Azerbaijan – Online Casinos & Gambling Regulations
Located on the border of south-eastern Europe, Azerbaijan is practically open to online gambling with its industry completely regulated. It hasn’t always been like this, with the country’s policies being widely restrictive for the longest time with online gambling prohibited for over a decade. Even so, the black market for gambling proved too strong to stop and that’s why the authorities caved in and decided to allow online gambling as a way of regulating the industry. This black market consists solely of offshore online casinos and that poses a danger to unsuspecting punters who may end up as victims of predatory sites. GoodLuckMate steps in to bridge this gap by providing a list of the best Azerbaijan online casino options. You can take a look at the top list and choose the operator that pleases you most!
Find the Best Azerbaijan Casino Online
Azerbaijan doesn’t have land-based casinos and that means players flock to the internet in search of suitable online gambling platforms. The internet has plenty of platforms accepting players from Azerbaijan but that is where the danger lies. You see, there are many predatory sites with no license or any form of regulation that will disappear with your funds as soon as you sign up. That’s why you need to be extra careful by doing your due diligence to ensure you trust the casino since you’ll be playing with real money. This what you want to consider when searching for a suitable operator:
- Can you sign up for an account from Azerbaijan?
- How is its reputation like when dealing with players?
- Does it have security features to protect players’ financial and personal data?
- What games do they offer and how many are there?
- Do they offer convenient payment methods? Are cryptocurrencies available?
- What bonuses and promotions are available for players from Azerbaijan?
Besides the listed questions, GoodLuckMate goes even deeper to analyze how the casino implements these aspects. That includes testing the games, customer support, etc, in search of the pros and cons to make sure you don’t encounter any surprises once you sign up. With that in mind, you can choose from the list of top online casinos for Azerbaijan players curated by GoodLuckMate’s experts. Once you find a preferred operator, simply sign-up and start enjoying your favorite games!
Gambling Regulation
Gambling regulation in Azerbaijan is rather different from what you are used to in other jurisdictions. Instead of having an overall regulatory body, casinos have to go through an official procedure to acquire a license. An operator will get a license as a trustee of a state-owned company.
This procedure making the online gambling scene a safe and regulated space, guaranteeing players that the sites in Azerbaijan can be trusted. Furthermore, this gives the state a proper grip on the iGaming industry in the country in terms of transparency and business practices.
As a result, players in Azerbaijan get all-around protection because no operator would want to have their license revoked. Even so, black market sites still continue to dominate the scene and legitimate sites have a long way to go to woo players over to the properly licensed options.
Localized Online Casinos
Azerbaijan doesn’t have local online casinos and that means players here won’t find localized options here in terms of bonuses and promotions, payment solutions, and supported languages. Nevertheless, plenty of offshore platforms, especially those from Turkey offer players close to localized options since both countries speak more or less the same language.
With most of the operators originating from Europe, players will have to use euros as the preferred currency. Still, on monetary matters, players will have plenty of payment solutions to choose from and that includes eWallets, bank transfers, major credit/debit cards, and prepaid cards. Even better is that many of these operators accept cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ehtereum, and Litecoin.
Bonuses and promotions of all kinds are at your disposal but that will, of course, depend on the platform you choose. Common offers include welcome bonuses, free spins, and cashback deals. Customer support is also available on these platforms, with many of them featuring an option to change the language, which is a welcomed move for players from Azerbaijan.
Gambling with Euros
Azerbaijan doesn’t have local online casinos and that means gambling with the local currency will be a tall order. With black market online casinos dominating the market, and most of them from across Europe, players are forced to use euros as the main currency. That means you will need to go through the currency conversion process to start playing for real money.
Other common currencies to Azerbaijan players include Australian Dollars and US dollars. However, the currency you will need to use will depend on the operator upon which you settle.
Casinos in Azerbaijan
The Azerbaijan online gambling market is, to a large extent, dominated by offshore operators. As mentioned earlier, black market online gambling overpowered the sector and pushed the government to accept this activity. With that said, there are plenty of online gambling operators that accept players from Azerbaijan.
However, players should proceed with caution when seeking online gambling platforms. Remember, there are numerous aspects to check when finding a suitable platform and proper licensing is top of the list. Playing at an unlicensed operator means you won’t have any legal resources to back you should a dispute with the operator arise. This means you will rely on the goodwill of the operator to release your funds.
That is why it’s important to find a trustworthy and reputable platform to avoid frustrations. If you find this task rather tiresome, consider going through the list of reviewed and tested casinos.
Dispute resolution – can I get help from a third party?
A gambling license is intended to protect players, and one of its main functions is to provide a mechanism for resolving disputes when they come up. If you have a dispute with a casino, and the casino is being unreasonable, the gambling authority will help you. For many licenses, this means you can contact the gambling authority to get help processing your withdrawals, claiming money the casino has debited from your account, or resolving other disputes that might arise. The likelihood that the gambling authority will help you in ways that are effective, however, depends on the procedures they have in place for this. This is yet another reason why choosing to play at a casino that has a safe license is important.
Getting help directly from the gambling authority is not always necessary, or even an option. A lot of regulators have now enforced third-party dispute resolution. This means casinos must have an agreement with an arbitrator who will look into disputes on the behalf of players from a particular casino. This ensures your dispute will be reviewed by an objective third party. All trusted online casinos have information about arbitration on their websites if they use this option, or they’ll have the contact information for the gambling authority you should consult. However, you should always try to resolve your issues with the casino first, and a lot of casinos have separate email addresses specifically for handling complaints.
Secure payments – can I trust a casino with my money?
If you’re worried about the security of the transactions you’re making at a casino, you should look for a logo with the acronym PCI DSS. This stands for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, and this is something the payment industry has created. If you see this logo, it means the casino can be trusted for safe money transactions since they follow all of the rules set by the payment industry. Information about this can also be found in an FAQ section on the casino’s website.
Another thing to look out for in terms of payments is where your money is kept while you play. Some gambling authorities, all of the best ones actually, regulate what the casino can do with your money while they are holding it. Your money shouldn’t go into a general bank account held by the casino; it should go into an account that is strictly for holding player funds. This means that as long as you have the money in your player account, it can’t be spent by the casino. Your deposit will be kept separate from the operating funds of the casino until your player account is empty, which will happen if you make a funds withdrawal or if you lose the money while playing.Fair gaming – do the games give me a fair chance to win?
The best known system tool for ensuring that a casino offers fair games is eCogra; however, there are other providers that also offer these kinds of systems. You want to make sure that the casino is using a certified third-party control system to ensure that the games of chance you’re playing are actually based on chance and not on other types of metrics. Rigged games are ones that have been set up to pay out less than they claim to or ones that give some players a greater chance of winning than others.
The eCogra logo can often be found in the footer of the casino’s website, but not all casinos choose to display it. If you can’t see this logo, go to the FAQs and see if you can find information about random number generators. If there are no FAQs on the site, check out their terms and conditions or contact the casino’s support and ask how they ensure their games are safe.
Encrypted website – how is my information kept safe?
An SSL-encrypted website should be mandatory for any casino, and very few casinos operate without this or similar safe encryption features. Always keep in mind that you are giving the casino quite a bit of sensitive information, including your payment details. When you’re uploading and sending documents to verify your identity, you want to make sure that no unauthorized third-party has access to them. Site security, therefore, doesn’t only include the website itself but also what the casino does on the backend. You should always look into a casino’s data security. You’ll normally find information about this in their terms and conditions and their privacy policy. If in doubt, contact their support and ask for more detailed information.
Most trustworthy casinos have information about site security in the website footer, so simply scroll down and look for the logo of a well-known security system.
Gambling license – can I play at a casino from my country?
The gambling license a casino operates under will have a big impact on your security. Not all licenses are equally safe for players for the simple reason that they are issued by different gambling authorities that work in different ways and have different rules. The rules and regulations may be quite similar, but the way they are enforced is a different story entirely. For example, if a casino doesn’t comply with the regulations, some gambling authorities may just issue a fine while others may revoke the casino’s license outright. How often gambling authorities show up for an unscheduled inspection or control will also vary.
The biggest differences between a safe, high quality gambling license and one that isn’t as good will usually show up in the areas of fair gaming, dispute resolution and the rules and systems for identifying and handling problem gamblers (responsible gambling). If your country of residence has its own gambling authority, playing at casinos that are licensed by them will be the safest option for you. Other international licenses that can be trusted are issued by the Malta Gambling Authority and the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority. Curacao eGaming is getting better at protecting players whereas licenses from Panama and Costa Rica, for instance, are considered less safe. The worst option is obviously a casino with no license whatsoever.
Our casino experts have tried and tested all aspects of each and every casino, so you can feel confident when signing up.
