This clarification places an old problem associated with offshore licensing back on the agenda. An operator may hold a licence in another jurisdiction, but must nevertheless comply with laws in those countries where it promotes its services, collects payments, or accepts players.
Regulator Pushes Back on Broad Claims
In a June 10 announcement, Anjouan Gaming noted that the recent discussions have mixed various issues. Among them are:
- The legal and administrative basis for a licence;
- The scope of activities it covers;
- The compliance status of a particular operator;
- The legislation in target countries.
Anjouan Internet Gaming Licences are issued under the framework of the Autonomous Island of Anjouan. The licensing process is implemented via the Anjouan Gaming system and respective bodies associated with the Anjouan offshore financial and gaming system.
The key issue raised by the regulator did not concern all licensees. Anjouan noted that its license is never considered a global one. An Anjouan licence does not exempt operators from local authorisation where gambling law requires it.
What Operators Must Still Prove
The statement also listed the obligations attached to the framework. According to Anjouan Gaming, licensees are subject to due diligence, AML/KYC policies, responsible gaming rules, technical standards, and complaints procedures.
Website validation and public licence verification are also included in this framework. The license can be suspended or even revoked when the terms of the license are broken.
It is here that the risk lies. An offshore licence may support a company’s compliance file, banking talks, or supplier onboarding. This does not solve all the issues in obtaining access to markets. This becomes critical when the company focuses on targeting its customers in countries requiring national licenses.
Public Register Moves Into Focus
Anjouan Gaming also rejected using misconduct by operators as evidence against the whole framework. At the same time, it encouraged stakeholders to use official channels and the public register to check licence status, approved domains, and related information.
The relevance of the above point can be attributed to the affiliates, payment providers, and platforms. A licence claim on a casino site is not enough. There should be consistency between the licence, the domain name, and the status of the operator.
The Wider Conclusion
Offshore licences still have a place in the iGaming market, especially for early-stage or multi-market operators. But Anjouan’s own clarification underlines the limit of that model. The strongest compliance position now comes from treating offshore approval as a starting layer, then checking each local market separately before traffic, payments or player onboarding begin.
