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Directorate of Offshore Gaming: Setting High Standards

Updated: 18.04.2024
Reviewed by Fabio Duarte
Fact checked by Aleksandra Andrishak

More and more online casinos make their way to Antigua, an island in the West Indies; all to get one of the licenses for online gambling institutions. Specifically – Directorate of Offshore Gaming.

Founded in 1994, it has been providing licensing services for now more than two decades and is a part of the regulating commission at Antigua and Barbuda’s financial department – Financial Services Regulatory Commission (FSRC).

The UK Gambling Commission recognizes the presence of Directorate of Offshore Gaming as it is one of the white-listed bodies.

Antigua barbuda directorate of offshore gaming

Regulatory Organisation

During the early years, the Directorate of Offshore Gaming was slightly relaxed in its approach to licenses. As a result, the institution suffered from a somewhat bad reputation.

However, in the last few years, there has been a drastic change in the rules and regulations. And now, they take this responsibility much more seriously, meaning that the operators will require more effort and time to get the license. The high investments also apply to the fees required to obtain the license.

To be specific, in order to obtain the license, operators must have auditors inspect the various gaming accounts. The license provided by Directorate of Offshore Gaming will commit elements like protection for the player, safety, compliance, and sticking with the regulations of Countering Financing of Terrorism Act and Anti-Money Laundering. This is down to the presence of three critical divisions in the jurisdiction of the administration – Industry Enhancement, Player Protection, and Money Laundering Prevention.

If you wish to learn more information or contact Directorate of Offshore Gaming you can use one of these methods:

Royal Palm Place, Friar's Hill Road

P.O. Box 2674, St. John's

Antigua & Barbuda, West Indies

Telephone: (268)481-3300

Fax: (268) 481-3305

E-mail: info@fsrc.gov.ag

Website: www.antiguagaming.gov.ag

Types of Licenses

The Directorate of Offshore Gaming can provide two different licenses: Interactive Wagering and Interactive Gaming. The former is applicable for the online casinos, while the latter is meant for the sportsbooks. Aside from providing the relevant license to the operator, the organization is ensured with the duty of keeping an eye on any malpractice.

The Interactive Wagering License covers various aspects like handling the funds of the player, the accounts of the institution, the standards that need to adhere to advertisements, and the online wagering services that are available directly to the players. This type of license is the most popular at Directorate of Offshore Gaming.

The Interactive Gaming License is primarily meant for slot developers or gaming companies. Some of the critical attributes that are checked for this license are the fairness of the game that is being developed, the security of the software, brand customization, and the additional features that could change aspects like the payouts. Directorate of Offshore Gaming also looks carefully to ensure that the integral elements of the gameplay are of the highest order. Software developers who fail to meet these high standards will not be granted a license.

Features of Licenses from Directorate of Offshore Gaming

Along with the license, the operator will also be receiving the Antigua Gaming ‘Preferential Seal’. This is provided only to the qualifying companies that meet several requirements.

The first requirement is that this seal is only applicable for operators where the directors and the shareholders have more than 5% of the company.

Other factors that play a role in receiving this seal are the use of gaming software which is recognized internationally for being fair, the presence of corporate headquarters in Antigua, and the presence of the primary server in Antigua. The seal also acts as a confirmation that the primary server in Antigua would possess all the key data like financial liabilities, financial history, game history, and any other information about the players.

Complaints & Disputes

There is a high degree of protection offered to players from around the world who sign up with operators having their license at the Directorate of Offshore Gaming. All the legitimate complaints from a player or any disputes between the player and the gambling institution would be taken up by Directorate of Offshore Gaming. A careful review and investigation of the complaint will be taken up immediately. Any verdict in favor of the player will be notified to the concerned individual immediately along with the necessary action being taken to ensure that the operator sticks to the decision.

However, Directorate of Offshore Gaming always advises the players to sort out any issues with the casino operator. Only cases that failed to agree will be brought forward here.

Overall, Directorate of Offshore Gaming does reasonably well to ensure fairness, and the level of protection for the player has gone up substantially in recent years.

Verdict

The license provided in Antigua through the Directorate of Offshore Gaming certainly did not get off to a great start. However, the serious revamp in recent years has now made it better than ever before.

While we can’t say that Directorate of Offshore Gaming offers the very best and prestige license, it still is fairly decent and worthy of attention.

Fabio Duarte
Fabio Duarte
Expert in: News, Blog, Slot reviews
Fabio is a young writer with +6 years of experience in gambling & betting. Fabio creates professional reviews of casino and slots. Every single article Fabio made exhibits deep analytical skill and comprehensive coverage of a topic. It’s Fabio – one of the leading authors on slotsjudge.com.