How to Check Whether a Poker Site Is Licensed in Your Country

A five-minute method for confirming that an online poker room holds a licence where you live, using the regulator's public register rather than the site's own footer.

Verified 9 September 2026

Every poker site claims to be licensed somewhere. The question that matters is whether it is licensed where you live, because that is the only licence that gives you a regulator to complain to and a legal guarantee that your balance is protected.

A licence badge in a site footer proves nothing; it can be copied. Every regulator on this site publishes a searchable register:

  • Germany: the GGL whitelist at gluecksspiel-behoerde.de.
  • United Kingdom: the Gambling Commission public register.
  • Spain: the DGOJ list of licensed operators.
  • France: the ANJ list of approved operators.
  • Italy: ADM’s list of concessionaires with GAD numbers.
  • Netherlands: the KSA register of licence holders.
  • Ontario: iGaming Ontario’s registered operators page.

The country pages on this site link to each register in the facts box at the top.

Step 2: Match the exact domain

Licences are granted per domain. pokerstars.de is on the German whitelist; pokerstars.com is not. If the register lists a .es, .it or .nl domain, only that domain is legal for you, even when the same brand runs a global site that will happily accept your registration.

Step 3: Check that the licence covers poker

Several regulators license products separately. In Germany a brand can hold a slots licence and no poker permission. In France the poker agrément is distinct from betting. Look for the product column in the register, or for a separate poker entry.

A site licensed in your country must connect to the national self-exclusion scheme: OASIS in Germany, GamStop in the UK, CRUKS in the Netherlands, RGIAJ in Spain, Spelpaus in Sweden, ROFUS in Denmark. If the responsible-gambling page does not mention it, the site is not operating under your regulator.

What to do if a site fails the check

Play elsewhere. Every regulated market we cover has at least one licensed poker room, and the country pages list all of them. Unlicensed sites may pay out for years and then not, and no regulator will help you when they stop.