A licence number stamped in a casino footer looks reassuring, and that is exactly the problem. It tells you a string of characters exists, not that the licence behind it is still alive, still held by the operator you think, or still covers the games you are about to play. Take Pistolo Casino: the site is operated by Stellar Ltd, registered in Anjouan in the Union of the Comoros, and holds a gaming licence issued by the Gaming Board of Anjouan under reference ALSI-202411077-FI2. That reference is worth checking, but only if you check it in the right place, on the live register rather than the casino’s own marketing.
The number in the footer is a starting point, not a guarantee
Plenty of players treat a visible licence number the way they treat a padlock icon in the browser bar: as proof that everything is fine. It is not. A licence can lapse when a renewal is missed, be surrendered voluntarily, be suspended during a dispute, or be revoked outright. When any of that happens, the number often stays on the website for days or weeks because nobody rushed to update the template. A cached copy of the page, a screenshot from a review site, or an archived version from six months ago proves even less. The only thing that establishes current validity is a match on the regulator’s live register, checked on the day you care about it.
This matters more for offshore licences than people assume. The Anjouan licence held by Stellar Ltd is an offshore licence, and Pistolo Casino is not licensed by a Canadian provincial regulator. That does not make it a rogue operation, but it does change what the licence actually promises you. A provincial licence from Ontario, for example, comes with a specific set of player protection rules, complaint channels, and advertising standards enforced by a domestic regulator. An Anjouan licence comes with a different framework administered thousands of kilometres away. Neither is automatically better for every player, but the two are not interchangeable, and a number in a footer does not tell you which kind of oversight you are actually getting.
How to read the reference and verify it properly
Start with the format. The reference ALSI-202411077-FI2 follows a recognisable pattern: a prefix, a date-like block, and a suffix. The date block suggests the licence was issued or registered in late 2024, which is useful context but not proof of anything today. A reference number is an identifier, not a status indicator. It tells the regulator which file to pull, and it tells you what to search for on the register. Treat the number as the beginning of a verification task rather than the end of one.
Checking the Gaming Board of Anjouan register step by step
Go to the Gaming Board of Anjouan’s own domain, not a link from the casino. Search the register for the operator name, Stellar Ltd, and for the reference ALSI-202411077-FI2, and confirm that the two match each other and match the trading name Pistolo Casino. Check the licence status field, the issue date, and any conditions attached to it. If the register lists a different corporate entity, a different trading name, or a status other than active, that is your answer regardless of what the website says. Do the check on a desktop browser if you can, since regulator registers are often built for desktop and render poorly on phones, and save a dated screenshot of what you find so you have a record.
Then cross-check the details against the site itself. The operator name, the registered jurisdiction, and the licence reference should all line up. If the footer says one thing and the terms and conditions say another, that inconsistency is a red flag worth taking seriously. Be sceptical of third-party review pages that display a licence badge, because those badges are frequently copied from the casino’s press kit and never updated. A cached page is a historical document, not a live status check, and the same goes for any badge image hosted on the casino’s own server.
Keep the licence question separate from the bonus question, because they get tangled together in marketing. The Pistolo Casino welcome offer is a 100 per cent match up to C$750 and includes 200 free spins, with a qualifying deposit of C$30, a wagering requirement of 35x deposit plus bonus, and a validity window of ten days. A valid licence does not make those terms generous, and a lapsed licence would not change the maths of the wagering. Read the casino terms and conditions for the bonus on their own merits, and read the licence register for the operator on its own merits.
Make the register check a habit rather than a one-off. Do it before your first deposit, and again if you ever have a withdrawal processing delay or an account verification dispute, because that is when the identity of the actual regulator matters most. If the live register shows the licence is active and the entity matches, you know who to escalate to if a complaint goes nowhere with support. If it does not match, you have learned something important before any money moved. Keep the reference ALSI-202411077-FI2 and the operator name Stellar Ltd handy, verify both on the Gaming Board of Anjouan site rather than anywhere else, and let the live register, not a footer graphic, decide whether the licence is real today.