The short answer
If you have seen an Anjouan logo at the bottom of a poker or casino site and wondered what it actually means, the honest answer is: it means the operator holds an offshore license from a small island regulator in the Comoros, and that is about it. It is not a stamp of quality, and it is not a license to operate in your country.
An Anjouan gaming license is issued by the Anjouan Gaming Authority. It authorizes an operator to run online games of chance, and the sites that hold one usually say so in their terms. Rainbet, for example, describes itself as licensed in Anjouan for the provision of online games of chance2. CoinPoker states that it holds an Anjouan Internet Gaming License and that this "ensures we meet strict regulatory standards"5. FortuneJack says it is operated by PlayWave SRL under the Anjouan Gaming license ALSI-202411021-FI11.
What that buys you as a player is limited. The license comes with conditions the operator has to meet, and a register you can check. It does not come with a complaints service for everyone, and it does not override the gambling law of the country you are sitting in.
What the law says
The license itself is an "Internet Gaming License." The published conditions for one current license, No. ALSI-202412004-FI1, set out two things that matter most to a player.
First, the excluded territories. The license states: "Excluded Territories: Australia, Comoros, France, Netherlands, Spain, United Kingdom, USA." It also excludes all FATF-blacklisted countries and sanctioned jurisdictions, and any territory the Anjouan Offshore Financial Authority deems excluded3.
Second, the conduct conditions. Licensed operators are required to "provide functional Responsible Gaming (RG) tools, including self-exclusion and deposit limit capabilities"4. That is the practical core of what the license obliges an operator to do for players.
Who it applies to
The license applies to the operator, not to you. That distinction matters more than anything else on this page.
If you are a player in an excluded territory, the license effectively does not apply to you at all. The register is blunt about it: "any disputes, claims, or complaints arising from players situated within these territories fall entirely outside the regulatory scope" and will not be entertained4. So if you are in the UK, the US, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Australia or the Comoros, and something goes wrong with an Anjouan licensed site, the regulator has already said it will not take your case3.
If you are in most of Asia, you are not on the excluded list. That means the regulator's scope does cover you in principle, and you can in theory raise a complaint. In practice, the authority does not run a player support desk. Its own guidance states that "the Authority does not provide direct support services to players but requires licensed operators to signpost independent support resources"6. So your first stop is the operator's own complaints process, not the regulator.
For citizens, foreign residents and visitors, the Anjouan license changes nothing about local law. It is an offshore license. It does not authorize a site to accept bets in your country, and it does not make play legal where it is not. If you want to know where you actually stand, start with the country guides, such as Can I Gamble in Japan? or Can I Gamble in the Philippines?.
Penalties and enforcement
The enforcement that matters to you is not the regulator's. It is your own country's.
An Anjouan license is not a defense if online gambling is illegal where you are. In Japan, for example, playing on offshore casino websites is illegal, and players have been prosecuted. The license on the site's footer does not change that. Japan's own integrated resort law, the 特定複合観光施設区域整備法, sets entry limits, an entry fee and restrictions on casino operators lending money, and those rules apply specifically to Japanese nationals and foreign residents in Japan7. That is the framework that governs you if you are in Japan, not an Anjouan license.
The practical risk for you is simple. If an Anjouan licensed site stops paying, and you are in an excluded territory, the regulator will not help you4. If you are not in an excluded territory, the regulator still does not run a support service for players6, so you are relying on the operator's own process and whatever independent dispute resolution the operator has signed up to. Before you deposit, check whether the site names an ADR provider and read what it covers.
What is legal and licensed
An Anjouan license covers online games of chance. In practice that means the things you would expect on a poker or casino site.
The license held by Precise Interactive Inc covers "all real-money poker games, poker tournaments, casino games, betting services and related gameplay services on the Platform"8. Phenom Poker's terms describe its license as being "for the purpose of operating and offering real-money Internet-based interactive poker services"9. CoinPoker Casino states it is "licensed by the Government of the Autonomous Island of Anjouan"10, and its Japanese-language page names the Anjouan Gaming Authority (アンジュアン賭博局) as the issuer11.
So the coverage is broad: poker, casino games, slots, betting. What it is not is a land-based casino license, a lottery license, or a license to operate in any particular country. It is a remote gambling license issued from one jurisdiction.
| Type of gambling | Covered by an Anjouan license? | Where it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Online poker, real money | Yes | Offshore, outside excluded territories8 |
| Online casino games and slots | Yes | Offshore, outside excluded territories8 |
| Online betting services | Yes | Offshore, outside excluded territories8 |
| Land-based casinos | No | Not covered by this license |
| Lottery | No | Not covered by this license |
| Play inside excluded territories | No | Excluded by the license conditions3 |
If you want to compare this with other offshore licenses, the Anjouan vs Curacao Gambling Licence page sets the two side by side, and Types of Gambling Licenses Explained covers where online licenses sit among concessions, casino and B2B licenses.
What it means for visitors and expats
If you live in Asia or you are passing through, here is what an Anjouan license actually means for you day to day.
It means the site you are looking at is licensed somewhere, and that somewhere is a small island jurisdiction with a light regulatory touch. It also means:
- The operator has committed to providing self-exclusion and deposit limits4.
- You can check the license on the regulator's own verification page rather than trusting a logo.
- If things go wrong, your protection is thin.
The verification step is worth doing properly. The regulator runs a validation page where you enter the operator's domain and get back the company name, license number and operating status. A check on coinpoker.com generated on September 26, 2026 returned an operating status of VALID for Precise Interactive Inc under License No. ALSI-202412004-FI14. That is what a real check looks like: a live result from the regulator's own system, not a badge on a homepage. The How to Verify an Anjouan Gaming License page walks through it, and Fake Gambling License Claims explains how seals and numbers get cloned.
For expats and long-term residents, the key point is that your local law follows you. An Anjouan license does not create a legal right to gamble from your apartment in Tokyo, Seoul or Bangkok. If you want to know what is actually allowed where you are, the country guides are the place to start: Can I Gamble in South Korea?, Can I Gamble in Thailand?, Can I Gamble in Malaysia? and Can I Gamble in Vietnam? all set out the local position.
For visitors, the same logic applies with one addition: the license conditions exclude players in several major markets3, so a site may simply refuse your registration or void your bets if you are playing from one of those countries. If you are traveling and your location changes, read the operator's terms before you deposit, because the excluded list is enforced by the operator, not by you.
If you want the wider picture of who licenses what across the region, start with Gambling Regulators and Licenses in Asia, and if you are comparing offshore options, Online Gambling Licenses Issued by Asian Regulators covers the local equivalents.
Common Questions
Is an Anjouan gaming license the same as a local gambling license?
No. It is an offshore license issued from the island of Anjouan in the Comoros. It lets an operator run online poker, casino games and betting, but it does not license anyone to operate inside your country, and it does not replace whatever local rules apply where you live.
Can I complain to the Anjouan Gaming Authority if a casino does not pay me?
Only if you are not in an excluded territory. The license register states that disputes, claims and complaints from players in excluded territories fall outside the regulator's scope and will not be entertained. If you are in an excluded country, the regulator will not take up your case.
Which countries are excluded under an Anjouan license?
The published license conditions list Australia, Comoros, France, Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom and the USA, plus all FATF-blacklisted countries and sanctioned jurisdictions, and any territory the Anjouan Offshore Financial Authority deems excluded.
How do I check whether a site really holds an Anjouan license?
Use the verification page on the regulator's own site and enter the operator's domain. A valid result shows the company name, the license number and an operating status of VALID. A logo on a casino homepage proves nothing on its own.
Does an Anjouan license mean the games are fair?
It means the operator holds a license and is expected to meet the conditions attached to it, including responsible gaming tools such as self-exclusion and deposit limits. It is not a guarantee of fairness, and it does not give you the consumer protections you would get from a license in your own country.
Do Anjouan licensed sites accept players from Asia?
Most countries in Asia are not on the excluded list, so sites will usually accept players from the region. That does not make it legal where you live. Check your local rules first, because the license only covers the operator, not you.
