How to Verify an Online Casino's Gambling Licence Yourself
Three public registers, three minutes each — plus the licence status of the five casinos we currently review
Key Takeaways
- A licence badge on a casino's homepage is a claim, not proof — the proof is the regulator's own public register
- MGA (Malta) and the Tobique Gaming Commission each publish a free, searchable register; no login required
- Curaçao's old master/sub-licence system ended with the LOK reform; every current Curaçao licence is issued directly by the CGA
- None of the five casinos we currently review hold a Curaçao licence — four hold MGA licences, one holds a Tobique licence
- We list the exact register link and reference for each of our five reviewed casinos below
Why the Badge Alone Isn't Enough
Every gambling site displays a licence badge in its footer. Almost none of them link it to anything you can independently check. A logo image can be copied onto any website regardless of whether the operator behind it actually holds that licence, still holds it, or ever held it — and licences do lapse, get suspended or get revoked. The only way to know is to look the operator up on the regulator's own register, which is public and free for anyone to search.
This is not a New Zealand-specific check — none of the regulators below issue licences for the New Zealand market specifically, since New Zealand's own regulated online casino market (under the Online Casino Gambling Act 2026) is still being phased in — the Department of Internal Affairs states it is not expected to be fully operational until 2027. What these registers confirm is whether the operator is genuinely licensed somewhere, by whom, and whether that licence is presently active.
Checking a Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) Licence
The MGA has licensed remote gaming operators since 2004 and is the regulator behind four of the five casinos on this site. Its verification tool is free and takes under a minute:
- Find the licence number in the casino's footer or terms page — it follows the format
MGA/CRP/XXX/YYYYfor licences issued or reissued under the Gaming Act 2018, andMGA/B2C/XXX/YYYYon older or B2C-specific references. - Open the MGA licence verification tool.
- Enter the licence number (or search by company name) and confirm the status reads active, and that the licensed entity name matches the casino's stated operating company.
If the number does not resolve, resolves to a different company, or shows a suspended/revoked status, treat the MGA badge on that site as false.
Checking a Tobique Gaming Commission Licence
The Tobique Gaming Commission (TGC) is a tribal regulator of the Tobique First Nation in Canada, licensing operators since 2023. It is a newer and lighter-touch regime than the MGA — we say this directly in our Lucky7even review, the one casino on this site that holds a TGC licence rather than an MGA one.
- Open the TGC public register of licence holders.
- Search for the operating company name, not the casino's marketing brand — brands are often run by a separately named entity (Lucky7even, for example, is operated by Metlait S.R.L.).
- Confirm the licence type (B2B or B2C) and expiry date shown against that entity.
Unlike the MGA, the TGC register does not publish individual licence numbers — company name, licence type and expiry date are what you get, and that is what we checked for the table below.
Why We Don't Currently Recommend a Curaçao-Licensed Casino
Curaçao used to license operators through four private "master licence" holders, each sub-licensing dozens of brands underneath it — a system widely criticised for weak oversight of the sub-licensees. That system is gone. The Landsverordening op de Kansspelen (LOK) reform abolished the master/sub-licence model and moved all licensing directly to the Curaçao Gaming Authority (CGA); the last old-style master licence expired on 31 January 2025, and every current Curaçao-licensed operator now holds a direct CGA licence recorded on the CGA's own register.
None of that makes a current CGA licence equivalent to an MGA one — it is a newer, less-tested regime, similar in maturity to the Tobique Gaming Commission. It is also why any casino site still displaying a "Curaçao eGaming" or "master licence" logo is showing you an out-of-date badge: that brand and structure stopped existing with the reform. If a casino you're checking shows a Curaçao licence, verify it directly on the CGA's own register at cert.cga.cw rather than trusting the badge, and treat it as a lighter-touch jurisdiction the same way we treat the Tobique licence above.
Licence Status of the Casinos We Review
We checked each of the following against the relevant public register on 27 August 2026. Click through to the register yourself, or to our full review for the terms, banking and bonus details.
See the full comparison, bonuses and banking details on our best NZ casinos page.
Frequently Asked Questions
🛡 Play It Safe
A valid licence is a minimum check, not a guarantee — it tells you an operator is regulated, not that a particular game or bonus is right for you. If gambling is affecting you or someone you know, free, confidential help is available 24/7 on the Gambling Helpline: 0800 654 655 or at gamblinghelpline.co.nz.
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No-Verification Casinos: The Honest TruthWhy licensed operators can never skip identity checks, and what "no KYC" really means.
Our Editorial PolicyHow we source, check and update the facts behind every review.