Alderney Gambling Control Commission Review

Name: Alderney Gambling Control Commission - Jurisdiction Review
Item: Alderney Gambling Control Commission - Jurisdiction
Rating: 9.8
Author: Casinomeister

By Alex Smith Mar 20, 2024

Casinomeister's Verdict

The Alderney Gambling Control Commission is by far one of the most stringent and effective jurisdiction in the business. They have been licensing casinos since 2000 and I can safely say that it is rare that we ever receive a complaint about one of their properties. They are definitely doing something right.

Rarely a complaint from players regarding their licensees

9.8 Our Rating

Oversight

Responsiveness

Transparency

Infrastructure

History

Reliability

Jurisdiction Alderney Gambling Control Commission

Founded 2000

Website https://www.gamblingcontrol.org/

E-mail info@agcc.gg

Address The Alderney Gambling Control Commission, St Anne’s House, Queen Elizabeth II Street, Alderney, Channel Islands, GY9 3TB

Reliability Highest

Pros

The Alderney Gambling Control Commission is known as being a reputable and trustworthy gambling regulator. They don’t dish out licenses willy-nilly
They regularly review their licensees and ensure they’re adhering to their license conditions.
The Commission will take action against operators breaking its rules.

Cons

The jurisdiction’s licenses can be expensive, putting off some smaller and newer operators.

The Alderney Gambling Control Commission is the independent body in charge of distributing eGambling licenses to operators wanting to locate themselves in Alderney, and they’re considered one of the world’s most trustworthy and dependable regulators.

In this post, we’re going to take a look at how and why the Alderney Gambling Control Commission was formed, the terms they impose on license holders, and details of their complaints procedure.

About The Alderney Gambling Control Commission

The Alderney Gambling Control Commission (known as the AGCC) was first established back in May of 2000, and The Commission is formed of a Chairman and three independent members.

The Commission is fully independent and non-political (allowing it to make impartial decisions at all times), and The Commission is responsible for regulating eGambling on behalf of the States of Alderney.

Alongside issuing licenses to operators, the Alderney Gambling Control Commission also takes player complaints – and it places a strong emphasis on player protection, ensuring that it’s licensees are treating players fairly.

The corporate structure of the Alderney Gambling Control Commission has always been a little confusing; while they are part of the British Channel Islands, Alderney States are not part of the United Kingdom or the European Union. Instead, they’re self-governing, and their reputation is solid. The Commission’s handling of eGambling licenses has ensured that rogue operators don’t get a license, and they’re committed to operating a safe, reliable, and transparent environment for players to gamble.

Provisions of a License

The Alderney Gambling Control Commission issues two types of eGambling licenses, and these are shown below:

Category 1 License: A category 1 license regulates the structure and organization of gambling operations, and this covers the registration and verification of players, the legal relationship with them, and the way in which the player’s funds are managed and stored.

Category 2 License: A category 2 license regulates the actual gaming transactions, including everything from where the games are stored and hosted, and the operational management of the gaming platform(s) used by gaming operators.

Operators who want a license from the Alderney Gambling Control Commission may apply for one, or both types of license – and each application is subject to rigorous research and auditing to ensure that licenses are only handed out to responsible operators.

Like most gambling regulators, the Alderney Gambling Control Commission places strong emphasis on operators to offer players responsible gambling measures, and operators also must show that player’s funds are protected. Of course, anti money laundering measures also apply, as well as game-fairness rules.

Applying for A eGambling License In the Online Gambling Industry

Like all reputable regulators the Alderney Gambling Control Commission requires online gambling operators to complete and pass a wide variety of rigorous checks to ensure that they’re fit to operate in the industry – and online gaming operators along with casino games must undergo extensive vetting and testing to make sure that everything is fair, legit and above board.

The first stage of the license application is detailed below, as shown on the regulator’s website. You’ll notice that many of the steps, late on, are designed to combat money laundering, ensure the fairness and integrity of online gambling software and gambling services, and make sure that the regulator follows other major regulators like the UK Gambling Commission.

“Step 1: An applicant for a license is required to form an Alderney registered company and publish a notice of application in the Alderney Gazette. The required form for this notice is set out in Schedule 1 of the regulations.

Step 2: The Alderney registered company submits an application to the AGCC. The application should consist of:

A signed copy of the application form and any relevant supporting documentation

Payment to the AGCC of the initial investigation deposit of £10,000

Step 3: Following receipt of the application, the Director, Regulatory Operations will arrange a meeting with the applicant to facilitate a better understanding of:

The business plan and proposed egambling operations
Potential business and executive associates, including third party software providers
The corporate entities involved in the application; and

Persons who may need to submit applications for key individual certificates

The Commission will then assess the application against the criteria provided for in Regulations 21 and 22 and will make their determination.

Where an application is successful, a license will be issued on payment of the relevant license fee.”

Once the above process has been completed, there’s a number of other factors that need to be taken into account. For example, all online gambling operators will need to show the online gambling their internal control system, the gambling equipment that will be used when playing online, along with financial factors like the net gaming yield expected each year.

There’s a number of templates designed to expedite this process and make it as easy as possible for operators to follow, but you can rest assured – if an online gaming sites wants a license from the AGCC, they need to pass a number of checks and this helps to protect players in the event that things go wrong.

The Goal of the AGCC

The AGCC serves a number of objectives when it comes to gaming regulation. These objectives are frequently interchangeable and overlap, since they serve as a basis for good gaming and business and gambling operations.

The AGCC’s primary purpose is to ensure that the casino is fair. This applies to all areas of the casino, including the games they provide and the software firms from where they get their games, as well as deposit and withdrawal methods and customer service. If an e-casino wants to get an AGCC license, it must meet and will meet all of the international criteria in these categories.

The AGCC ensures that the games’ random number generator (RNG) is not rigged and that the payment is fair and advantageous to the player. When it comes to banking alternatives, the AGCC ensures that there are lots of them and that transactions are completed quickly. They also ensure that the casino sets fair withdrawal restrictions, since many casinos establish extremely low limits in order to sustain the interest.

Finally, the Comission ensures that the casino responds to consumers promptly and that the customer service staff is well-educated and competent.

The AGCC’s second purpose is to ensure that a casino is free of criminality. His responsibilities include not just the casino’s internal operations, but also the safety of the casino from outside dangers. Proper channel encryption is one of the distinguishing characteristics of a world-class casino. Cyber-thieves will find it considerably more difficult, if not impossible, to access player information if secure channel encryption is used.

Second, the AGCC guarantees that the casino will not mislead the gamblers. The commission has an investigation branch and collaborates with a number of different businesses and government agencies to fight fraud. This also applies to banking choices, and the Commission requires the casino to be open, honest, and upfront about how they manage transactions, including how long it takes for a transaction to complete and how much a player may withdraw and deposit at any given moment.

Finally, the AGCC is worried about the impact of gambling on players. Because gambling is such a highly addictive pastime, the Commission ensures that casinos advise their customers about the dangers of playing too much. Furthermore, the commission asks casinos to inform players that if they or someone they know has become addicted to gambling, they should seek emergency treatment.

Both the gamers and the casino are served and protected by the AGCC. It guarantees that the casino is treating its customers fairly and that they are not abusing the system. The Commission is particularly stringent about casinos conducting business in the way of the best casinos in the world, and it demands them to completely commit to doing so.

Disputes and Player Complaints

If players have grievances with an online gambling operator, they can make a complaint to the Alderney Gambling Control Commission. In this section, we’re going to be taking a look at how their complaints procedure works, and how to utilize it.

Like most online gambling operators, the Alderney Gambling Control Commission requires that you take up complaints with the license holder in the first instance. All license holders are required to have an internal complaints procedure, and this ensures that you won’t simply be ignored.

If the casino don’t treat you fairly – or if you are unhappy with the casino’s verdict, you can make a complaint directly to The Alderney Gambling Control Commission.

The complaint must be made in writing – but this can be done through email, if prefered – and once the complaint has been received, The Commission will investigate accordingly.

FAQs

Why is the AGCC considered to be one of the leading online gambling operators?

The Alderney Gambling Control Commission is definitely up there with many of the world’s leading online gambling regulators, like the UKGC – and their solid reputation within the iGaming industry has been built largely thanks to the fact that the Alderney Gambling Control Commission don’t just hand out gaming licenses to anyone. In fact, operators need to work relatively hard to even get a license in the first place – providing to the Alderney Gambling Control Commission that they’re able to run and operate a fair and legitimate online gambling business, free from corruption and with robust measures in place to protect player funds.

In fact, it’s this protection of player funds that’s helped the Alderney Gambling Control Commission to become such a renowned figurehead in the industry. For example, all online casinos that hold a Alderney Gambling Control Commission license are required to ring-fence player’s funds in a separate and safe bank account and this ensures that you’re able to play with complete financial security; even if a site goes bankrupt your funds will be secured.

Do online gaming slots and casino games need to be licensed by the AGCC?

Yes; if an online casino holds a license from the Alderney Gambling Control Commission the games need to be licensed. However, as we see with most online gambling regulators, the games don’t themselves necessarily have to be regulated by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission themselves; the commission allows games to be independently approved by third-party testing houses, and they can even be licensed in other jurisdictions, provided the Alderney Gambling Control Commission has a good reputation with them.

Rest assured that when you play at any of the Alderney Gambling Control Commission casinos listed here on this page you’ll be playing games that are indeed regulated, fair, and independently tested and verified.

What do they actually do?

The Alderney Gambling Control Commission is responsible for a wide variety of tasks – and while you may assume that they simply hand out online gambling licenses, they actually do a lot more. For example, the key priority of the Alderney Gambling Control Commission is to create a safe and secure environment for players – but they also work hard to protect online casinos from fraud. Of course, they also work hard to ensure that laws and upheld at all times – and they place quite a strong emphasis on anti-money laundering practices to ensure that criminals and terrorist groups can’t use online casinos to launder illegal money.

Is the AGCC reliable?

Yes, when it comes to online gambling regulators, the Alderney Gambling Control Commission is pretty much up there as one of the world’s most trustworthy and reputable names. They run a very transparent operation which is a major plus-point in our eyes – and this means that you’re able to see what they actually do, in terms of issuing licenses, revoking them – and how they go about running their day-to-day operations.

In fact, it’s pretty easy to see that the Alderney Gambling Control Commission is held in such high esteem, and this is thanks to the fact that so many of the world’s biggest online casinos hold a license issued by them. For example, many of the major bookmaker sites in the UK are licensed by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission – and while this is, often, for tax purposes, it’s also because the Alderney Gambling Control Commission is highly-respected and allows these brands to run their massive billion-dollar enterprises in a safe and legal manner.

Where can I find the best AGCC casinos?

If you’re interested in playing at online casinos that hold a valid license from the Alderney Gambling Control Commission then you may be wondering where you can actually go about finding an online casino that holds a license from them. While finding online gaming operators is possible, by manually checking the licenses at certain online casino sites, this is a time-consuming process.

That’s one of the reasons why here at Casinomeister we work hard to keep an up-to-date list of all the top online casinos that hold a license from the Alderney Gambling Control Commission. All of the online casinos that appear on this list (the ones that you’ll find right here on this page) have passed a number of rigorous checks and our team of online gaming experts works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to make sure that sites that appear on this list are operating fairly and legally.

Feel free to browse through the list and if you see a site that you like the look of simly hit the “Play Now” button and you’ll be instantly and automatically taken to the casino’s sign-up page.

How do I go about contacting the AGCC?

Like with most gaming regulators there’s a number of ways in which you can contact the Alderney Gambling Control Commission – and the easiest way is to simply give them a ring. You’ll see on this page that we’ve listed their contact details. From what we’ve seen from players, contacting the Alderney Gambling Control Commission through phone is fairly straightforward and the team is well-trained to deal with player questions via phone.

However, if you want to have a physical papertrail of your correspondence, then it’s also possible to contact the Alderney Gambling Control Commission via email. However, we should point out that response times through email are likely to be quite a bit longer than were you to contact them via phone – and you may find yourself waiting a few days before you receive a response.

Does the Alderney Gambling Control Commission require operators to offer players responsible gambling tools?

Yes; any site that holds a valid gaming license from the AGGC needs to provide players with a wide variety of responsible gambling tools. For example, all online casinos that hold a license from the AGGC need to be able to set a time-out limit on their account if they want, and the operator also needs to ensure that players can enter into a self-exclusion agreement if they want.

You’ll also notice at AGGC-licensed casinos that you’ll be able to set deposit limits – and, depending on the specific online casino in question, you may also be able to set loss limits and/or wager limits.

Does the AGGC allow live dealer games?

Yes! While, in the past, some online gaming regulators were slow to adapt to live dealer games, the AGGC isn’t one of them – and casinos that hold an online gambling license from the AGGC are allowed to offer their players a full range of live dealer games provided that these games are certified by an approved testing house.

Many software providers and game developers hold licenses with AGGC-accredited testing houses including NetEnt, Pragmatic Play and Evolution Gaming, and this means you’ll be able to play all of your favorite live dealer games without having to worry about playing shady games from little-known game developers and software providers, as is too-often the case at Curacao-licensed casinos.

CLOSED