Bingo License Jurisdictions

Online bingo and online gaming practices in general…

... are a major industry that has nowadays spread across most distant corners of the world.

As such, it ranks among the most profitable sources of revenue, which makes both customers and businesses within the industry wary of their rights, obligations and protections.

In order to address the matter with the attention it deserves, most countries worldwide have taken a national approach to online gambling. This is done by passing specific laws and regulations, as well as imposing specific provisions for their specific protection.

Thus, in this regard, some countries...

... may choose to completely legalize the industry, while others may impose harsh restrictions and punitive measures against anyone that engages in online gameplay.

Alternatively, there are those governments that...

... could have a more lenient attitude towards some gaming formats, and still be less indulging when it comes to others. Hence, there are such governments that authorize online bingo and lotteries, and occasionally sportsbetting or poker as a game of skill, whilst still restricting the significant portion of online casinos.

Introduction to Bingo Licensing Jurisdictions

The governments of those countries that have taken a more liberal approach towards the entire industry have been prone to use this legislative for more than national regulations.

As such, some of the top legal systems...

... in the world that has fully regulated and defined online gambling acts, have become known as jurisdictions.

There is much more to being a jurisdiction than to bear the title and reputation of a reliable legislature. In fact, these jurisdictions, due to some specific laws and legal regulative, have been authorized to issue licenses to online gaming operators.

Aside from specific online bingo brands, casino operators or poker rooms, these jurisdictions additionally focus on other participants in the sphere of interactive gaming. Thus, as such, they also license establishments that provide services necessary for the industry, such as online gambling software companies.

As expected, countries all over the world have their specific national e-gaming laws, making it completely unsustainable for each to issue the licenses to their operators. Hence, in an attempt to accomplish some level of unification and categorization in the industry, some governments have managed to stand out in relation to others.

This has been the result of lengthy analyses…

... of their legal systems, the way they have handled the matter of online gambling, and all the different advantages and disadvantages of these approaches.

Nowadays, there are a number of online bingo jurisdictions, issuing licenses to such online operators and similar industry businesses. In fact, an online bingo site cannot provide legal gameplay without first getting a license from these authorities.

This is not so much a matter of government approval (of the specific jurisdictions) as much as it is a banking issue. In other words, online bingo platforms, casinos, poker rooms and sportsbooks operate sustainably and with profits thanks to the online banking methods they provide for deposits and cashouts. What is more, players nowadays get information on the best and most suitable banking methods from a range of customer and expert reviews.

As a result...

... online gambling operators interested in running a successful and long-standing real money gaming platform will need to provide their player pool with such banking methods, for which they need a license. While this license may not have too many direct benefits, it definitely serves as a solid support to online operators’ claims to banks, credit/debit cards processors, e-wallet services and the likes.

Licensing Criteria at Top Jurisdictions

These jurisdictions initially started out as single governments looking to regulate their country’s online bingo industry and the industry in general.

Having this in mind...

... it is quite expected that each of the jurisdictions established so far has had a specific approach to the matter. While they all unite in the point of legalizing the industry, most of them tend to have different requirements that are often distinctive of their local player needs and preferences, when determining on applications for the latest licensees.

In this regard, it is important to mention that all jurisdictions also share the practice of paying for a license – a license application fee. This means that the top online bingo, casino, sports and other operators pay funds to the appropriate jurisdiction where they’d like to be licensed, and practically submit themselves to the thorough tests, inspections and other examinations required for payment processing.

Licensing bodies use these fees...

... to sustain their operations, update their technology, financial and human resources, and stay on top of all inventions that could contribute towards even more objective and transparent licensing practices.

Either way, these are among the most considerable factors and criteria that govern the licensing process:

• Personality tests of owners, senior management representatives and people in executive positions at the respective online gambling platform;

• Restrictions and permissions regarding available player pools;

• Gaming software providers, software reliability and regular testing and reporting on the RNGs used by respective game titles;

• Partial or full dislocation of servers, headquarters or some other part of the online business within the territory of the jurisdiction (exclusions may apply in specific cases);

• Customer support segment and their range of contact options, as well as reliable staff;

• Publishing and keeping up-to-date records of each game’s return to player (RTP) percentages to eliminate any glitches or biases in the software;

• Banking methods – availability and legal compliance with regulative in the respective countries where the jurisdiction permits operators to provide their services, as well as deposit limits as part of control and prevention of gambling addiction practices;

• Complaint response time, quality and efficiency, as it would likely influence player satisfaction rates and thus, the overall online gameplay experience.

Not all licensing jurisdictions hold all these criteria as equally important, and some may completely omit one or two factors in an attempt to regulate more operators.

Top Online Bingo Jurisdictions

Nevertheless, this has ultimately resulted in differences between jurisdictions, with the top soon distinguishing themselves among others:

1. Alderney

2. Costa Rica

3. Gibraltar

4. Malta

5. Kahnawake

6. Curacao