There is no single casino blacklist. What people call a blacklist is a set of separate lists run by regulators in different countries, and each one means something different. This guide explains the main kinds, how to read a hit, and how we check them before we feature a brand.
The short version
A listing tells you that one regulator took one action against one domain or company. It does not tell you the casino is a scam, and a clean search does not prove it is safe. You need to know which kind of list you are reading.
We sort every hit into three classes:
| Class | What it means |
|---|---|
| A | A warning that the brand’s own site is fraudulent, unauthorised or falsely licensed |
| B | The domain is blocked in a country where the brand is not licensed |
| C | A fine, sanction or licence revocation |
Class A is the most serious signal. Class B is common and often only means the brand does not hold a licence in that country. Class C depends on the reason, which you have to read.
The kinds of list
Unauthorised-site lists. The regulator names domains that offer gambling without its licence, or that claim a licence they do not hold. The Malta Gaming Authority publishes an unauthorised-URL list of this kind. Gibraltar has a consumer-warning page.
National block lists. Some countries publish the domains their internet providers must block. We read the Australian Communications and Media Authority list (1,810 domains, updated 20 July 2026), the Italian ADM list (13,079 domains, valid from 29 October 2026) and the Polish Ministry of Finance register (58,834 domains). Switzerland publishes lists through its ESBK and Gespa bodies, and the Belgian Gaming Commission publishes one as well.
Enforcement and sanction registers. These record fines, warnings and revoked licences. We read the Malta enforcement register, the Curaçao Gaming Authority enforcement register, the UK Gambling Commission regulatory-action register, the Ontario AGCO, the Netherlands KSA sanctions pages, and the Gibraltar, Isle of Man and Kahnawake pages.
In total we read 13 sets of official lists. You can read the same pages yourself. Each is published by the regulator.
How regulators act against unlicensed sites
Lists are only one tool. The UK Gambling Commission shows how much of the work happens outside them. In its 2024 to 2025 reporting year it issued 516 cease and desist requests to illegal operators, up from 384 in 2023-24, and 352 more to advertisers or affiliates of unlicensed operators (Gambling Commission Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25 (HC 759), Gambling Commission, PDF p. 16).
It also reports that 95,705 illegal gambling URLs were removed after the Commission referred them to search engines in the same year (same report, PDF p. 17).
Two lessons. First, a site can be removed from search results without appearing on any public list you can browse. Second, the Commission also writes to affiliates, which includes sites like ours. We take that seriously, which is why we check lists before listing a brand and say plainly when a brand has a hit.
How to read a listing
Ask these questions in order.
- Whose list is it? A block in Italy says nothing about whether the brand is legal in Canada.
- Is it the brand’s own domain? Regulators often warn about lookalike or clone domains that copy a real brand. A warning about a clone does not count against the brand it imitates. We do not count them.
- What is the action? Unauthorised, falsely licensed, blocked, fined and revoked are five different things.
- When was it added? Some lists show a date. A 2019 entry and a 2026 entry carry different weight. Italy’s and Gespa’s lists give no per-entry dates, so we cannot date those hits.
- Is it still current? Some lists keep archives and some drop old rows.
What we found when we ran the check
On 26 October 2026 we checked 27 brands against the 13 sets of lists. The full results stay in our own working file, and the method is on our how we rate page. Here is what the pattern looked like, without naming every brand.
- Class A hits were rare. Two brands on our pending list (not yet featured) appeared on an MGA unauthorised-URL list:
www.bc.game(listed 20 December 2019) and1xbet.com(listed 27 March 2020). The second also has a 2016 Gibraltar consumer warning. We cite these because they are public entries on the regulator’s list. - Class B hits were common. Many brands are blocked somewhere. Italy and Poland appear most often in our set. This usually reflects where a brand is licensed, not fraud.
- Some brands showed nothing at all on the lists we read.
Our policy is that a hit does not hide a brand. Instead the site labels it. A brand without a verified licence shows “Licence: not verified”. A visitor from a country that blocks a brand sees “Not available in” that country, and the offer link is switched off for them.
We do not publish fine amounts in this guide. Where a fine matters, we say so on the review page and link the regulator’s own notice.
What we could not check
Honest limits matter more than a confident headline.
- The UK register covers actions only from 14 November 2023 onward.
- The Ontario AGCO names almost no unregulated operators, so “no hit” there is weak evidence.
- Italy and Gespa give no per-entry dates.
- Belgium has 107 older rows from 2012 to 2018 with blank domains.
- We did not read Poland’s archive of removed domains.
- For Kahnawake we read only titles and excerpts.
- Some fines are linked to a brand through its operating company, and the regulator may not name the brand.
A “no hit” from us means no hit on the pages we read, on the date we read them.
Do your own check in five minutes
- Open the register of the regulator named in the casino’s footer, and confirm the licence and the domain. Our guide to how to check a gambling licence walks through it.
- Search the casino’s domain on the list pages of the countries you care about. For the UK, search the Gambling Commission register of gambling businesses, which accepts a business name, trading name, domain name or account number.
- Search the casino’s name together with the words “regulator warning” and read only regulator pages, not forums.
- Check the exact domain. One missing letter can point to a clone.
A licence number in a footer is a claim, not proof. The register is the proof.
What to do if you find a hit
If it is a class A hit on the brand’s own domain, do not deposit. If it is class B and you live in the blocking country, treat the site as not available to you. If it is class C, read the regulator’s notice to see what the problem was, then decide for yourself.
If you have already deposited and cannot withdraw, keep your account records and screenshots. The regulator named in the licence is the place to complain.