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Licences, decoded

A licence is a promise about what happens when things go wrong: whether your balance is protected, whether someone will hear a complaint, whether the operator can be fined. Eight licences cover most of the sites we test; they are not equal, and the difference is the point of these pages.

All licences UKGC MGA ADM ANJ GGL DGOJ Curaçao Isle of Man Other regulators
UKGCUnited Kingdom Gambling Commission

The strictest mainstream licence: segregated funds, affordability checks, a free ADR route and a regulator that fines operators in the tens of millions. It also means stake limits on winning accounts and paperwork before you play.

 MGAMalta Gaming Authority

The licence behind most European-facing operators: EU-based, with player-fund segregation, a complaints unit and a public register. Strong enough to trust, and the reason a Malta-licensed site can serve dozens of countries that have no licence of their own.

 ADMAgenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli, Italy

Italy licenses operators through concessions, forces every bet through a national control system and blocks everything else. It is one of the tightest regimes in Europe: safe to bet in, poor for bonuses, and strictly for residents.

 ANJAutorité nationale des jeux, France

France allows online sports betting, horse racing and poker, and nothing else, through operators approved by the ANJ. Payouts are capped by law, verification is strict, and the market is small but very safe.

 GGLGemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder, Germany

Germany licensed online betting nationally in 2021 with rules written to slow players down: a shared monthly deposit limit, a tax on every stake, restrictions on live betting and a central self-exclusion file. The safest market in Europe to lose money slowly in.

 DGOJDirección General de Ordenación del Juego, Spain

Spain licenses online betting nationally, verifies every player against government records and, since 2021, bans almost all bonus advertising. A well-run, well-policed market with strong local brands and few surprises.

 CuraçaoCuraçao Gaming Authority

The licence behind most international betting sites: cheap, fast to obtain and, until recently, issued through private master-licence holders with little oversight. A new law is replacing sub-licences with direct ones. Treat it as a floor, not a guarantee.

 Isle of ManGambling Supervision Commission

A small jurisdiction with one of the best reputations in the industry: player funds must be protected in full, the commission takes complaints directly, and the licensees are few and large. The licence of choice for Asian-facing books and poker networks.

 Other regulators78 countries

The regulator in each country we cover, and whether the market is regulated, a monopoly, prohibited or grey.

How we rank the licences

From the bettor’s side, three questions decide how much a licence is worth. Is my balance protected if the company fails? Is there a free, binding route for a complaint? Does the regulator actually punish operators? On those three the Isle of Man and the United Kingdom come first, the national European licences (Italy, France, Germany, Spain and their neighbours) next, Malta close behind, and Curaçao last. The order changes if the question is price or product, where the strict regimes cost the bettor most; each page says where the trade-off lies.