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There are about 50 recognized online gaming jurisdictions and all online gambling operators acquire a license from one of them. Out of the 50 jurisdictions, only five are considered highly reputable and these are: Antigua & Barbuda, Kahnawake, Curacao, Malta, and Alderney. For players, a license certifies that there is someone in authority that regulates the operations of the online casino and to which the online gambling operator is accountable.
The first jurisdiction organized was Antigua and Barbuda during the year of 1994. The regulatory body in this legal power is the Division of Gaming which is under the bigger body of the Financial Services Regulatory Commission. Today, there are about 100 online gambling sites licensed by it.
In 1996, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission was established; it operates in the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake in Canada. Albeit there are legal stipulations that make online gambling illegal in Canada, there are also special provisions that apply to Kahnawake that counteracts this precondition. This online gaming jurisdiction is the largest (about 300 sites licensed), and its wide mass appeal comes from its regular strong follow-up probity checks conducted on the sites under its umbrella.
During the year 2000, Malta began licensing online gambling with The Lotteries and Gaming Authority. Malta has about 200 licensees and since it made its way to UK's "white list," its popularity has been continuously growing since then. During this year, the jurisdiction of Alderney was set up as well. It is one of the smaller ones with around 50 licensees, and the regulatory body that oversees the operation is the Alderney Gambling Control Commission. One unique lineament of this jurisdiction is that it allows online gambling sites licensed in other legal power to operate mirrored sites from Alderney under the Restricted Use eGambling license.
The Curacao Internet Gaming Association is the regulatory body of the Netherlands Antilles. It was formed in 2002 and has licensed around 250 websites already. To apply for a license, the online gaming site must register with the Netherlands Antilles Chamber of Commerce as a locally formed legal entity before being issued the permit.
Online casinos registered in these online gambling jurisdictions draw higher traffic and gain a larger trust rank from players. During the application, the applicant goes through a rigid and stringent probity check process that investigates the casino's integrity and reputation. The software used by the applying licensee is thoroughly examined and tested by qualified third parties with a particular attention on the fairish percentages of the payout. The admin controls, bonus and payment mechanisms, and the security are heavily scrutinized as well. These online gaming jurisdictions also offer the procedure for amending complaints, discontent or displeasure.
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