iGaming Licence Jurisdictions Compared (2026)
There is no single iGaming licence. The route changes regulator fees, tax treatment, entity requirements, review work, and where the permission has legal effect. This comparison separates published regulator facts from company, banking, payment, adviser, and implementation variables.
Last updated August 2026
The licence decides more than legality
Before comparing platforms, map the licence route and player markets. Curaçao, Anjouan, Malta, and the Isle of Man impose different regulator fees, entity structures, review work, duty or tax rules, and permission scopes. Malta adds an EU/EEA entity, MGA review, and substance work; the Isle of Man requires an Island company and approved local operating roles. Total cost, duration, and banking acceptance remain applicant- and counterparty-specific. None is an automatic passport into every player market. The UK, US states, Ontario, and Brazil have their own permissions, which we cover in the market hubs.
One disclosure up front: we don't sell licences, take referral fees, or run a licensing desk. Regulator fees and published review clocks are stated figures; company, adviser, tax, banking, payment, certification, and implementation costs remain case-specific. Confirm the current legal position for the exact entity and player markets before committing.
The four routes at a glance
| Curaçao (CGA) | Anjouan | Malta (MGA) | Isle of Man (GSC) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Headline B2C regulator fees | €4,592 application + person fees + prorated annual fees | €17,828 issuance; setup and compliance extra | €5,000 application + fixed annual fee + B2C contribution | £5,250 application + annual fee for the licence class |
| Annual renewal | €47,450 B2C; €24,490 B2B | €17,828 | B2C fixed €25k (Type 4: €10k) plus contribution; critical B2B €25k–€35k; back-office B2B initial €10k, then €3k/€5k | £36,750 full/software supplier; £52,500 network/token-based supply; £5,250 sub-licence |
| Time to licence | 2 × 8-week target; up to 24 weeks if both phases extend | No regulator SLA; file- and due-diligence-dependent | No fixed MGA processing SLA | No fixed GSC processing SLA established |
| Gaming tax | Not determined by the licence-fee schedule | Not determined by the licence-fee schedule | 5% through Sep; from 1 Oct: Type 1 15%, Types 2–4 10% | 1.5% first £20m yield; 0.5% next £20m; 0.1% above; pool betting 15% |
| B2B route | Direct CGA B2B; transition scope depends on supplier location | Direct B2B and recognition-letter registers are separate | Critical Gaming Supply and back-office supply scopes | Software-supplier, network-services and token-based supply classes |
| Banking & PSP acceptance | Counterparty-specific; licence alone is not approval | Counterparty-specific; confirm before applying | Counterparty-specific; licence alone is not approval | Counterparty-specific; licence alone is not approval |
| Local presence | Local entity/management; broader substance deferred to Apr 2027 | No simple public substance figure; due diligence applies | EU-established company + real substance | Island company; approved director/official and resident operations manager where required |
| National-market effect | Does not override local licences where players are located | Does not override local licences where players are located | No EU-wide passport; national permissions can still apply | Does not override local licences where players are located |
Curaçao (CGA) — a direct post-LOK route
Curaçao was the default cheap offshore licence for two decades, and the 2023–2025 LOK reform changed what it is. The National Ordinance on Games of Chance (the LOK) replaced the 1993 framework, abolished the master/sub-licence model, and handed full authority to the new Curaçao Gaming Authority (CGA). The old sub-licences — where you rented access from a master holder — transitioned out during 2025, so you now apply for a direct licence, B2C or B2B, and carry real compliance obligations yourself.
A B2C application is €4,592 plus UBO and qualified-interest review fees. The recurring annual B2C total is €47,450, while the first annual amount is prorated for the year of issuance. Company formation, certification and compliance remain separate. The LOK's broader local-substance obligation was due in 2026 but the CGA has deferred compliance until 1 April 2027; local entity and management requirements still need to be checked in the application. The CGA targets eight weeks for each of two review phases and can add up to four weeks to each. It also had a turbulent 2025 at board level, so treat stability as a live question. Curaçao remains a distinct direct-licence route between lower-fee Anjouan and heavier Malta, but target-market and banking acceptance still decide fit. Full breakdown in our Curaçao gaming licence guide.
One supplier-side date matters: the CGA says mandatory licensing for critical suppliers established in Curaçao starts on 24 December 2026. Until then, its guidance describes a B2B licence as optional for entities serving Curaçao-licensed B2C operators. Our provider matrix therefore records who holds the credential; it is not an exhaustive list of suppliers an operator may legally use.
Anjouan — low regulator fee, more work outside the licence
Anjouan, an island in the Comoros, is the budget entry point: around€17,828to issue either a B2C operator licence or a B2B service-provider licence, with the same annual renewal fee. The authority maintains a public licence register and a separate register for recognition letters issued against credentials from elsewhere. Those are different instruments and should not be collapsed into one generic “Anjouan approved” badge. The current application page publishes no fixed processing time.
The fee is only one approval. Banks, acquirers, PSPs, and e-wallets assess the entity and target markets independently; an integration in a platform cashier does not prove they will accept your business. Obtain written onboarding, reserve, settlement, pricing, and exit terms before treating the low regulator fee as a saving. Full breakdown in our Anjouan gaming licence guide.
Malta (MGA) — an EU-established licence
An MGA licence uses an EU or EEA-established company under Malta's Gaming Act framework. Headline fees include a €5,000 application and a fixed €25,000 annual B2C fee (€10,000 for Type 4). A separate revenue-based B2C Compliance Contribution has published annual minimums and maximums of €15,000/€375,000 for Type 1, €25,000/€600,000 for Type 2, €25,000/€500,000 for Type 3 and €5,000/€500,000 for Type 4. The full minimum is not due from a new non-start-up operator in its first financial year of operations; an MGA-approved start-up receives a 12-month contribution moratorium from licence issue, while fixed annual fees remain payable. Critical-supply B2B fees are revenue-banded from €25,000 to €35,000. Back-office B2B carries an initial €10,000 annual fee, followed by €3,000 where annual revenue does not exceed €1 million or €5,000 above that threshold.
Gaming tax remains 5% of Malta-player GGR through 30 September 2026. From 1 October, L.N. 84/2026 sets remote Type 1 at 15% and remote Types 2–4 at 10%, and adds a €3,000 annual studio-broadcasting levy for affected critical suppliers. Corporate tax and any shareholder refund are separate, structure-specific questions. The MGA publishes review stages and incomplete-file rules but no fixed application SLA; plan the EU/EEA entity, system review, audit and substance as separate workstreams.
The licence is not an EU-wide passport and does not guarantee banking or PSP acceptance. National permissions can still apply wherever players are located. Model the exact game types, key functions, technical review, tax position, national-market permissions and counterparties for the applicant. Full breakdown in our Malta (MGA) gaming licence guide.
Isle of Man (GSC) — the OGRA framework
The Isle of Man GSC licenses online gambling under OGRA 2001. The licensee must be an Island-incorporated company limited by shares. At least one approved designated official must be a director; if that official is not Island-resident, an approved resident operations manager is required. Current annual fees are £36,750 for full or software-supplier licences, £52,500 for network services or token-based software supply, and £5,250 for a sub-licence. A licence can run for the period stated in it, up to five years, while fees remain annual.
Current Gambling Duty guidance uses 1.5%, 0.5% and 0.1% yield bands and treats licensed gambling as VAT-exempt; any zero income-tax treatment is activity- and entity-specific. The GSC's February 2026 assessment rates the sector Medium High for money-laundering risk and flags cross-border online activity, virtual assets and B2B software-supply chains. Full breakdown in our Isle of Man gaming licence guide.
Other routes worth knowing
A handful of secondary permits show up in real stacks, each with a narrow use case:
- Kahnawake and Tobique — distinct First Nations licensing routes. Verify the current issuing body, exact licensee, product scope and every provincial or national-market permission separately.
- Gibraltar — a separate regulator and licensing framework. Current eligibility, application availability, supplying entity and target-market permissions need direct verification.
- Costa Rica — company registration alone is not a gambling licence and does not create an authorization from a gaming regulator.
Which providers hold exact current supplier credentials
The licence route is only half the decision. This projection now uses the normalized register rather than searching provider prose. It counts current direct supplier licences, supplier registrations, combined permissions and recognition, while excluding B2C-only operator licences, historical records and unresolved badges. 13 of 18 profiles have an exact current Malta supplier credential, 1 Curaçao, 0 Anjouan and 2 Isle of Man.
| Provider | Curaçao | Anjouan | Malta (MGA) | Isle of Man |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EveryMatrix | – | – | ✓ | – |
| Playtech | – | – | ✓ | – |
| SOFTSWISS | – | – | ✓ | – |
| Pragmatic Solutions | – | – | ✓ | – |
| Aristocrat Interactive | – | – | ✓ | – |
| Altenar | – | – | ✓ | – |
| Kambi | – | – | ✓ | – |
| Light & Wonder | – | – | ✓ | – |
| Pariplay | – | – | ✓ | – |
| Digitain | ✓ | – | ✓ | ✓ |
| White Hat Gaming | – | – | – | – |
| GR8 Tech | – | – | – | – |
| GiG | – | – | ✓ | – |
| Bragg Gaming Group | – | – | ✓ | ✓ |
| Slotegrator | – | – | – | – |
| BetConstruct | – | – | ✓ | – |
| SoftGamings | – | – | – | – |
| Soft2Bet | – | – | – | – |
A ✓ means the exact entity and a current supplier-side credential are established. It still does not prove product certification, a live deployment, banking acceptance or the customer's operator licence. A blank is not a legal conclusion that supply is prohibited. Open the full legal-entity register for the number, class, dates, confidence and unresolved claims. Data checked through August 2026.
How the licence ties to your platform deal
The license and the platform are one decision, not two. On a white-label deal, the operator uses a third-party license wrapper held by the provider, an affiliate, or a licensed partner instead of holding the permit directly. That removes the customer's own operator-licence application only when the wrapper already covers the target market; it does not establish price or the whole launch clock. On turnkey or standalone you hold your own license. Continued market access still depends on the permission remaining valid and the replacement stack being approved. Who holds the license is therefore a core question in any platform migration. For what the platform side of the bill looks like, see what an iGaming platform costs.
Frequently asked questions
What's the cheapest iGaming licence?
There is no honest single-number answer. Isle of Man has a £5,250 application fee but a full licence then costs £36,750 annually; Anjouan publishes €17,828 for B2C or B2B issuance and the same for renewal. Licence class, first-year and recurring regulator charges, company setup, compliance, duty, banking, payments, advisers and target-market legality all change the comparison. Compare the complete route for the same operating model, not the smallest headline fee.
Is a Curaçao licence still worth it after the LOK reform?
For a lot of operators, yes — but it's a different product now. The LOK replaced the old master/sub-licence model with direct licensing from the Curaçao Gaming Authority and real compliance obligations. A B2C application is €4,592 plus person-review fees; the recurring annual B2C total is €47,450, with the initial annual amount prorated for the year of issuance. The broader local-substance requirement has been deferred to 1 April 2027, so it belongs in forward planning rather than being described as already in force.
Do I need my own license, or can a white-label partner cover it?
It depends on the regulator-facing entity. In white label, a provider, affiliate or licensed partner supplies the operating-license wrapper; the customer does not own that permit. Genuine turnkey or standalone delivery runs under the customer's own operating licence. Neither model establishes launch speed, total cost, player-data rights, payment ownership or exit quality. Confirm the holder, approved domains, target markets and every contract right separately.
Can one licence cover multiple countries?
Partly. An offshore licence like Curaçao or Anjouan can support operations in markets that accept that route. It does not override a regulated market's own regime: the UK, EU countries with national licensing, US states, Canadian provinces, and Brazil may each require local authorisation and certification. An MGA licence is not an EU-wide passport either, so map permissions country by country before launch.
Which licence is best for a crypto casino?
There is no universal 'crypto licence.' Anjouan expressly lists cryptocurrency-enabled gaming among permitted activities, Curaçao licenses the gambling operation under the LOK, and the Isle of Man has a separate token-based software-supplier class. None replaces AML, KYC, sanctions, custody, target-market, or possible virtual-asset obligations. Choose the gaming route and player markets first, then map the treasury and payment structure around the exact entity.
Will payment processors accept an Anjouan operator?
Do not assume they all do, or that card schemes onboard operators directly. Acquirers, PSPs, e-wallets, and settlement banks make their own risk decision based on the licence, ownership, markets, traffic, currencies, and transaction profile. The actionable rule is to get written acceptance, reserves, settlement terms, pricing, and termination rights from the actual counterparties before choosing Anjouan.