Casino Licenses in India

India doesn’t officially license or regulate online casinos. Because of this, any online casinos you come across which accept Indian players are likely to be based outside of the country. Of course, you should never sign up at an online casino, which is unlicensed.

With that in mind, you’re best served playing at an online casino which is licensed and regulated by another country. There are plenty of those licenses to choose from, but which is the best for you? Let’s look at the most commonly found casino licenses that regulate casinos for Indian players.

The Big Three: United Kingdom, Malta and Gibraltar

The United Kingdom has one of the most regulated and safe online gambling industries in the world. The main reason for this is that all casinos which operate there are carrying licenses issued by the UK Gambling Commission. This gambling commission holds all casinos bearing its license to account and has a flurry of policies which ensures that such casinos are safe and secure and that they offer fair play to their members. Many UKGC licensed casinos are also accessible to players based in India. Any UK Gambling Commission licensed Indian casino goes straight to the top of our list.

The UK isn’t alone in issuing bona fide, much-trusted casino licenses. The MGA (Malta Gaming Authority) and the Gibraltar Gambling Commission are just as professional. These two jurisdictions also provide top quality licenses for casino operators. Any of these would also be highly recommended for Indian casino players. Gibraltar and Maltese licensed casinos are also generally more accepting of players based in India, too.

Alderney, Isle of Man and Kahnawake

Three other casino licensing jurisdictions are also well worth a look if you are an Indian casino player looking for somewhere to sign up. Licenses issued out of Alderney (in the Channel Islands), the Isle of Man, and Kahnawake (in Canada) are all top gambling commissions, too. These tend to offer a bit less regulation than the big three mentioned above but are still superb at ensuring that online casinos adhere to the letter of the law and the requirements of fair play and secure gaming.

Indian players are unlikely to find as many online casinos featuring licenses from these providers, as they tend to be small (but fully capable) gambling commissions. However, the next entries in our list do provide a wealth of casinos for Indians to choose from.

The Other Notable Entries: Curacao, Cagayan, Panama and Costa Rica

There are arguably more Curacao, Cagayan, Panamanian and Costa Rican licensed offshore casinos than there are domains licensed by all the other operators. This does not make these licensing jurisdictions the best when it comes to security, player guarantees and fair play, though.

In the past, many online casinos with licenses from Curacao, Panama and Costa Rica (more the latter two than the former) have been accused of not taking their responsibilities seriously. There are, of course, a great range of Curacao licensed gambling sites which are worth playing at, but Indian players should be mindful of some of the pits of such a license. The jurisdictions issue gambling licenses to make casino sites legal, but they seldom do checks to ensure that their games are fair.

Other Licensing Jurisdictions

A few other licensing jurisdictions also provide gambling licenses to casino sites, although it is doubtful that these will be of too much use for Indian players. For instance, the Swedish Gambling Authority only really hands out licenses to casinos which are based in Sweden, for Swedish players. Likewise, the same is true with the Belgian Gaming Commission, or those of New Jersey, Italy, Spain, or the gambling commission in Denmark and other countries. While it is possible that some casinos licensed out of these jurisdictions may accept Indian players (and those that do offer quality regulation and security) most won’t accept players from the subcontinent.