How to Check a Bookmaker Licence, Step by Step

To check if a betting site is licensed, find the company name, licence number and regulator in the site’s footer or terms, then look that licence up on the regulator’s own register or through the seal on the site, and confirm the details match. A logo alone proves nothing. The check takes two or three minutes and tells you who supervises the bookmaker and where you can take a complaint. This page shows how to do it for the regulators you will meet most often at international sportsbooks.

Why does a bookmaker’s licence matter?

A licence means a regulator has approved the operator and can fine it, suspend it or take its licence away. It sets rules on identity checks, fair settlement, segregation or protection of player funds (depending on the regulator) and responsible gambling tools. Most importantly for you, it decides your complaint route if the bookmaker refuses to pay. An unlicensed sportsbook can keep your money with no one to answer to.

A licence from one country does not make a bookmaker legal everywhere. Many countries require a national licence to serve their residents. In Great Britain, only operators licensed by the Gambling Commission may offer betting, and in the United States only state-licensed sportsbooks may operate in states that allow it. None of the bookmakers we list holds either licence, so none is for UK or US residents.

How do you check a licence, step by step?

1. Read the footer: note the operating company, its registration number and address, the regulator and the licence number.
2. Find the seal: many regulators issue a clickable seal that opens a validation page. Click it and check that the URL belongs to the regulator, not to a look-alike site.
3. Search the register: look the company or licence number up on the regulator’s own website, typed by you, not from a link on the bookmaker’s site.
4. Match the details: company name, licence number, status (active, suspended, expired) and the domains covered should match what the bookmaker shows.
5. Read the restricted countries: the licence may be valid while your country is still excluded by the operator’s terms.
6. Note the complaint route: the terms should name the ADR body or complaint process.

How do you check each regulator?

Malta (MGA)

MGA licences take the form MGA/B2C/number/year for operators serving players. The MGA’s register lets you search by company and shows the licence status and the approved domains. Worked example: Reblz’s terms name Elmst Limited and licence MGA/B2C/1055/2024, issued on 18 December 2024. Searching Elmst Limited on the MGA register should show the same number with an active status; if it did not, that would be a reason not to deposit.

Curaçao (CGA)

Since Curaçao’s new gaming law, the National Ordinance on Games of Chance (LOK), came into force on 24 December 2024, licences are issued directly by the Curaçao Gaming Authority in the format OGL/year/number/number. Verification is through the seal, which links to the CGA’s certificate validator. Worked example: Stake’s licences page names Medium Rare N.V. with licence OGL/2024/1451/0918, and the CGA certificate page for that licence shows its status and grant date. Third-party copies of the register sometimes show older statuses, which is why the certificate reached through the seal is the version to trust. Note that the CGA confirmed unauthorised access to its portal on 17 and 22 September 2026 and said existing licences remain valid. If a check fails during an outage, try again later rather than assuming the licence is fake.

Anjouan

Anjouan licences use the format ALSI- followed by a nine-digit number and an FI suffix, for example ALSI-202506036-FI2. Check them through the seal on the operator’s site, because a search by bare domain on the validator returns “invalid” even for licensed sites. The authority also publishes a register list. Worked example: Bet Inferno’s footer names Hundise Limited and licence ALSI-202506036-FI2, and Tenobet is covered by Softon Ltd’s licence ALSI-202409012-FI1 on the register.

Tobique

The Tobique Gaming Commission is a First Nation regulator in Canada. Its validator page, reached from the seal on the operator’s site, shows the licence holder and status. Worked example: Foxy Gold’s seal leads to the validator, which lists 3-102-937894 Limitada with licence 0000163.

Kahnawake

The Kahnawake Gaming Commission, founded in 1996, has licensed online gambling since 8 July 1999. It publishes a list of permit holders and the domains they operate, which you can search for the bookmaker’s company or domain.

UK Gambling Commission

For Great Britain, the Gambling Commission’s public register shows every licensed operator and its domains. If a bookmaker that serves British customers is not on the register, it is operating without a licence there. GAMSTOP self-exclusion applies only to operators licensed by the Gambling Commission.

What are the red flags in a licence?

• A licence number that does not appear on the regulator’s register, or appears under a different company.
• A seal that is a static image with no link, or a link to a site that is not the regulator’s.
• A footer that says only “licensed and regulated” without naming the company or number.
• A status of suspended, expired or “assessment in progress” with no explanation.
• Domains that change often (mirrors) without being listed on the licence.
• A cashier that only accepts methods with no buyer protection, while the site claims a strict licence (see our payment methods guide for what each method protects).

One of these alone does not prove fraud, but each is a reason to stop and check further before you deposit. Our wider checklist, including withdrawal caps and betting rules, is in how to choose a bookmaker.

What do the licences of the bookmakers we list look like?

We re-check these when we update our bookmaker reviews; the Reblz review walks through the MGA check in full. If a bookmaker changes its licence or operator, its terms usually change too, so read them again before depositing.

How do you complain about a licensed bookmaker?

1. Complain to the bookmaker in writing and ask it to cite the term it relies on.
2. Wait for its final response within the deadline in its complaints procedure.
3. Take the complaint to the ADR body named in the terms (for MGA licensees, an approved ADR such as eCOGRA; for Curaçao licensees, a CGA-certified ADR body; for Anjouan licensees, the operator-paid ADR after the operator’s 30-day response period).
4. Report the matter to the regulator so it can act on patterns, even where it does not settle individual cases.

Keep screenshots of your bets, balance and messages from the start. If the dispute is making you chase losses, pause betting first; our safer betting page lists free help. Disputes over bonuses and restricted countries are the most common, which is why reading the terms first, as covered in our bonuses guide, saves most of them.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know if a betting site is licensed?

Find the regulator and licence number in the footer, then look the licence up on the regulator’s own register or through the seal link, and check that the company name, number and status match. If you cannot find the licence on the register, treat the site as unlicensed.

Is an MGA licence better than a Curaçao licence?

The MGA is an EU regulator with detailed player-protection rules and a requirement for an approved ADR body, so it is generally regarded as stricter. Curaçao’s new law from December 2024 tightened its system, but the CGA still does not mediate individual disputes.

Why does the Anjouan validator say “invalid”?

A search by bare domain on the Anjouan validator returns “invalid” even for licensed sites. Use the seal link on the operator’s own site, which passes the right identifier, or find the company on the authority’s register list.

Can a licensed bookmaker refuse to pay?

It can refuse if you broke its terms, for example by betting from a restricted country or breaching bonus rules. If you believe it is wrong, complain in writing and then use the ADR body or complaint route the licence requires.

Are offshore bookmakers legal in the UK?

No. Only operators licensed by the Gambling Commission may offer betting to people in Great Britain. Offshore bookmakers without that licence must not serve British customers, and GAMSTOP self-exclusion does not cover them.