Resolving "What is casino license?" takes one visit to a public register. A licence number printed in a casino site's footer is a claim, and the licensing authority's public register is where the claim is checked. The register shows the company that holds the licence, its status and often the domains it covers. A match on all three takes a few minutes and says far more about a casino than any badge or rating.
A gambling licence binds the company that holds it to a set of rules: checks on the identity and age of players, tools for limiting play, fair handling of complaints and regular reporting to the authority. Breaking them can bring fines, conditions or the loss of the licence. What the licence does not do is guarantee a pleasant experience, and the strength of the rules varies a great deal between one authority and the next.
Every licensing authority keeps a public register of the companies it licenses. Searching it by the licence number or the company name shown on the casino site should return a single entry, with the same company, an active status and, on many registers, a list of approved domains. A number that returns nothing, a different company or a domain missing from the list is a reason to stop before depositing anything.
Casino sites often run on a platform owned by another company, which holds the licence on their behalf. The terms should name that company and its registered address, and the name should match the register exactly. It is normal for several sites to share one licence; a site whose terms name one company while the footer shows another company's number deserves a question to support, answered in writing, before any money changes hands.
The company holding the licence, its status and, on many registers, the approved domains; a search by number or company name should return a single entry.
Not always. A site licensed for casino games may lack cover for the sports betting or lotteries it also sells, and the scope is part of the register entry.
Active, suspended, surrendered or revoked. A suspended licence may still appear in a footer for weeks, since nothing forces a site to update its badge.
Yes, on registers that list approved domains; a domain missing from the list under that licence is a reason to stop before depositing anything.