Selecting an online casino that is licensed and regulated is a good place to start for ensuring player safety, but be aware that not all jurisdictions provide the same level of assurance.
Choose from the Top 5 Online Casinos by Jurisdiction to play safely and enjoy the best online gambling experience.
If you are planning to get started with playing at online casinos, then it is important to ensure that the casino that you sign up to is licensed and regulated at a reputable jurisdiction. As you are aware, there are many online casinos that purport to be the most honest and trusted, but how do you, as a player, really know?
There are several ways, and one of them is to know whether an online casinos has a real license, in what jurisdiction do they have a license in, and how are they regulated to ensure that players are protected.
Real money online gambling is a lot fun, and is safe as long as you follow through with a few checks to understand which casinos are safe to play at, which are legitimate, which are the real deal.
One way to guard against playing at a dud casino is to check their licensing and jurisdiction of license. The quality of licensing, however, is not the same across all jurisdictions. Some are more stringent than others, and will provide greater assurance. But that is not to say that all casinos, within a less strict jurisdiction are of poorer quality.
In this article we outline the need of jurisdictions, their importance and understanding their reputations.
Licensed Online Casinos
Quite rightly, many players choose online casinos that are licensed and regulated to play at. Those that are not, are to be avoided. An online casino that is licensed means that they have established their operations in a jurisdiction that permits online gambling and has a governance framework in place.
The goals of a governance framework is for the safety of players. It is to protect their personal data, provide a safe and secure payment method for deposits and withdrawals, ensure that an avenue for complaints is available, that complaints are addressed appropriately, and true fair gaming is provided.
It is therefore imperative to play at an online casino that has purchased a gambling license and is monitored for their compliance to the governance framework. By doing so, you can have assurance that the online casino is legitimate.
Online casinos know that players search for licensing, and therefore (if they are legitimate), they WILL be licensed.
But, licensing terms and conditions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Some are more onerous than others for the online casino. For example, variations in reporting frequency and tax rates.
Knowing this, online casinos shop around for the least onerous jurisdiction. Although, having a less onerous jurisdiction is beneficial to an online casino (less paperwork), it may reduce the protection and quality of play for players. This doesn’t necessarily mean that less onerous casinos are less safe for players, but in general, some of them could be.
Lastly, it is good to know that some casinos have several licenses. Purchasing several licenses is required whereby the residence of players that want to play have specific jurisdictions that the casino must be a part of. The more licenses that an online casino has the safer it will be.
It is therefore important as a player, to choose online casinos from the safest jurisdictions. We outline the Top 5 Online Casinos by jurisdictions that players should consider.
UK Gambling Commission
The UK Gambling Commission is one of the most reputable jurisdictions in the world. The UK has one of the most advanced and developed regulatory casino frameworks in the world. The standard and quality is considered the best, upon which many other regulators turn to as the leader in the industry. Knowing that UK residence love to place a bet, the UK Gambling Commission was established to protect UK players.Their strict compliance requirements, and relatively high taxes deters many online casinos from setting up their operations in the UK. Those that do establish themselves in the UK with the Gambling commission must abide by the UK Gambling Act 2005.
As a UK player, you can be comforted to know that a UK Gambling Commission licensed casino is the safest online casino to play at.
Please note: for non UK residents, the UK Gambling Commission only has jurisdiction that protect UK players. It is not clear, however it is most likely that their reach does not extend beyond UK borders or sovereignty.
Those that do establish themselves in the UK are targeting players from the UK and solely report their UK earnings to the UK Gambling Commission. Other earnings form other countries (if any) are reported through other jurisdiction to reduce tax and compliance.
Top 5 Online Casinos Licensed by UK Gambling Commission
#1 888 casino – the most trusted and long standing online casino for UK citizens. It has been a player’s favourite for many years, and has earnt a reputation of offering great bonuses, quality gaming and customer service. It joined the UK Gambling Commission in the early 2000’s and has continued to be licensed by the UK Gambling Commission throughout the years.
#2 William Hill – a huge name, well known by UK players. The brand is promoted everywhere from sport games, to pubs and clubs. Their online experience is great for the seasoned player, offering thousands of different slot titles, table games, bingo and keno – it’s got it all!
#3 Betfair – arguably the largest online casino provider for UK players, they are enormous and do not just cater for online casino, but also for sports and various other forms of gambling. Betfair offers a great real money gaming experience, customer service is second to none, and variety of games is simply astounding.
#4 Dream Vegas – one of the newest comers to the UK market, and joining the UK Gambling Commission in the past five years. There is much to like with Dream Vegas! For starters, new players receive an excellent sign up bonus of 100% up to £400 + 50 Bonus Spins, and it has a refreshing gaming software, layout and technology that enables for a smooth gaming experience. Their live casino offering, partnering with Evolution is a very good choice. Evolution is the leading live casino provider for all online casinos in the world. So if you are looking for live casino gaming choose Dream Vegas.
#5 Buzz Bingo – something different, something new! Try Buzz Bingo for a better social gaming experience. Enjoy the relatively slower pace, and chat with other online players. Like Dream Vegas, it is a relatively new comer to the market, but you can be assure of great fun being a member of the UK Gambling Commission.
Buzz Bingo is our top pick for bingo online
Malta Gaming Authority
Malta is a small country (an island) residing to the west of Italy. It is part of the European Union and is famous for its history of glamorous land based casinos. With strong gambling experience, Malta formed the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) to lead its governance and compliance of casinos. In 2004, Malta became the first EU country to officially license and regulate online casinos.
Top 5 Online Casinos Licensed by Malta Gaming Authority
#1 Genesis Global Limited – you may not have heard of Genesis Global as a company, but you may have come across one of their many quality casino brands that include: Casino Lab, Casino Dome, FunBet, Casoola, Sloty, Casino Planet, Vegas Hero, Casino Cruise, Spin IT, Casino Joy, Genesis Casino, Spela, Pelaa, Kassu, Casino Gods. They launch refreshing new brands regularly and offer excellent bonuses that are spread across many types of games. Our recommendation is to search among their brands to find the best bonus for the games that you want to play at.
#2 Rush Casino – looking for something with style, flair and a bit of jazz. Rush Casino hit’s the spot with that burst. Catering for main European market, it’s site is appropriately translated in English, Norsk, Deutsch and Suomi. The variety of games is slightly limited, but they are safe to play at, and accept a wide range of payment methods that includes: euteller, klarna., Trustly and Interac
#3 Rootz Limited – offering two casinos, Wildz Casino and Caxino Casino. Both are powered by top gaming software providers such as NetEnt, Evelution and RealTime Gaming. Rootz is a new comer to the list of Malta Gaming Authority, but has quickly established itself as an extremely honest and trusted casino operator.
#4 BetWay – A bit and hit miss with their customer service at times, but by far the majority of players is extremely pleased with the gaming experience. Creating an account is super fast, with verification completed between 1-2 business days. BetWay offers both casino and sports betting, great for those who love to dabble in both.
#5 Casiplay – A brilliant futuristic designed casino. Casiplay is a favourite among Canadian players, UK, and Africans.
Curacao e-Gaming
Curacao is located in the Caribbeans and is a sovereignty of the Dutch. This tiny island, has made a name for itself as one of the best locations to set up an online casino. Their governing body – Curacao e-Gaming – was the first jurisdiction in the world to offer online casino licenses. Established in 1996, you will find that the majority of online casinos have a Curacao e-Gaming license.
With Curacao e-Gaming licenses, the majority of online casinos choose this jurisdiction due to its lower tax rates and “easier to meet” compliance rules. Therefore you will find a mixed bag of good to average online casinos if you choose a Curacao licensed online casino.
Top 3 Online Casinos Licensed by Curacao e Gaming
#1 Oshi Casino – This is the leading online casino that is Curacao based. It offers superb payment methods that includes several cryptocurrencies, and expands gaming to provably fair. Oshi is extremely well designed, with a side pull out bar menu. Open to many countries around the world, Oshi is one of the best online casinos, irrespective of jurisdiction.
#2 BitStarz – this casino strongly caters for the South East Asian, Asia Pacific and several Euro countries. Also a leader of payment methods with the acceptance of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. BitStarz is one of the most popular.
#3 Casoo Casino – Casoo and Canadian players go hand in hand. Casoo is a fan favourite in Canada because it caters for the various local payment methods, including Interac Online and Interac e Transfer.
Gibraltar Betting & Gaming Association
Gibraltar is another little island under the sovereignty of the British. Located just off the cost of Spain, the regulator is named Gibraltar Betting and Gaming Association (GBGA). Those that reside and operate in Gibraltar must abide with the Gambling Act 2005. The GBGA is relatively compliance strong, thus ensuring the quality of gaming and the protection of players is upheld.
Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission
The British have the most territories under its sovereignty and the Isle of Man is yet another. A tax haven for many industries, it also gambling licensing under the various gambling laws. The Gambling Supervision Commission (GSC) was established to regulate and monitor all gambling activity inclusive of interactive gaming. The laws that online casinos must abide by include: the Gambling (Amendment) Act 1984, Online Gambling Regulation Act 2001, Gambling Supervision Act 2010, Casino Act 1986 and Gambling, Betting and Lotteries Act 2001.
Alderney Gambling Control Commission
The Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC) is rather new when compared to other gambling commissions. Established in 2000 is refers to online casinos as eGaming.
The laws that govern eGaming include:
- Alderney Gambling Law 1999,
- Alderney eGambling Ordinance 2009
- Alderney eGambling Regulations 2009
Kahnawake Gaming Commission
The Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC) is a territory that resides within Canada. Oddly, Canadian law is so ambiguous and contradictory it has enabled the province of Kahnawake to establish their own gaming commission.
Their laws are independent of the federal laws, and are one of the most strict and regimented in North America.
With high licensing fees, online casinos that are registered and licensed by KGC can be well trusted.