A licence comes from one regulator, for one place
A licence names the regulator that supervises an operator. It does not, on its own, say that you may use the service where you live. The regulators' own pages show why: they draw the line in different places.
What seven regulators say about where a service may be used
| Regulator | What its text says | Where we read it |
|---|---|---|
| Great Britain, Gambling Commission | It regulates remote gambling, wherever the key equipment is, when the products and services are offered to consumers in Great Britain [1]. A licensee that shows licences from other regulators must make plain that service to people in Great Britain relies on its Commission licence [2]. | The Commission's "What we regulate" page and licence condition 8.1.1 |
| Ontario, iGaming Ontario | Players cannot place wagers on a regulated account while not physically located in Ontario [3]. | iGaming Ontario's player FAQs |
| Malta, Malta Gaming Authority | The Act governs gaming services and products "from and within Malta" [4]. | The Act as published at legislation.mt |
| Curaçao, Curaçao Gaming Authority | A gaming licence can go to a company incorporated under Curaçao law with its statutory seat in Curaçao (Article 2.1). The holder of a remote-gaming licence stipulates that its contract with the player is governed by Curaçao law (Article 5.5) [5]. | The National Ordinance on Games of Chance, Dutch text |
| Isle of Man, Gambling Supervision Commission | The Commission says it cannot supervise, investigate or enforce against bodies offering gambling outside the Isle of Man [6]. | The Commission's "What does the IoM GSC regulate?" news item |
| Kahnawà:ke, Gaming Commission | Its regulations govern gaming "based in or offered from within" Kahnawà:ke. Authorized client providers must make sure their operations conform to the applicable laws of comparable jurisdictions [7]. | The Regulations concerning Interactive Gaming |
| Anjouan, Anjouan Gaming | Its complaints page refers to "players in excluded territories" [8]. | Anjouan Gaming's player complaint process |
Quoted fragments are the regulators' own words, from the pages in the sources. The Curaçao text is in Dutch and the summary is ours.
Three ways the line is drawn
- By where the player is. The Gambling Commission's remit is service to consumers in Great Britain, and Ontario's rule turns on the player being physically in Ontario.
- By where the operator is. The Maltese Act speaks of services "from and within Malta", the Curaçao Ordinance licenses a company incorporated and seated in Curaçao, the Isle of Man Commission says it cannot act against bodies outside the island, and Kahnawà:ke's regulations cover gaming based in or offered from within Kahnawà:ke.
- By a term left open. Anjouan Gaming's complaints page puts "players in excluded territories" outside its process and, on the page we read, does not say which territories those are.
Reachable is not permitted
A site that loads on your phone is not the same as a site you may use. Kahnawà:ke's permit-holder list carries the warning that not all URLs are accessible in all jurisdictions [9]. That sentence is about access.
Some regulators draw the line at the player's location. Ontario ties a wager to it [3], and the Gambling Commission's remit covers services offered to consumers in Great Britain [1]. For readers in South Africa, our South Africa page sets out what the National Gambling Board says.
Check the register, and check its date
- Name the country you are in and find its regulator.
- Search that regulator's register for the operator's name and licence number. Our licence pages link each register.
- Read the register's own date and caveat before you rely on a result. The table shows what three of them say.
| Register | What its page says | Where we read it |
|---|---|---|
| Curaçao Gaming Authority | The overviews "do not guarantee the current validity" of the licences [10]. | The registry downloads page |
| Kahnawà:ke Gaming Commission | The permit-holder list is marked "Updated September 28, 2023" [9]. | The permit-holders page |
| iGaming Ontario | The operator directory was marked accurate as of 1 September 2026 [11]. | The operator directory |
Dates are as we read the pages on 5 October 2026.
Where the answer for your country is not clear, ask your country's regulator. The texts above answer the question in different ways, or not at all.
Sources
The numbers in the text point to these pages. Each was opened on the date shown.
- Gambling Commission, What we regulate. Read 5 October 2026.
- Gambling Commission, LCCP condition 8.1.1: display of licensed status, remote operators. Read 5 October 2026.
- iGaming Ontario, Player FAQs. Read 5 October 2026.
- Government of Malta, Gaming Act (Chapter 583). Read 5 October 2026.
- Curaçao Gaming Authority, National Ordinance on Games of Chance (Landsverordening op de kansspelen). Read 5 October 2026.
- Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission, What does the IoM GSC regulate?. Read 5 October 2026.
- Kahnawà:ke Gaming Commission, Regulations concerning Interactive Gaming. Read 5 October 2026.
- Anjouan Gaming, Player complaint process. Read 5 October 2026.
- Kahnawà:ke Gaming Commission, Permit holders. Read 5 October 2026.
- Curaçao Gaming Authority, Registry downloads. Read 5 October 2026.
- iGaming Ontario, Operator directory. Read 5 October 2026.
About this guide
Published by Avenmark Media. Drafted with AI assistance. A separate pass then re-opened every source above and checked each claim against it, on . A second, independent check compared a sample of the claims with the same sources. How we research and correct our pages.
Found a mistake? Email [email protected]. We correct the page, change its updated date and say what changed.