarification. Do not send identity documents, passwords or card details to an unverified contact merely to check a public licensing claim. The inquiry should identify the website and the conflicting information, not expose your account credentials.

Until the material mismatch is resolved, pause account opening and deposits. If you already hold an account, save the relevant terms and correspondence and check the operator’s published withdrawal and complaint routes. Our warning-signs guide explains other inconsistencies that deserve the same attention.

Save evidence and identify the complaints route

A useful record lets you repeat the check later. Save the website address, legal entity, licence reference, register link, displayed status and date checked. Include the account terms and any explanation of a mismatch. A screenshot should show enough of the page to identify its source, not only a cropped badge.

Write down what remains uncertain as well as what matched. “Company found, domain unresolved” is more informative than a single tick beside “licensed”. Recheck when you return after a long break, receive a notice of changed terms or see that the website now redirects elsewhere.

Identify the formal complaints procedure before it becomes necessary. Note the operator’s complaint contact, any independent dispute-resolution body and the types of issue each body considers. A regulator’s reporting channel and a process for deciding an individual payment dispute may perform different functions.

For a Commission-licensed business, its consumer complaints guidance says to complain to the operator first. Its rules provide for escalation to an appropriate alternative dispute resolution provider when a dispute remains unresolved after eight weeks, or sooner if the process reaches a final position. Follow the applicable procedure rather than assuming every foreign regulator uses that timetable.

For an MGA claim, begin with the authority’s own complaint guidance and check its scope. Never assume that displaying a regulator logo creates a compensation guarantee or a promise that a complaint will be decided in your favour.

What a confirmed licence does not tell you

A successful check establishes a defined piece of regulatory information. It does not tell you that a particular bonus suits you, that your bank card is accepted or that a withdrawal will arrive on a preferred day. Those questions need evidence from the applicable account and payment conditions.

Keep those comparisons separate. Our payment-method guide explains why support for a payment network does not settle every country or account restriction. Likewise, withdrawal frequency, document checks and bank settlement time can affect access to funds even where the licence is genuine.

Licensing also does not remove the possibility of losing money through gambling. Decide whether to gamble independently of promotions, and use limits or take a break when needed. The responsible gambling page provides practical information and independent support resources.

The useful order is to confirm the domain, operator, authorisation and market first, then examine the conditions relevant to your account. If the first stage remains unresolved, attractive games or offers cannot supply the missing evidence.

Questions about checking casino licences