Anjouan casinos: how the Anjouan licence works

What is an Anjouan gaming licence?

An Anjouan gaming licence is a licence for online gambling, officially called an Internet Gaming Licence. It is issued by Anjouan Gaming, which describes itself as the licensing authority of the autonomous island of Anjouan. According to its website, Anjouan Gaming works within the framework of the Anjouan Offshore Financial Authority and the Anjouan Gaming Board, and the day-to-day administration is handled by a company, Anjouan Licensing Services Inc. (ALSI).

Anjouan Gaming points to legislation from 2005, mainly the Anjouan Computer Gaming Licensing Act. There are two kinds of licence: a B2C (business-to-consumer) licence for casinos and other operators that offer games directly to players, and a B2B (business-to-business) licence for suppliers of platforms, software and technical services. According to Anjouan Gaming, the licence can cover online casinos, sports betting, poker and crypto gambling, among other things.

How long does an Anjouan licence last?

Every licence in the register has an expiry date. Most run for one, two or three years, and a few run for four years. If a licence isn’t renewed, the company is no longer entitled to offer games under it, according to Anjouan Gaming’s own definitions.

What the licence requires of a casino

Every Anjouan licence comes with a set of standard conditions. The casino may only use the domains Anjouan Gaming has approved, and it must represent its licence status accurately on all its platforms. It must comply with all applicable laws, provide information to Anjouan Gaming on request and tell it about important changes to the business.

The conditions also require the casino to disclose its beneficial owners to Anjouan Gaming and to name an approved alternative dispute resolution (ADR) body, with contact details, in its terms. According to Anjouan Gaming, these two requirements apply immediately to new licences, while existing licences only have to meet them when they are renewed. Anjouan Gaming can also attach specific conditions to an individual licence. Our guide to casino licences explains how the other licences work.

Is Anjouan a country?

No, Anjouan is not an independent country. The island, called Ndzuwani in Comorian, is part of the Union of the Comoros, an island nation in the Indian Ocean between Madagascar and the African mainland. The Comoros constitution of 2018 gives the islands a degree of autonomy, and Anjouan Gaming refers to the island’s autonomous status when it issues licences. Something similar applies to the licence from Kahnawake, which is issued in a Mohawk territory in Canada.

How far away is Anjouan, and is it in the EU?

Mutsamudu, a town on Anjouan, is about 8,100 km from Copenhagen in a straight line. The Comoros is not an EU member, so an Anjouan licence is not an EU licence. If you want a casino licensed in an EU or EEA country, see our page about EU-licensed casinos.

The Anjouan licence register: how to read it

Anjouan Gaming lists its licences, apart from suspended and revoked ones, in the Anjouan licence register. For each licence you can see the company, the licence number, the licence type, the issue date, the expiry date and the domains the licence covers. When we went through the register on 2 November 2026, it held about 1,300 licences.

“Valid” even after expiry

The register shows “valid” next to every licence, including several dozen whose expiry date had already passed when we looked. Yet Anjouan Gaming’s own definitions distinguish between active, suspended, revoked and expired licences, and only an active licence gives the right to offer games. So you have to compare the expiry date with today’s date yourself. The Estonian register, by contrast, says next to each permit whether it is valid, as we show on our page about EMTA casinos.

Suspended and revoked licences

Suspended and revoked licences are not in the register. Anjouan Gaming lists them separately, on two pages of their own. A suspended licence doesn’t allow the company to offer games while the suspension lasts, and a revoked licence is withdrawn for good. On 2 November, the lists showed one suspended licence (the company had failed to take part in an ADR case) and two revoked ones: one for fraud and one for illegal sub-licensing.

What the register doesn’t tell you

Anjouan Gaming itself says the register is updated periodically and may not always be fully up to date. A domain listed in the register only means that the company has notified Anjouan Gaming of it, not that the company owns it. A listing also doesn’t mean Anjouan Gaming recommends the casino. To see how Anjouan’s register compares with the registers behind other licences, use our casino licence comparison.

The seal and the certificate

A casino with an Anjouan licence may display the Anjouan seal on its site. If it does, the seal must be identical to the original, appear on every page of the casino’s website and link directly to the licence’s page in the register. It may only be shown while the licence is active and must be removed as soon as the licence is suspended or revoked, or expires. It also may not be used on domains the licence doesn’t cover.

Anjouan licence certificates carry a licence number and a QR code that leads to the licence’s page in the register. If a certificate can’t be confirmed in the register, Anjouan Gaming says you shouldn’t rely on it.

The Anjouan licence and players in Denmark

Restricted countries: none under Anjouan law, but Danish law applies

Anjouan Gaming says its licences carry no country restrictions under Anjouan law, and that each casino is responsible for blocking countries itself. At the same time, it stresses that licence holders must comply with the law in the countries where they do business, and that an Anjouan licence does not override bans in individual countries.

An Anjouan licence therefore doesn’t give a casino the right to offer gambling in Denmark, which requires a licence from the Danish Gambling Authority (Spillemyndigheden). Under the Danish Gambling Act, anyone who offers gambling without a licence can be punished, and so can others, including anyone who seeks to make a living from unlicensed gambling. We have found no rule that punishes people for simply playing. Because Anjouan casinos hold no Danish licence, the Danish Gambling Authority doesn’t supervise them.

Anjouan casinos on our list

Two of the casinos we list hold an Anjouan licence: Smash and Gambiva. Both are registered under the company Softon Ltd with licence ALSI-202409012-FI1, which the register says expires on 6 September 2027. On 2 November, their terms excluded players from countries including the USA, the Netherlands, France, the UK, Germany, Sweden and the Comoros itself. Denmark was not on the list, but that doesn’t mean the casinos may offer gambling in Denmark. The licence is older than Gambiva’s web address, and we explain why that can happen on our page about new online casinos.

The terms don’t mention the licence number, so search for the casino’s domain in the register if you want to see the licence. For a casino licensed in an EU country instead, see our page on casinos licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority.

Anjouan casino bonuses and welcome packages

Smash and Gambiva are the two Anjouan casinos in our selection, and both show large offers on their cards. On the Anjouan Gaming pages we have read, we have not found a limit on the size of a bonus.

Smash and Gambiva: the offers in our selection

• Smash: 600% up to €10,000.
• Gambiva: a welcome package of 800% up to €10,000.

A high percentage does not tell you what you have to do to get the money. A welcome package can be spread over several deposits, so check what applies to your first. Read the wagering, deadlines and withdrawal limits too, as we explain under bonuses at foreign casinos. The offers can change and may not apply in Denmark.

Disagree about a bonus? How to complain

According to Anjouan Gaming, complaints about your account, including bonuses, must reach the casino within 30 calendar days, and the casino has 30 calendar days to respond. If that does not settle it, you can go to an independent dispute body. Two of the approved ones, Axion ADR and CADRE, list bonus terms among the cases they handle. There is more in the next section.

Payment methods at Anjouan casinos: cards and crypto

According to our information, both Smash and Gambiva accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Tether, as well as Giropay and Sofort. Dankort, MobilePay and Trustly are not on their cards. The minimum deposit is €10 at Smash and €20 at Gambiva. Check the cashier, because the choice can depend on your country.

Anjouan crypto casinos: what to know

Anjouan Gaming itself lists crypto-enabled gaming as an activity the licence can cover. On the pages we have read, we have not found specific rules on crypto payments. A failure to keep player funds separate, however, is one of the reasons Anjouan Gaming gives for suspending a licence. If you disagree about a payment, the same 30 calendar days apply as for bonuses.

How to complain about an Anjouan casino

Anjouan Gaming doesn’t handle complaints from players and doesn’t mediate. Your complaint goes to the casino first, and according to Anjouan Gaming it must be sent through the complaint option you reach by clicking the casino’s Anjouan seal. Complaints about the outcome of a game must be made within 14 calendar days of playing, and complaints about your account, such as payments, account closures or bonuses, within 30 calendar days. The casino must reply within 30 calendar days.

Some casinos set shorter deadlines or longer reply times in their terms, so complain promptly and keep your evidence.

Taking your complaint to an ADR body

If your complaint isn’t resolved within 30 calendar days, you can take it to an approved ADR body, whatever reply time the casino’s terms give. Every casino with an Anjouan licence must take part in these cases, and the casino pays for them. On 2 November, the approved ADR bodies were EGIS ADR, Axion ADR, iGaming ADR and CADRE B.V. The case itself is conducted in English.

If the casino’s terms don’t name its ADR body, ask the casino which one it uses and request the contact details. You can read the rules on Anjouan Gaming’s page about the complaint process.

Outside the complaint process

According to Anjouan Gaming, complaints from “excluded territories”, a term it does not explain further, fall outside the complaint process, and so do cases taken to an ADR body before the 30 days are up. Other licences have other complaint processes; see, for example, the complaint process at Curaçao casinos.

Is an Anjouan gaming licence legit?

It is a licence you can check in a public register, but it gives you limited protection, and no licence is a guarantee. Here is what it gives you and what it doesn’t. Before you deposit, also read our page about responsible gambling. Help with gambling problems is free and anonymous at Center for Ludomani.

What Anjouan Gaming’s rules promise

• A public register you can search by number, company and domain.
• A requirement that the casino only uses approved domains and represents its licence status accurately.
• A requirement that the casino discloses its beneficial owners to Anjouan Gaming (for existing licences, only from renewal).
• A complaint process with fixed deadlines and an approved ADR body that the casino pays for.

What an Anjouan licence doesn’t give you

• A licence from an EU country: the Comoros is not in the EU.
• A licensing body that handles your complaint.
• A register that flags expired licences: you have to check the date yourself.
• Danish supervision: without a Danish licence, the casino isn’t supervised by the Danish Gambling Authority.