Anjouan vs Curacao Licences: What Players Should Know
Some operators swapped Curacao for a cheaper, low-tier Anjouan licence. The move costs the casino less and protects you less. Here is what an Anjouan licence does and does not guarantee, and why licence tier belongs in a score.
As Curacao tightened its regime, some operators did not upgrade to a direct licence – they moved to Anjouan instead. For the casino, the swap is cheaper and quicker. For the player, it is weaker. Here is what an Anjouan licence does and does not buy, and why the difference belongs in a review score.
Two jurisdictions, two tiers
Post-reform Curacao, under the Curacao Gaming Authority, is a mid-tier regulator that now licenses operators directly. Anjouan – an island in the Union of the Comoros – issues low-cost offshore gaming licences with lighter oversight. Both are offshore, and neither is tier-1 like Malta or the UK. But they are not equivalent, and treating “licensed” as a single yes-or-no hides the gap between them.
Why operators move to Anjouan
The Curacao reform added cost, scrutiny and compliance obligations. For some operators that is the whole point; for others it is a reason to leave. An Anjouan licence is faster and cheaper to obtain, which makes it attractive to operators that would rather not clear a higher bar. Industry reporting has documented operators shifting toward Anjouan around the Curacao transition, in some cases after giving up a Curacao licence entirely.
What an Anjouan licence guarantees – and what it does not
It provides a nominal regulatory wrapper: a licensing authority exists and there is a formal framework behind the seal. Where it is weak is precisely the thing you care about when something goes wrong – meaningful dispute resolution, enforcement, and protection of player funds. A low-tier licence rarely gives you real leverage if a withdrawal is frozen or an account is closed with a balance inside.
It also confers no standing in regulated markets. Like a Curacao licence, an Anjouan licence does not authorise play in the US, the UK or licensed EU jurisdictions – so it is not a route around your local law.
A real-world caution
The risk is not hypothetical. Industry reporting has covered at least one major crypto casino whose related operating entities were declared bankrupt by a Curacao court over unpaid player winnings, and which afterwards operated under a low-tier Anjouan licence. We factor that kind of history directly into a verdict – you can see how it shapes our BC.Game review. A licence swap can be a signal about an operator’s direction, not a footnote.
Why licence tier belongs in a review score
Two casinos can both be “licensed” and be worlds apart on how protected you actually are. That is why we score licence tier rather than tick a box: a direct Curacao licence and a low-tier Anjouan licence should not earn the same marks. If you want to check a specific operator yourself, our guide on verifying a licence against the register walks through it. And whatever the jurisdiction, stake only what you can afford to lose – our responsible-gaming hub is there if you need it.
Sources & further reading
See how licence and safety are weighted in The Cashout Report methodology, and compare verdicts across our reviews index.