Online Casino Licenses | The basics about Gambling Licenses
A gambling license is critical for an online casino for 2 primary reasons. The first and foremost reason is legal compliance that grants them access to critical infrastructures like mainstream banking and payment systems. The second reason is the trust of potential customers. Online gamblers trust an online casino that has then necessary gambling license to operate and accept players from their countries.
A gambling license is critical for an online casino for 2 primary reasons. The first and foremost reason is legal compliance that grants them access to critical infrastructures like mainstream banking and payment systems. The second reason is the trust of potential customers. Online gamblers trust an online casino that has then necessary gambling license to operate and accept players from their countries.
If the gambling licenses are so important, then getting them should be the first priority of the casinos. They should go ahead and get all the licenses they can, right? Well, that’s easier said than done!
Gambling continues to be a taboo topic in many countries, perhaps even illegal in many geographies. That’s why most online casinos get offshore gambling licenses from jurisdictions where they are available. However, that solves only part of the problem. A gambling license from any jurisdiction’s regulator grants these casinos access to only a limited number of countries. Also, they come with myriad compliance requirements. So, casinos always consider these requirements and the access to various countries granted by the license when applying for it.
The world of iGaming is complex and navigating it can be tough even for veterans of the industry. Therefore, here’s a quick guide on the online casino licenses.
WHY A LICENSE | REGULATORS | RECOGNIZE A LICENSED CASINO | CONCLUSION | SEE ALL LISTED NEW CASINOS
What is an Online Casino License?
Online casino license is essentially a gambling license. It is awarded to any business that offers casino games, casino software, and platforms where others can wager or bet, including sportsbooks. Clearly, this definition also includes not just casinos, but game developers as well.
Why is a Casino License Required?
Even in jurisdictions that are favorable to gambling in general, the relevant authorities enforce a variety of compliance requirements to make gambling a healthy and legitimate entertainment option for the interested people. This can be realized with the achievement of 3 primary goals:
- The games offered by the online casinos must be fair and transparent
- They should not engage children or people suffering from gambling addiction
- Gambling should not be used as a channel for money laundering or other criminal activity
To realize these objectives, gambling regulators enforce a number of restrictions and compliance requirements on the casino’s investors, directors, and other business partners. Here are some of the typical requirements:
- An exhaustive amount of information about the owners of the casino to confirm their identity, origin, place of residence, and more.
- The casino owners should provide evidence that they have the financial wherewithal to run the business and keep it afloat in the long run. Essentially, the idea is that the casino should not run aground when a number of punters end up winning big in a short period.
- The owners of the casino must not have a history of fraudulent or criminal nature.
- They should have the necessary experience in the industry to run a successful casino business
How To Recognize the Gambling License of a Casino?
It’s simple. Check the casino website’s footer. Most gambling regulators mandate that the casinos with their license display the details of the license on their website quite prominently. So, you’ll find those details usually in the footer of the website. You might also notice that some casinos have more than 1 license from different regulators. This is to give them access to multiple markets.
Jurisdictions and Regulators
At present, very few governments across the world offer gambling licenses for online casinos. Each of them come with their own set of complex, stringent, and often demanding compliance requirements. The licenses are awarded to casinos only when they meet these requirements. Here’s the full list of gambling regulators that offer online casino gambling licenses:
- Curaçao Gaming Control
- Malta Gaming Authority
- UK Gambling Commission
- Gibraltar Regulatory Authority
- Alderney Gambling Commission
- Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission
- Dutch Gaming Authority
- Antigua and Barbuda Financial Services Regulatory Commission
- Kahnawake Gaming Commission
To ensure that online casinos do not indulge in malpractices or money laundering, regulators monitor their financial information from time to time to look for any irregularities. Therefore, they must keep a meticulous record of all their financial information. Also, having a gambling license grants the casino access to the banking system of that jurisdiction and also allows the respective government to keep an eye on the casino’s transactions.
Casinos require the banking systems to accept deposits and allow withdrawals for their players.
Can Casinos Operate Without Licenses?
Some online casinos are registered in regions like Costa Rica, where there is no gambling regulator, and gambling is not banned as well. So, there is no question of a license requirement for casinos operating out of such geographies, unless they want to attract players from countries that require a gambling license.
However, some of the casinos do prefer to operate without any gambling license. Obviously, they cannot use the mainstream banking system and therefore, they resort to cryptocurrency transactions. There are a number of casinos that accept cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. Cryptocurrencies are largely unregulated and hence do not come with any restrictions.
Players should keep in mind that the casino on which they are transacting in bitcoins is highly reputable and has a history of fair business practices. In any case, it’s too risky to trust a casino that does not have a license. That’s why casinos with licenses use it as a powerful marketing tool, and it works.
Conclusion
Gambling licenses are extremely expensive, typically costing anywhere in the range of £75,000 per year to as much as 15% of the annual revenues generated by a casino.
So, any casino that has a gambling license is definitely serious about this business and has done the due diligence necessary for the license.
They are in this business for the long run and players can trust them to offer fair gameplay and deliver on their commitment when they win jackpots.