EU-licensed casinos: how licences from the EU and EEA work

What is an EU gambling licence?

When we say “EU licence” on this page, we mean a licence from one of the 30 EU or EEA countries, such as Malta or Estonia. There is no EU-wide licence: according to the European Commission, there is no EU law written specifically for gambling. Each EU country decides for itself how to regulate gambling, as long as it respects the fundamental freedoms of the EU Treaties, such as the freedom to provide services. Some countries run a gambling monopoly, others license several operators, and EU law doesn’t prefer one system over the other.

What an EU licence requires of a casino depends on the country that issued it. To see how the licences compare, read our guide to casino licences.

EU rules and guidance for gambling companies

Even without a common gambling law, gambling companies are covered by the EU’s anti-money-laundering rules. Casinos can never be exempted from them, and the rules require a casino to verify its customers’ identity. A new EU anti-money-laundering regulation, which applies from 10 July 2027, carries these requirements forward.

For you as a player, this means the casino must check your identity when you open an account. EU rules also require a check when you bet €2,000 or more, or collect winnings of €2,000 or more, including when the amount is split across several linked transactions.

In 2014, the European Commission adopted a recommendation setting out common principles for protecting players and minors in online gambling, covering information, registration and marketing, among other things. A recommendation isn’t binding, and the text itself says it “does not interfere with the right of Member States to regulate gambling services”.

Which countries are in the EU and EEA?

The EU has 27 member countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden. The EEA Agreement adds three more: Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. That makes 30 countries whose licences we count as EU licences.

Not in the EU or EEA

Several licences are often called European even though they don’t come from an EU or EEA country. The United Kingdom left the EU on 31 January 2020, and Gibraltar left with it. The Isle of Man isn’t in the EU either, and nor is Alderney, which together with Guernsey and Sark forms a British Crown dependency. Switzerland is in neither the EU nor the EEA, though it has bilateral agreements with the EU. Gibraltar’s own licence is covered on our page about the Gibraltar gambling licence.

A company from one of these places can still hold a Danish licence. The Danish Gambling Authority (Spillemyndigheden) lists companies with addresses in Gibraltar and on the Isle of Man among its licence holders. In Denmark, it is the Danish licence that counts, not where the company is based.

Outside Europe, there is Kahnawake, a Mohawk territory near Montréal in Canada. Our page on casinos licensed in Kahnawake explains how the licence from there works.

Curaçao is linked to the EU as an overseas country but isn’t part of it. Our page on casinos with a Curaçao licence explains how that licence works.

EU licences you are likely to see as a player in Denmark

Two countries come up again and again when casinos mention an EU licence: Malta and Estonia. Their licences work differently, so it is worth knowing which one a casino holds.

Denmark is an EU country too, so a licence from the Danish Gambling Authority is also an EU licence, and the only one that allows a casino to offer gambling to players in Denmark.

Malta (MGA)

The Malta Gaming Authority issues licences under Malta’s 2018 Gaming Act. A licence normally runs for ten years, players’ money must be kept apart from the casino’s own, and the casino must work with an independent dispute resolution body. We cover the licence, the register and three well-known MGA-licensed casinos on our page about casinos licensed in Malta.

Estonia (EMTA)

In Estonia, the Tax and Customs Board (Maksu- ja Tolliamet, EMTA) issues gambling licences under the country’s Gambling Act. A casino needs both an activity licence, which has no end date, and a licence to run online games. The online licence lasts up to five years. EMTA publishes a list of legal gambling operators.

The licence and the casinos we checked are covered on our page about casinos with an Estonian licence.

How to tell them apart

You can spot a Maltese licence by a licence number starting with MGA/ and by the MGA seal, which links to a page on the regulator’s website showing the company and its approved web addresses. You will find an Estonian licence on EMTA’s list of legal gambling operators, which links to Estonia’s register of economic activities. If the casino names neither MGA nor EMTA, find the regulator’s name and look the licence up with that regulator.

Can an EU-licensed casino offer gambling in Denmark?

A licence from another EU or EEA country isn’t valid in Denmark

A casino licensed in another EU or EEA country is not allowed to offer gambling in Denmark without a licence from the Danish Gambling Authority. The EU Court of Justice has repeatedly accepted that a country may restrict gambling from operators licensed elsewhere in the EU, provided the restriction is justified and proportionate to its aim.

In April 2026, in case C-440/23, the Court ruled that EU law doesn’t prevent a country from banning online casino games in order to steer people towards legal, supervised gambling and fight illegal gambling. That holds even for a company licensed in another EU country, and even if that country’s rules pursue the same aims. Denmark has chosen a licensing system instead: online casinos have been allowed here since 2012, but only with a Danish licence.

Under the Danish Gambling Act, anyone who offers gambling in Denmark without a licence can be fined or jailed for up to six months. Anyone who seeks to make a living from unlicensed gambling can be fined. We have not found any rule that makes it an offence for ordinary players to take part. We look at the rules more closely in our answer on whether foreign casinos are legal.

Many Danish licences go to companies in Malta

More than half of the companies holding a Danish online casino licence have an address in Malta. That is what the Danish Gambling Authority’s list of licensed operators showed when we went through it on 3 November 2026. The list also shows which web addresses each licence covers, and these can be .com addresses, not just .dk.

So a company licensed in another EU or EEA country can also hold a Danish licence, but the Danish licence only covers the web addresses on the list. To see EU licences next to the others, use our casino licence comparison.

EU casino bonuses and welcome offers

None of the nine casinos in our selection holds a licence from an EU country, so the offers on our cards are not EU casino bonuses. Nor does an EU licence by itself say how large a welcome bonus may be.

Are there shared bonus rules in the EU?

We have not found any. Gambling is not harmonised in the EU, so countries set their own rules, and the European Commission’s 2014 recommendation on online gambling does not mention bonuses. So the rules can differ widely:

• Denmark. A bonus can be worth at most 1,000 kr., and wagering can be at most 10 times the deposit and bonus.
• Malta. The casino must, among other things, show wagering requirements with examples. We have not found a limit on the size of a bonus.
• Estonia. The Gambling Act does not mention bonuses. According to an Estonian law firm, gambling adverts must not urge people to play.

EU casino no deposit bonus

An EU licence does not promise a no deposit bonus, and there are no such offers on our cards. If you see one, first find out which country the licence comes from, because that country’s rules apply to the casino. Check too that the casino is in that country’s register, and how much you may withdraw. The same goes for a new casino, because at new casinos the rules follow the licence, not the casino’s age.

EU casino payments: Trustly and Apple Pay

If you are looking for an EU casino with Trustly or Apple Pay, that depends on the casino, not the licence. We have not found shared EU rules on which methods a casino must offer, and each country has its own rules:

• Denmark. Payments must go through a payment service lawfully offered in Denmark, and cash is not allowed.
• Estonia. Online bets must be received through a bank, a payment or e-money institution or a crypto service licensed in an EEA country.
• Malta. Player funds must be held in an account with a licensed credit, financial or payment institution.

None of our nine cards shows Trustly. Apple Pay is on three of them, but none of the nine holds an EU licence.

EU casino fast withdrawals

An EU licence does not promise a fast withdrawal, and we have not measured payout times. So check what the terms say about processing time for your method, and whether the casino needs documents first. The Danish limit of five working days applies only when you close your account at a Danish casino.

How to complain about a casino with an EU licence

There is no EU-wide complaints body for gambling. How you complain depends on the rules of the country that issued the licence, and your complaint usually goes to the casino first. Complain in writing, and keep both your complaint and the casino’s reply so you can show what happened if you take it further.

The EU’s Consumer Rights Directive doesn’t cover gambling either, and the EU’s complaints platform for online purchases closed on 20 July 2025. That is why the rules of the licensing country are the ones to know.

The complaint route in Malta

In Malta, the casino must answer your complaint within ten days. It can extend this deadline by a further ten days. If the matter isn’t settled, you can take it to the independent dispute resolution body the casino works with. The details are on our MGA page.

Complaints about casinos licensed outside the EU and EEA

If a casino holds a licence from outside the EU and EEA, the licensing country’s rules decide how you can complain, and they can vary a lot. Our page about casinos with an Anjouan licence shows one example.

Is an EU licence better than a non-EU licence?

Often, but not always. A licence from an EU country means the casino is subject to that country’s gambling law and the EU’s anti-money-laundering rules. A Maltese licence also brings separate player funds and a dispute resolution body. Compared with the Curaçao and Anjouan licences we also cover, these are clearer, more specific requirements. Still, the rules depend on the country, and no licence guarantees that a casino is safe.

What you get with a licence from an EU or EEA country

• Supervision by a regulator in an EU or EEA country under its own gambling law.
• A casino that must follow the EU’s anti-money-laundering rules.
• A public register or list where you can look the licence up, such as the MGA register or EMTA’s list.
• National rules that must stay within EU law.

What you don’t get with a licence from another EU or EEA country

• A casino that may offer gambling in Denmark: only a Danish licence allows that.
• The same rules across the EU: the requirements depend on the country that issued the licence.
• An EU-wide complaints body for gambling.
• Protection under the licence when you play on web addresses it doesn’t cover.

Read more on our page about responsible gambling. Free, confidential help is available from StopSpillet and Center for Ludomani, which are also listed in the help box below.