A licence is meaningful. It is also not a promise that nothing will go wrong, and it is worth being precise about which is which.
What it does mean: the operator answers to a regulator, has to verify players and keep them out under age, must offer self exclusion and deposit limits, has to hold player funds properly, and can be sanctioned or lose the licence.
What it does not mean: that every dispute goes your way, that withdrawals are always fast, that support is good, or that the odds are in your favour. They are not, and that is not a defect.
Where the community comes in. The regulator sets the floor. Everything above that floor, how quickly a cashout lands, whether support answers, whether bonus terms are fairly applied, is visible only to players. That is the part no licence check can tell you and the reason this place exists.