The Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC) is an internet gambling regulator located in Alderney (a British crown dependency). It licenses and oversees online casinos and other gambling sites.
The AGCC works to ensure that its licensees provide fair gaming and properly handle players’ funds. The following guide covers more on this regulator, along with AGCC online casinos.
How do online casinos obtain an AGCC license?
The AGCC website features an application section that’s accessible from the homepage. Prospective operators need to choose the appropriate form and fill it out.
The relevant form depends on the gaming license an applicant desires. Available AGCC licenses include:
- eGambling – Bingo, casino, and poker
- Temporary eGambling – Temporary ability to offer bingo, casino, and poker
- Core service provider – Software providers
- Hosting provider – Base operations and servers in Alderney
Any online casino that intends to offer long-term gaming should opt for the eGambling license. If approved, it can provide online bingo and poker in addition to casino games.
Alderney reviews all applications submitted with the appropriate fees. It may request a meeting with the operator before providing approval.
The AGCC also requires applicants to prove that they’re financially solvent and will “ring-fence” player deposits. The latter involves ensuring that gamblers’ deposit money is kept separate from operational funds.
Application and other relevant fees include:
- Between £17,500 and £35,000 for the eGambling license process.
- Hourly fees for ACGG workers that review the application.
- 20% income tax (no VAT or gaming duty taxes required).
The AGCC’s website features a “Current Licensees” section that lists all license holders. Gamblers can refer to this page if they want to ensure that a casino is being truthful about its licensing.
Benefits of an Alderney license
Online casinos benefit from AGCC licenses in multiple ways. Here are the primary advantages of gaining licensing in Alderney.
Trust
Outside of an incident involving Full Tilt Poker (discussed later), the ACGG boasts a pristine reputation. It thoroughly vets operators to ensure that they only approve sound casino operators.
An ACGG license carries meaning. Some gamblers associate this regulator’s seal with a legitimate gaming site.
Reasonable fees & taxes
Alderney features competitive application fees and tax rates compared to other jurisdictions. It only requires operators to pay income tax.
The application cost varies from £17,500 to £35,000. The latter range is reserved for larger operators that expect to generate more revenue.
Simple application process
Online casinos won’t experience any difficulty finding relevant forms. The AGCC’s website features links to the applications on its homepage.
It also provides clear instructions on which forms relate to specific licenses. Operators that still need help can contact the AGCC for assistance.
Supplementing a UKGC license
The United Kingdom is one of the world’s most lucrative gaming jurisdictions. Therefore, UKGC licenses are highly popular among operators.
However, these licenses are of no use outside of the UK. As a result, many operators supplement their UKGC license with an Alderney license to expand their scope beyond the UK.
What countries do Alderney online casinos restrict?
The Alderney Gambling Control Commission may be based in Europe, but it accepts applicants from other continents.
Asian, European, North American, and South American operators can all apply. Nevertheless, the AGCC does restrict many different countries.
This regulator doesn’t provide a concrete list of restricted countries. However, AGCC online casinos commonly bar the following nations:
- Afghanistan
- Albania
- Algeria
- Angola
- Australia
- Bangladesh
- Belgium
- Belize
- Brazil
- Bulgaria
- Cambodia
- Cameroon
- China
- Colombia
- Cote D’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
- Cuba
- Curacao
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Ecuador
- Egypt
- Estonia
- Ethiopia
- France
- Germany
- Ghana
- Greece
- Guatemala
- Haiti
- Honduras
- Hungary
- Iran
- Iraq
- Italy
- Kazakhstan
- Lebanon
- Lesotho
- Lithuania
- Malaysia
- Morocco
- Netherlands
- Nigeria
- Pakistan
- Philippines
- Romania
- Russian Federation
- South Africa
- Sweden
- Turkey
- United Kingdom
- United States
Functions of the AGCC
The AGCC performs various functions in its jurisdiction. Its main roles include:
- Vetting applicants and approving licensees.
- Guiding operators through the application process (if needed).
- Collecting taxes and relevant fees from operators.
- Monitoring gaming sites to ensure that they meet the AGCC’s standards.
- Settling player-operator disputes.
- Requiring casinos to seek third-party testing for RNGs and games.
- Helping prevent money laundering and other criminal activities.
- Protecting problem gamblers.
- Ensuring that internet casinos ring-fence player funds.
Like any licensing jurisdiction, the AGCC generates money for the local government. However, it also makes a strong commitment towards ensuring fair gaming and protecting players in the process.
What is the AGCC’s reputation?
The Alderney Gaming Control Commission features one of the best reputations in online gaming. It does an excellent job of judging applicants and only approving quality operators.
Some jurisdictions fail in this regard and approve nearly any casino to make more money. The AGCC, meanwhile, only accepts and approves legitimate applicants.
Full Tilt Poker is the lone black mark on Alderney’s record. Once the world’s second-largest poker site, Full Tilt failed to ring-fence customers’ money from operational funds.
When Black Friday occurred in 2011, this former AGCC-licensed poker room became insolvent and couldn’t repay players.
Alderney didn’t do anything terribly wrong in this scenario. It even promptly investigated the matter and revoked Full Tilt Poker’s license.
However, its name and reputation still took a hit because the Full Tilt fiasco happened under its watch.
Aside from this ugly incident, the AGCC has built a strong brand over the years. Its seal of approval provides legitimacy to any operator.
Starting in 2012, Alderney began demanding that licensees ring-fence player deposits from operating budgets. This measure helps ensure that the regulator doesn’t suffer through another Full Tilt-style mess.
Can you trust Alderney online casinos?
AGCC online casinos are among the most trustworthy sites in the industry. They went through Alderney’s stringent licensing process and passed the test.
These operators also ring-fence players’ funds—gamblers will assuredly receive their money if an internet casino ever shuts down for any reason.
Alderney casinos must acquire third-party testing on their games and software. This testing ensures that AGCC sites offer fair gaming.
Operators in this jurisdiction also need to bear a commitment to problem gamblers. As per their licensing agreement, they make a reasonable effort to identify and stop serving problem players.
Finally, these casinos must work to settle disputes with gamblers. Otherwise, players can take their complaints directly to the licensor.
