Casino Licences in 2026: Which Ones Still Mean Anything
The short version: no casino taking Malaysian players holds a licence that gives you a complaints route worth relying on. The difference is only between licences that are still real and checkable and licences that have lapsed.
- PAGCOR (Philippines): gone. Every Philippine offshore gaming licence was revoked on 31 December 2024 under Executive Order 74, and Republic Act 12312 of October 2025 made the ban permanent.
- Curacao: a new regime. The National Ordinance on Games of Chance took effect on 24 December 2024, the old master-and-sub-licence system ended and every sub-licence expired in January 2025. Operators holding a current licence must now give players free access to independent dispute resolution, with six months to raise a complaint.
- Cagayan / First Cagayan (CEZA): still valid. A separate system from PAGCOR, untouched by the 2024 ban.
- Anjouan (Comoros): not really a regulator. The Comoros central bank said in 2023 that several Anjouan gaming authorities and the firms selling their licences are fictitious structures with no legal existence in the country, and officials repeated the warning in January 2026.
Why PAGCOR no longer counts
The Philippines used to be the licensing hub for Asian offshore gambling. In July 2024 the president announced a total ban on POGOs; Executive Order 74, signed that November, required every operation to stop by 31 December 2024. PAGCOR cancelled all 42 offshore licences and 18 authorised service providers, and no longer accepts applications. On 23 October 2025, Republic Act 12312, the Anti-POGO Act, raised the ban from an executive order to primary law with criminal penalties.
What that means for a player is simple: you cannot take a complaint about a casino serving Malaysian players to PAGCOR any more, because PAGCOR does not regulate that business. The badge may still be on the website. Nobody is behind it.
What changed in Curacao
Curacao used to issue a handful of master licences, and the holders of those issued sub-licences to individual casinos. Gaming Curacao, Curacao eGaming and Curacao iGaming are all names from that arrangement.
It ended on 24 December 2024: every sub-licence expired in January 2025, and the new Curaçao Gaming Authority issues licences directly. One change genuinely favours players: a current licence holder has to give you free access to an independent dispute service, and you have six months after an incident to file a formal complaint.
The catch is that plenty of sites still print the old names. So when you see the word Curacao, what matters is not the name but whether the licence number appears in the new register.
How to check it yourself, in about a minute
- Scroll to the bottom of the casino's site and click the licence badge.
- It should open the regulator's own website. If it is only a picture, or it opens a page on the casino's own domain, be careful.
- Check that the company name on that page matches the company running the casino. A brand name with no company behind it is the same as no licence.
- A PAGCOR badge needs no checking at all, whatever number is printed on it: that class of licence was revoked at the end of 2024.
- For Curacao, look the number up in the Curaçao Gaming Authority register. If it is not there, ask support for the current one.
What the 21 casinos we tested say about their licences
The table below is copied straight from what each casino publishes on its own site. We have not tidied their wording and we have not verified every number. The third column is what those words actually mean in 2026.
| Casino | Licence shown on its site | What that means in 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| BK8 | Anjouan, Union of Comoros | The Comoros central bank calls the bodies issuing Anjouan licences fictitious structures with no legal existence there. Not a weak regulator so much as not one. |
| ME88 | PAGCOR, Gaming Curacao | PAGCOR offshore licences were revoked at the end of 2024, and the Curacao name shown is a pre-2025 sub-licence. Ask for the current number. |
| GSLOT | Gaming Curacao, GLI, iTech Labs, BMM Testlabs | A pre-2025 Curacao sub-licence name. Those expired in January 2025, so ask for the current Curacao Gaming Authority number. |
| 96M | Gaming Control Board (Curacao), PAGCOR, BMM Testlabs, iTech Labs | PAGCOR offshore licences were revoked at the end of 2024, and the Curacao name shown is a pre-2025 sub-licence. Ask for the current number. |
| 811C | PAGCOR, Gaming Curacao | PAGCOR offshore licences were revoked at the end of 2024, and the Curacao name shown is a pre-2025 sub-licence. Ask for the current number. |
| JK8 | PAGCOR (Certificate of Accreditation No. OSP11-0201-2-A) and Curaçao Gaming License. Also certified by BMM Testlabs and iTech Labs. | PAGCOR offshore licences were revoked at the end of 2024. Nothing here is a regulator you can complain to. |
| WSCBET | PAGCOR & Curacao eGaming License | PAGCOR offshore licences were revoked at the end of 2024, and the Curacao name shown is a pre-2025 sub-licence. Ask for the current number. |
| SLOTS33 | Government of Curaçao (Regulated offshore) | Curacao, without an old sub-licence name. Check the number against the Curacao Gaming Authority register. |
| WE1WIN | Curacao | Curacao, without an old sub-licence name. Check the number against the Curacao Gaming Authority register. |
| MIDAS55 | Gaming Curacao, GLI, iTech Labs | A pre-2025 Curacao sub-licence name. Those expired in January 2025, so ask for the current Curacao Gaming Authority number. |
| WINBOX | Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) | PAGCOR offshore licences were revoked at the end of 2024. Nothing here is a regulator you can complain to. |
| 7SLOTS | Curacao eGaming License | A pre-2025 Curacao sub-licence name. Those expired in January 2025, so ask for the current Curacao Gaming Authority number. |
| 96FGG | Curacao iGaming | A pre-2025 Curacao sub-licence name. Those expired in January 2025, so ask for the current Curacao Gaming Authority number. |
| ATAS CASINO | PAGCOR, Gaming Curacao, BMM Testlabs, iTech Labs | PAGCOR offshore licences were revoked at the end of 2024, and the Curacao name shown is a pre-2025 sub-licence. Ask for the current number. |
| F77.io | Curacao eGaming | A pre-2025 Curacao sub-licence name. Those expired in January 2025, so ask for the current Curacao Gaming Authority number. |
| JL7 | First Cagayan (FCLRC) | Cagayan (CEZA) licences survived the 2024 ban and are still issued. Real and checkable, but it rarely intervenes in a single player dispute. |
| CASINO JR | First Cagayan (FCLRC) | Cagayan (CEZA) licences survived the 2024 ban and are still issued. Real and checkable, but it rarely intervenes in a single player dispute. |
| MEGA128 | Not published | No licence is shown on the site at all. Ask support for the certificate before depositing. |
| OKLAH88 | Curacao iGaming | A pre-2025 Curacao sub-licence name. Those expired in January 2025, so ask for the current Curacao Gaming Authority number. |
| EG33 | First Cagayan (FCLRC) | Cagayan (CEZA) licences survived the 2024 ban and are still issued. Real and checkable, but it rarely intervenes in a single player dispute. |
| S188 | First Cagayan (FCLRC) | Cagayan (CEZA) licences survived the 2024 ban and are still issued. Real and checkable, but it rarely intervenes in a single player dispute. |
So what should you look at instead?
Because licences are broadly unreliable here, the things you can verify matter more: the withdrawal times we measured ourselves, whether an independent lab such as BMM Testlabs or iTech Labs tests the games, how long the company has operated, and whether support is answered by a human. You can check all of those. A licence badge you cannot.
A separate question: whether online gambling is legal in Malaysia. That has nothing to do with which licence a casino holds.
Sources
- Presidential Communications Office: all POGO licences revoked (Executive Order 74, 2024)
- Philippine offshore gaming operator — Republic Act 12312, the Anti-POGO Act, October 2025
- Curacao Gaming Authority: online gaming regulation — the LOK regime, in force 24 December 2024
- ABC News investigation into Anjouan licences — and the Comoros central bank statement it reports
Frequently asked questions
Is a PAGCOR licence still valid in 2026?
Not for offshore operations. The Philippines revoked every offshore gaming licence on 31 December 2024 under Executive Order 74, and Republic Act 12312 of October 2025 made the ban permanent and closed applications. A PAGCOR badge still shown on a casino site has no regulator behind it.
Can a Curacao licence be trusted?
It depends on the number, not the name. After the new law took effect on 24 December 2024, every old sub-licence expired in January 2025 and the Curacao Gaming Authority now licenses operators directly. A current licence holder must provide free independent dispute resolution, and players have six months to complain.
Which licence protects Malaysian players best?
Honestly, none of them protects you much. Cagayan (CEZA) and Curacao under the new regime are at least real and checkable, Anjouan is the lightest, and PAGCOR has lapsed. Measured withdrawal times and independent lab testing tell you more than any licence does.
Does Malaysia license online casinos?
No. Malaysia has no licensing system for online casinos, so every site accepting Malaysian players is licensed offshore.