Casino License Types Explained: What They Mean for Players

Why the License Type Matters More Than Whether a Casino Has One

First time trying to test casinos I assumed a licensed casino was a trustworthy one. Obviously, after testing 6 casinos now, I no longer feel that way.

Having a license and having player protection are two different things. A casino can hold a perfectly valid Anjouan license and still have awful wagering terms, extremely long support response times, and no real body you can go to if things go wrong. A valid license says nothing about actual player protection.

The license type simply lets you know which set of rules the casino is playing by - and some rulebooks are a lot thinner than others.

What a Casino License Actually Does (and Does Not Do)

Before comparing license types, it helps to understand what any license actually does in practice. A gambling license is issued by a regulatory authority and gives the casino the legal right to offer real-money games in jurisdictions that accept it. To get a license, a casino typically has to:

Register as a legal company in that jurisdiction
Pay a licensing fee
Submit some basic documentation about their ownership and operations
Agree to the regulator's terms and conditions

What a license does not automatically guarantee:

That your funds are held in a segregated account and are protected in the event a casino shuts down
That you have access to an independent dispute resolution service
That bonus terms are fair or clearly communicated
That the casino will respond to complaints in a reasonable time

The stronger the regulator, the more of those protections are actually in place. There's a massive difference between having a Curacao license and having an MGA license.

Curacao License: The Most Common, the Least Protective

Casinos that obtain a Curacao (officially the island of Curacao in the Dutch Caribbean) gambling license have been able to do so since 1996. Therefore, it is one of the oldest licensing jurisdictions for the online casino industry and also one of the non-EU jurisdictions that are home to the largest number of casinos.

What Curacao requires from casinos:

Company registration in Curacao
Payment of an annual license fee
Basic anti-money laundering compliance
A list of approved games

What Curacao does NOT require:

Segregated player funds (your deposit money does not have to be kept separate)
An independent dispute resolution (ADR) body
Responsible gambling tools in player accounts
Maximum wagering requirement limits

In 2023 the Curacao government updated the licensing terms with stricter rules for new operators. The level of player protection in Curacao is still far below MGA and UKGC standards.

From my testing: PlayAmo and Wild Tokyo both hold Curacao licenses and both paid out during my tests. Wild Tokyo's bonus wagering requirement was 50x - which is well above what an MGA casino would typically allow without serious responsible gambling warnings. PlayAmo had 144+ providers and a professional setup, yet still operated under Curacao rules with no independent dispute body to go to.

If something had gone wrong with my withdrawal at either casino, my options would have been limited to contacting the casino directly or posting on a public forum.

You can check a Curacao license on the Curacao eGaming public register. Make sure that the license number on the casino site is featured in an active entry in the register.

Anjouan License: The Newest and Least Established

Anjouan is one of the three main islands of the Comoros, a small island nation off the east coast of Africa. It only started issuing online gambling licenses around 2022, which makes it the youngest major licensing jurisdiction in the industry.

Four of the six casinos I have tested hold Anjouan licenses: Slotimo, Spartans Casino, FastBet, and Razed. All four are also relatively new casinos, launched between 2020 and 2025.

What Anjouan requires from casinos:

Company registration
A licensing fee
Basic AML documentation

Why most new casinos choose it: The license is cheaper and faster to get, which is the reason why most new casinos choose it. Not because it offers better player protection - on the contrary, it offers less.

The honest summary: An Anjouan license is basically an official permit to allow the casino to exist. It has nothing to do with the treatment of the players in this casino, or the payout speeds, or even how any disputes are handled.

From my testing: Slotimo's KYC took 62 hours across 3 separate document requests - not the most relaxed experience. FastBet had a wagering rule where only real money bets counted, which was hidden away in the terms and conditions. Spartans has a rakeback system rather than a traditional welcome bonus, which is actually a pretty transparent way to run promotions.

All three paid out. But as usual the Anjouan license doesn't exactly fill you with confidence before jumping in, and also didn't do anything for you after you have gone in.

MGA License: The EU Standard With Real Teeth

The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) is widely considered the gold standard for online casino licensing outside of the United Kingdom. It is a European Union regulator, which means its rules have to meet EU consumer protection standards.

What MGA requires that Curacao and Anjouan do not:

Segregated player funds: Your deposit money must be kept separate from the casino's operational funds. If the casino goes bankrupt, your balance is protected.
Independent dispute resolution: Players can escalate complaints to an approved ADR body if the casino does not resolve them fairly.
Responsible gambling tools: Deposit limits, loss limits, session limits, and self-exclusion must be available in player accounts.
Game fairness testing: Games must be independently tested and certified for fairness.
Anti-money laundering: Stricter AML requirements than Curacao or Anjouan.

MGA licensed casinos tend to have stricter bonus terms as well - not because the MGA sets maximum wagering requirements, but because the oversight environment pushes casinos to operate more transparently to keep their license.

I have not tested an MGA-licensed casino yet at SpinAudit. When I do, it will be a direct comparison against the Curacao and Anjouan operators I have already reviewed. My expectation is that the dispute resolution difference will be the most noticeable change in practice.

UKGC License: The Strictest in the World

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) license is the most demanding gambling license in the world for operators. Any casino that wants to accept players from the United Kingdom must hold a UKGC license - no exceptions.

What the UKGC requires beyond MGA standards:

Affordability checks: Casinos must monitor player spending and intervene if a player appears to be gambling beyond their means.
Stricter bonus restrictions: As of 2024, UKGC casinos must meet new rules on bonus wagering and free spins to make them more transparent and less harmful.
Self-exclusion via GAMSTOP: Players can self-exclude from all UKGC-licensed casinos at once using the national GAMSTOP scheme.
Source of funds checks: For higher deposits, casinos may ask you to prove where your money comes from.
Mandatory responsible gambling messaging: Stricter rules on advertising and responsible gambling communication.

I don't think any casino player wants to be stung with some catch hidden in the terms and conditions and I believe the UKGC licence offers the highest degree of protection as well as the most restrictive terms. Many casinos are seemingly unwilling to accept the lower revenues and less player freedom that come with a UKGC licence, and probably because of the restrictions that can be imposed on casino promotions. If a casino is proudly advertising that it is not UKGC licenced, that really tells you that they have some offers in mind that won't make it through UKGC approval.

License Comparison: What Each One Actually Gives You

Feature	Anjouan	Curacao	MGA	UKGC
Segregated player funds	✗	✗	✓	✓
Independent dispute resolution	✗	✗	✓	✓
Mandatory RG tools in account	✗	✗	✓	✓
Certified game fairness testing	✗	~	✓	✓
Strict AML requirements	✗	~	✓	✓
National self-exclusion scheme	✗	✗	✗	✓ (GAMSTOP)
Ease of obtaining for operator	Easy	Moderate	Difficult	Very difficult

✓ = Required | ✗ = Not required | ~ = Partial or inconsistent requirement

What I Actually Experienced at Curacao and Anjouan Licensed Casinos

I deposited real money and tested withdrawals at 6 casinos, all licensed under either Curacao or Anjouan. Here is what the license situation looked like in practice for each one.

Wild Tokyo - Curacao: Paid out €13.80 - 1 day and 25 minutes after requesting withdrawal. The 50x wagering requirement is the kind of term that would face much more scrutiny under an MGA license. The live chat was bot-based - again, something an MGA licensed casino would be more likely to have addressed.

PlayAmo - Curacao: No withdrawal completed. The bonus was lost after approximately 15% wagered - the balance dropped below the bonus value before wagering finished, which voids the bonus and leaves nothing to withdraw. Good setup and 144+ providers, but no payout data from this test.

Slotimo - Anjouan: Paid out €496 - 2.6 days after requesting withdrawal. KYC took 62 hours with 3 separate document requests. No independent ADR body to escalate to if the KYC had been rejected unfairly.

Spartans - Anjouan: Paid out $54 via crypto in 2 minutes and 31 seconds. They run a rakeback system rather than a traditional welcome bonus, which is a pretty transparent and simple arrangement. Spartans launched in 2025, so there is no long track record yet to judge against.

Razed - Anjouan: Paid out in ETH in 3 minutes and 25 seconds, the fastest withdrawal I have recorded on SpinAudit. No KYC required for small amounts. The bonus was lost at 18.8% wagering, so the withdrawal was of my own deposited funds rather than bonus winnings.

FastBet - Anjouan: No withdrawal completed. The balance was lost at only 3.8% wagering completion - well before the 100 euro minimum withdrawal threshold was reached. KYC was completed in 17 minutes, which was a reasonably quick turnaround. They do have a wagering term hidden in the conditions stating that only real money bets count toward wagering - something that would be far more difficult to hide under MGA or UKGC regulation.

So in conclusion, 4 of the 6 casinos completed a withdrawal. PlayAmo and FastBet did not - in both cases the balance was lost before wagering was complete or before the minimum threshold was reached. But whenever I had a question about bonus terms, the KYC process, or the way support worked, the Curacao or Anjouan license gave me no additional protection. I was relying entirely on the casino choosing to behave fairly.

What This Means Before You Deposit

The license type does not tell you whether a casino will pay you. From my experience, even Anjouan-licensed casinos paid out without problems. What the license tells you is what options you have if they do not.

Here is how I factor licenses into my decision before depositing:

Always verify the license number is real. Find the casino's license number on their site and look it up in the public register for that jurisdiction. A displayed license that does not appear in the register is a red flag I treat as an automatic rejection. I cover this in detail in my casino safety checklist.
Treat Curacao and Anjouan casinos as lower recourse environments. That does not mean avoid them. It means be more careful with the bonus terms, keep your first deposit small, and test the withdrawal process before committing larger amounts.
A UKGC or MGA license means you have options in case something bad happens. There's an independent complaint resolution service. You're more likely to be protected by deposit guarantee schemes. Terms for bonuses are usually more reasonable. Such is the trade-off to the heavily restricted terms of the respective countries' gaming markets.
No license is a hard stop. An unlicensed casino is a lawless casino and one that has no legal obligation to you or the laws of any country. Do not put dollars in a slot at a casino that can't show you a real license from a real place.

If you'd like to see the license check in action as part of my full pre-deposit process, then you can find the details in the welcome bonuses hub. There is a link to every casino I've tested, along with the results I found.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a Curacao casino license safe for players?

Curacao licenses companies meaning they are registered and allowed to operate. Unfortunately, the level of player protection for these customers is poor. There is no independent arbitration service that can help you in case the casino is not willing to honor withdrawals. That being said, all the Curacao licensed casinos I tested did pay out. However, in case of a problem, a Curacao licensed player would have very few ways to protect themselves.

What is the difference between MGA and Curacao casino licenses?

MGA (Malta Gaming Authority) casinos have stricter rules to ensure fair games, have adequate responsible gambling protection and have adequate player fund protection. Curacao has way less rules and does not have an independent complaint resolution service. MGA casinos have to keep player deposits in a separate, regulated account to protect clients.

What is an Anjouan casino license?

Anjouan is a small island in the Comoros archipelago that started issuing gambling licenses around 2022. It is even newer and less established than Curacao. Four of the six casinos I tested hold Anjouan licenses - Slotimo, Spartans, FastBet, and Razed. Of those, Slotimo, Spartans, and Razed completed withdrawals during my tests. FastBet did not - the balance was lost before reaching the minimum withdrawal threshold. The license itself offers very little formal player protection.

Does a casino need a license to operate legally?

Yes. Most casinos need a licence from at least one country to do their business. Although there can be a big difference from one country to another. So a casino that only has a Curacao or an Anjouan licence is a legal casino but the level of supervision and protection for players is less than with an MGA or UKGC licence.

Casino License Types Explained: What They Mean for You