Anjouan gaming licence: what it covers and how to check one

An Anjouan gaming licence is issued under the Anjouan Computer Gaming Licensing Act (2005) of the Autonomous Island of Anjouan, part of the Union of the Comoros. It comes as a B2C operator licence or a B2B service provider licence. It does not authorise a site to serve players in Great Britain, Ontario, Alberta or any US state, and the regulator's legal standing is disputed. The authority does not decide player disputes; licensed operators must use an approved ADR provider (authority pages, checked 15 October 2026).

Who regulates Anjouan online gambling?

The authority's website, anjouangaming.com, calls itself "the designated regulatory authority for the licensing and supervision of internet gaming operations". According to its overview page (as of October 2026):

• internet gaming is regulated under the laws of the Autonomous Island of Anjouan, resting on legislation adopted in 2005, including the Anjouan Computer Gaming Licensing Act;
• the Anjouan Offshore Financial Authority (AOFA) is "the competent regulatory authority for offshore financial and gaming activities", and the gaming authority works within the framework set up by AOFA and the Anjouan Gaming Board;
• Anjouan Licensing Services Inc. is described as the sole authorised administrator and official representative of the Gaming Board.

These are the authority's own descriptions. The next section explains why they are contested.

Is an Anjouan licence legitimate?

That is disputed, and the two sides say different things.

The authority's position. Its international cooperation page (updated 12 September 2026) cites an independent legal opinion dated 19 September 2024, reconfirmed in February 2026, from a law firm regulated in England and Wales and in Quebec, which it says confirms AOFA as the lawful gaming regulator in Anjouan. It also notes that the Union of the Comoros joined the World Trade Organization on 21 August 2024. The page does not name any other government or regulator that recognises the authority.

What Comoros officials are reported to have said. ABC News (Australia) reported on 31 December 2025 that Comoros banking laws passed in 2013 and 2015 removed AOFA's status as a recognised regulator. It also reported that a 2023 Central Bank of the Comoros statement called several Anjouan regulators, and the firms selling their licences, "fictitious structures", and quoted a Central Bank official saying in 2020 that such bodies have "no physical or legal existence in the territory of the Union of the Comoros". The Irish Examiner reported on 28 March 2026 that the Central Bank warned against AOFA as a "fictitious" structure in 2022.

What we could and could not confirm. We could not find those Central Bank statements on the bank's own website: the text of the two offshore and fraud notices we opened there (6 April 2023 and 22 May 2023) does not mention Anjouan or gambling, and we could not read the list of authorised institutions attached to the second. So the government position above is as reported by the press, not read by us at source.

What it means for you (our interpretation). Even on the authority's own account, the licence has force only under Anjouan law. If the Union government does not recognise the regulator, you may find no court or public body in the Comoros willing to act on your behalf. Treat the licence as one fact to check, not as a safety mark.

What does an Anjouan licence authorise?

The licence types page lists two categories (as of October 2026):

Permitted activities listed by the authority include online casinos, sports betting, poker and bingo, prediction markets, blockchain-based gaming and cryptocurrency-enabled gaming. The exact activities a licensee may offer are set in its own licence conditions, so a B2C licence does not automatically cover every vertical, and a B2B licence does not let a company run a casino for players.

How many Anjouan gaming licences are there?

On 14 July 2026 the authority announced that it had issued more than 1,650 internet gaming licences, with close to 1,500 active. It did not give a split between B2C and B2B licences or a start date for the count. The figures are the authority's own; no independent count exists that we could find. Its annual regulatory report page says the first report is "in preparation" and had not been published when we checked on 15 October 2026.

Where is an Anjouan licence valid, and where is it not?

The authority's international cooperation page (September 2026) says its licences "do not contain territorial restrictions under Anjouan law", but also that they "do not override local prohibitions or regulatory requirements" and that operators "remain solely responsible for geo-blocking, market access controls, and local compliance". In a LinkedIn statement on 10 June 2026, as reported by iGaming Expert on 11 June 2026, the authority said a licence is "not, and has never been presented as, a universal authorisation". CDC Gaming reported on 10 June 2026 that the regulator denied its licences are designed to be used globally.

So the law where you are decides:

• Great Britain: not valid. "You must have a licence to serve British consumers" from the UK Gambling Commission, wherever the business is based (UKGC remote sector page). See our UKGC licence explainer.
• Ontario: not valid. iGaming Ontario says an operator is authorised only once it has an AGCO registration and an operating agreement with iGO (iGaming Ontario).
• Alberta: not valid. According to Canadian Gaming Business (July 2026), Alberta's regulated market opened on 13 July 2026, and operators must register with AGLC and sign a contract with the Alberta iGaming Corporation before going live.
• US states: not valid. In Michigan, for example, only operators licensed by the Gaming Control Board may legally offer online gaming (MGCB). See how US states license online gambling.

Have regulators elsewhere warned about Anjouan-licensed sites?

We searched for, but did not find, a published warning from the UK Gambling Commission, the Dutch Kansspelautoriteit, the AGCO or iGaming Ontario, or a US state regulator that names Anjouan specifically (as of 15 October 2026). Their general warnings apply to any site they have not licensed:

• iGaming Ontario says unregulated sites may not keep deposits secure, that payouts "could be delayed or not given at all", and that such operators "have no accountability to regulators".
• The Michigan Gaming Control Board publishes a list of unlicensed online operators it has told to "immediately cease and desist".
• The FATF, the international anti-money-laundering standard setter, warned on 9 September 2026 that unlicensed offshore operators "often present themselves as legitimate businesses". The report does not name Anjouan.

ABC News also reported on 31 December 2025 that a casino displaying an Anjouan licence, which Australian officials had named as illegal, was still targeting Australian customers with local payment options.

What has changed at the Anjouan authority in 2026?

Dates below come from the authority's own notices unless another source is named.

Focus Gaming News reported on 23 September 2026 that the authority said in a LinkedIn post that, "in light of the report's findings", meaning the FATF gambling-risk report of 9 September 2026, it had enhanced its licence conditions and strengthened its application requirements. According to that report, the authority did not say which conditions changed. The regulatory notices page also lists two licence terminations, without dates.

What must an Anjouan licensee do for players?

These are the authority's published rules as of October 2026. They are stated in general terms, and we cannot tell from them how strictly they are enforced.

• KYC and AML. KYC (know your customer) means the identity and source-of-funds checks a site runs on you. The regulatory standards require "customer due diligence procedures", anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism-financing controls, transaction monitoring, suspicious activity reporting and a compliance officer. No thresholds are published.
• Player funds. Operators must "segregate player funds from operational funds", and the code of conduct repeats that player balances must be kept apart. Failure to do so is a listed ground for suspension.
• Fair games. Random number generators must be certified by an approved independent testing facility, and rules, odds and payouts must be disclosed.
• Responsible gambling. The responsible gaming page requires age verification, self-exclusion, limits on deposits, wagers, losses and session time, and signposting to independent support. It does not state a minimum age. It describes self-exclusion as each operator's own procedure; we found no Anjouan-wide scheme like GAMSTOP.
• Fair terms. Bonus terms, wagering requirements and withdrawal conditions must be disclosed clearly before you agree to them.
• Domains. Licensed activity may run only on domains the authority has approved.

How do I check an Anjouan licence on the official register?

1. Type the authority's address yourself and open Verify a Licence. Do not follow a link from the casino.
2. Search by licence number, company name or operational domain. Start with the domain you are using.
3. Check the result shows the registered name that matches the company in the site's terms, the licence number from the footer, licence type B2C, and status Active. The status definitions are Active, Suspended, Revoked and Expired.
4. Check the suspended and revoked lists and the regulatory notices. When we checked on 15 October 2026, the notices page listed two terminations that we could not see on the revoked list, so look at both.
5. The registry disclaimer says the register "is updated periodically and may not reflect changes". If the result is missing or odd, contact the authority before you deposit.

A verification confirms licensing only; the authority says it is not an endorsement. For how other regulators' registers work, see how to verify a gambling licence.

How to tell a real register entry from a fake seal

A seal in a footer is a claim. The register entry is the evidence. Under the seal policy and the Certificate Verification Framework (both as of October 2026):

• A real seal links straight to the register. Clicking it must open the licensee's verification page on anjouangaming.com. A seal that is a plain image, opens a page on the casino's own domain, or opens a PDF is not following the policy.
• A real entry lists the domain. The verification page shows the licensee's name, licence number, status, approved operational domains and validity period. If the site you are on is not in that list, the licence does not cover it.
• A certificate is not proof on its own. Each certificate carries a unique licence number and a QR code that should lead to the register. The authority warns that copies "may be outdated or altered"; only the register shows current status.
• The seal must come down at once if the licence is suspended, revoked or expires. A seal next to a non-Active entry is a breach.
• Other lists are not the licence register. The authority also keeps a recognition letter register. That page does not explain what a recognition letter is, and it is separate from the licence register, so check the licence register itself.

Our guide to fake casino and sportsbook clone sites covers lookalike sites more broadly.

Red flags on an Anjouan-licensed site

• The seal does not open anjouangaming.com, or the footer gives only "Comoros licence" with no number.
• The register entry names a different company or different domains, or the status is not Active.
• The licence on the register is B2B, yet the site takes bets from players.
• The site lets you register from Great Britain, Ontario, Alberta or a US state.
• The terms name no ADR provider. Existing licensees have until their next renewal to add one, so ask the operator, but treat a refusal as a warning.
• No deposit limits, self-exclusion or support links, although the authority requires all three.
• Bonus or withdrawal terms appear only after you have deposited.
• You are asked to pay a "fee" or "tax" to release a withdrawal; see our clone site guide.

What player protections and complaint routes come with an Anjouan licence?

The authority's complaint policy (as of October 2026) sets out a two-step route:

1. Complain to the operator first, using the complaint function on its interactive seal. The operator must respond within 30 calendar days. Game-outcome disputes must be raised within 14 calendar days of the session; account disputes (payments, suspensions, bonuses) within 30 days.
2. Escalate to an approved ADR provider if it is still unresolved after 30 days. ADR (alternative dispute resolution) is an independent service that reviews the dispute. The policy says participation is mandatory for all licensees and the operator pays. The approved ADR list (updated 11 May 2026) names EGIS ADR, Axion ADR, iGaming ADR and CADRE B.V. Each sets its own time limits: EGIS ADR and CADRE say they may refuse a complaint made more than 12 months after the operator told the player it could not resolve the matter.

The authority will not handle, mediate or decide player complaints, though information about a possible breach may inform its supervision. Everything must be in English, and complaints from players in excluded territories fall outside the process. Our step-by-step Anjouan casino complaint guide walks through each stage. Before you escalate, build a file with our gambling complaint evidence checklist. Hub of Luck cannot make an operator or ADR body pay.

What an Anjouan licence means for players in the UK, Canada and the US

• UK: an Anjouan-only site is not licensed to serve you. You would have no UKGC oversight, no GAMSTOP and no UK ADR. We do not list such sites.
• Canada: in Ontario and Alberta, use the provincial list. In British Columbia, BCLC says its PlayNow "is the only legal option for online gambling in British Columbia" (BCLC 2025/26 service plan). Our Canadian listings do not include Anjouan-licensed sites.
• US: an Anjouan licence has no standing in any state. Only a state licence counts.

For how Anjouan's register, complaint route and market reach compare with two other offshore and EU licences, see Anjouan vs Curaçao vs Malta licences.

In practice

• Read the operator's terms for its legal entity, licence number and named ADR provider.
• Open the authority's register yourself and search the domain.
• Click the seal and confirm it opens the authority's register, not the casino's own page.
• Check the status is Active and look at the suspended, revoked and notices pages.
• Note the 14-day and 30-day complaint windows and act quickly if something goes wrong.
• If you are in Great Britain, Ontario, Alberta or a US state, use a locally licensed site instead.
• If you have self-excluded elsewhere or are struggling to stop, see our safer gambling page.