Online Slot Licenses and Regulations

What do you know about Online Slot Licenses? Every time you create an online slot you are giving the casino and game developer a great deal of confidence that the games you play are actually fair.

Many players understandably have questions about how the slots are organized and what steps are being taken to keep them fair.

That is what we are going to get into in this post, and you will be pleased to know that online slots are very tightly regulated to ensure that you don’t get “stripped” or play unfair games.

Video Slots Requirements

Each online gambling regulator (which we will discuss below) sets their own slot requirements that software providers must follow. It’s very technical and many factors play a role. So, for the purposes of that breakdown, we’ll look at some of the UK Gambling Commission regulations.

Players must have access to a description of the game and how it works before they can risk money. This can be achieved in most slots with a detailed schedule section and payout rules.

The player must be informed of the percentage of return to player (RTP) and this must be accessible through the game’s help file. All video slots must have a certificate from an approved test house and the random number generator must prove that it is a coincidence.

The Loop Lasts at Least Two Seconds

No more than 100 auto-play loops that can be set at the same time.
These are just some of the rules and regulations for the slots you play on online gambling sites and we would be here all day if we covered them all.

However, rest assured that when you are playing slots in licensed casinos or free online slot games you don’t have to worry. It’s tested over billions of rounds to make sure it’s fair and meets the expected RTP.

Online Gambling Regulators

In order for online gambling companies (whether online casinos or game developers) to operate, they must have a valid license from the online gambling authority. There are two main regulators for European players:

United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC) and Malta Games Authority (MGA). Both regulators have excellent reputations and take a serious approach to licensing.

They ensure that all of their licensees adhere to strict rules and regulations, and when it comes to slot rules, as we saw above, these steps are profound.

Some of the lesser known (with reputable) regulators are the Alderney Gambling Control Commission, Isle of Man Gambling Commission, Jersey Gambling Commission, and Kahnawake Gaming Commission.

Some countries also have specific regulators, such as the UK. These include the Belgian Gambling Commission, the Danish Gambling Council, ARJEL (France), AAMS (Italy) and the Spanish Gambling Commission.

Unfortunately, not all regulators are created equal – and one name stands out in particular; Curacao. Curacao is the world’s largest regulator for online gambling and distributes licenses with ease. Prices are low, operators face few barriers to obtaining permits, and Curacao has a very poor track record of reviewing their permits.

We strongly recommend that you play at casinos that are licensed by the UKGC or MGA. When you do, you are playing in a very fair environment – and thanks to strict rules on gambling commissions, you can guarantee that every game you play is safe, fair and tidy – be it free online slots or real money games.

Slots Test House

The actual companies / entities responsible for testing and reviewing slots – and ensuring that real money game makers and casino operators comply with all applicable laws and regulations – are known as testing houses

While there are more than 20 different test houses, there are four main houses and these are usually the “one stop shop” for most game developers because of their reputation and the fact that they are usually approved by several online gambling regulators. Let’s take a look at the four main players below:

Gaming Laboratories International (GLI): GLI has been in operation since 1987, making it one of the oldest test houses. Their mission is to provide “World Class Testing, Certification, and Professional Services” to game developers worldwide, and they partner with some of the largest software providers in the world when it comes to game certification.

eCOGRA: eCOGRA is a UK based company founded in 2003. The company specializes in the certification of games for the UK iGaming industry. However, it does offer certifications for games that are outside of UK jurisdiction. eCOGRA is probably the largest testing house, and there is an unattended record of how the games they test are kept fair.

Gaming Associates Europe: Gaming Associates Europe is an independent and internationally recognized test house. While they’re not as big as GLI or eCOGRA, they work with a number of smaller game studios. They also typically work with companies outside of the UK, despite having been approved by the UK Gambling Commission.

iTech Labs: iTech Labs is an Australia-based gaming testing house. However, they do offer game certification services to software providers worldwide. Like the other three testing agencies shown above, they are also approved by the UK Gambling Commission and test – and validate – hundreds of new games every year.

Fortunately, you don’t have to worry about which house test should test which games – and you shouldn’t be checking while playing at a licensed casino. It is easy to see if a casino is licensed or not because regardless of the online gambling authority they operate, everyone is legally required to display information about their license in the footer.

Common Slot Fairness Mistakes

It is very common for players to have the wrong or wrong idea about how slots work. This is normal because you are playing a game that you do not personally know whether it is true or not. All you need is a game certificate

Fortunately, the world of online gambling is very well regulated, and apart from some clever Russian game developers, you won’t find any games that are “cheating” or “unfair”.

However, some of the misconceptions have surfaced repeatedly, and we will address them now:

While casinos may require a different RTP setting than the software provider (if offered), real money casinos cannot change the way the game is played.

Game developers also cannot update their games. If they wanted to make changes, they had to go through the entire testing process again. While it may be tempting to think, “this game feels different, it changes,” it’s simply a case of changing your fate.

All slots also use RNG to deliver results. This means that the slot has no previous rotation memory, so each rotation is an independent event.
Conclusion rules

As you can see, launching an online slot game is not just about planning it and transferring it to an online casino. There is a lot of work going on behind the scenes, and game developers spend a lot of money to get their gaming certificates.

As long as you are playing at an online casino that is licensed by the online gambling authority (and this is mainly about UKGC or MGA for European players) you don’t have to worry – and the games you play are fair, random – and adhere to the relevant rules and laws.

Remember, here at Slots Temple you can play thousands of free slots and don’t even have to create an account! We’ll also show you the best online casinos and the best bonus offers to claim in case you decide to bet and try to win real money!

Hence a review of the online slot licenses and rules which hopefully provides some insight for readers.

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