Gibraltar Regulatory Authority

In the European gambling sector, the “monkey island” of Gibraltar has acquired an important position over the last two decades. Majority of online casinos – mainly of British origin – have their headquarters in Gibraltar. This is, of course, due on the one hand to the moderate tax legislation, but on the other hand also to the regulatory body for online gaming. The small state’s regulatory authority is directly subordinate to the government or the Department of Finance.

The gambling industry could not exist without appropriate regulation. This is extremely important, as it is the only way to create a trustworthy framework for gambling and players can place their bets with a good feeling. One of the most important regulatory authorities is the office of the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority (GRA), which has a good reputation in the industry.

Players should only play in licensed casinos, as only here can it be guaranteed that potential winnings actually end up in the hands of the players and are not collected by criminals or cheaters. Accordingly, always check whether you have a license from the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority or any other authority before betting.

Gibraltar Regulatory Authority: What is that?

The Office of the Regulatory Authority is the competent licensing authority in Gibraltar. The authority is mainly responsible for online casinos and other games of chance on the internet. The institution’s remit includes the establishment and monitoring of legal standards for the industry.

These include, for example, advertising regulations, requirements for the protection of players’ assets and prevention of money laundering. An increasingly important field is the implementation of European data protection directives.

How the authority works

If a company in Gibraltar wishes to offer its services in one of the areas for which Gibraltar Regulatory Authority is responsible, it must first undergo an extensive review process. In this process, the authority examines the business plan of the applicant and checks financial reserves to secure player accounts.

Trustworthiness of the management is also checked, by requiring certificates of absence of criminal conduct. If there is no doubt about the conscientiousness and reliability of the entrepreneurs and they have committed themselves to comply with the regulatory requirements, the licence to operate an online gaming service is granted.

Advantages of online casinos licensed by GRA

There is a whole range of benefits that players in licensed casinos enjoy. In other words, general conditions apply in which the dubious providers cannot compete. What exactly this means in detail, we examine in the following once more exactly.

Player protection

One of the most important areas of regulation is player protection. If a provider wishes to obtain a licence from the Gibraltar authorities, strict standards must be observed. These provide for certain regulations in the area of player protection and require, that providers warn their players of excessive losses.

Furthermore, player protection also includes the protection of the personal data of all customers. These must be specially protected, in forms or when processing payments. Hand in hand with the regulation by the Gibraltar authorities therefore goes the strong protection against cyber attacks.

Protection of casinos is implemented through SSL encryption, which is also used in the area of online banking. This is used for data transfers and ensures that the information is only transmitted in encrypted form.

Fair play

The fun of playing roulette, blackjack or high RTP slot machines is only given when the games can be described as completely fair. This is exactly what the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority stands for. Even before a provider is even allowed to operate in the country, it is closely scrutinized by the regulatory authority.

The regulatory authority ensures that a fair random number generator is used and that the results of the games are really independent. During operation, RNGs are continuously checked by testing laboratories certified by the Regulatory. This ensures that the players can play in the casino day after day with a clear conscience and can be sure that chance really does decide whether they win or lose.

Money separation

Despite all possible precautions, it can of course happen that an online casino is nevertheless attacked successfully by criminals. If this is the case, the players in the licensed casinos benefit from the separate storage of the funds.

The stakes of the players are kept isolated from the operational funds of the provider. Even if an attack should occur, customers can continue to play in the casino with complete peace of mind.

In addition, this separation of funds is also a protection against possible insolvency of the provider. If the online casino were to get into financial difficulties, the players’ funds would not be affected and could continue to be paid out.

Operational funds, however, would be included in the insolvency assets. Unregulated gambling sites do not offer such protection. In case of doubt, the players’ deposits would be lost.

Operation control

Another important pillar of the work of the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority is to check the functioning of online casinos. In detail, this means that the providers could do whatever they want without appropriate regulation. Such a market would be unimaginable. 

In the event of a dispute, players would have no place to turn to. That is precisely what the Gibraltar authorities are there for. GRA ensures that players are always well advised in disputes and can turn to the authority in the event of problems.

If this were not the case, customers would probably have to fight their way through an opaque jungle that would end up costing a lot of money and time. Not to mention the chances of success. Accordingly, all players should be grateful that a reliable point of contact can be used in conjunction with the Gibraltar authorities.

How can I find GRA licensed casinos?

Discovering reliable and licensed online casinos on the market is fortunately not too difficult. First of all, we recommend our homepage, because here numerous reputable providers are presented and can be accessed in no time. Casinos equipped with a license promise maximum security. In addition, we can recommend a direct look at the website of the authority. Here, we list all operators with an official license of the Gibraltarian authority. 

Logo of the authority should be found on the website of the online casino, with which the provider wants to highlight. With logo, however also a little caution is required. Only the graphics alone are not enough. Instead, the license number of the online casino must match with digits on the website of the authority. If this is not the case, it is either a mistake or an intentional fraud.

In these cases the authority helps

There are several situations in which players can contact Gibraltar Regulatory Authority. There may be a discussion about whether players have won or not in a round of the game. Authority can intervene as a third party to regulate. At the same time, such inconsistencies can also occur with deposits or withdrawals.

Almost a classic example are technical difficulties that lead to a disconnection during a game round. Should problems with bonus wagering arise or players feel unfairly treated by the casino operator, these are also good reasons to contact the Gibraltar authorities. Government body is responsible for all issues relating to the online casinos operations and can provide assistance in all situations.

How to proceed with complaint?

In the case of Gibraltar Regulatory Authority, complaint can be filed directly on the website. A separate from is provided for this purpose, which can be reached with a few clicks. Afterwards, players only have to describe their problem and wait for an answer.

Alternatively, an e-mail address and a telephone number are also available on the homepage. A small tip: it is helpful to provide as much information as possible in the event of a complaint, including screenshots or similar.

GRA also gives the tip to contact casino provider first. Only if this dialogue is not successful, authority be contacted additionally. How quickly your case is dealt with always depends on the workload. Usually, it takes a few days until the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority intervenes and conducts further investigations. 

Gibraltar Regulatory Authority history

The predecessor of Gibraltar Regulatory Authority (GRA), was established in 2000. The decisive aspect for this was the so-called Gibraltar Regulatory Act.

This Act established that Gibraltar permits various games of chance and establishes proper regulation. The Gibraltar Regulatory Authority was established as the appropriate regulatory body. However, the GRA dealt with a wide range of issues, including general digital communications and radio.

As a result, the growing area of online gaming was spun off into a new specialized authority, the Office of the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority. GRA is exclusively responsible for the enforcement and further development of regulation in this growing market. Since all tasks and regulations of the authority are based on European laws, British players can also use the casinos of the licensed providers.

Summary

Nothing works without a license. Every provider of safe casino games must present an official license. This is the only way for players to be sure that everything here is done properly and that games are always played under fair conditions. The Gibraltar authority is one of the most trustworthy authorities when it comes to protecting players and their data. Whenever a provider can show a license from Gibraltar Regulatory Authority, this is a clear sign of the serious and trustworthy work.

We hope that with our help every player could get a better idea of how Gibraltar Regulatory Authority works. Also of interest in this context are our guides to the UK Gambling Commission and the Malta Gaming Authority, which also take a closer look at how they work.