Ignition Casino and Poker: are they Licensed and Regulated?
Following a brief period in which its licensing details were unclear, the popular online gaming and poker website known as Ignition revealed that it had obtained a valid gaming license from Curacao in early 2021. Ignition is an offshoot and sister site to the long-standing Bodog and Bovada brands. Ignition was originally created to offer poker after Bovada stopped offering poker for a short period of time around 2016. Bovada started offering poker again rather quickly, and now, both sites operate reliably and maintain valid Curacao licenses.
Hard Evidence
We can determine that Ignition, which offers numerous casino games and poker, is operating under a valid Curacao license by viewing the Terms of Use. After locating the Terms of Use towards the bottom of the Ignition website, we will see the following:
If we follow the link labeled "click here", we can bring up the license verification page from Curacao eGaming.
You can see here that the URLs "www.ignitioncasino.eu" and "ignitioncasino.eu" are licensed. In addition, you can see the company responsible for registering these domains with Curacao eGaming, which is listed as Beaufort Media B.V. An email address is also provided to file a complaint or dispute.
If we go ahead and scroll down the page a bit, we can see the full license certificate including the signature of the official who granted the license:
Although these documents exist to prove that Ignition is properly licensed by Curacao eGaming, there is one minor issue: All of the pages are displayed through the Ignition site itself. It would be quite improbable, but it is possible for an operator to redirect you to fake documents that were created by the company to falsely bolster its credibility.
Luckily, Curacao eGaming allows you to check the license of any domain directly, without accessing the gaming site itself. If you'd like to launch an inquiry on a specific URL, you can click the link provided to utilize the registry search. You can type in the URL in the appropriate field for the website you wish to check (www.ignitioncasino.eu in our case), fill in the CAPTCHA, and then click "Search".
You should now be able to see "Licensed" in large text at the bottom of the search. It is clear that IgnitionCasino.eu is legitimately licensed to offer real money gambling services online.
License Validation
ProfessionalRakeback would prefer to be able to provide a direct link to Ignition's license and the relevant documents, but unfortunately you will need to go there on your own to verify. This is because every validation link that Curacao eGaming offers expires after a short period of time. If you'd like to check that Ignition holds a valid license, please feel free to follow our simple instructions below:
Head over to the Ignition website and scroll to the bottom of the page, you'll want to locate the "Terms of Use". Item 8.4 contains a link that will open Ignition's licensing documentation. You can also click on the Curacao seal to view the licensing documents.
If you'd prefer to avoid Ignition's site altogether, then you can enter the following URL into any browser: https://www.curacao-egaming.com/public-and-players/authenticity. Enter the ignitioncasino.eu website, complete the CAPTCHA, and conduct a search. Doing so will verify the validity of Ignition's license, but you'll need to utilize the previous steps outlined if you want to explore the full documentation.
Licensing History
Ignition refrained from displaying its licensing information publicly in the past. By viewing an archived version of the terms of use from 2020, we can see that item 8.4 regarding licensure is missing:
This Archived Version of Ignition's Terms of Use, Captured on May 11, 2020, Doesn't List An Item 8.4Due to the fact that the licensing sentence is absent from previous versions of the terms of service, many people began to speculate that Ignition was operating without any licensure at all. Some folks with inside knowledge claim that Ignition was licensed by Curacao eGaming for over two years prior to including it in its terms. If this is the case, we cannot speculate as to why Ignition might have chosen to keep this information quiet for so long.
Ignition previously maintained a license from the Kahnawake Gaming Commission. In September 2016, seemingly due to increased pressure from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, Kahnawake decided that it would cease licensing companies that operated in the U.S. market (besides a few exceptions for legal operators that are fully regulated by a state). It was around this time that a press release was issued showing that the company that owned Bovada, Ignition's sister site, had decided to voluntarily surrender its license.
What Impact Will Licensing Have?
With regards to the day-to-day operations of Ignition, holding a valid Curacao license doesn't change much. There have been numerous examples of licensed operators running into problems. On the other side, there is also a multitude of companies without licensure that have operated reliably and consistently for many years.
Ignition has operated reputably for many years now as a sister to the Bodog and Bovada platforms. Bodog has been in business for around 20 years and it has developed an immaculate reputation in the online gaming industry. Although Ignition has only been in business for around six years, it has established itself as a trusted and fair gaming option alongside the longer-standing Bovada and Bodog brands.
The new licensure may assist in recruiting new players, as sometimes folks will view unlicensed casinos as a bit unreliable. Unfortunately, much of the online gaming industry has an unjustly poor reputation, based on the actions of a few unscrupulous charlatans. Licensing is certainly a good step towards increasing the legitimacy of the industry as a whole.
Sign up and Play
Ignition already has an excellent reputation, but we still value the licensure as it adds legitimacy to the industry and to Ignition itself. We highly recommend you check out Ignition if you wish to gamble online. If you'd like to learn more about the promotions and games available, please feel free to peruse our comprehensive Ignition Poker review.
If you would like to start playing at Ignition, please feel free to click on the red button below.