Antigua Online Gaming Association

The small state of Antigua and Barbuda can be considered the cradle of the modern world market of online gambling. More than twenty years ago licenses for gambling and betting companies on the Internet were first issued here. Online gambling was in its infancy then. Since that time many years have passed, the Antigua Online Gaming Association regulator has experienced ups and downs and is now is home to many gambling companies.

Regulator licensed casinos

The following well-known gambling companies are licensed by Antigua Online Gaming Association: 

• Continental Ventures Ltd.
• Coolidge Gaming Ltd.
• Coolidge Sports Ltd.
• Laxfield Services Ltd.
• PT Entertainment Services Limited

Gaming organizations licensed by AOGA under the laws of Antigua and Barbuda are issued a "Preferential seal" which provides the following:

• Directors and shareholders holding 5% or more of the company's shares have complied with the requirements of personal and corporate due diligence.
• The software on this site complies with internationally recognized standards of fairness.
• The company has its physical corporate headquarters and main server in Antigua and Barbuda.

Antigua Online Gaming Association review

Antigua Online Gaming Association is the very first licensing body that started licensing online gaming establishments back in 1994. Antigua and Barbuda are two Islands in one small nation in the Caribbean sea. It is famous for bringing a $3.4 billion lawsuit against the United States to the WTO and winning it.    

At first, in the 1990s, Antigua generously granted its licenses to any operator that could meet at least the minimum standards. This has led to many fraudulent online casinos appearing under the AOGA license. In the future, Antigua tightened regulatory standards, cleaned up its licensees, and became much stricter in relation to gambling operators.

Now many of the companies operating on the island of Antigua and Barbuda are traded on various stock exchanges, in particular, on the London stock exchange.

Antigua approved British regulatory standards and was added to the UK's "White list", which allows companies licensed by AOGA to advertise in the UK. The authority of the Antigua Online Gaming Association is currently quite high.

License types of Antigua Online Gaming Association

Antigua Online Gaming Association offers two types of licenses approved by the rules of interactive gaming and interactive betting, which were amended in 2007.

1. Interactive Gaming license - allows online casinos to offer casino games.
2. Interactive Wagering License - allows online bookmakers to offer bets on sports and other events.

The validity of any license lasts exactly one year. Once these licenses expire, they can be renewed.

It should be noted that the license of Antigua Online Gaming Association is not the cheapest license. After all sorts of hard checks, the game operator must pay the following amounts: 

• A Deposit of $15,000. This amount is non-refundable, even if the decision to issue a license is not made.
• Interactive registration fee - for those who work in the field of sports betting, the cost is $75,000 per year.
• The cost of an interactive gaming license - for those who work in the field of online casinos, the cost is $100,000 per year.
• Annual renewal fee - a non-refundable renewal fee of $5,000 in addition to the annual cost.
• Game reserve - the operator must transfer at least $100,000 to the account determined by the Commission. This serves as a reserve to ensure that all players can get a win in any situation.
• The license fee for key people - the operator must pay a fee of $1,000 for each key person in the business during the first year of operation. Each subsequent year, the amount is $250 per person.
• System monitoring fee. To ensure the safety and fairness of online gaming, AOGA has implemented a monitoring program. To cover the cost of monitoring, the operator must pay $25,000 per year for one license and $45,000 per year for two licenses.
  

Dispute resolution

If you have any problems with an online gambling establishment that is a licensee of the Antigua Online Gaming Association, you can complain to the Association directly. However, at first, of course, try to solve your problem with the management of an online casino. If you do not get the result - visit the AOGA website and send them your complaint directly. Currently, the form for sending complaints is not working, it can be sent by e-mail at complaints@antiguagaming.gov.ag.

Conclusion

The small island nation of Antigua and Barbuda has entered the history of the world of online gambling as the first jurisdiction that began to issue licenses to gaming institutions on the Internet. Now the regulator Antigua Online Gaming Association is popular because Antigua and Barbuda effectively defend the rights of regulators, levies relatively small taxes, and imposes no restrictions on the jurisdictions where gambling companies can offer their services.