The Antigua Division of Gaming is the regulatory body responsible for monitoring and overseeing all online gambling activities in the jurisdiction of Antigua and Barbuda.
The Antiga Division of Gaming is one of the oldest eGaming regulators in the world, and they have a solid reputation for ensuring licensees adhere to the terms and conditions of their license.
In this post, we’re going to be taking a look at who the Antigua Division of Gaming are, what they do, and what conditions they impose on licensees. We’ll also look at how they deal with player complaints later on.
About The Antigua Division of Gaming
The Antigua Division of Gaming was formed in 1994, becoming one of the first regulators in the online gambling world. They cover eGambling in both Antigua and Barbuda, and they monitor all online gambling operations that take place in Antigua and Barbuda.
While there are (at the time of writing) only five licenses issued, the Antigua Division of Gaming take their responsibilities seriously, and they ensure that all operators are following relevant laws, particularly surrounding money-laundering and responsible gambling.
Operators wishing to acquire a license can do so online, through their official website, and the regulator has shown themselves to be trustworthy, and responsive to complaints about operators.
License Requirements
There are three schedules which must be completed by an operator wanting to apply for a license from the Antigua Division of Gaming. Firstly, operators must meet schedule A, which is a license form. This form is an application for an Interactive Gaming or Interactive Wagering License – and this is the first part of the license application.
Secondly, operators must fill out and complete a BUsiness Entity Information Package (Schedule B), and this aims to uncover details about the company applying for a license.
Operators must then complete Schedule C, which details personal information about all of the key people involved with the online gambling operation.
Once these schedules have been completed, a non-refundable fee of $15,000 is paid to the regulator, and within 60 days, they will reach a decision to either grant, deny, or return the application.
If successful, operators must adhere to a wide variety of license conditions. The most important, is the prevention of money laundering initiatives set forth by the Antigua Division of Gaming. These initiatives are based on UK legislation including the Money Laundering Prevention Act (MLPA) 1996 and the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005. These acts require operators to carry out a number of checks on players, including Know Your Customer (KYC) checks, and financial monitoring, to ensure players are playing with their own money which has been acquired legitimately.
Licensees must also adhere to a number of responsible gambling measures, including restricting under-age gambling, and ensuring customers are wagering monies in a way that doesn’t detrimentally affect their lives.
License holders are also required to make annual contributions to the Gambling Addiction Research and Education Fund, which is an island-wide initiative to research further the negative effects of gambling, and carry out social awareness regarding the dangers of gambling.
Top Antigua Division of Gaming Licensed Casinos
The Antigua Division of Gaming doesn’t have many licensees – when compared to other regulators at least – and below, you can see some of the main operators licensed by the regulator:
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How To Check If a License is Valid
All licensees must display the official Antigua Gaming Preferential Seal on their website, and this seal proves that the site has met the license conditions under the laws of Antigua and Barbuda.
The seal itself can be validated by clicking on the image of the seal. This will then take you to a government website, where you can view the details of the seal, and confirm its validity. If a seal is invalid, you will see a notice that it’s invalid, and this allows you to easily and quickly determine whether a site is correctly licensed or not.
Antigua Division of Gaming’s Complaints Procedure
The Antigua Division of Gaming takes player complaints seriously. Like most regulators, they advise players to take up complaints with the operator in the first instance. If you’re not satisfied by the decision made by the operator, however, you can submit a complaint directly to the regulator.
This can be done by emailing them, on: [email protected]
There’s no specific time-frames in which complaints are responded to, but the regulator does have a good reputation for taking action against operators not meeting the conditions of their licenses.
Antigua Division of Gaming’s Contact Details
Address: The Directorate of Offshore Gaming, Division of Gaming, Royal Palm Place, Friar’s Hill Road, P.O. Box 2674, St. John’s, Antigua & Barbuda, West Indies
Phone: (268)481-3300
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.antiguagaming.gov.ag