What does it mean for a site to be regulated / licensed?
When a site is regulated, such as from the Kahnawake Gaming Commission or Antigua Directorate of Offshore Gaming, what it means in English is that the regulator gives it's word that the poker site will pay it's winners. In addition, the regulator vouches that the site is fair and is up to a level of acceptable standard in the eyes of the regulator.
Be warned however to take regulators with a grain of salt, as any gaming commission or regulator on the Internet is not accountable to any U.S. or other organization. The only thing that the regulators have is their own reputation. So, even if an online casino is regulated, check out who regulates it, as some casinos create their own regulatory commission that oversees their own casino (not exactly what you or I would call trustworthy).
In any case though, being regulated is far better than NOT being regulated. The regulators named above (Kahnawake and Antigua) seem to be two of the better groups, as they oversee many of the more popular casinos, who in turn would have much more to lose if they lost their license. This still is no guarantee for you, the player however.
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