What this check proves: that the licence number exists, that it is current, and that it covers the site you are actually on. Those are three separate things, and a site can fail any one of them while showing a convincing badge.
Step 1 — Find the casino licence number in writing
Scroll to the very bottom of the casino. You are looking for a string of text, not a logo: a company name, a registered address, and a licence reference. Formats vary by regulator, but it will be a number, often with a prefix and a year.
If there is a badge but no number in text, that is already a finding. Copy the number exactly — a transposed digit will send you to a dead end and you will conclude the wrong thing.
Two places to look if the footer is bare: an “About” or “Licensing” page, and the terms and conditions, where the operating company is usually named in the first clause even when it appears nowhere else.
Step 2 — Identify which regulator issued it
The footer text almost always names the authority. The three you will meet most often outside the UK regime differ enormously in what they actually enforce:
The differences are set out properly in MGA versus Curaçao.
Step 3 — Search for the licence on the regulator’s site
This is the step that does the work. Search for the regulator's own website — not a link from the casino footer, which can point anywhere — and find its public register or licensee search.
Every serious gambling regulator publishes one. If you cannot find a register for the authority named, that absence is itself the finding you came for.
Search by licence number first, then by company name if the number returns nothing. If the register has no search and only a downloadable list, use your browser's find function on the page — a missing search box is inconvenient, not disqualifying.
Where can I find official casino licence registers?
Reach these by typing the address or searching for the regulator yourself, not through a link on the casino’s site.
| Regulator | Where to check | What to look for |
|---|---|---|
| Malta Gaming Authority | Licensee Register, with a URL Checker | The exact domain you are on, not just a similar company name |
| Curaçao Gaming Authority | Official register, and the site’s live certificate on cert.cga.cw | A certificate address in the form https://cert.cga.cw/certificate?id=… naming this domain, this company and an active status |
| Gambling Commission (Great Britain) | Public register | Relevant to any casino offering remote gambling to customers in Great Britain, whether or not it claims a British licence |
| Anjouan Gaming | Licence register | A listing, bearing in mind we have not verified the governmental status of this system |
Step 4 — Check licence status, company, domain and scope
- Status. Current, active, or valid — not expired, suspended, surrendered or revoked. A revoked licence still produces a register entry, which is why “the number exists” is not the same as “the licence is live”.
- Company name. It must match the company named in the casino's footer and terms. One company legitimately operating several brands is normal; a register entry naming an entirely different company is not.
- Approved brands or domains. Most registers list the URLs a licence covers. The site you are on should appear. A licence covering three other brands but not this one covers nothing that helps you.
- Scope. Some licences cover casino games, some only sports betting. A sports licence does not authorise the slots you are about to play.
What licence details should a casino footer show?
An example from our own reading of operator footers on 24 September 2026. Cosmobet’s footer names a company (Santeda International B.V.), a company number in Curaçao (151296), a regulator (the Curaçao Gaming Authority) and a licence number (OGL/2024/1798/1048), and links to a certificate on cert.cga.cw — the regulator’s own domain, which is where a genuine seal should point.
That is everything step 1 asks for, and it is exactly the material the rest of this check needs. It is not yet proof: the next steps are to open that certificate from the regulator’s side, confirm it names this domain and shows an active status, and check the same company appears in the terms. We did this for the operators we list on 25 September 2026: Cosmobet’s certificate names cosmobet.com and shows Active — though the Authority’s register of 21 September lists the same licence as Assessment in progress, which is worth knowing too.
Compare it with operators that give nothing to check: we left five brands off our list because we found no licence for them anywhere.
Which casino badges are not gambling licences?
Several badges in casino footers look like regulation and are not. Worth being able to tell them apart, because operators rely on the confusion.
- A testing or RNG certificate confirms that the games were audited for fairness by a laboratory. Useful, and entirely separate from whether anyone will make the operator pay you.
- A responsible-gambling logo is usually a voluntary affiliation. It carries no enforcement.
- An SSL or security seal says the connection is encrypted. It says nothing about the company.
- A company registration number confirms a business exists somewhere. Costa Rica operators lean on this specifically, because it reads like a licence to anyone not looking closely.
Only a gambling licence from a gambling regulator creates an obligation that can be enforced against the operator. Everything else is decoration.
Sub-licences, and why the issue date matters
This mainly affects Curaçao. Historically a small number of master licence holders issued sub-licences onward to operators, and the obligations attached to those sub-licences were thin. Since the new law came into force on 24 December 2024, licences come from the Curaçao Gaming Authority, carry an OGL/ prefix, and come with a live certificate on the regulator’s domain; existing direct licences were converted during the transition. The Authority states that the old orange sub-licence seals are no longer valid.
The practical consequence for you: an old-style /JAZ number on its own does not establish that an operator is authorised today, and the Authority says its old orange sub-licence seals are invalid. Check the operator’s current record and look for a certificate that opens on cert.cga.cw. Where you cannot find either, treat the licence claim as unproven.
What if I cannot confirm a casino licence?
Not every outcome is a clean pass or fail. Three common in-between cases, and what each is worth:
The number is valid but the domain is not listed. Ask the operator, in writing, to confirm which licence covers this specific domain. A legitimate operator answers in a line. Treat silence as a fail.
The register is offline or unsearchable. Try again on another day before concluding anything. If it is persistently unavailable, you have learned something about the regulator, which is also useful.
The company matches but the trading name does not appear anywhere. Common and usually fine — brands are often not listed individually. Combine it with the other checks rather than treating it as decisive on its own.
Step 5 — Note what you found, with the date
Take a screenshot of the register entry showing the date. If a dispute arises later, the difference between “they were licensed when I deposited” and “I think they were licensed” is this screenshot.
Terms and licences both change. A dated record of the state of things when you handed over money is the single most useful thing you can keep. The same logic applies to the withdrawal terms — see withdrawal limits.
If the check fails at any step, stop there. No licence number, no register entry, a revoked status, or a company that does not match — each on its own is enough. An operator that cannot demonstrate a live licence has no obligation to pay you and no authority sitting above it, which is exactly the situation described in what to do when a casino will not pay out. Do not send identity documents to a site that fails this check.
Sources
- MGA Licensee Register
- Curaçao Gaming Authority licensing portal, register and online gaming regulation
- Anjouan Gaming licence register (governmental status not verified by us)
Checked 24 September 2026.
Common questions
Where is the licence number usually shown?
In the site footer, often inside a small block of grey text near the company name and address. Some operators repeat it on an “About” or “Licensing” page, and the operating company is usually named in the first clause of the terms even when it appears nowhere else. If no number appears anywhere, treat that as the answer.
Does a licence badge in the footer mean the site is licensed?
No. A badge is an image. Anyone can copy one, including from a licence that has since been revoked. The badge is a claim; the regulator’s register is the evidence.
Is an RNG or fairness certificate the same as a licence?
No. A testing certificate confirms the games were audited for fairness. It creates no obligation to pay you and no authority to complain to. Only a gambling licence from a gambling regulator does that.
What if the company on the register is not the company on the site?
Licences are issued to companies, and one company can legitimately run several brands. The register entry should list the domain or brand. If it does not mention the site you are on, ask the operator in writing which licence covers that domain — and treat silence as a fail.
How long does the check take?
About ten minutes the first time, and a couple of minutes once you know where each register is. It is the highest-value ten minutes available before depositing.
