Everyone has concerns about giving out personal information on the internet. Add to that the question of whether or not a website is a legal entity and safe to deal with makes the issue of licensing and regulation and even more important one to understand, especially when sites such as online casinos are involved.
The last thing a person wants to do is get involved in any legal or binding agreement – and when you register for an online casino account, you are entering into a legal and binding agreement. If you do so with a Casino that is not properly licensed it leaves you open to losing your money and not being able to recoup it because not all casino operators are bound to follow regulations as a licensed operator would be.
Online casino licenses are granted by the country, jurisdiction, or area in which it was created and operated in. These online casinos that have been granted operating licenses are bound by law to follow the rules and regulations that have been set in place for operating a business. Don’t get confused here. These laws are for business operation only. We will talk about the gambling rules in just a minute. By granting a license to an online casino, the issuer is stating to the public that they have found the site to be fair, reliable, credible, trustworthy, and secure. These are all things you want to be reassured about before placing any of your money into the website.
Regulation now comes into play to make sure that online casino ioperators continue to be fair, reliable, credible, trustworthy, and secure. Each country, jurisdiction, or area that grants one of these licenses add specific rules, terms, and conditions that govern the gaming aspects of the site. They make sure that the site operates within both the licensing laws and gambling regulations that have been set forth by the issuer’s particular government.
Some countries do not allow online gambling, forcing the owners of online casinos to become licensed ‘offshore’. This means that they can go to a country that does allow online casino gambling and ask them to license their site. Antigua was one of the first to introduce and license online casinos and gambling, and to this day being licensed by them is high praise. Licensing seals should be very visible on the front-page of the online casino website you wish to join. If it is not there and you cannot easily find on the page, such as in a section specifically for licensing and regulation, look for another site to invest your money in and gamble on.
Always make sure that you are aware of the gambling laws that are in place where you live. You may be allowed to gamble at online casinos but not withdraw your winnings, or the practice may be completely illegal in your area. Also make sure that the online casino you wish to play in is licensed and regulated. This not only protects you and your money, but it also protects the online casino from legal retribution if something should happen that cannot be resolved without resorting to legal means.
There are a number of online casino jurisdictions to look out for and we have listed some of them below.
- Curacao – Netherland Antilles – most products can be trusted
- Kahnawake – most products can be trusted
- United Kingdom – products can be trusted
- Isle of Man and Alderney – products can be trusted
- Malta – main European gambling licencing jurisdiction . There have been complaints re the Malta authorities lack of response to player issues on some products. For the most part products are safe to play at.
- Costa Rica – tread with care.
Online Casino Licencing and Regulation was written by Greg.