How to Get a Gambling License: Jurisdictions Compared

Getting an online gambling licence follows the same broad path almost everywhere: choose the market you want to serve, set up the right legal entity, prepare the people, money and policy evidence the regulator asks for, have your platform and games independently tested, submit and pay, answer questions, then pass a final check before going live. What differs is how strict each stage is, how long it takes and what it costs.

This guide sets out the shared stages, then compares what eight regulators publish. Sources are regulator documents, checked on 4 November 2026. Fees are covered in detail in our licence cost table.

Step 1: Start from the market, not the licence

The licence you need depends on where your players are. National regulators such as Great Britain’s Gambling Commission require a local licence to serve local players, and Ontario requires AGCO registration plus a commercial agreement with iGaming Ontario (AGCO). Multi-market licences (Curaçao, Kahnawake, Anjouan, and Malta for some uses) do not open those markets.

Then pick the licence class. Most regulators split consumer-facing operators (B2C) from suppliers (B2B):

Sources: the regulators’ fee and licence pages linked in our cost table, plus Anjouan Gaming’s licence types page.

Step 2: Set up the entity

Several regulators specify where the licensee must be incorporated:

• Malta: any company incorporated in the EU/EEA can apply, subject to share capital (€100,000 for Type 1 and 2 B2C licences) and financial statement requirements (MGA application guidance).
• Curaçao: licences go to a company “established under the laws of Curacao” with its registered office there. The licence covers only domains owned or controlled by the licensee and approved by the CGA (CGA licence conditions, effective 28 October 2026).
• Kahnawake: applicants submit business entity information and personal and financial information for each director and shareholder with 10% or more (KGC Regulations, March 2026).

Where we couldn’t confirm a published incorporation rule (for example on the UKGC and AGCO pages we read), take local legal advice rather than assuming none applies.

Step 3: Prepare the people

Regulators license or approve individuals as well as the company.

• Malta requires a Key Function certificate for roles such as CEO, compliance, MLRO, legal, data protection, technology and internal audit, with minimum experience for each. See our Malta requirements guide.
• Great Britain requires a personal management licence for people responsible for overall management, finance, marketing, regulatory compliance, gambling IT and security, and the AML function, among others; the application fee is £463 (UKGC PML guide).
• Curaçao defines key persons to include the compliance officer under its AML ordinances and the compliance officer under the gaming ordinance.
• Kahnawake requires a Key Person Permit for each proposed key person.
• Gibraltar charges £500 for first approval of a regulated individual, valid five years (LN.2026/065).

Expect background, criminal record and probity checks on owners above a threshold (10% in the Curaçao and Kahnawake materials) and on directors.

Step 4: Prove the money

Source of funds and source of wealth is now a stage of its own. The MGA describes a separate funding review that confirms UBOs can sustain the licence and that the money is legitimate. Have bank statements, audited accounts, sale agreements or other evidence ready for every euro going into the business.

Step 5: Write the business plan and policies

Regulators read these closely. The MGA reviews forecast financials and marketing and distribution plans. The CGA’s licence conditions require at least policies on customer identification and verification, player account and fund management, responsible gaming, information security, AML/CFT/CPF, and account suspension and closure, plus player terms that cover set items such as complaints, ADR and self-exclusion. Our iGaming compliance briefing covers each function.

Step 6: Get the technology tested

• Malta: after the documentation review, the applicant has 60 days to set up its system and can request an external system audit from an MGA-approved provider.
• Curaçao: gaming equipment and software must be tested by an independent entity approved by the CGA, every game must be certified by a CGA-approved lab, and critical player and transaction data must stay accessible to the CGA through a server in a Tier-IV certified data centre in Curaçao.
• Kahnawake: a Control System Submission is assessed by the Commission, at a cost invoiced separately from the application fee.

If you are buying a platform rather than building one, ask the vendor which jurisdictions its system and games are already certified for. This is a large part of the turnkey vs white label decision.

Step 7: Submit, answer, go live

Pay the application fee with the submission; most are non-refundable. Expect rounds of questions. The MGA puts incomplete applications into “Incomplete” once for 60 days, then rejects them. After approval, the MGA requires go-live within 90 days, and the CGA requires prior approval for later changes to UBOs, key persons, domains, games and suppliers.

Timelines

Only some regulators publish timings. The MGA documents the 60-day technical window and the 90-day go-live deadline. We couldn’t confirm a published overall service standard for UKGC, CGA, Kahnawake or AGCO applications from the pages we read on 4 November 2026. Treat any “licence in X weeks” claim as the adviser’s estimate, not the regulator’s.

Pre-filing checklist

• Target markets listed, and the licence each one legally requires
• Entity incorporated in the right place, with share capital paid up where required
• Ownership chart to the UBOs, with 10%+ holders identified
• Key people named, CVs and certificates ready, conflicts of role checked
• Source of funds and wealth evidence for each UBO
• Three-year business plan and forecasts
• AML, KYC, responsible gambling, security, player terms and complaints policies
• Platform and game certification status confirmed in writing by suppliers
• Banking and payment provider conversations started (they will ask for the licence)
• Budget for fees, audits, advisers and the first year’s taxes

This site covers the gambling business for readers aged 18 and over. If gambling is affecting you, our responsible gambling page lists help, including the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 (24/7).