Anjouan Overtakes Curaçao as the Most Common Licence Among Crypto Casinos Accepting Canadians
The Count: 25 vs. 23
When we last looked at the licence numbers behind our tracked database of crypto casinos accepting Canadian players, Curaçao held the lead. Not any more. Our October 2026 snapshot of 63 brands puts Anjouan at 25 licences and Curaçao at 23, a reversal that reflects both the growth of Anjouan's registry and the transition happening inside Curaçao's regulatory framework.
A handful of smaller regulators fill out the rest: five brands hold Kahnawake Gaming Commission permits, two hold Malta Gaming Authority authorisations, two cite the Tobique Gaming Commission in New Brunswick, one claims a licence we cannot confirm, and five list no licence at all.
Licence Distribution Across 63 Crypto Casinos
| Regulator | Casinos | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Anjouan (Comoros) | 25 | 39.7% |
| Curaçao Gaming Authority (CGA) | 23 | 36.5% |
| Kahnawake Gaming Commission | 5 | 7.9% |
| Malta Gaming Authority | 2 | 3.2% |
| Tobique Gaming Commission | 2 | 3.2% |
| Unconfirmed or none | 6 | 9.5% |
Source: our tracked database of 63 crypto casinos accepting Canadian players, October 2026. Each casino's licence is classified by the regulator named in its footer or terms of service.
Why Anjouan Grew
Anjouan, an island in the Comoros archipelago off the east coast of Africa, started issuing online gambling licences through its Anjouan Gaming Board in 2023. It filled a gap: operators that once relied on legacy Curaçao sub-licences issued by master licence holders such as Antillephone (8048) and CIL (5536) found those master-licence arrangements winding down after the Curaçao Gaming Authority began the transition to its new OGL framework in 2024.
Applying for a new CGA licence is more expensive and the assessment period is longer. Some operators moved to Anjouan instead, and new brands that launched in 2024 and 2025 started there directly. The result shows in our data: among brands that launched after January 2024, Anjouan outnumbers Curaçao roughly two to one.
Kahnawake's count stays at five because the commission issues permits to a defined set of licensees and has not expanded its active online-casino roster in recent years, though it remains a respected regulator in the Canadian context. The Mohawk Council's decision to opt out of the Supreme Court of Canada case on Ontario's international-play model, filed on June 15, 2026, has not affected its existing permits.
What Each Register Actually Shows You
A licence claim is only as strong as the register behind it. The five regulators in our database differ sharply in what their public records reveal.
| Regulator | Public register | Includes domains | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anjouan | Yes — 1,295 entries | Yes | JSON embedded in HTML |
| Curaçao (CGA) | Yes — ~664 entries | No | Downloadable PDF |
| Kahnawake | Yes — permit holders | Yes | HTML table |
| Malta (MGA) | Yes — per company | Yes | Headless browser required |
| Tobique | No public register | N/A | N/A |
Source: direct checks of each regulator's website, September–October 2026. The Anjouan entry count is from a full parse of the embedded licence data on anjouangaming.com/license-register/ performed on October 19, 2026.
Anjouan's register is the most machine-readable: the entire dataset sits in a JSON block that any browser can inspect. It lists the licensee's company name, registration number, and the domains each licence covers. That makes it straightforward to check whether the brand you are looking at is actually licensed.
Curaçao's register is harder to work with. The CGA publishes a PDF that lists licence numbers, company names, and status, but not the websites those companies operate. A licence number in a casino's footer tells you a company is licensed; you still have to trust that the company behind the footer is the same one in the PDF. We encountered this gap during our preparation work: one brand's footer cited an Anjouan number that, in the register, belongs to a different company entirely.
Kahnawake's permit-holders page pairs operators with URLs, which is ideal for verification, but it was last updated in September 2023 and lists no licence numbers. The Malta Gaming Authority requires a headless browser to render its verification pages, though once loaded, they show the authorised domains.
Tobique has no public register at all. The two casinos in our database that cite Tobique licences cannot be independently verified through the regulator's website.
What It Means for Canadian Players
A licence from any offshore regulator is not a guarantee. Canada's provincial regulators — the AGCO in Ontario, the AGLC in Alberta — run their own markets, and offshore casinos sit outside that framework. But a verifiable licence is still better than no licence, and the register differences matter:
- Check the register, not just the seal. A badge in the footer proves nothing on its own. Open the regulator's register and search for the brand name or licence number. If the register includes domains, match the domain you are playing on.
- Watch for Curaçao legacy numbers. Numbers starting with 1668, 365, 5536, or 8048 are master-licence sub-licences from the old system. These are expired or expiring. A current CGA licence uses the OGL format.
- Six brands have no verifiable licence. Five list nothing, and one cites a number we cannot confirm in any register. They may operate legally in their home jurisdiction, but Canadian players have no independent way to verify it.
- Anjouan's register is the easiest to check yourself. Visit anjouangaming.com/license-register/ and search for the casino name. If the brand and domain appear, the licence is current.
