A casino logo, certificate image or licence number is not proof that the exact website is authorised. Licence verification must connect the live domain, operating company, permitted activity, target market and current regulator status.
Record the exact website
Preserve the domain, redirects, footer, terms, privacy notice, licence seal and date. Record the legal entity named as the player’s counterparty and the company that receives deposits. Look for inconsistent names across registration, payments and complaints pages.
Use the regulator’s own register
Search by domain, trading name, legal name and account number. For Great Britain, the Gambling Commission business register publishes licence status and associated business information. The Commission also says licensed operators must display their status and link to the public register.
Open the register independently rather than trusting a seal link controlled by the casino. Confirm that the browser is on the regulator’s authentic domain and that the listed website matches exactly; similar spellings and subdomains can belong to different parties.
Check scope, status and jurisdiction
An active B2B supplier licence does not necessarily authorise direct gambling with consumers. Verify the licence type, approved products, current status, legal entity and authorized URLs. Then confirm whether the regulator covers players in the country being targeted. A Malta licence does not automatically permit gambling in every national market.
The Malta Gaming Authority’s notice on unauthorised URLs shows how websites can make false MGA claims and directs consumers to the official licensed-entity information. Check both the live register and recent warning, suspension, surrender or cancellation notices.
Map brands and ownership carefully
One operator may run many brands, while one brand may change operator. Record effective dates and archived terms. Use our guide to investigating casino ownership structures to distinguish the licence holder, platform supplier, payment company, affiliate and ultimate owner.
Shared software or customer support does not prove that a second casino is covered by the same licence. The exact domain or trading name should appear within the licence scope or be confirmed by the regulator.
Test misleading presentation
Look for copied seals, altered licence numbers, broken verification links, screenshots instead of live records, invented regulators and vague phrases such as “licensed internationally”. Preserve each representation before contacting the site. Our guide to investigating misleading gambling marketing explains how to capture the complete customer journey and terms.
Malta Media’s report on fake sites claiming MGA authorisation provides relevant secondary context. The MGA’s original notice and register remain the controlling sources for the named domains and current status.
Report and publish responsibly
Create a verification table showing the claim, website, named entity, regulator searched, search date, licence type, status, authorised domain and result. Take care with “unlicensed”: it may mean no licence anywhere, no licence for a particular product or no permission in the customer’s market.
Send the operator and regulator the exact domain and evidence. Preserve replies and update the finding if registration data changes. If consumer funds or identity documents are at risk, advise readers to use official regulator and law-enforcement reporting channels rather than confronting suspected operators.
A reproducible licence check protects consumers better than a generic blacklist because it shows exactly which official record was tested and when.