How to Verify an Offshore Casino Licence

A Badge on a Website Proves Nothing — a Registry Entry Does

Every offshore casino displays a licence badge. It sits in the footer, usually next to a Curaçao, Malta, or Gibraltar logo, sometimes with a licence number, sometimes without. The badge is designed to reassure you. It should not. A badge is an image file — anyone with basic web skills can place one on a page, and a meaningful number of operators do exactly that. The licence it claims to represent may be expired, revoked, assigned to a different company, or entirely fictitious.

This is not a theoretical risk. The Malta Gaming Authority flagged 34 URLs in the first half of 2025 alone that fraudulently displayed MGA branding or claimed to hold MGA licences they did not possess, according to reporting by MaltaToday. Those were just the ones the MGA caught and published. The actual number of sites misrepresenting their licensing status is certainly higher — and the problem is not limited to any single jurisdiction.

Verifying a casino’s licence takes minutes and costs nothing. The fact that so few players bother is what makes licence fraud profitable. This guide walks through the verification process for each major offshore jurisdiction, explains what to look for when the results come back, and identifies the red flags that distinguish a genuine licence from a convincing-looking forgery.

Verification by Regulator

The Curaçao Gaming Authority maintains a public register of licensed operators on its official website. To verify a Curaçao licence, locate the licence number displayed on the casino’s site — it should be in the footer or on a dedicated licensing page — and search the CGA registry. The entry should match the company name, the licence number, and the type of licence (B2C or B2B). If the casino displays a licence number that does not appear in the registry, or if the registered company name does not match the brand operating the casino, the licence is either invalid or belongs to a different entity. Under the LOK reform, all Curaçao operators must hold a direct CGA licence; sub-licences issued under the old master-licence system are no longer valid.

For Malta, the MGA operates a searchable licence register at mga.org.mt. The process is straightforward: search by company name or licence number, and the register returns the operator’s details, licence type, licence status (active, suspended, or cancelled), and the date of issue. The MGA is one of the more transparent regulators — its register is well-maintained and updated regularly. If a casino claims an MGA licence and the register shows no match, or shows the licence as cancelled or suspended, that is a definitive answer. The MGA also publishes a list of unauthorised websites that have fraudulently used its branding, which is worth cross-referencing if you have any doubts.

Gibraltar publishes a list of licensed operators through the Gibraltar Gambling Commissioner’s website. The register is less granular than Malta’s — it typically shows the licensed entity name and the licence category, without the detailed status information that the MGA provides. Verification is still possible: check that the parent company behind the casino brand appears on the Gibraltar list. If it does not, the claimed licence is invalid. Gibraltar issues relatively few new licences and has a reputation for selectivity, which means a genuine Gibraltar licence carries more weight than most — but it also means fraudulent claims are worth checking, because operators know the jurisdiction’s reputation adds perceived credibility.

One practical tip that applies across all three jurisdictions: do not click the licence badge on the casino’s own website to verify it. A fraudulent operator can hyperlink a badge image to any URL, including a fake verification page that mimics the regulator’s design. Always navigate to the regulator’s website directly — type the URL yourself or use a search engine — and perform the lookup from there. The extra thirty seconds eliminates the possibility of being redirected to a spoofed confirmation page.

As John Pierce, the UKGC’s Director of Enforcement and Intelligence, has observed, illegal gambling is adaptive and increasingly embedded in digital ecosystems. That adaptiveness extends to licence fraud: operators who misrepresent their licensing status are not static targets but constantly adjust their tactics — changing company names, rotating domains, and updating the visual design of their badge to match the latest version used by the genuine regulator. A single verification check at the time of registration is a good start. A periodic re-check — particularly after the casino changes its domain, ownership, or branding — is better.

Red Flags in Licence Claims

The most common red flag is a licence badge with no accompanying number. Legitimate operators display their licence number prominently because it is a competitive advantage — it proves they have something most offshore casinos lack. An operator that shows a regulator’s logo but omits the licence number is either hoping you will not check or knows that checking would reveal a problem.

Mismatched company names are the next signal. A casino operating as “LuckyStar Casino” may display a licence issued to “Global Digital Entertainment Ltd.” That is normal — operating brands and corporate entities rarely share a name. But if you cannot trace any connection between the brand and the licensed entity — no “About Us” page, no terms and conditions naming the parent company, no corporate registration that links the two — the licence may belong to a different operator entirely, or the casino may be using a licence number it found on another site.

Expired or revoked licences are harder to spot without checking the registry. A casino may have held a genuine licence at some point in the past but lost it due to non-compliance, non-payment of fees, or a regulatory action. The badge on the website does not automatically update when a licence expires. Only the registry tells you the current status. This is particularly relevant during Curaçao’s transitional period, where some operators may be displaying provisional licences that have since lapsed.

The broader scale of the problem adds urgency. UKGC data published by G3 Newswire identified 535 unique domains associated with unlicensed gambling operations targeting UK consumers as of mid-2025 — a figure that had grown from 364 the previous year. Not all of those domains are engaged in licence fraud specifically, but the overlap between unlicensed operations and misrepresented licensing claims is substantial. A five-minute registry check is the single most effective defence against both.

Conclusion

Verifying an offshore casino licence is the most important step in your due diligence process, and it is also the simplest. Every major offshore regulator maintains a public register. The check takes minutes. If the licence is valid and current, you have a baseline of accountability — not a guarantee of safety, but a starting point. If the licence is missing, expired, or assigned to a company you cannot connect to the casino, you have a clear answer: do not deposit.

Badges are marketing. Registry entries are facts. The difference between the two is the difference between trusting a claim and verifying it.

Disclaimer:

This article is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or gambling advice. Gambling carries inherent risk, and you should never wager money you cannot afford to lose. If you or someone you know is experiencing gambling-related harm, free and confidential support is available through the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133, operated by GamCare, or via BeGambleAware.org.