It might not surprise veteran casino players that gambling licenses are one of the most important aspects of the online casino and betting industry. They exist to guarantee that all activities are conducted in a fair and responsible manner.
Of course, not all licenses are created equal. So in this industry insight, we’ll be taking a closer look at how gambling licenses work in general, as well as a few specific examples of popular licenses in the crypto casino space.
What are gambling licenses?
You might not even be familiar with what a gambling license actually is, so before delving into the safety of gambling licenses, we’re going to explain what they are and how they work.
Gambling licenses are legal documents that authorize a company to offer gambling services in a particular jurisdiction. These licenses are typically issued by a regulatory authority, which is responsible for ensuring that the operator complies with all of the relevant laws and regulations.
How to obtain a casino license
Obtaining a legitimate gambling license is not easy, and operators will have to go through a rigorous vetting-processing before they can acquire one. This process typically includes background checks on the company’s owners and operators, financial audits, and technical testing of the gambling software.
Once the license is granted, the operator will pay a license fee and must adhere to strict rules and regulations. They’ll need to ensure that all games are fair, that player data is protected, and that responsible gambling measures are in place.
Gambling license safety
In general, you should expect gambling licenses to be safe and reliable. At traditional casino sites, they’re usually issued by reputable regulatory authorities, such as the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) and Malta Gaming Authority (MGA).
There are also several other licenses typically popular within the crypto casino industry. These are generally issued by authorities located in Curacao or Estonia. Most of these are safe as well, but tend to have more lax regulations than that of MGA, for instance.
We should also note that there are in fact crypto casinos without any gambling license, and that these should generally be avoided if you come across one on your own. In rare cases, however, we’ve found that a couple of these are actually safe and transparent with how they operate. You can find a few in our casino review section.
Curacao licenses
The most common gambling licenses found at crypto casinos are those issued by a Curacao regulatory authority. Below, we’re looking at the three most prominent ones and explaining a bit more about what they are and how they work.
Curacao Egaming
Curacao Egaming is one of the most popular offshore gambling licenses. It’s issued by the government of Curacao, a small island nation in the Caribbean.
While Curacao Egaming is a legitimate license, there have previously been concerns about its level of regulation and enforcement. Some critics argue that the licensing process is too lax and not as rigorous as it should be.
However, we’d like to note that many reputable operators actually hold a Curacao Egaming license. The regulator has taken many steps to improve their standards in recent years, which have resulted in them building trust over time.
Gaming Curacao
Gaming Curacao is another offshore license issued by the government of Curacao. Some have argued that they don’t have enough resources to adequately monitor license holders and that some operators with a Gaming Curacao license have engaged in unethical or illegal practices. This is generally unavoidable, and these rogue operators are often swiftly dealt with, losing their licenses.
We’ve encountered multiple trusted operators that hold a Gaming Curacao license. They’ve also improved their processes, requiring license holders to undergo more rigorous due diligence checks.
Antillephone N.V.
Curacao Antillephone (N.V. 8048/JAZ) is also issued by the government of Curacao. It’s often considered one of the more reputable offshore licenses. Many well-known and popular operators hold an Antillephone N.V. license. They’ve also previously dealt with concerns about the level of regulation and enforcement, but have since improved and become stricter.
The importance of due diligence
Now, it’s clear that gambling licenses provide a level of assurance that the casino operators we visit are legit. With that said, they shouldn’t be the only factor we consider when picking a Bitcoin casino online.
We’re always conducting our own due diligence by researching reputation, rigorously testing the site, verifying their license status, and ensuring that the casino actually has adequate security measures in place to protect player data.