Gambling licences: costs, requirements, timelines (2026)
A gambling licence is a legal authorization issued by a state or tribal regulator that permits a company to operate betting or casino products in a defined territory, under conditions covering technical standards, player protection, anti-money-laundering controls and tax. Without one, an operator cannot lawfully accept bets, sign Tier-1 payment providers, or list on mainstream app stores — and in most regulated markets, unlicensed operation is a criminal offence.
There is no global gambling licence. Every serious operator ends up managing a portfolio: one or two offshore licences for open markets, plus a local licence for every regulated market entered. The real question is never "which licence is best" but "which licence fits the markets, budget and timeline of this specific brand" — and, just as important, what each licence does not let you do.
All 13 jurisdictions compared
Figures are indicative as of 2026 and change frequently — always confirm current fees, taxes and timelines with the regulator and local counsel.
| Jurisdiction | Application cost | GGR tax | Timeline | Market access |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UKGC (United Kingdom) | £4,224–£91,686 by GGY band | 21% Remote Gaming Duty | ~16 weeks | Great Britain only |
| MGA (Malta) | €5,000 + €25,000/yr fixed fee | 5% on Malta GGR + compliance contribution | 4–6 months | Open markets accepting MGA |
| Spelinspektionen (Sweden) | SEK 400,000–800,000 | 22% GGR | 3–4 months | Sweden only |
| KSA (Netherlands) | €48,000 | 37.8% GGR | ~6 months | Netherlands only |
| AGCO / iGaming Ontario | CAD 100,000/yr per site | ~20% revenue share to iGO | 90–120 days | Ontario only |
| GGL (Germany, GlüStV) | Scaled by stakes, ~€185,000 typical | 5.3% turnover tax on stakes | 4–8 months | Germany only, per vertical |
| ONJN (Romania) | €15,600–€312,000/yr tiered | 21% GGR, min €400,000/yr | 2–3 months | Romania only |
| Curacao (CGA) | ANG 9,000 + ANG 48,000/yr | 0% gaming tax; profit tax applies | 8–12 weeks | Open/grey markets, exclusion list |
| Kahnawake (KGC) | CAD 40,000 first year | 0% gaming tax | 8–12 weeks | Open/grey markets |
| Isle of Man (GSC) | £5,250 + £36,750/yr | 0.1–1.5% GGY duty | 10–12 weeks | Point-of-supply, where legal |
| Estonia (EMTA) | €47,940 + €3,200 state fees | 6% remote GGR | ~6 months total | Estonia only |
| Panama (JCJ) | ~US$40,000 | 0% on offshore GGR | 3–4 months | Offshore/open markets |
| Costa Rica | ~US$15,000 setup, no gaming licence | 0% on foreign-sourced income | 4–8 weeks | None formally — grey markets |
Three tiers, three different games
Tier-1 local licences — UKGC, Spelinspektionen, KSA, AGCO/Ontario, German GGL, ONJN — grant access to exactly one market each, at high cost and under heavy ongoing supervision: self-exclusion registry integrations, real-time regulator reporting, deposit limits, advertising rules. They are non-negotiable for those markets: no offshore licence substitutes for them, and sub-licensing (white label) is prohibited or impractical in nearly all of them.
Reputable offshore hubs — Malta and the Isle of Man — sit in the middle. They carry real substance requirements and genuine supervision, and in return function as a credible base licence for markets that have no local regime, plus banking and payment relationships that pure offshore licences struggle to open.
Volume offshore licences — Curacao, Kahnawake, Panama, Estonia excepted (Estonia is a strict local regime despite its size), and the Costa Rica non-licence — are fast and cheap, and their honest use case is open and grey markets. The pages below spell out, jurisdiction by jurisdiction, what each licence actually covers and what it does not.
Every jurisdiction page follows the same template — headline cost table, applicant requirements, step-by-step process, honest limitations, alternatives, and how the Vuch platform slots in under that licence — so you can compare like for like before talking to counsel.