Check a casino before you deposit: how old the website is, whether its licence is real, and whether online gambling is legal where you live. Scammed? Get help in minutes.
Warning signs in the address itself, the official register to check for the licence it claims, the law where you live, and who to call if you have already paid.
This helper does not say a site is safe or licensed: only the regulator's own register can do that. Market rules are from our online gambling legality guide; registers checked 26 Oct 2026. General information, not legal advice. 18+.
No tool can do that from the address alone. It tells you which official register to open and what to look for. Only the regulator's own list can confirm a licence, and the licence covers only the exact domain on that list.
Anyone can copy a logo or a certificate image. PAGCOR has warned the public about fake certificates, and the Malta Gaming Authority says its seals alone prove nothing. Check the register on the regulator's own website instead.
Do not deposit. If you already paid and the site now asks for a fee, tax or deposit before you can withdraw, stop paying and report it to your national scam line.
No. The check runs in your browser and nothing you type is sent to HotStakes. We only count, anonymously, that a check was run.
You get the answer in one line: are online casinos legal for people who live there, what is legal, and whether players (not just operators) can be punished.
A foreign licence (Curaçao, Malta, Anjouan…) never makes a site legal in your own country.
Mostly no. Of the 14 markets we checked, only the Philippines licenses online casinos for residents (PAGCOR), and Singapore and Hong Kong allow only their state-licensed operators. In the rest, online casinos are illegal for residents.
In most of Asia, yes. Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan and others fine or jail players, not only operators. India's 2025 Act is an exception: it targets operators, advertisers and payment firms.
No. A foreign licence lets a company operate under that regulator. It does not make the site legal in a country that bans or restricts online gambling.
No. It is a plain-English summary of our sourced guide, checked in October 2026. Laws change; check your local law before you play.
Anonymous: we count scores only, never names, emails or answers linked to you. Every answer links to the article that explains it.
Then choose where you live for the right scam hotline.
More on the scams behind these steps: recovery scams · fake online casinos · pig butchering · money mule accounts.
Stop paying, then call your bank on the number printed on your card or inside its official app and ask it to block your cards and stop or recall the transfers. In Malaysia call 997 straight away; Malaysian officials stress that the first one to two hours are crucial.
Sometimes. Money is most often saved when the bank or national scam centre freezes it before it moves on. Malaysia recovered RM34 million from scam activities in 2025 after its scam centre went 24 hours. Real help is free.
No. That is a recovery scam, the second scam aimed at people who have already lost money. The Singapore Police Force says the police will never advertise scam recovery services.
No. This page runs in your browser. Nothing you choose or tick is sent to HotStakes or saved. We only count, anonymously, that the checklist was opened.
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