Legal betting sites by country: find the right register

Legal betting sites depend on the country, state or province where the service is offered and where you are located. A global brand, foreign licence, payment logo or translated homepage is not a universal permission.

Find the right regulator before comparing betting sites

Use this directory to find the appropriate official starting point, then inspect the exact company, domain, product, status and effective date. The entries are not rankings of profitable operators. They also do not imply that every country supports ten competing online sportsbooks.

For a broader comparison method, read top betting sites in the world. For a current promotion, check the country-specific offer rather than importing a bonus from another market.

Europe: match the product and country

The table identifies where to begin. A record for casino games, lotteries or supplier software is not automatically a sports-betting permission. Where the register distinguishes activity categories, inspect the relevant category explicitly.

Germany, Finland and Ireland: three different checks

Germany's GGL whitelist lists several types of gambling. Use Sportwetten and match the exact domain. The German guide gives examples from the reviewed records and a comparison worksheet.

Finland is in a transition. The Ministry states that Veikkaus retains its monopoly through June 2027, with competitive licensed services able to begin on 1 July 2027. An application submitted after March 2026 is not an immediate service launch. Read the Finland guide.

Ireland's GRAI remote betting and remote betting intermediary licences commenced on 1 July 2026. Do not copy Finland's future date into the Irish position or treat an old Revenue reference as the whole current check. The Ireland guide explains the distinction.

These differences show why “best betting sites in Europe” needs a location filter before it can become useful.

Netherlands: use the Kansspelwijzer, not a brand assumption

The KSA's Kansspelwijzer lets you search by business, licence holder, website or app and refine the results. Use the correct official authority domain; a similarly spelled website can be unrelated.

For searches such as “is bet365 legal in Netherlands,” check the exact Dutch service and authorisation rather than substituting the German or British permission of a familiar group.

“Dutching” in betting is a different subject: it generally means distributing stakes across several selections to target a similar return. The word does not establish Dutch licensing, nationality or legal access. Keep the staking method separate from the jurisdiction question.

Sweden, Denmark and Norway are not one Nordic market

Sweden's Spelinspektionen publishes a licence register. Match the activity and domain rather than assuming every operator using Swedish language is authorised.

Denmark's authority explains that online casino and online betting licences are separate types. Its licence-holder list is a better starting point than an app-store ranking.

Norway's Gambling Authority describes its supervision of sports betting, casino games, number games and horse betting offered by Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto. Do not import Sweden's competing-operator assumptions into Norway.

A query about using Revolut also needs a separate payment-method check. Payment acceptance is not a Nordic gambling licence and does not establish that every country or operator supports the same deposit and withdrawal route.

Switzerland and Austria require careful scope

Swiss sports-betting information should not be replaced by a list of online casino licences. Swisslos' published explanation identifies Swisslos Sporttip and Loterie Romande's Jouez Sport as the lawful sports-betting providers in its described framework. Recheck the competent authority's current information and the exact product before use.

Austria distinguishes betting regulation from the federal gambling framework; the relevant provincial rules matter. Do not treat a statement about a federal casino monopoly as a complete description of every sports-betting service.

Searches for the three most popular sports in Switzerland or Austria ask for sports-participation or audience data, not a betting licence. An operator register cannot prove those popularity rankings. Do not use an unsupported sports ranking to recommend a bookmaker.

Portugal, Poland, France and Estonia

Portugal's SRIJ list identifies licensed entities and the games or bets they may offer. Look for fixed-odds sports betting rather than treating every licensed online casino as a sportsbook.

Poland's Ministry of Finance publishes legal-gambling information and internet-operator details. An absence from a blocked-domain list is not the same as a positive authorisation. Match the company and domain on the appropriate positive source.

For France, use ANJ's current authorised-operator information and the sports-betting activity. For Estonia, the Tax and Customs Board lists legal operators by gambling subtype and links to operating-permit information.

Newness is not a quality measure. “New betting sites in Portugal” or a recent app launch still needs the same activity, domain, status and account checks as an established brand.

Singapore, Australia and New Zealand

The GRA's position means that a “top ten Singapore betting sites” article must not pad the list with foreign providers. The Singapore guide explains the local check.

Australia's ACMA register distinguishes TABs, corporate bookmakers, exchanges and on-course bookmakers. It advises readers to avoid unlisted providers. A betting app being downloadable is not the register check.

New Zealand's DIA says changes effective 28 June 2025 prohibit online racing and sports betting by organisations other than TAB NZ for people in New Zealand. Separate online-casino transition information does not create additional sports-betting operators.

Names such as Betcha or an international brand still need the exact product and current local authorisation check. Do not infer eligibility from the use of dollars or English.

USA and Canada: state and provincial scope

For US sports betting, choose the regulator in the state where you are physically located. New York's Gaming Commission and New Jersey's Division of Gaming Enforcement publish separate operator information.

The US app guide compares names found in those sources without implying nationwide permission. A fantasy-sports account or a free download is not proof of sportsbook eligibility.

For Canada, start with the relevant province. Ontario's iGaming Ontario directory identifies contracted regulated operators and notes OLG's separate legal arrangement. Do not describe its website total as a national count or count every listed casino as a sports-betting app.

Check whether the listed site offers sports, the exact entity and domain, and the current account terms. A bet365 Canada search, for example, needs the Canadian provincial service rather than a British or US page.

The best Canadian welcome offer would also require current local promotion terms. An Ontario page cannot establish eligibility everywhere in Canada.

Africa: local licence and local offer

For Uganda, the bookmaker comparison guide explains how to use the NLGRB source without assuming every company offers online cash out.

For South Africa, the welcome-bonus guide separates a legitimate comparison candidate from a verified active promotion.

Kenya's Gambling Control Act 2025 establishes the successor authority to the former Betting Control and Licensing Board. Check current-year records rather than relying on an old authority name in an evergreen article.

For Nigeria, a Lagos record should be read for the relevant entity, activity and dates; a record with an expired date is not proof of renewal. For Zambia, a historical consolidated Betting Control Act is useful background but does not certify any site's current permission.

Claims such as “100 free bets no deposit Zambia” or “highest welcome bonus Kenya” need the exact current country offer. This directory does not manufacture a promotion when that evidence is unavailable.

UAE and Ecuador: do not confuse categories

The UAE GCGRA separates lottery, land-based facilities, suppliers, internet gaming and sports wagering. The reviewed register names Coin Technology Projects LLC under sports wagering. The UAE guide explains why that is neither a ten-app list nor a guarantee of every product's current availability.

Ecuador's SRI publishes tax rules for sports-prediction operators. A tax registration or payment requirement is not, by itself, a complete consumer gambling authorisation. Resolve the applicable legal status, exact service and consumer terms rather than describing a tax entry as a universal betting licence.

These examples illustrate a general rule: identify what the document actually establishes. Do not turn a supplier licence, tax record or future application into a current consumer sportsbook permission.

A reusable cross-country worksheet

1. Record your physical location and the jurisdiction of the service.
2. Identify the exact legal entity and consumer domain.
3. Find the relevant authority and product category.
4. Inspect status, permitted activity and effective dates.
5. Separate present operation from a future launch.
6. Read age, identity, residency and account requirements.
7. Compare the same markets, prices and settlement periods.
8. Check payments and promotions independently of the licence.

When the official record cannot be obtained, mark the result unresolved. A broken lookup, an accessible website or an unverified affiliate recommendation should not silently become a successful licence check.

Frequently asked questions

Does one gambling licence cover every country?

No. Identify the relevant local framework, exact entity, domain and product. Foreign permission does not automatically authorise a service where you are located.

Is a casino licence also a sports-betting licence?

Do not assume that. Many registers separate gambling activities. Check the sports-betting category explicitly.

Are Australian sites legal alternatives for Singapore residents?

An Australian permission does not replace Singapore's framework. The GRA identifies Singapore Pools as the sole licensed remote operator in its reviewed guidance.

Can I use Ontario's operator directory for all of Canada?

No. It concerns Ontario's framework and its listed regulated sites. Other provincial requirements need their own checks.

Does a payment or tax record prove a betting site is authorised?

Not by itself. A payment transaction, tax registration and consumer gambling permission establish different things.

Sources and evidence

• KSA Kansspelwijzer.
• Spelinspektionen.
• Danish licence holders.
• Norwegian Gambling Authority.
• Gespa and Swisslos sports-betting explanation.
• Austrian betting/gambling distinction: Stadler & Partner legal analysis.
• Portugal SRIJ licensed entities.
• Polish Ministry of Finance legal-gambling information.
• France ANJ.
• Estonian legal operators.
• ACMA register.
• New Zealand DIA sports-betting change.
• iGaming Ontario operators.
• Kenya Gambling Control Act 2025.
• Lagos licensed-operator information.
• Zambian Betting Control Act historical consolidation.
• Ecuador SRI.

Reviewed 5 November 2026. This directory is informational, not legal advice. Eligibility and rules change; use the live official sources and never bypass restrictions.