There are various different licensing jurisdictions around the world that regulate the online gambling industry, with some jurisdictions being tougher on their licensees than others and some are well-known to have higher standards than others.

This section explores the main licensing jurisdictions from around the world and reveals where the best online gambling portals are actually licensed from. Also, players should know that where these online casinos are actually licensed doesn’t always mean that this is where they operate from.

At the lower end of the scale of licensing jurisdictions (that don’t tend to impose strict regulations) are jurisdictions such as Panama, Costa Rica, Anjouan/Comoros and Belize. It is more likely that a rogue online casino would operate from one of these Central American online gambling licensing jurisdictions. It appears as though they hand out licenses to any old operator, providing they can afford one (and possibly a bribe as well) with little or no background checks on the casino operator.

In fact, most rogue online gambling portals operate from areas such as these and if you happen to stumble across one of these websites, you should proceed with extreme caution. You will receive little or no player protection should you encounter any problems so you can basically get ready to wave your money goodbye. The most common problem associated with these scam casinos is that they don’t like paying out. If this happens, players will have little or no support because of where the casino is licensed.

As you move up the tiers of jurisdictions, you come to areas such as the Netherlands Antilles (the Curaçao Internet Gaming Association), the Lotteries and Gaming Authority of Malta, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission (Mohawk territory in Canada) and Antigua. Some of the world’s leading online gambling portals are in fact licensed from one of these four jurisdictions and they are perfectly reputable, honest companies.

However, these jurisdictions still don’t impose the high standards that the top tier jurisdictions do. This doesn’t mean that you are likely to run into a rogue portal when it is licensed in one of these places, it just means you have slightly less protection should an issue arise and the regulation standards are not quite as tough as the top tier jurisdictions. In most cases, you should be fine though.

The licensing jurisdictions that are well known for being the toughest online gambling regulators in the world include the following: the Alderney Gambling Control Commission (UK Channel Islands), the UK Gambling Commission, the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority and the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission. They don’t just hand out online gambling licenses willy nilly, which means it would be very rare to find a rogue online casino operating from one of these jurisdictions.

These licensing jurisdictions are spot on when it comes to dealing with complaints from registered real cash players. Each issue is dealt with seriously and in an appropriate manner. If you are looking to sign up with an online casino and you want the ultimate in player protection, try and hunt down a gambling portal that holds a license from one of the last four mentioned licensing jurisdictions. This is a sensible move and you will find that there is plenty of choice.