Who issued this licence, and where can you check it? To learn how to check if an online casino is licensed, start with three details on the site: the regulator's name, the licence holder and the licence number. Then open the regulator's own website, not the seal, and search its public register. The company name and the web address must both match the record.

Take a typical case. A player sees a seal and a licence number at the bottom of a casino page, clicks the seal and lands on a page that looks official. The page belongs to the casino itself, and no regulator has confirmed anything on it. The sections below show the check that avoids this, regulator by regulator, as the tools were on 5 October 2026. This guide gives general information and is not legal advice.

Why does a licence seal prove nothing?

A licence seal proves nothing on its own, because it is only an image, and anyone can copy an image in seconds. The proof is a record that the regulator keeps itself: a register entry, a URL Checker result or a certificate on the regulator's website. A seal can at most point to that record.

Regulators say the same. Great Britain's Gambling Commission requires licensed businesses to show that they are licensed and to link to its public register, as its guide for players explains. It also asks players to check that the details in the register, including the activities and the website domain names, match the site they are on (Gambling Commission, 2021). The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) has described a pattern of websites that copy MGA-licensed operators and lead visitors to believe the Authority has licensed or approved them (MGA notice, 16 July 2026).

Fake casino sites can copy a seal or show another operator's licence, and the warning signs of online casino scams are covered in their own section. This guide covers the other side: what a correct check looks like.

How to check if an online casino is licensed: six steps

You check a casino licence in six steps: find three details on the site, open the regulator's website yourself, search the register, compare the record with the site, look at the date and territory, and keep a record. Each step takes a few minutes. The order matters, because the regulator's site, not the casino's page, is the source of truth.

  1. Find three details on the casino site: the name of the regulator, the name of the licence holder (a company, not a brand) and the licence number. If the site names no regulator, there is nothing to check.
  2. Open the regulator's website yourself. Use an address from the Sources list below or type it by hand. Do not follow the link in the seal. The one exception is Curaçao, where the seal must lead to cert.cga.cw. Even there, the seal is not proof: check that the address in your browser starts with cert.cga.cw and that the certificate shows the domain of the site you came from.
  3. Search the register by domain where the tool allows it, as the tools for Great Britain and Malta do. Otherwise, search by company name.
  4. Compare four things: the company name, the domain you are on, the status of the licence (active or suspended) and the type of activity. A casino for players and a supplier to other businesses hold different licences.
  5. Look at the date of the register and at the territory the licence covers. A record can be old, and a licence applies to a place, not to the whole internet.
  6. Write down the date of the check and save a screenshot of the record. Both are useful if a complaint is ever needed, because the regulator named in the record decides where the complaint goes.

If you plan to report a fake casino site, start in the same way: from the regulator's own record, not from a link on the casino's page, and note the date of your check. Check the domain, not the seal.

Where to check: the regulators' own tools

Each regulator keeps a different tool, and the tools differ in what they show and how fresh they are. The table lists what each one looked like on 5 October 2026. The company name in the record is the main match, and the domain is the second match wherever the tool shows domains.

Jurisdiction and regulatorToolDomain searchDate or caveat seen
Great Britain · Gambling CommissionPublic registerYes, or by business nameDomains and trading names come from the business; the Commission does not guarantee them
Malta · Malta Gaming Authority (MGA)Licensee Register, URL Checker, dynamic sealYes, by URLRegister page last edited 2 July 2025
Curaçao · Curaçao Gaming Authority (CGA)Certificate on cert.cga.cw, plus PDF registersPlayer-facing certificate is tied to a domainOnline licence, certificate and enforcement registers dated 31 August to 2 October 2026; no guarantee of current validity
Gibraltar · Gibraltar's Gambling Commissioner (the Gambling Division of HM Government of Gibraltar)Licence holders list, Approved Brands documentsNo; domains sit in the Approved Brands documentsDated 25 September 2025
Isle of Man · Gambling Supervision Commission (GSC)Online gambling licensee registerNo; the table has a domains columnShows Active or Suspended; last updated 2 October 2026
Alderney · Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC)eGambling licenseesNo; the list shows each licensee's websitesNo update date on the page
Kahnawà:ke (Mohawk Territory, Québec) · Kahnawà:ke Gaming Commission (KGC)Interactive permit holdersNo; the list shows operators and URLsUpdated 28 September 2023
Ontario, Canada · iGaming Ontario and the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO)Regulated iGaming market directoryFilter by operatorAccurate as of 1 September 2026
Australia · Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA)Register of licensed interactive wagering servicesNot stated on the pageWagering services; no update date on the page

Several European regulators publish similar lists. Germany's Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder (GGL), the joint gambling authority of the German states, publishes a list it calls the Whitelist. Spain's Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ), the national gambling regulator, keeps a search tool for licensed operators that works by operator name or website. Sweden's Spelinspektionen runs a licence register that includes the websites of online operators. Denmark's Spillemyndigheden publishes an overview of the providers that have permission to offer games, and the Netherlands' Kansspelautoriteit (Ksa) offers the Kansspelwijzer. Italy's Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli (ADM) also publishes a list of its licensed operators on its own website. The details of each market are in gambling laws and regulators by country.

Some places have no register to check yet. New Zealand's new regime under the Online Casino Gambling Act 2026 is still being phased in, and its Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) says it is not expected to be fully operational until 2027. In Ireland, the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI) keeps a register of licence holders, but it began by accepting applications for betting licences only (from 9 February 2026), and online casino licences are a later phase that is not expected to open before 2027. The United States has no federal register, because each state has its own regulator.

How do you check an MGA or a Curaçao licence?

For Malta, use the MGA's Licensee Register and its URL Checker. For Curaçao, use the certificate on cert.cga.cw. Both tools tie a licence to a web address, which is why they suit this check. They work differently, so each has its own steps below.

Malta

The MGA's Licensee Register page lists three tools. The register itself can be searched by licensee name, authorisation status, URL or gaming service. The URL Checker is a separate tool for checking a web address, and a dynamic seal opens further details about a licensee. The URL Checker checks a website address against the MGA's records.

The MGA also keeps a list of unauthorised URLs, with a statement that it has no connection with them and that any reference to an MGA licence on those addresses is false and misleading. The list is updated regularly. The latest entry seen on 5 October 2026 was dated 23 September 2026. Names from the list are not repeated here; check the list itself (MGA, Unauthorised URLs).

Curaçao

The CGA's certification policy describes two kinds of seal. The Certificate of Operation Seal is for player-facing websites and is tied to a domain. The License Certificate Seal confirms that an entity holds a CGA licence, either to offer games of chance to players (business-to-consumer, B2C) or to provide services to other licensed operators (business-to-business, B2B). It may be shown on the operator's corporate website, it is not tied to a domain, and it does not authorise a website for players. According to the policy, a click on the seal must lead to cert.cga.cw. If the certificate shows a different domain from the site you are on, the CGA says the site is displaying another operator's certificate and should be considered unauthorised or fraudulent (CGA certification policy).

The CGA also publishes PDF registers. The online licence, certificate and enforcement registers seen on 5 October 2026 were dated between 31 August and 2 October 2026, and the CGA states that they do not guarantee the current validity of a licence. Wording such as "eGaming licence" or "master licence" is out of date: sub-licences were abolished when the Landsverordening op de kansspelen (LOK), Curaçao's national ordinance on games of chance, took effect on 24 December 2024. The guide on how the Curaçao licence certificate works explains the details.

What the register shows – and what it does not

A register entry shows who holds a licence and, in most tools, which activities and web addresses it covers. It does not show whether an operator is a good one, and it does not promise a payout. What it does show is who supervises the operator, and that tells you where a complaint would go.

  • A licence covers a territory, not the internet. Great Britain's licence is for Great Britain. Ontario's directory says players must be physically located in Ontario, and the Kahnawà:ke list warns that not all URLs are accessible in all jurisdictions. A record in one register does not tell you whether an operator needs a local licence where you live, so check that separately. See why gambling licences are national, not global.
  • A register can be old. Gibraltar's list carries the date 25 September 2025, the Kahnawà:ke list was updated on 28 September 2023, and the CGA says its PDF registers may not reflect the current status of a licence. An old record shows what was approved on that date.
  • Domains are supplied by the operator. The Gambling Commission says that domain names and trading names in its register come from the business and that it cannot guarantee them. A missing or different domain is a reason to ask the regulator, not a reason to guess.
  • The type of licence matters. Gibraltar and the Isle of Man list business-to-business and player-facing licences or licence types separately, and a supplier is not a casino. The Isle of Man register also shows whether a licence is active or suspended, and the MGA register can be searched by authorisation status.
  • Some jurisdictions give no register to check. For Anjouan and Costa Rica, no official register was found on a government site (checked 4 October 2026). A casino that cites a licence from either place gives you no record to match. Read what an offshore licence covers and what it does not before relying on such a claim.

Where to go next in this section

Knowing how to check if an online casino is licensed also shows where a complaint goes, because who licenses an operator decides it. The MGA, for example, has a Player Support Unit that accepts complaints from individuals, and Great Britain's Gambling Commission points players to an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) provider. The guide on where to complain, by jurisdiction sets out each route. Winnings raise a separate question, and how tax on gambling winnings differs by country answers it. Earlier sections already pointed to the guides on Curaçao, offshore licences and gambling laws by country.

Where to get support

If gambling has started to cause problems for you or someone close to you, free and confidential online support is available wherever you live. Gambling Therapy, a global service offered by Gordon Moody, gives practical advice and emotional support online, through forums and live support. It works online only. National schemes that let you block yourself from licensed sites are listed in national self-exclusion schemes by country, and the site's page on responsible gambling covers the basics.

FAQ

How do you check if an online casino is licensed?

Find the regulator's name, the licence holder and the licence number on the site. Open the regulator's website yourself and search its register by domain or company name. Compare the company name, the web address, the status and the type of licence. If the record does not match the site, the licence claim is not confirmed.

Is a licence seal on a casino website proof of a licence?

No. A seal is an image and can be copied. Only the regulator's own record counts: a register entry, a URL Checker result or a certificate on the regulator's website. Even where a seal should lead to the regulator, as in Curaçao, check the address in your browser and the domain in the certificate.

What should you do if the website address is not in the regulator's register?

Check the spelling of the address and search the register again by the company name. Some registers take their domains from the operator, so a gap can be a delay. If the address still does not match, ask the regulator through its own website, and do not rely on the licence claim until the record confirms it.

How does the MGA URL Checker work?

It is a separate MGA tool that checks a website address against the MGA's records. You can also search the Licensee Register by URL, and the MGA publishes a list of unauthorised URLs that it says have no connection to it.

How can you check a Curaçao casino licence?

Go to cert.cga.cw and look at the certificate. For a player-facing website, the CGA says the certificate is tied to a domain, and a different domain means the site is showing another operator's certificate. The CGA's License Certificate Seal, whether for a B2C or a B2B holder, does not authorise a website for players. The CGA's PDF registers are only a guide.

Does a licence from one country cover players everywhere?

No. A licence applies to a territory. Great Britain's Gambling Commission licenses for Great Britain, and Ontario's directory requires players to be physically in Ontario. A licence in one register does not say whether an operator needs a local licence where you live, so check that separately.

Is there one international register of licensed online casinos?

No such register was found in the primary sources used for this guide. Each regulator keeps its own register or tool, with its own search options and its own update dates. Some places, such as the United States, have state regulators rather than a national register.

Sources

All pages were accessed on 5 October 2026.