Anjouan Gaming Licence Explained: Is It Safe? Restrictions & Complaints
An Anjouan licence is cheap, fast to obtain, and increasingly common on newer and crypto-leaning casinos. It is a real authorisation from a real authority — but it is a light-touch one, its international recognition is disputed, and it puts most of the responsibility for fair play on the operator rather than the regulator. The capybara treats it as a “verify everything else” signal, not a stamp of safety.
What the Anjouan licence is
Anjouan is an autonomous island in the Union of the Comoros, off the east coast of Africa. Its gaming licences are issued under the laws of the Autonomous Island of Anjouan. Two bodies are involved: the Anjouan Betting and Gaming Board (ABGB), which supervises gaming operations and technical integrity, and the Anjouan Offshore Finance Authority (AOFA), which handles financial supervision and AML/CFT enforcement.
The appeal for operators is straightforward: a single licence covers casino, sportsbook, and other verticals; setup is inexpensive and quick; and there is no EU-style local-substance burden. The trade-off for players is lighter oversight than Malta, Kahnawake, or the new Curaçao regime.
What it allows
- A single, broad licence covering online casino, sports betting, and related products.
- Wide international targeting — operators commonly cite access to roughly 186 countries, minus a restricted list.
- Crypto-friendly operation, which is why many Bitcoin and altcoin casinos carry it.
Countries where Anjouan-licensed casinos are restricted
There is no single government-published list of “Anjouan restricted countries.” The regulator’s own site does not publish one master schedule that applies to every licensee; instead, each operator’s individual licence conditions require it to geo-block markets it is not authorised to serve, and the operator writes those specifics into its own terms and conditions. So when you see a “restricted countries” list for an Anjouan casino, you are usually looking at one operator’s own policy (or a licensing consultancy’s summary of typical practice) — not a single rule that binds every Anjouan-licensed brand identically.
In practice, the lists converge heavily, because the same markets keep showing up for the same reason: each runs its own strict licensing regime that does not recognise an Anjouan authorisation. Here is the commonly-excluded set and why:
| Jurisdiction | Why it’s commonly excluded |
|---|---|
| United States | Federal and state-level gambling law bars offshore operators from serving US players; nearly every Anjouan casino excludes all US states. |
| United Kingdom | UK-facing online gambling requires a UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) licence, which an Anjouan authorisation does not satisfy. |
| France | Requires a licence from France’s Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ); unlicensed offshore operators face enforcement. |
| Netherlands | Dutch-facing online gambling requires a Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) licence. |
| Spain | Requires a DGOJ licence for operators targeting Spanish players. |
| Germany | Falls under Germany’s state gambling treaty and the GGL licensing regime. |
| Austria | Online casino sits under a state monopoly; foreign operators are not authorised to serve Austrian players. |
| Australia | The Interactive Gambling Act restricts offshore online casino services to Australian residents. |
| Ontario, Canada | Real-money online casino requires local registration with iGaming Ontario / AGCO. |
| Comoros (including Anjouan) | The licence excludes its own domestic market. |
| FATF-blacklisted or sanctioned jurisdictions | A standard AML/CFT exclusion applied across almost every gaming licence, not specific to Anjouan. |
How to check before you sign up: treat the table above as “commonly excluded,” not a guarantee for any specific brand. Read the operator’s own “Restricted Territories” or “Prohibited Jurisdictions” clause in its terms and conditions, and check our review’s geo-eligibility notice for that casino — we flag known market exclusions where we’ve verified them. The headline “186 countries” some Anjouan operators advertise is also misleading on its own: every target market still has to be checked against local law. See our restricted countries guide for why that duty sits with the operator, not the licence.
Player protection and security
On paper, Anjouan licensees must maintain AML/CFT compliance, responsible-gambling measures, and fair-play protocols, with 2025–2026 updates adding B2B certification requirements and crypto “Travel Rule” obligations. In practice, enforcement and player-redress are lighter than in top-tier jurisdictions, and there is no equivalent of the MGA’s binding ADR. There is also a recognition problem: some industry bodies and banks treat the Anjouan licence cautiously, and legal commentators note its universal recognition is disputed.
What that means for you: an Anjouan licence tells you a company exists and made some commitments, but it does not promise strong, independently enforced player protection. Your due diligence on payout history and terms matters more here.
The complaints process
Begin with the operator’s support team and internal complaints procedure. Beyond that, complaints can be directed to the ABGB (gaming conduct/technical) or, for financial-crime and AML concerns, the AOFA. Be realistic: the escalation path is thinner and slower than Malta’s, decisions are not the binding-ADR kind, and outcomes depend heavily on the individual operator’s willingness to cooperate. Keep detailed records from day one.
How to verify an Anjouan licence
- The seal should link to a verification record on the official Anjouan gaming authority site, not just sit as a static image.
- Confirm the operator’s legal name and the approved domain match the casino in front of you.
- Cross-check the brand’s reputation on independent player forums — with light-touch licences, community payout reports do a lot of the work the regulator does not.
How the capybara reads it
An Anjouan licence is not a red flag by itself — plenty of legitimate operators use it for speed and global reach, especially in crypto. But it is a low-information signal. It does not promise segregated funds, independent game testing, or a complaints route that concludes. So when a casino’s strongest trust claim is an Anjouan licence, we lean harder on everything else: payout track record, transparent terms, real support, and clean withdrawal history before we rank it.
FAQ
Is an Anjouan casino legit?
It can be. The licence is genuine, but light-touch and disputed in recognition. Judge the operator on payout history, terms, and reputation rather than the licence alone.
Why do so many crypto casinos use an Anjouan licence?
It is inexpensive, fast to obtain, crypto-friendly, and allows broad international targeting, which suits newer and crypto-first brands.
Can an Anjouan casino accept US or UK players?
No. The US and UK are among the markets almost every Anjouan-licensed operator excludes, alongside France, Germany and FATF-blacklisted countries — see the restricted-countries table above.
Which countries are restricted under an Anjouan gaming licence?
There’s no single published schedule that applies to every Anjouan-licensed casino — each operator sets its own restricted-country list in its terms and conditions. In practice, most exclude the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Austria and Australia (each runs its own strict licensing regime), plus the Comoros domestic market and any FATF-blacklisted country. A casino must also block any other jurisdiction that requires a local licence it doesn’t hold, so always check that operator’s own terms rather than assuming one list applies to every Anjouan brand.
Sources and official register
- Anjouan gaming authority (licence verification): anjouangaming.com
- SoftSwiss Knowledge Base, “Anjouan iGaming Licence Guide” (licence structure and obligations overview): softswiss.com
Last reviewed: July 2026. General information, not legal advice. Verify any licence on the official register and check your own country’s rules before playing.