Barbados – Online Casinos & Gambling Regulations
Barbados is a charming island located in the windward islands of the Caribbean. The name of the island can be translated to “bearded ones”. This is a reference to the fig trees that can be found all across the nation. In 1627, the British established a settlement in Barbados. Because of its strong ties to the United Kingdom, it received the nickname “Little Britain”. This is also one of the reasons why it is a flourishing holiday destination, which attracts many tourists from the Commonwealth. Despite the fact that gambling is a popular pastime amongst tourists, the situation is relatively complicated, as we will discover in this guide.
Top casinos in Barbados – Online Casinos & Gambling Regulations
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Currently, there are no real brick-and-mortar casinos in Barbados that offer table games, so you can forget playing roulette, blackjack, or Baccarat at such an entertainment venue. However, there is no problem finding establishments providing a decent selection of slot machines, as these are 100% legal. Please note, however, that the legal age for playing slots in the country is 18 years or older, as you would expect.
At present, there is no law that is prohibiting residents of Barbados to play at international online casinos that are located and licensed abroad. Players can participate in online gambling without the risk of being prosecuted – but do keep in mind that this is still a gray market and things could change in the future. If you chose to play online from Barbados, you should always keep the following considerations and questions in mind:
- Be sure to check the jurisdiction of the online casino
- Does the online casino accept players from Barbados?
- Do you have access to the accepted payment methods?
- Is the casino properly licensed to ensure fair gaming?
- Be aware of the legal situation and the risk involved
- The minimum age at most online casinos is 18-plus
In order to get a good overview of which online casinos are suited to players from Barbados and the welcome bonuses available, we highly recommend checking out GoodLuckMate reviews.
Gambling Regulation
Generally, gambling is considered to be illegal in Barbados but the laws only include a few very specific games. Therefore, the law only applies to table games such as roulette, blackjack, craps, and baccarat. This is one of the reasons why you won’t be able to find any land-based casinos here. However, this law only refers to land-based table games and does not affect online casinos. There are no laws in Barbados specifically regulating online gambling. Furthermore, slot machines can legally be played across the country or else online.
Bingo is also legal and there are several Bingo clubs on the island. Another form of gambling you can participate in is betting on horse racing. But this is the only kind of sports betting that can be found on the island. You have to option to bet online as there’s no law in place prohibiting online sports betting. It is also possible to play the national lottery which is operated by the GTECH Corporation.
Localized Online Casinos
If you want to play at an online casino from within Barbadian borders, your only option is to sign up for one of the casinos on the international market. Most of them accept players from the island, and you can use their services without any issues as it is not specifically prohibited by law. There is even an online casino called “Barbados Casino” that is operated by Aspire Global International. However, you should be aware that this company is regulated and located in Malta and has no direct ties to Barbados other than the name.
Foreign online casinos typically offer lucrative promotions for their international players that can also be claimed by residents of Barbados. Deposits and withdrawals can easily be made with your local payment methods such as wire transfers and credit cards. Good alternatives are eWallets like Neteller, Skrill, or PayPal. In some cases, it is even possible to deposit with cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, and Ethereum, to name but a few.
Gambling with Barbadian dollars
In Barbados, you can gamble for Barbadian dollars at a multitude of outlets. Typically, physical slot machines only accept the local currency, for example. These can be found in hotels, bars, and certain restaurants. Barbadian dollars are also used for buying local lottery tickets, for betting on horse racing, and for staking on bingo. Unfortunately, most online casinos do not support Barbadian dollars at this point. Your only option is to play for euros or US dollars. Therefore, when making a deposit or withdrawal with your local credit card, you will have to pay a small currency conversion fee.
Casinos in Barbados
As previously mentioned, there are no brick-and-mortar casinos on the island of Barbados. But gamblers can fall back on other options such as physical slot machines. These are widely available in almost every resort and other tourist spots. There is also a restaurant chain, called “The Lucky Horseshoe”, where slot machines are available. Additionally, the island has two major horse racing tracks. One is the Garrison Savannah, located in the south of Bridgetown. The other one is called Bushy Park in Gaskin in the west of Barbados. Both of them offer frequent races with a good selection of betting options.
Outlets of the national lottery can be found in every major city, too. If you are planning on playing online, you have a vast selection of international casinos at your disposal that all accept players from the island. We suggest checking out our GoodLuckMate top lists to find the best casino site that suits your needs.
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.
