Tier-1 Licensed Bookmakers: the 30 bookmakers that actually qualify
Top 30 bookmakers in the SharkBetting Atlas holding at least one active Tier 1 licence (UKGC, MGA, ADM, the Nordic regulators, AGCO Ontario, the New Jersey DGE, or an individually licensed US state), ranked by how many active Tier 1 licences they hold, then by Trust Score.
The top 3 by regulatory breadth
Most broadly licensed brands that pass “at least one active licence from a tier 1 regulator”. Click any card for the full per-brand audit.
- #1Gold88/100
DraftKings
- Regulated by New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement
- 28 active licences
- Verified Apr 2026
DraftKings scores 88 on Trust Score, with active licences from New Jersey DGE and AGCO Ontario, accepting players from 28 markets, identity-check rigor 3 of 5.
See the full audit
- #2Silver92/100
FanDuel
- Regulated by New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement
- 25 active licences
- Verified Apr 2026
FanDuel scores 92 on Trust Score, with active licences from New Jersey DGE and AGCO Ontario, accepting players from 24 markets, identity-check rigor 3 of 5.
See the full audit
- #3Bronze83/100
Caesars
- Regulated by Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board
- 25 active licences
- Verified Apr 2026
Caesars scores 83 on Trust Score, with active licences from AGCO Ontario and New Jersey DGE, accepting players from 25 markets, identity-check rigor 3 of 5.
See the full audit
The strip under each score is the brand's score DNA: licensing, corporate, security, reviews, threat intel and operations. Width is the model weight, colour is that component's score.
The rest of the ranking
Brands 4 through 30, grouped by rank band. Open a band to see the compact list.
Ranks 4 to 107 brandsOpen
| Rank | Bookmaker | Score | Key signal |
|---|---|---|---|
| #4by licence coverage | BetMGM | 80/100 | BetMGM scores 80 on Trust Score, with active licences from KSA Netherlands and Spelinspektionen, accepting players from 27 markets, identity-check rigor 3 of 5. |
| #5by licence coverage | Fanatics | 77/100 | Fanatics scores 77 on Trust Score, with an active New Jersey DGE licence, identity-check rigor 3 of 5. |
| #6by licence coverage | Bet365 | 89/100 | Bet365 scores 89 on Trust Score, with active licences from UK Gambling Commission and Italy ADM, accepting players from 72 markets, identity-check rigor 3 of 5. |
| #7by licence coverage | BetRivers | 83/100 | BetRivers scores 83 on Trust Score, with active licences from New Jersey DGE and AGCO Ontario, accepting players from 16 markets, identity-check rigor 4 of 5. |
| #8by licence coverage | ESPN Bet | 89/100 | ESPN Bet scores 89 on Trust Score, with active licences across 13 US states, accepting players from 19 markets, identity-check rigor 3 of 5. |
| #9by licence coverage | BallyBet | 88/100 | BallyBet scores 88 on Trust Score, with active licences from New Jersey DGE and AGCO Ontario, identity-check rigor 4 of 5. |
| #10by licence coverage | Hard Rock Bet | 79/100 | Hard Rock Bet scores 79 on Trust Score, with an active New Jersey DGE licence, identity-check rigor 3 of 5. |
Ranks 11 to 2010 brandsOpen
| Rank | Bookmaker | Score | Key signal |
|---|---|---|---|
| #11by licence coverage | PokerStars | 82/100 | PokerStars scores 82 on Trust Score, with active licences from UK Gambling Commission and Italy ADM, accepting players from 1 markets, identity-check rigor 3 of 5. |
| #12by licence coverage | Betparx | 67/100 | Betparx scores 67 on Trust Score, with an active New Jersey DGE licence, accepting players from 6 markets, identity-check rigor 3 of 5. |
| #13by licence coverage | TheScore Bet | 92/100 | TheScore Bet scores 92 on Trust Score, with active licences from New Jersey DGE and AGCO Ontario, identity-check rigor 3 of 5. |
| #14by licence coverage | Golden Nugget Casino | 86/100 | Golden Nugget Casino scores 86 on Trust Score, with active licences from New Jersey DGE and AGCO Ontario, identity-check rigor 3 of 5. |
| #15by licence coverage | Betsson | 80/100 | Betsson scores 80 on Trust Score, with active licences from UK Gambling Commission and Italy ADM, accepting players from 10 markets, identity-check rigor 4 of 5. |
| #16by licence coverage | Golden Nugget | 72/100 | Golden Nugget scores 72 on Trust Score, with active licences from New Jersey DGE and AGCO Ontario, accepting players from 4 markets, identity-check rigor 3 of 5. |
| #17by licence coverage | NetBet | 70/100 | NetBet scores 70 on Trust Score, with active licences from UK Gambling Commission and Italy ADM, accepting players from 11 markets, identity-check rigor 3 of 5. |
| #18by licence coverage | LeoVegas | 66/100 | LeoVegas scores 66 on Trust Score, with active licences from Italy ADM and KSA Netherlands, accepting players from 27 markets, identity-check rigor 4 of 5. |
| #19by licence coverage | William Hill | 82/100 | William Hill scores 82 on Trust Score, with active licences from UK Gambling Commission and Italy ADM, accepting players from 25 markets, identity-check rigor 4 of 5. |
| #20by licence coverage | Unibet | 81/100 | Unibet scores 81 on Trust Score, with active licences from KSA Netherlands and Gibraltar Gambling Commission, accepting players from 23 markets, identity-check rigor 4 of 5. |
Ranks 21 to 3010 brandsOpen
| Rank | Bookmaker | Score | Key signal |
|---|---|---|---|
| #21by licence coverage | Betway | 80/100 | Betway scores 80 on Trust Score, with active licences from UK Gambling Commission and Alderney Gambling Control Commission, accepting players from 34 markets, identity-check rigor 3 of 5. |
| #22by licence coverage | BWin | 79/100 | BWin scores 79 on Trust Score, with active licences from UK Gambling Commission and Italy ADM, accepting players from 17 markets, identity-check rigor 3 of 5. |
| #23by licence coverage | ComeOn! | 79/100 | ComeOn! scores 79 on Trust Score, with active licences from KSA Netherlands and Spelinspektionen, accepting players from 8 markets, identity-check rigor 3 of 5. |
| #24by licence coverage | VBet | 78/100 | VBet scores 78 on Trust Score, with active licences from UK Gambling Commission and KSA Netherlands, accepting players from 8 markets, identity-check rigor 3 of 5. |
| #25by licence coverage | betPARX (PA) | 65/100 | BetPARX (PA) scores 65 on Trust Score, with an active New Jersey DGE licence, identity-check rigor 4 of 5. |
| #26by licence coverage | betPARX (NJ) | 68/100 | BetPARX (NJ) scores 68 on Trust Score, with an active New Jersey DGE licence, identity-check rigor 4 of 5. |
| #27by licence coverage | CircaSports | 68/100 | CircaSports scores 68 on Trust Score, with active licences across 4 US states, identity-check rigor 3 of 5. |
| #28by licence coverage | Betsafe | 78/100 | Betsafe scores 78 on Trust Score, with active licences from Spelinspektionen and AGCO Ontario, accepting players from 12 markets, identity-check rigor 4 of 5. |
| #29by licence coverage | Smarkets | 77/100 | Smarkets scores 77 on Trust Score, with active licences from UK Gambling Commission and Spelinspektionen, accepting players from 2 markets, identity-check rigor 3 of 5. |
| #30by licence coverage | Hyper Casino | 75/100 | Hyper Casino scores 75 on Trust Score, with active licences from UK Gambling Commission and Spelinspektionen, accepting players from 1 markets, identity-check rigor 3 of 5. |
Score colour: 80+ strong, 60-79 solid, 40-59 mixed, under 40 caution. Open any brand row for the full per-component breakdown.
Not seeing your brand? Atlas ranks brands from public regulator and operator sources. If a bookmaker you use is missing from this list or scored incorrectly, flag it for us and we will re-verify.
Explore the full ranking
Search all 30 brands in the Tier-1 Licensed Bookmakers ranking, or raise the score bar to see which of them clear it. Each name links to its full brand audit.
Showing 30 of 30
- #1DraftKings88
- #2FanDuel92
- #3Caesars83
- #4BetMGM80
- #5Fanatics77
- #6Bet36589
- #7BetRivers83
- #8ESPN Bet89
- #9BallyBet88
- #10Hard Rock Bet79
- #11PokerStars82
- #12Betparx67
- #13TheScore Bet92
- #14Golden Nugget Casino86
- #15Betsson80
- #16Golden Nugget72
- #17NetBet70
- #18LeoVegas66
- #19William Hill82
- #20Unibet81
- #21Betway80
- #22BWin79
- #23ComeOn!79
- #24VBet78
- #25betPARX (PA)65
- #26betPARX (NJ)68
- #27CircaSports68
- #28Betsafe78
- #29Smarkets77
- #30Hyper Casino75
- Criterion
- At least one active licence from a Tier 1 regulator
- Bookmakers ranked
- 30
- Last rebuilt
- 2026-06-10
What this list is
Tier-1 Licensed Bookmakers is a curated subset of bookmakers that meet one specific criterion: at least one active licence from a tier 1 regulator. Top 30 bookmakers in the SharkBetting Atlas holding at least one active Tier 1 licence (UKGC, MGA, ADM, the Nordic regulators, AGCO Ontario, the New Jersey DGE, or an individually licensed US state), ranked by how many active Tier 1 licences they hold, then by Trust Score. Of the 1,806 bookmakers Atlas tracks, 30 qualify; the remaining 1,776 did not pass the criterion or scored below the cutoff.
"Best of" pages on the rest of the web are mostly affiliate-paid placements. This one is not. Every entry below is ranked by its independent Atlas Trust Score, with the criterion, the rejected count, and the trade-offs shown in the open.
How we ranked for “at least one active licence from a tier 1 regulator”
Each entry passes the criterion above and then ranks first by how many qualifying licences it holds within the tier, with Atlas Trust Score (0 to 100) as the tie-break. The Trust Score combines six independent components: licensing strength, corporate transparency, security posture, public reputation, threat intelligence, and operational evidence.
How we picked
Each of the 30 entries holds an active licence from at least one of the strictest-tier regulators: UKGC, MGA, ADM, Spelinspektionen, or a licensed US state. Brands rank by how many of those regulators show an active licence, with Atlas Trust Score as the tie-break.
What we excluded
1,776 bookmakers Atlas tracks did not qualify. They either hold no strict-tier licence, hold only a mid-tier or offshore licence, or had a recently lapsed registration that our last register sync did not confirm as active.
What this list does not tell you
A strict-tier licence raises the floor on consumer protection but does not guarantee a smooth withdrawal experience. Account limits, payment-method coverage, and US-state availability vary. Open any brand card for the per-component breakdown before depositing.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as a Tier 1 licence?
Tier 1 regulators are the strict licensing regimes with proactive enforcement, mandatory player-fund segregation, and well-documented complaints procedures. SharkBetting recognises UKGC, MGA, ADM (Italy), Spelinspektionen, Spillemyndigheden, ONJN (Romania), AGCO Ontario, and the New Jersey DGE as Tier 1. A bookmaker qualifies if any of these regulators currently shows the licence as active.
How is the ranking inside this list decided?
We rank first by Tier 1 regulatory breadth: how many distinct Tier 1 regulators currently show an active licence for the brand, counting each strict US state regime alongside the UKGC, MGA, and the other national bodies. A bookmaker licensed across many of these sits above a single-licence brand. Trust Score is the tie-break within an equal-breadth group, so a broadly licensed brand can lead even when its composite score trails a narrower rival.
Does a Tier 1 licence guarantee a safe deposit?
No single signal guarantees withdrawal experience. A Tier 1 licence raises the floor on consumer-protection rules and dispute access, but does not protect against operational issues such as bonus-clause weaponisation, slow KYC, or limited US-state coverage. Read the full operator profile and the red-flag overrides on the methodology page before depositing.
Why are some big-name brands missing from this list?
A brand only appears here if our last regulator-register sync confirmed an active licence. A licence in lapsed, surrendered, or expired status, or one held under a different legal entity we have not yet matched, will keep the brand off the list. The next monthly licence-register refresh may add it back.
Atlas trust scores are researched monthly against public-source signals. See the scoring methodology or browse all curated lists.