Casino licences: who regulates your online casino?

EU casinos: is there an EU licence?

Many players look for EU casinos, but there is no single gambling licence for the whole EU. The European Commission says there is no sector-specific EU legislation on gambling, and that each member state decides how to regulate it. Member states don’t have to recognise each other’s licences either.

So when we say EU licence, we mean a licence from one of the 30 countries in the European Union and the European Economic Area (EEA): the 27 EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Malta and Estonia are the two we look at more closely on this page. How licences from these 30 countries work, and how to check them, is explained on our page about EU-licensed casinos.

Why an EU licence doesn’t cover the whole EU

The EU Court of Justice has ruled that a member state may restrict gambling offered by operators licensed in another EU country, as long as the restriction is justified and proportionate to its aim. The aim can be, for example, to protect minors or to fight problem gambling, fraud and crime. In the 2009 case of Liga Portuguesa and Bwin, the Court accepted Portugal’s rules on that basis, because they were meant to fight fraud and crime. So a casino licensed in Malta cannot automatically offer gambling in Denmark.

EU or non-EU licence?

The difference between a licence from an EU country and one from Curaçao, Anjouan or Gibraltar lies in the rules the casino is subject to. A casino licensed in an EU country falls under that country’s law, and so under EU rules as well, for example on money laundering. In Malta, a complaint the casino doesn’t resolve can be taken to an independent dispute resolution body based in the EU or EEA. Outside the EU, the licensing country’s own rules set the casino’s obligations. Whatever the licence, the casino must also follow the law in the countries where it offers gambling.

MGA casinos and the Malta Gaming Authority

The Malta Gaming Authority, known as the MGA, is Malta’s gambling regulator. It was set up in 2001 as the Lotteries and Gaming Authority and renamed the Malta Gaming Authority in January 2015. Malta has been in the EU since 1 May 2004, so an MGA licence is a licence from an EU country.

Malta’s 2018 Gaming Act

Today the licence is based on Malta’s Gaming Act (Chapter 583), which came into force on 1 August 2018 and replaced the online gaming rules that had applied since 2004. The MGA issues two types of licence: a B2C (business-to-consumer) licence for companies that offer games directly to players, and a B2B (business-to-business) licence for suppliers of games and systems. A licence runs for ten years at a time. Under Maltese rules, players’ money must be kept separate from the casino’s own funds.

MGA licence check

An MGA licence number starts with MGA/, for example MGA/B2C/959/2022 or MGA/CRP/237/2013, and the licence type is shown on the page behind the casino’s seal. To check it, search the MGA’s licensee register by company name or web address. The register shows the company, the licence status and the domains the licence covers. Read more about the Maltese licence on our MGA casinos page.

When the MGA steps in

An MGA licence can be suspended or cancelled if the company breaks the rules. The MGA publishes these decisions in a separate enforcement register, so you can see whether a company has had trouble with the regulator. It also has a tool for checking whether a particular web address belongs to a licensee.

Curaçao casinos and the new CGA licence

Where is Curaçao?

Curaçao is an island in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Venezuela, about 8,370 km from Copenhagen. Since 10 October 2010, it has been an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is not part of the EU, but it is one of the EU’s overseas countries and territories.

From master licences to direct licences

From the mid-1990s, online casinos got their Curaçao licence through a system of master licences based on a 1993 law. The four big master licence holders, among them Antillephone and Curaçao eGaming, issued sub-licences to casinos, which could then show a seal on their site. Many players still know names such as Curaçao eGaming and Gaming Curaçao from that time, and many casinos write the island’s name as Curacao, without the ç.

In November 2023, the Gaming Control Board opened direct licence applications to casinos, and the first direct licences were issued in 2024. The new gambling law, the National Ordinance on Games of Chance (Landsverordening op de kansspelen, LOK), came into force on 24 December 2024. Under the law, the Gaming Control Board became the Curaçao Gaming Authority (CGA), which now issues the licences. The sub-licence system ended for good on 15 October 2025, when the old orange sub-licence seals expired.

What a Curaçao gaming licence looks like today

Licence numbers under the new system start with OGL or, for newer licences, CGA, followed by a year. A licence can only go to a company incorporated in Curaçao with at least one director who lives on the island. A full licence has no expiry date. Some licences are provisional, though: they run for up to six months and can be extended by up to six months more. The register can also show the status “Assessment in progress”, meaning the CGA has not finished its assessment. So check both the status and any expiry date.

A Curaçao casino shows a seal that should open a page on cert.cga.cw. That page must show exactly the domain you are visiting, the company name and the licence status. If the domain doesn’t match, the CGA says you should treat the casino site as unauthorised. The CGA does not mediate individual disputes between players and casinos, but it accepts complaints and uses them in its supervision. See our selection of Curaçao casinos.

Anjouan casinos and the Anjouan gaming licence

According to the licensing body’s own website, Anjouan licences are issued under legislation adopted in 2005, including the Anjouan Computer Gaming Licensing Act. Supervision lies with the Anjouan Offshore Financial Authority and the Anjouan Gaming Board, while a company, Anjouan Licensing Services Inc. (ALSI), administers the licences.

Is Anjouan a country?

No. Anjouan, called Ndzuwani in Comorian, is one of the islands of the Union of the Comoros, in the Indian Ocean between Madagascar and the African mainland. Each island largely runs its own affairs. The island’s capital, Mutsamudu, is about 8,100 km from Copenhagen.

How to use the Anjouan licence register

The licences are listed in a public register at anjouangaming.com, each with the company, licence number, issue date, expiry date and the domains it covers. Licence numbers start with ALSI. When we went through the register on 30 October 2026, it held about 1,300 licences, usually running for one, two or three years. Every licence was shown as valid, including dozens whose expiry date had passed, so always check the date yourself.

Restricted countries and players in Denmark

The licensing body says its licences carry no territorial restrictions under Anjouan law. It also says licence holders must comply with the law in the countries where they operate, and that an Anjouan licence does not override local prohibitions. Whether a casino accepts players from Denmark is set out in its own terms. Read more about Anjouan casinos.

An example from our list: Smash and Gambiva belong to Softon Ltd, whose licence ALSI-202409012-FI1 expires on 6 September 2027, according to the register. When we read both casinos’ terms on 14 October 2026, Denmark was not on their list of excluded countries. Lists like this can change, so check again before you open an account. A casino that accepts players from Denmark does not thereby hold a Danish licence.

EMTA casinos: Estonia’s gambling licence

In Estonia, gambling licences are issued by the Tax and Customs Board, Maksu- ja Tolliamet (EMTA), under the Estonian Gambling Act of 2008. The Act came into force in 2009 and was substantially amended on 1 January 2026. Estonia has been in the EU since 1 May 2004. In Estonia itself, the minimum age for casino games is 21.

Two permits instead of one

An Estonian online casino needs two permits: an activity licence for each type of game and an operating permit. The activity licence has no expiry date, while the operating permit for online casino games is granted for up to five years at a time. Both must be in place before the casino can offer games.

The 2026 amendment sets new requirements for an activity licence, and companies that already held one have until 1 January 2027 to meet them. So if a casino shows an Estonian licence, check that the company is still on EMTA’s list after that date.

How to check an EMTA licence

EMTA publishes a list of legal gambling operators, with each operator linked to its entry in Estonia’s Register of Economic Activities. Look for the company named in the casino’s terms on that list. EMTA also blocks illegal gambling sites and publishes a list of them. On our EMTA casinos page, we list the casinos with an Estonian licence that we have checked.

Gibraltar casinos and the new Gambling Act

Is Gibraltar in the EU?

Not any more. Gibraltar is a British overseas territory on the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, bordering Spain. According to the Government of Gibraltar, it left the EU together with the United Kingdom on 31 January 2020. A Gibraltar licence is therefore not an EU licence, even though Gibraltar is in Europe.

New law: the Gambling Act 2025

Gibraltar has a new gambling law, the Gambling Act 2025. It came into force on 1 April 2026, except for Part 5 of the Act, and replaced the 2005 Act. Licences are issued by the responsible Minister as the licensing authority, while supervision lies with the Gambling Commissioner, whose office is known as the Gambling Division.

How to check a Gibraltar licence

The Gambling Division publishes its list of licence holders on its website. Find the company named in the casino’s terms on that list, and check that it holds a licence for online gambling. If the company is not on the list, the casino does not have a Gibraltar licence, whatever its site says. We list casinos licensed in Gibraltar on our Gibraltar casinos page.

Kahnawake casinos and the Kahnawake Gaming Commission

Kahnawake is a Mohawk territory near Montréal in the province of Quebec, Canada. Its gambling authority, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC), was set up in 1996 and adopted its rules for online gambling in 1999. The territory is in neither the EU nor the EEA, so a Kahnawake licence is not an EU licence.

A licence for casino, poker and betting

KGC licenses casino, poker and betting sites. What a casino receives is called a Client Provider Authorization, and its systems must be hosted at Mohawk Internet Technologies in the territory. The first licence runs for six months, and renewals can last up to five years. Bwin is a well-known example: bwin.com is on KGC’s list under the company Electraworks, which also holds the Danish licence for bwin.dk.

How to check a Kahnawake licence

KGC’s list of licence holders shows the company and web address, but neither a licence number nor a licence date. So also click the KGC logo on the casino’s site. It should open a Certificate of Good Standing that names the site and the licence holder, and if it doesn’t, KGC asks you to write to it. We go through the list and the largest companies on it on our page about Kahnawake casinos.