Once you have decided to launch your online casino and have decided on a software provider, it’s time to think about licensing. Gaming license is required if you want your business to be legal and you want to provide online payment services to your users. Below we will look at the best jurisdictions for licensing a gambling-project and the features of this process as a whole.
Our team is highly qualified professionals in the field of establishing and licensing commercial structures. We offer advisory and practical assistance in obtaining any kind of permit. In addition, we also have profitable solutions for ready-made gambling-licenses in Curacao (click here), Malta, Cyprus and other countries around the world.
Overview of Gaming Regulations and Licensing Significance
Gambling, especially in recent years, has become quite a popular activity. But in order to fully implement it, you need to obtain gaming license. It is this that will allow the owner to attract players from solvent jurisdictions, for example, Great Britain and America, and the countries of the European Union.
To start operating in the gambling-business, as mentioned above, you will need a special gambling-license. It will be needed to take its rightful place in this area of activity and attract solvent clients from the EU countries, Great Britain, etc. In order to start operating legally in a certain country, a casino or bookmaker must go through the licensing process. Most often, casinos are registered in jurisdictions favorable to the gambling-business, which allow them to provide their services in several countries.
Any type of gambling business cannot legally operate without permission from the regulator. That is why the choice of regulator and jurisdiction must be approached carefully. The cost of a gambling-license depends on the jurisdiction and varies from a couple of thousand dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Licensing makes customer trust stronger. Before a casino or betting-structure receives gaming license to provide their services, they must undergo a special check by the regulator. Unlicensed gambling-sites are less popular than licensed ones. They are mainly used by inexperienced players who have just begun to get involved in gambling-niche. That is why serious casinos always go through the licensing process so as not to lose a large number of potential users who have been interested in gambling-direction for a long time.
According to global gaming industry standards, gamble businesses operating without licensing are most often closed and pay heavy fines. Regulators in all countries carefully monitor illegal businesses. Only casinos, bookmakers and poker sites that have gone through the licensing process do not have to worry about legal problems and fines.
Top 5 Top Gaming License Jurisdiction Spaces
Today, gaming licenses are issued in more than 80 countries around the world. These are both the most common countries and popular offshore zones, which are also in demand because of their low (or even zero) tax rates. They all have their own advantages and disadvantages and require a different scheme for obtaining a license. So, below we present best gaming license jurisdiction list and make general country comparison.
Malta
The cost of licensing procedures is average in this country. It’s another prestigious jurisdiction being an essential commercial part of the European Union. It allows you to work directly with merchant accounts. On the other hand, online gaming is subject to significant taxes and requires regular financial reporting.
Isle Of Man
According to the local regulatory framework, the application fee will cost you 5,000 euros, and you will pay 35,000 euros per year. In order to apply for a permit, the operating organization must pay £1,000, which is non-refundable. Taxes on games vary from 0.1 to 1.5% depending on the turnover of money. The application procedure is quite lengthy. Applicants must have a reserve of money for additional payments, prove their reputation and offer fair principles of play.
Kahnawake
As local gaming law says, validity period of any type of license is 5 years. However, in Kahnawake there is a probationary period (which is quite rare). The first license will be issued for a period of 6 months. Next, no later than 30 days before the expiration of the 6-month period, KGL will conduct an inspection of the operator: it will determine whether complaints have been received against the operator from players, to what extent the operator has implemented all the necessary requirements, and whether it has violated the law. It is usually at this point that the operator decides whether to remain in Kahnawake or choose another jurisdiction.
The benefits of the Kahnawake for iGaming and gamble licensing are listed below.
- There is no requirement to have a registered company in Kahnawake; companies registered in other jurisdictions are allowed to get licenses.
- Fairly fast processing of your Kahnawake gaming license application. On average, the regulator reviews the application within 3 weeks, and you can start working as a licensed company in 8-10 weeks.
- Wide geography of clients: the CPA license allows you to offer services to players in all markets except the USA.
Great Britain
For interested parties, this gaming license jurisdiction offers three types of licenses, these are:
- operating permission;
- personal management one;
- premise permission.
As for the first two, they are issued exclusively in the UK and only by the Gambling Commission. The third type is issued at the place of registration of the company. For the gaming business, the best option would be to get the first type of permit, since it initially includes all the necessary sub-licenses.
Gibraltar
Despite the fact that in this gaming license country, like in Belgium, obtaining a permit is not so easy, it is considered the largest jurisdiction for gambling-deals. Gambling-companies have quite high requirements, for example:
- stable financial condition;
- if a license is available, it must be obtained from a reputable jurisdiction;
- realistic business-plan.
The tax burden is 1%, but the minimum tax amount is 85 thousand pounds per year.
So, the first step is registering a company and choosing a country to open a gambling-business. It is important to correctly determine the place of incorporation, based on a number of points listed below.
- Which country has the lowest taxes on profits from gambling-structures.
- Gaming compliance normative points being most favorable.
- Is it possible to apply the conditions of the CLTI and benefit from reduced rates on income from abroad.
- Is 100% foreign ownership of a gambling-company allowed?
- What are the legal relations between the country of permanent tax residence and the place of registration of the online casino.
- Status of jurisdiction on the world stage, including in accordance with the established requirements of the EU/FATF.
- Rating of online casino licenses on the global market.
Process: Documentation and Gaming License Requirements
Licensing requirements vary depending on the jurisdiction where you are requesting the document. However, there are several general conditions for obtaining permission in most countries:
- registration of business-structure and location of servers in the jurisdiction;
- preparation of complete and up-to-date information about the applicant, key casino employees, the origin of the company’s funds and the types of gambling-deals on the platform;
- implementation of AML/policy principles and regulatory compliance, as well as posting on the casino website information about gambling-addiction and the prohibition of gaming for minors;
- collection of necessary documentation;
- payment of license fees.
Documents required to obtain gaming license.
Just like licensing requirements, the set of documents required to get a permit varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Let’s list those that will be required in any case:
- certificate of good conduct;
- copies of passports of business owners and key employees;
- bank statements/copies of utility bills;
- policies confirming fulfillment of compliance requirements;
- description of games and software used;
- business-plan.
Typically, before issuing a license, the competent authorities initiate checks to ensure that the operator is honest and his business is transparent and will not damage the reputation of the jurisdiction. Those who have no problems with the law and who follow all the recommendations have nothing to fear.
A license for the gambling-industry is a valuable document that opens up wide opportunities for entrepreneurial activity. By legalizing a casino in one of the above jurisdictions, you will have the opportunity to openly develop the company, attracting clients from different countries. The risk of being held accountable for illegal activities will disappear.
Our team is ready to help you comprehensively both when obtaining a permit and when purchasing a ready-made option. We will become your reliable allies on the path of your commercial development. Contact us right now – we are always in touch.
Author’s Bio:
Denys Chernyshov – founder and CEO of the globally-famous organization Eternity Law International.
