Start with the company behind the brand

Scroll to the footer and open the terms and conditions. Write down the operating company, licence number and exact website address. A trading name can differ from the legal company name, so keep both.

Separate the operator from a software supplier, payment provider or company that merely owns the brand. If the terms do not clearly identify who holds your account, leave that question unresolved rather than treating a familiar logo as evidence.

Go to the regulator’s own website

Navigate to the regulator independently. Search its register using the legal company name and licence number, then compare the record with the details you saved.

For Great Britain, the Gambling Commission’s public registers include gambling businesses and regulatory actions. That is a Great Britain example, not a worldwide licence check.

Look for the licence status and the activities it covers. Where the register lists websites, check the full domain carefully. Similar spelling, a different domain ending or an unrelated company name deserves another look.

Check whether the licence is relevant where you live

A licence issued in one place does not by itself establish that a service is permitted everywhere. Check your own regulator’s information and the operator’s restricted-country terms. Do not infer local availability from the fact that a registration page loads.

Save the source address and the date you checked it. If the operator changes, or the domain redirects to another brand, repeat the check.

A licence does not answer every question

Read the complaints process, withdrawal rules, identity-check policy and account-closure terms separately. A licence check is one part of research; it does not prove that a promotion is good value or that a withdrawal will arrive within a particular time.

  • Match the company, licence and website.
  • Confirm the relevant jurisdiction.
  • Check the current status in the original record.
  • Keep the date and source, including anything you could not establish.

Sources & review notes

This guide is desk research. It does not report a deposit or withdrawal test. How we review