Casino Licence Tracker

Which casino licences are actually real in 2026 — and which are worth nothing at all. Curaçao abolished the licensing system that most of the internet's casino "safety" pages are still describing, and a lot of sites are displaying seals that expired months ago. This page explains what changed, what each licence type is genuinely worth, and how to check one yourself in about two minutes on the regulator's own register. Last audited 2026-07-14.

The one-line version. A casino saying "licensed in Curaçao" told you something in 2023. In 2026 it may tell you nothing — the old master-licence system was scrapped, and the only thing that counts now is whether the operating company appears on the Curaçao Gaming Authority's public register with a granted licence. Most sites never re-checked. We did.

1 · What actually happened in Curaçao

For twenty years, Curaçao ran a master-licence system: four private companies held master licences and sold sub-licences to anyone who paid. There was effectively no regulator between you and the casino. That is the system that produced the reputation.

It is gone. Here is the timeline, and every date is checkable:

24 Dec 2024 — the National Ordinance on Games of Chance (LOK) comes into force. The four private master-licence holders and the entire sub-licensing model are abolished.
1 Jan 2025 — all legacy sub-licences expire. Operators must now hold a direct licence from the Curaçao Gaming Authority (CGA).
15 Oct 2025 — the orange transitional seals expire permanently. Any site still showing one is displaying a dead badge.

So an old-style licence number — the kind containing JAZ, like 8048/JAZ2016-050 — certifies nothing today. If a casino's footer still shows one, that is not a licence. It is a leftover.

The good news: the new Curaçao licence is a genuine, direct, government-issued licence with a public register behind it. "Curaçao" is no longer automatically a red flag — but it is now a claim you have to check, because the label alone no longer distinguishes a properly licensed operator from one running on a dead badge.

2 · The catch almost nobody mentions

The CGA register does not just say "licensed" or "not licensed". Being listed is not the same as being licensed. On the register we pulled on 10 July 2026, entries carried these statuses:

Status on the CGA registerCountWhat it actually means

Indefinite193Licence granted, no expiry. This is the real thing.

Assessment in progress227Application not yet granted. Transitional. It is not a licence.

Revoked39Dead.

Expired32Dead.

Read that again: more entries are mid-assessment than are actually granted. An affiliate site that checks "is the company on the CGA register?" and stops there will wave through hundreds of operators that do not hold a granted licence. That is the single most common mistake being made about Curaçao right now, and it is why we classify a bare "Curaçao" claim as under review until we have seen the word Indefinite.

In fairness to the operators: the CGA's own register carries a disclaimer that it "does not guarantee the current validity of the licenses" and that "no rights can be derived from these overviews", and operators mid-assessment may be permitted to keep trading under transitional arrangements. So mid-assessment means unconfirmed — not proven dead. We will not overclaim in either direction.

3 · Why we reject Anjouan and Comoros (Mwali)

A large number of crypto casinos now advertise a licence from Anjouan, an island in the Union of the Comoros. Some advertise Mwali (Mohéli). We do not accept either as a gambling licence, and here is exactly why.

The Central Bank of the Comoros has publicly warned that the Anjouan licensing bodies have "no physical or legal existence" in the country, that the licences "carry no weight", and that they operate "without recognition from the state". Comoros officials have described the licence-granting organisations as "fictitious".
The Anjouan Offshore Finance Authority was stripped of its powers by national laws in 2013 and 2015 — and has carried on selling licences online regardless. Reporting puts it at 1,300+ gambling licences at roughly €17,000 a year each.
Per the 2024 FATF-GAFI Mutual Evaluation Report, gambling is prohibited under the Comorian Penal Code — so a licence issued inside the Comoros has no domestic legal basis to rest on.
Mwali/MISA is the same story: no standing under Comorian law, and it cannot suspend a licence, impose a penalty, or bring a case. A body that cannot punish a casino cannot protect you from one.

What this means for you as a player. It is not that an Anjouan-licensed casino is guaranteed to cheat you — many operate normally. It is that if it does cheat you, there is no regulator to complain to. The licence buys you nothing at the exact moment you need it. That is the whole test we apply, and it is why the label fails it.

4 · Every licence you'll meet, and what it's worth

Sorted honestly, not diplomatically.

LicenceWorthOur honest readVerify it yourself

UKGCUK Gambling Commission Real protectionTier 1 The strongest consumer protection in the industry. Mandatory dispute resolution, deposit limits, GAMSTOP self-exclusion, segregated player funds, real fines. Search the operator name, trading name or domain on the public register. Every legitimate UK site has an account number.gamblingcommission.gov.uk ↗

MGAMalta Gaming Authority Real protectionTier 1 A genuine EU regulator with a complaints process and enforcement register. Weaker than the UKGC on player protection, but a long way from a rubber stamp. Search the Licensee Register by licensee name, URL or gaming service. Check the authorisation status reads active.mga.org.mt ↗

AlderneyAlderney Gambling Control Commission Real protectionTier 1 Small, old and respected. Frequently held alongside a UKGC licence by the same operator. Browse the licensee list on the AGCC site.gamblingcontrol.org ↗

Isle of ManIsle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission Real protectionTier 1 A serious regulator with strong player-fund protection rules. Check the GSC’s published licence-holder list.gov.im ↗

Curaçao (CGA)Curaçao Gaming Authority — direct licence Some protectionMid Since the LOK reform this is a real, direct, government-issued licence — a genuine step up from the old system. Still lighter-touch than the UKGC or MGA, but it now means something. Find the licensee company on the CGA register and confirm the status reads Indefinite — that means granted. “Assessment in progress” does not.cga.cw ↗

Curaçao (legacy)Old master / sub-licence, e.g. a number containing “JAZ” No protectionDead Worth nothing. The master-licence system was abolished. These certify precisely no oversight at all — and plenty of sites still display them. If the number looks like 8048/JAZ or 365/JAZ, or the seal is orange, it is dead. Look the company up on the CGA register instead.cga.cw ↗

KahnawakeKahnawà:ke Gaming Commission (Mohawk Territory, Canada) Some protectionMid A real, long-established regulator that publishes every certified URL. Modest enforcement muscle, but verifiable — which is the whole point. The permit-holder page lists the exact URL of every certified operator. If the site you are on is not on that list, it is not covered.gamingcommission.ca ↗

TobiqueTobique Gaming Commission (Tobique First Nation, New Brunswick) Thin protectionWeak Real and statutory — created under the Tobique Gaming Act 2023 — but new, and light on oversight. Not a tier-1 licence, and we score it accordingly. Check the operator appears on the TGC’s own site.thetgc.ca ↗

AnjouanAnjouan, Union of the Comoros No protectionRejected We do not accept it. The Central Bank of the Comoros says the issuing bodies have “no physical or legal existence” and that the licences “carry no weight”. There is no regulator to complain to. There is nothing meaningful to check. Treat the site as unlicensed.Comoros warning (reported Jan 2026) ↗

Comoros (Mwali)Mwali / Mohéli — MISA No protectionRejected We do not accept it. MISA has no standing under Comorian law and cannot suspend a licence, fine anyone, or bring a case. A certificate, not a regulator. Nothing meaningful to check. Treat the site as unlicensed.Legal analysis of MISA ↗

5 · Check a casino's licence yourself — 2 minutes

1Scroll to the footer of the casino's site. Find the licence number and the name of the operating company — usually something like "…N.V." or "…B.V." or "…Limited". The company name matters more than the brand name, because the licence is issued to the company.

2Go to the regulator's own register — not a link from the casino, and not an affiliate site. Type the address yourself: gamblingcommission.gov.uk for the UK, mga.org.mt for Malta, cga.cw for Curaçao, gamingcommission.ca for Kahnawake.

3Search the company name. Then check three things: the entry exists; the status is active / granted (on Curaçao, that word is Indefinite — not "assessment in progress"); and the domain listed matches the site you are actually on. A certificate that names a different domain is not that casino's licence.

4If the company is not there, or the status is expired, revoked or mid-assessment, or the number contains JAZ, or the seal is orange — you are not protected. That is the answer, regardless of how good the bonus is.

6 · Our own operators — audited, including the ones that pay us

We ran every operator we list through the registers above on 2026-07-14. We earn affiliate commission from operators in every one of these groups, including the failing one. Here is the result anyway — publishing this is the entire point of the site.

17Verified — strong

UKGC, MGA, Alderney or Isle of Man. Tier-1 regulators with real enforcement powers and a public register.

9Verified — OK

A real, current licence we could confirm on the regulator’s own register: granted Curaçao CGA, Kahnawake, Montenegro, Western Cape.

11Under review

Carries a bare “Curaçao” claim we could not confirm as a granted CGA licence. Not proven dead — but not proven live either.

7Fails our policy

Anjouan or Comoros (Mwali). We do not accept these as a credible gambling licence. We earn commission from operators in this group and we are telling you anyway.

What we do about it

Fails our policy (Anjouan / Mwali): these operators are under active review for de-listing. Where we keep one listed while that review runs, its review page carries the warning — we will not quietly leave a rejected licence looking like an accepted one. Two of the operators in this group are among our largest earners. That has not bought them a pass, and it is not going to.
Under review (unconfirmed Curaçao): we are pinning each brand to its actual licensee company and re-checking it against the CGA register. Until that clears, the operator carries a caveat rather than a clean bill of health. We would rather say "we don't know yet" than pretend.
Licence tier already moves the score. Our Trust Score weights licensing at up to 35 points: tier-1 regulators score highest, Curaçao and other mid-tier licences score lower, weak-oversight licences lower still, and no verifiable licence scores near zero. A bad licence is not a footnote on this site — it costs the casino real points.
This page gets re-run, not written once. Registers change: licences get granted, and licences get revoked. A tracker that is never re-checked becomes exactly the stale advice we are complaining about.

7 · Sources

Curaçao Gaming Authority — public licence register (Online Gaming License Registry and Enforcement Register, both last updated 10 July 2026)
UK Gambling Commission — public register of gambling businesses
Malta Gaming Authority — Licensee Register
Kahnawà:ke Gaming Commission — interactive permit holders
Alderney Gambling Control Commission — licensees
iGaming Business — Curaçao parliament approves the LOK framework
Comoros Central Bank warning on Anjouan licences (reported January 2026)
Legal analysis — the standing of the Mwali/MISA licence

A licence is a floor, not a promise: a properly licensed casino can still be a bad one, and every casino keeps a house edge. This page reflects the public registers as they stood on 2026-07-14 — statuses change, so re-check before you deposit. We may earn a commission from some of the casinos we list; as the audit above shows, it does not buy a verdict. If a casino is holding your money, our complaint help page is the place to start. 18+. Please gamble responsibly.