Are Betting Brokers Licensed? Read the Terms First, Then the Register
A licence belongs to a company, and a company has to be named before it can be checked. Here is what each broker’s own text names, and where to look next.
Each of the four brokers names a company: AsianConnect, BetInAsia, MadMarket and Sportmarket write one in their terms. BetInAsia, MadMarket and Sportmarket also write a licence and the body that issued it, in their terms; AsianConnect describes a licence on its About page. A licence belongs to a company, so the check has two steps: copy the company name, and the licence number where the document prints one, from the broker’s own text, then look them up in the regulator’s register. The bookmakers and exchanges behind a broker have their own paperwork, separate from the broker’s.
A broker is an agent, not a bookmaker
Sort the cast first. The bookmaker takes the bet. The exchange matches it. The broker opens the account that reaches either one. Three roles can mean three companies, and three sets of paperwork.
Sportmarket’s terms say it in one line: “Sportmarket is an authorised Agent for a selection of Bookmakers and Betting Exchanges.” The same terms add that the bookmakers authorise it to open betting accounts so that its customers can bet with them, and that it settles with the bookmakers on behalf of those customers.
AsianConnect says it elsewhere than in its terms. Its FAQ reads “As your betting agent, AsianConnect88 acts on your behalf to place bets with major bookmakers and exchanges”, and its blog describes a sports betting broker as “an intermediary between the bettor and one or more betting providers”.
So this page covers one thing: what the four brokers write about themselves. The exchange and the bookmakers behind them have their own paperwork, which this page does not cover. How the account sits between you and them is the subject of what a broker does with your bet.
I would read the complaints clause before the licence line. The licence line names a company and a register; the clause tells you what you can do on a bad Tuesday.
What each broker’s own text names
What does “licensed” actually point at? A company, a number and a register, in that order. The table below holds the company and the licence line as each broker’s text gives them. MadMarket’s number is printed below, as its own footer writes it; for the others, where a document prints a number, copy it from there.
| Broker | Company named | Licence or regulator written | Where the terms send a complaint |
|---|---|---|---|
| AsianConnect | Asianconnect N.V (its terms) | About page: “fully licensed and regulated under Curaçao eGaming” | A written request, then mediation |
| BetInAsia | Lone Rock Holdings N.V.; payments through Fallback Ruler Ltd. | Terms: licensed by the Curacao Gaming Control Board | Customer service, then CADRE |
| MadMarket | Pixel Tech Limited operates the service, a brand of Purple Dust Ltd | Terms: Purple Dust Ltd licensed by the Government of Anjouan. Footer: a licence number (below) | An internal decision, then CADRE |
| Sportmarket | Sportmarket Services Limited | Terms: licensed and regulated by the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission | Reasonable endeavours for 28 days, then the Commission |
AsianConnect. Its terms are an agreement between the client and Asianconnect N.V, which owns and operates the site. The About page carries the licence line: AsianConnect is “fully licensed and regulated under Curaçao eGaming” and has “a gaming license authorized by the Government of Curaçao”. Quote it as an About page line. Asianodds88, one of the places an AsianConnect account reaches, writes in its footer “This site is operated by Asianconnect N.V.” and “This website is licensed and regulated by Curaçao eGaming”. The terms’ complaint route starts with a written request, after which a representative of the company’s director opens talks within fourteen working days. If the dispute stands, the parties agree to mediation in good faith.
BetInAsia. The terms state that the site is operated by Lone Rock Holdings N.V., and that it is licensed by the Curacao Gaming Control Board. The licence certificate shown on BetInAsia’s site describes Lone Rock Holdings N.V. as “a company incorporated under the laws of Curaçao”, says it “is licensed by the Curaçao Gaming Authority”, and adds that “The licensee has been granted approval to operate the following domains under its License”, with betinasia.com listed. Payments are handled by Fallback Ruler Ltd., which the terms call a payment agent acting for Lone Rock Holdings N.V. After customer service, a client can refer a dispute to CADRE, which the terms call “an independent dispute resolution body”. They say it is free for the client, that its decisions bind both sides, that it takes three types of dispute, and that the referral has to come within 30 days of the final decision.
MadMarket. Two companies appear in the terms. Pixel Tech Limited operates the service, the service is a brand of Purple Dust Ltd, and the terms state that Purple Dust Ltd is licensed by the Government of Anjouan. The footer of MadMarket’s pages reads: “MadMarket is licensed and regulated by the Government of the Autonomous Island of Anjouan, Union of Comoros and operates under License No. ALSI-032401019-FI3.” CADRE is “an independent alternative dispute resolution entity” in this text too. The terms add that going to CADRE does not take away the player’s right to bring court proceedings.
Sportmarket. The terms say the services are provided by Sportmarket Services Limited, and that “Sportmarket is licensed and regulated by the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission.” They require both parties to use all reasonable endeavours to resolve a complaint within 28 days; if Sportmarket is unable to resolve it, the client can “seek independent arbitration from the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission”. The agent role is covered above, and the client-money clause comes further down.
Checking a number in a register
Three registers matter here, because those are the three places the brokers’ own text names, or that the regulators’ own sites describe. Each one shows a different screen, and each one describes itself in its own words.
Isle of Man
The Gambling Supervision Commission describes itself as “an independent statutory body” that “regulates all gambling activities on the Island”, covering land-based and online gambling.
Its page of online gambling licence holders lists the companies, the website address of each holder that offers services to the public, and the licence type, and it states when the list was last refreshed. The page presents the holders as a list that a browser’s find function can search.
Curaçao
The regulator’s register page is headed Curacao Gaming Control Board and its text says Curaçao Gaming Authority; BetInAsia’s terms write Curacao Gaming Control Board, while the certificate BetInAsia shows carries the name Curaçao Gaming Authority. The site has a “License register” page, which leads to a list of online gaming licences as a PDF.
The PDF columns are licence number, licensee, company type, company registration number, issue and expiry dates, and status. The page says these lists do not assure the current validity of a licence.
Anjouan
The site anjouangaming.com presents itself as responsible for administering and supervising Anjouan’s internet gaming licences. It offers “Search by licence number, company name, or operational domain.”
A result shows the registered name, the number, the type and the status. There are four statuses, and the site writes that only entities with an Active licence status are authorised to conduct licensed internet gaming activities. The site adds that verification “does not constitute an endorsement of the licence holder’s services, products, or business practices”.
Sportmarket’s blog says: “You can verify any Isle of Man licence directly on the regulator’s online gambling licensee register”. Here is the check, in order.
- Copy the company name and, where the document prints one, the licence number, from the broker’s own text, not from an ad or a review.
- Find the regulator that text names.
- Search that regulator’s register the way it allows: a list on the page, a PDF, or a search box.
- Compare the name, the status and, where the register shows it, the domain.
- Note which version of the list you read. The Isle of Man page states when the list was last refreshed, and the Anjouan site says its register “may not reflect changes that have occurred since the most recent update”.
Side note: copy the number, do not retype it. A figure 1 and a capital I look alike in a sans-serif font.
What the paper does not tell you
The registers make the same point themselves. The Curaçao page says its lists do not assure current validity; the Anjouan site says a check is not an endorsement and that a listed domain only shows it was notified to the authority. A register row lists a company, a status and, where the register shows them, a type and a domain.
Money. Sportmarket’s terms say funds in the main account or the Sportmarket Betting Account “will be held in segregated Client Accounts and protected under Isle of Man gambling law unless you have been granted a credit facility or have accepted in writing that your funds can be held in other type of liquid assets”, and that “Funds held in Direct Bookmaker Accounts will not be held in segregated Client Accounts.” BetInAsia’s terms say the player account is not a bank account and is not covered by any deposit or banking insurance system.
Governing law. BetInAsia’s terms are governed by the law in force in Curaçao, MadMarket’s by the law in force in Anjouan. Sportmarket’s will be governed by Manx law, with the courts of the Isle of Man holding non-exclusive jurisdiction.
Complaints. The Gambling Supervision Commission says it can investigate only complaints about the companies it licenses. It says it will not investigate a complaint if the business’s own complaint process has not first been exhausted, and it sets conditions on who may complain, including where the player is based. Sportmarket’s terms call the next step “independent arbitration from the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission”; the Commission’s own page speaks of investigation. Both are written here as each source writes them.
If an account also needs an identity check, that is another process, covered in the identity check. How money moves in and out is in the payment methods page.
Paper is not a promise
A licence line names a company and a register. The Anjouan site says verification is not an endorsement, and the Curaçao page says its lists do not assure current validity.
This page reads what the brokers and the regulators wrote. It does not say whether any licence is current or any company sound.
From the paperwork to a choice
Once the terms are read, which broker opens which place narrows the list, and the side-by-side of the four brokers sets out how they differ in use. For the wider guide, see the betting brokers guide; for where each broker opens accounts, see each broker’s country list.