72% of Swedish players can’t tell if a casino is licensed. Can you?

A few surveys I came across showed similar results. In Sweden, 72% of players said they couldn’t tell whether a site had a Swedish licence (regulator survey, November 2024). In the UK, Gambling Commission research found players think licences matter but often don’t know how to check them. A 2018 Australian study of 1,001 players found ease of use mattered far more than where a site was licensed. What players actually worry about is getting paid.

Checking a licence takes about two minutes, though:

Scroll to the bottom of the casino site and note the licence number, the regulator and the company name.

Go to the regulator’s website yourself by typing the address. Don’t just click the logo, since logos can be copied or link somewhere else.

Search the regulator’s register for the licence number or company name and check that the licence is active.

Check that the company name in the register matches the one in the casino’s terms, and that the casino’s domain is listed.

See whether the regulator has a complaints process, so you know where to go if a withdrawal gets stuck.

Do you check licences before depositing, or do you go more by reviews and payout reputation?

I’d check the licence, but I’d also look at recent withdrawal complaints before depositing. Finding the site in the regulator’s register wouldn’t settle it for me if there were still plenty of unresolved payout issues

Hey, that’s a really interesting bit of information! I’m personally a big fan of "fun facts," although "fun" might not be quite the right word when we’re talking about the risks of playing at a completely unlicensed casino. Still, a really good post. Thanks for sharing! 👍

When I check a license, I also look at the domain listed in the registration. It's not enough for me to just find the company name; I want to make sure I'm checking the website where I'm going to play.

That is certainly a good approach. Licensing authorities often maintain official registers where you can verify whether a casino genuinely holds a valid license.

A logo or license seal displayed in the website footer would not be sufficient for me either. You should normally be able to click the seal and be redirected to a page confirming the casino’s license. If the seal does not lead anywhere, it may indicate that something is wrong, although this is not always necessarily the case.

That is why checking the casino directly in the licensing authority’s official register is always a good idea.🙂