Check a Foreign Bookmaker's Licence Before You Deposit
Your balance is one deposit away from sitting with a company you have never looked up.
Offshore bookmakers are neither safe nor unsafe by default.
Deposit only after you have read, in the regulator's own register, who holds the licence, whether the domain you are on is listed, what the status says and what the licence covers. Type the register's address yourself, because a logo or seal on the betting site proves nothing. A verified licence is necessary and never sufficient. Payout speed, help with a dispute and your right to bet from your country all sit outside it, and that last one changes with local law, so checking yours is up to you. 18+ only.
How do you check a licence in the regulator's own register?
The five checks below work for any operator and cover the licence only: countries, payments and withdrawal records belong to the wider comparison of international bookmakers.
Write down what the site says about itself
Open the terms and note the company name, the regulator, the licence number and the exact domain in your address bar. A licence belongs to a company, so the register shows the holder, whose name often differs from the brand's.
Open the register yourself
Type the regulator's address into your browser and ignore any badge, seal or link on the betting site. The Malta Gaming Authority publishes a list of websites it says it has no connection with, and states that any reference to the MGA or to a licence said to be issued by it on those domains is false and misleading.
Search by domain first, then by number and name
The UK Gambling Commission's register lets you search by business name, trading name, domain name or account number. Start with the exact domain you are on, then try the licence number and the company name.
Read the status, the licence type and the dates
On the UK register each licence has a status such as Active, Expired, Revoked, Suspended, Surrendered or Pending. The UK Gambling Commission defines Suspended as suspended pending investigation, and Revoked as revoked as a result of regulatory action or breach of licence conditions. Then confirm the licence type and any ending date.
Look at enforcement and the complaint route
The Curaçao Gaming Authority publishes an enforcement register, which it says focuses on actions that affect the status of a licence and does not include all enforcement measures. Then read the regulator's complaint page: the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission says it cannot investigate complaints against operators it does not license.
Where does each register live?
Each card reports what the body running the register publishes and links to it, so you can check every line yourself.
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Malta Gaming Authority
Look up: the MGA publishes a licensee register and a URL checker. This page does not describe how either tool works, so open them.
Watch for: the MGA reminds consumers to use an entity's services only after ascertaining that the MGA authorises it.
It states: player funds must be kept segregated and separately identifiable at all times.
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UK Gambling Commission
Look up: the register of businesses, by business name, trading name, domain name or account number.
Shows: a status for each licence and, for each domain, a mark of Active, Inactive or White label.
Watch for: the UK Gambling Commission says domain and trading names are provided by the business, and that it cannot guarantee the accuracy of information provided by third parties.
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Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission
Look up: the page lists each online licence holder, so find the company named in the terms.
Shows: status, licence dates, licence type (Full, Software Supply or Network Services) and, for a company offering services to the public, its website address.
Watch for: if you download the spreadsheet, check a website address on the page listing, because the file gives only the company name, status, initial licence date and licence type.
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Curaçao Gaming Authority
Look up: the portal has a search box for domains and licence holders, so type the exact domain.
Shows: a domain result opens a certificate naming the company operating the domain, its licence number, the grant date and its current status.
Watch for: the PDF lists of online licences show no domain names, so match the domain in the portal. The certificate and the PDF can use different words for one licence ('Active' on one, 'Assessment in progress' or 'Indefinite' on the other); the authority defines neither label in those documents and says its overviews do not guarantee the current validity of licences.
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Anjouan Gaming
Look up: Anjouan Gaming's website says its register can be searched by licence number, company name or operational domain, and shows the holder's name, licence type (B2C or B2B) and status.
Watch for: the register's disclaimer says a listed domain confirms only that it has been notified to the Authority as associated with licensed activities, and does not confirm ownership. An entry in a public register shows only that the body running the register issued the licence.
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Kahnawake Gaming Commission
Look up: a list of operators and their website addresses, with no status or date for each entry. The list carries its own 'updated' date, so read that date.
Watch for: when one operator ended its Kahnawake authorisation, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission stated that it would not receive or consider complaints about that operator made after the effective date.
Gibraltar has no card: the Gibraltar Gambling Division publishes a register of licence holders with the licence types each one holds and a linked list of approved brands for each licensee, and the register page shows no website addresses.
The number exists. What can still go wrong?
A valid licence number can belong to a holder with a different name from the brand. That is ordinary for a group that runs several brands through one company, and a stranger's company looks exactly the same, so the terms of the site must name the same company as the register, and your domain must appear under that holder, before the match counts.
Your domain may be missing from the entry, and a brand search can return similarly named sites licensed to unrelated companies. Stop there. Ask the operator in writing which licence covers your address, and keep your money out until it answers.
A status of suspended, revoked or expired changes the reading. Anjouan Gaming and the Curaçao Gaming Authority publish suspended and revoked licences, or enforcement actions, apart from their main lists, so a company missing from a main list tells you little on its own.
Some registers carry an ending date and some do not. The Kahnawake Gaming Commission's list has its own 'updated' date, so read it: a register with no date could be a year old.
Regulators also license software suppliers and service providers, and those licences do not allow a betting site for the public. The Isle of Man register separates Full from Software Supply and Network Services, and Anjouan Gaming lists B2C and B2B. Check that sports betting is covered.
The terms of a site can disagree with the register. If the register lists your domain under an active licence, follow the register, note the mismatch and ask the operator which of the two is out of date.
A footer may name the Curaçao Gaming Control Board. The Curaçao Gaming Authority's regime page says the Gaming Control Board will be referred to as the Curaçao Gaming Authority, so an old name alone gives no reason to suspect a fake.
A licence can be valid while your country is not served. Look in the operator's terms for the countries it excludes; if yours is on the list, the answer for that operator is no.
What does a licence never cover?
It does not tell you where you may play: the UK Gambling Commission states that a licence issued in another country does not permit an operator to provide gambling to consumers in Great Britain. It does not set how fast you are paid: several regulators say they do not settle individual disputes, and none of the regulator pages consulted says a licence guarantees payment.
Recourse depends on who regulates the operator: the Curaçao Gaming Authority states that it does not handle individual complaints and cannot order operators to compensate players, and the UK Gambling Commission says to complain to the business first and, after 8 weeks, to a free ADR provider. If an operator became insolvent, separate accounts may not help much: the UK Gambling Commission says customer funds that are segregated but not protected would still form part of the business's assets.
A verified licence earns the operator a second look at the withdrawal complaints users keep repeating, at the identity checks that arrive at the first withdrawal and at the countries its own terms exclude.
What do the registers show for three operators?
Three names, in a fixed order chosen for consistency. Reviews skew towards unhappy customers, and many published tests come from sites with a commercial interest in the operator.
BetLabel
Two publications of the same regulator disagree about betlabel.com, and this page does not settle it. Its footer names the Curaçao Gaming Control Board, an old name covered in the cases above.
What the registers show
- The Curaçao Gaming Authority's portal lists betlabel.com as operated by TechWave B.V., and the certificate for the domain says Active.
- The Kahnawake Gaming Commission's list shows betlabel.com under Starsten Limited.
What stays open
- The Curaçao PDF list shows the TechWave B.V. licence as 'Assessment in progress', its expiry date already in the past, while the certificate says Active. The authority does not define those labels in the lists themselves. Two regulators also name two holders for one domain, and the Kahnawake list has its own 'updated' date, so read it first.
- User reports mention delayed or blocked withdrawals and identity checks that begin only at the first withdrawal.
Freshbet
Here the register and the operator's own terms point in different directions: follow the register, and read the terms too.
What the registers show
- The Curaçao Gaming Authority's portal lists freshbet.com as operated by Ryker B.V. under licence OGL/2024/1800/1049, with the status shown as Active.
What stays open
- The site's terms still carry a line calling the operating company's application 'pending', which does not match the register, and they print two country lists that do not agree. Read the list of excluded countries before you deposit.
- User reports mention withdrawals left 'under investigation' for weeks, sometimes months, the complaint that returns most.
20bet
Three company names turn up, depending on the register you open, so compare them with the terms before any money moves.
What the registers show
- The Curaçao Gaming Authority's portal lists 20bet.com as operated by TechSolutions Group N.V., and the Kahnawake Gaming Commission's list shows 20bet.com under Starsten Limited.
What stays open
- The Curaçao PDF list shows the licence behind 20bet.com under a company written 'TechSolutions Group B.V.', with the status 'Assessment in progress'. That makes three names, and none of them is confirmed as the company that contracts with the player. The Kahnawake list has its own 'updated' date; read it first.
- User reports mention withdrawals held for weeks during verification and repeated document requests.
An entry, even a clean one, does not say which company contracts with the player. If the register and the withdrawal reports both look acceptable, opening an account abroad is the next step, and bookmaker or broker compares the alternatives.
Before you check a licence: what readers still ask
Are offshore bookmakers safe to use?
Neither by default: the company behind the site and what you can verify decide. Read its licence in the regulator's own register, then read what users report about withdrawals, because a licence cannot answer that second question. Brokers raise their own question, covered in the guide to broker safety. Adults only, and check your country's rules.
How do I check that a gambling licence is valid?
Open the register from an address you typed, then look up the exact domain, then the licence number and the holder's name. The holder should match the company named in the site's terms. If the domain is not in the entry, stop and put the question to the operator before you deposit.
The licence number exists but the company name is different from the site: is that a problem?
Not always, because a licence is granted to a company and the holder's name often differs from the brand on the site. It becomes a problem when the terms name yet another company, when your exact domain is missing from the entry, or when the licence covers a software supplier and no betting operation.
What do "suspended", "revoked" and "expired" mean in a register?
On the UK register, suspended means suspended pending investigation and revoked means revoked as a result of regulatory action or breach of licence conditions. Expired means the licensee has not applied for a new operating licence after the current licence reaches its end date. Other regulators use their own words and not every register defines them, so read the regulator's own status page.
Does a licence mean I can complain to the regulator if I am not paid?
Only sometimes. The Curaçao Gaming Authority states that it does not handle individual complaints against gaming providers, and the UK Gambling Commission says it does not resolve or make decisions on complaints about gambling transactions. The Kahnawake Gaming Commission says its regulations allow it to direct an operator to take the steps it considers necessary to resolve a complaint, once you have complained to the licence holder.
Does a licence mean I am allowed to play from my country?
No. A licence tells you which regulator supervises the operator. Whether you may play depends on the law where you live and on the countries the operator excludes in its terms. Anjouan Gaming, for one, says complaints from players in excluded territories fall outside its complaint process. If gambling costs more than you meant to spend, see the responsible gambling page.