A casino brand and the company legally operating its website are not always presented under the same name. Before depositing, identify the legal entity named in the site’s terms and check whether the exact domain appears in the relevant regulator’s official records. A logo, a licence number in isolation or a familiar-looking brand name is not a substitute for that match.
This guide explains a repeatable verification process. It does not endorse a casino or assume that a foreign licence makes a site available or suitable for players in Great Britain.
Start with the website’s own legal wording
Open the casino’s footer, terms and conditions, privacy notice and complaints page. Record the wording as it appears on the date you check it. Look for:
- the full legal company name;
- the registered or business address;
- the named regulator and licence or account number;
- the exact website domain covered by the statement;
- the company responsible for holding your account and balance; and
- the complaint route and any named dispute body.
Do not assume that a payment processor, software supplier or marketing company is the operator. The entity taking the bet and holding the customer relationship should be identifiable in the legal terms.
Match the exact domain, not just the brand
Copy the domain from the browser address bar. Remove the path after the first slash, but keep meaningful subdomains. Compare that exact address with the regulator’s record or URL-checking tool.
This step matters because one brand can use more than one domain, and similarly named sites can be operated by different companies. A regulator entry for a company does not automatically validate every site that mentions that company.
Check a Great Britain licence claim
If the site says it is licensed to transact with consumers in Great Britain, search the Gambling Commission’s public register. The register accepts a business name, trading name, domain or account number. Its current fields include the legal account name, licence status, activities, trading names and declared domains.
Check all of the following:
- The legal account name matches the operator named in the casino’s terms.
- The licence status is active, not merely pending, expired, surrendered, suspended or revoked.
- The exact casino domain is shown and its domain status is relevant.
- The licensed activities include the remote gambling activity the site offers.
- Any date or regulatory-action information is read in context.
The Commission states that domain and trading-name information is provided by gambling businesses and cannot be guaranteed as accurate third-party information. Treat the register as a primary verification source, but preserve what you checked and when.
Check a Malta Gaming Authority claim
The Malta Gaming Authority provides both a licensee register and a separate URL checker. Use the register to find the legal licensee, then use the URL checker to verify the website address. Compare the legal entity and domain with the casino’s own terms rather than relying on an MGA logo copied into a footer.
An MGA entry does not establish that a site is licensed to transact with consumers in Great Britain. Great Britain licensing is a separate question answered through the Gambling Commission’s register.
Check a Curaçao claim
The Curaçao Gaming Authority provides an online gaming licence register and certification-seal portal. Follow the certificate link from the casino only if it leads to the regulator’s genuine certificate domain, then compare the operator and site details shown there.
A certificate page should be assessed as a record for the named operator and domain. Do not treat the existence of a seal as proof of bonus terms, payment speed, game fairness or availability in another jurisdiction.
Resolve mismatches before depositing
Pause when any important detail does not agree. Examples include:
- the terms name one company but the regulator record names another;
- the licence number exists but the website domain is absent;
- the record is inactive, suspended or otherwise not active;
- the certificate link opens an unrelated domain;
- different legal pages identify different operators; or
- the site gives no clear legal entity or complaint route.
Do not fill the gap with an assumption. Save screenshots or PDFs of the relevant terms and regulator record, note the date and ask the operator for a written explanation. If the explanation cannot be reconciled with the regulator’s official record, do not deposit.
Separate licence verification from withdrawal checks
A valid operator-domain match answers who is authorised by that regulator. It does not tell you the withdrawal limits, identity-check timing, fees or bonus restrictions that apply to your account. Review those separately using our casino withdrawal terms checklist.
Keep an evidence file
Before opening or funding an account, save a small evidence file containing:
- the exact casino URL;
- the legal operator wording from the current terms;
- the official regulator result and date checked;
- the version of payment, bonus and withdrawal terms you accepted; and
- the complaint contact details displayed at registration.
This record does not guarantee an outcome, but it reduces uncertainty about which company and rules applied if you later need to raise a complaint.
Key point
Identify a non-UK casino by matching three things: the legal entity in its terms, the exact domain in the official regulator record and the active authorisation relevant to the service. Check each source directly and do not use promotional claims as evidence of licensing or player eligibility.
Sources reviewed 24 September 2026: Gambling Commission public register, Malta Gaming Authority licensee register and URL checker, and the Curaçao Gaming Authority certification portal.
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