How to Check a Casino Licence: Domain, Legal Entity and Status

A licence logo at the bottom of a casino page is a claim, and a claim is only as good as the record behind it. Checking that record is mostly a matter of knowing what to collect. This guide shows how to check a casino licence for the two authorities most often named on sites that accept Canadian players outside Ontario, how to read what the register tells you, and where the licence check stops being useful.

The core idea is simple: three details have to line up. The domain in your browser, the company named in the casino’s terms, and an active record at the authority the casino names. If any one of the three is missing or different, the check is not finished.

Collect the details before you search

Open the casino’s footer, its terms and conditions and, if you already have one, your account page. Write down:

• the complete domain, exactly as it appears in the address bar, including any regional version such as a country code in the address;
• the legal entity (the company) responsible for player accounts, usually named in the first section of the terms;
• the regulator or licensing authority named;
• the licence or permit number, if one is shown;
• the date you looked.

Do not borrow missing details from a site with a similar name. Casino brands often run several regional websites through different companies, and a licence held by one of them says nothing about the others. If the terms name one company and the licence notice names another, the casino owes you an explanation of how the two are connected.

1. 01
   Copy the claim

   Domain, company name, authority and licence number, straight from the casino's own pages.

2. 02
   Go to the authority yourself

   Type the regulator's address or search for it. Do not follow the badge link on the casino site.

3. 03
   Find the record

   Search by company name and by licence number. Open the full record, not just the result list.

4. 04
   Match all three

   Company, domain and an active status. A match on the company name alone leaves the domain question open.

5. 05
   Check your province separately

   A licence from another jurisdiction is not provincial approval. Read the casino's restricted-locations list as well.

Use the authority’s own register

Each authority publishes its records in its own way, so the search differs. Pick the regulator the casino names and follow its route.

A closer look

Read the licence.

1. 01 Open the register

   Reach the register from the regulator's own site, then find the company named in the casino footer.

2. 02 Match the domain

   The exact web address you use must be listed on that record. A similar-looking address is not covered.

3. 03 Read the status

   Active is the only status that supports the claim. Suspended, cancelled or expired records do not.

Operator

Company name in the footer

Domain

The exact address you use

Licence

Number shown on the record

Status

Active, suspended or cancelled

Which licence does the casino footer claim?

Malta Gaming AuthorityKahnawà:ke Gaming CommissionAlberta (AiGC)Ontario (AGCO)Another regulator

Malta Gaming Authority

1. Copy the licence number and company name from the casino footer.
2. Search the company in the MGA licensee register and open its record.
3. Paste the exact casino address into the MGA URL checker. A licence for one domain does not cover a look-alike domain.
4. Check the status reads active, not suspended or cancelled.

MGA licensee register ↗MGA URL checker ↗

Kahnawà:ke Gaming Commission

1. Note the permit number and the company named in the footer.
2. Open the Commission's list of interactive gaming permit holders.
3. Find the company and compare the listed websites with the address in your browser.
4. If the domain is missing from the list, ask the casino which permit covers it before you deposit.

KGC permit holders ↗

Alberta (AiGC)

1. Alberta-regulated sites are approved through AiGC, the provincial corporation.
2. Open the AiGC player information and its list of approved sites.
3. Compare the exact domain. An international licence held by the same brand is a separate approval.

AiGC player FAQs ↗

Ontario (AGCO)

1. Ontario-registered sites are listed in Ontario's public directory of regulated sites.
2. Those sites serve Ontario residents and are outside the scope of this site.
3. An Ontario registration does not say anything about the brand's site for other provinces.

Ontario regulated sites directory ↗

Another regulator

1. Find the regulator's name, not just a logo, in the footer or terms.
2. Go to that regulator's own website by typing its address or searching for it, not through the casino's logo link.
3. Look for a public register and match three things: company name, licence number and domain.
4. If no public register exists, treat the claim as unverified.

Use the regulator's official register. The example record above is a layout aid, not a real licence or an endorsement.

Malta Gaming Authority

The Malta Gaming Authority keeps a licensee register and a separate URL checker. The two answer different questions. The register tells you whether a company holds an authorisation and what kind. The URL checker tells you whether a specific web address is covered. Use both: a company can hold a valid licence while the domain you are on is not one of its listed sites.

When you open a record, read the status line. A suspended or cancelled authorisation is still listed, and a quick glance at the company name can make it look fine.

Kahnawà:ke Gaming Commission

The Kahnawà:ke Gaming Commission publishes a list of interactive-gaming permit holders with the authorisation type and the URLs associated with each holder. Match the company and the exact domain. The Commission itself notes that not every listed URL is accessible in every jurisdiction and points readers to each website’s terms, which is a useful reminder that the list describes a permit, not your access to the site.

Another authority

If the casino names a different regulator, find that authority’s own website and look for a public register. The method is the same: company, number, domain, status. If the authority publishes no register at all, the claim cannot be checked from the outside, and you should weigh it that way.

Read the status and the type of authorisation

Seeing a name in a register is half the answer. The other half is what the record says. Look for:

• the current status (active, suspended, cancelled or surrendered);
• the type of authorisation, because some cover software supply or other business functions rather than running player accounts;
• the domains linked to the record;
• any date that shows when the record was last changed.

An approval for a supplier function does not mean the same company may take deposits from players on the domain you are checking. If the record is unclear, ask the authority, using contact details from its own website.

A register result from last month may already be out of date. Recheck before a large deposit or withdrawal.

Keep provincial availability as a separate check

A licence from Malta or Kahnawà:ke describes the operator’s relationship with that authority. It does not settle whether the operator is approved or available in your province. Canada handles online gambling province by province, and the rules have moved recently.

Alberta launched its own competitive regulated market on 13 July 2026, with AiGC, Alberta’s provincial gaming corporation, managing it and the AGLC regulating it, according to the AiGC launch announcement. AiGC states that players must be at least 18 to register, deposit and play on its approved sites (AiGC player FAQs). In British Columbia, the province sets the gambling age at 19, online gambling included (Government of British Columbia).

Ontario runs a separate market with its own Ontario directory of regulated sites; the operator coverage on this site does not extend to Ontario. For the other provinces and territories, read Canadian casino availability and the casino’s own list of restricted locations before you register.

Before your first deposit

Does the licence claim hold up?

• The domain in my browser appears in the regulator's record or URL checker.
• The company in the casino's terms is the company in the register.
• The record shows an active status today.
• The authorisation type covers running player accounts.
• I found the register myself, not through the casino's badge link.
• I checked my province separately from the licence.

0 of 6 checked

Clear

Ticks stay in your browser only. They record what you checked; they do not verify the casino.

Signs that a licence claim needs a closer look

Most claims that fall apart do so in one of a handful of ways, and they are easy to spot once you have the register open next to the casino’s footer.

• The badge is a flat image with no number beside it, or the number shown does not appear in any search on the authority’s site.
• The register lists the company, but the domain you are on is missing from its record while other domains are listed.
• The terms name a company that differs from the licence holder, and nothing on the site explains the link between them.
• The record exists but shows a status other than active, such as suspended or cancelled.
• The footer names an authority whose own website you cannot find by searching for it independently.

None of these on its own proves wrongdoing; a domain can be added to a record late, for instance. Each one does mean the check has not passed yet, and the sensible response is to hold the deposit and ask the casino in writing which authorisation covers the exact address you are using.

What a licence check does not tell you

A matched licence answers one question: which company is responsible, and which authority supervises it. It does not tell you whether a payment method accepts withdrawals, what the casino’s limits are, how long a payout takes or whether your bonus terms are fair. Those answers sit in the cashier and the payment terms, and they need their own reading. Casino withdrawal times and casino payment fees cover those parts.

There is also a practical use for the record you just found. If a withdrawal stalls later, the name of the supervising authority and the exact company tell you where a complaint can go after the casino’s own process. Keep your notes from the check with the date on them; casino withdrawal problems explains the order of steps if that day comes.

One odd case comes up often enough to mention. Some casinos display two or three regulator logos at once. Each one is a separate claim, and each needs its own match. A site can hold one genuine permit and display a second logo it has no right to.