Top 3 Online Casino-Licencing Jurisdictions

Every country has its own set of online gambling laws and regulations. It can be confusing since these rules can drastically vary from one place to another.

In some areas of the world, relaxed gambling legislation led to the creation of gambling jurisdictions, which have the power to licence and regulate online casino operators.

The official regulatory bodies within these jurisdictions are responsible for issuing licences and regulating their licensees. Typically, the licensees are required to have a specific percentage of their operations in the region whose licence they have to be able to offer their products and services legally.

In this article, we‘re going to discuss the leading online gambling jurisdictions around the globe.

United Kingdom Gambling Commission

As many of you already know, the UK Gambling Commission is a regulatory body overseeing gambling in the UK. It offers a wide selection of licences to gaming companies. First, we have five types of remote betting licences and a line-up of intermediately and industry approvals.

There‘s a significant drawback of such a system, as operators who want to expand their footprint have to apply for an individual licence for each aspect of the online gambling business.

Also, the regulator‘s approval process can take up to sixteen weeks, not to mention the UKGC has been tightening the leash on its licensees over the last couple of years.

There are many reasons why online operators want to get a UKGC licence. First of all, the UK is one of the largest online gambling markets globally, generating billions of pounds in revenue every year.

Until 2014, the UK was known for a more relaxed attitude towards operators coming from territories such as Malta and Gibraltar, also known as “whitelisted territories”. They were allowed to accept British players and even advertise in the UK. However, since 2014, that’s no longer possible, and everyone who wants to enter the country’s market has to be licensed by the UKGC.

And although the regulations in the UK are becoming more strict, online gambling operators still covet the country’s licence mainly due to the lucrativeness of the British market.

Malta Gaming Authority

For years, the tiny island nation has been the continent’s online gambling hub, and there’s a good reason for it. The licence issued by the country’s regulator is reputable, allowing access to the market in Europe.

The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) carries out the process of awarding licences to operators, checking compliance and adopting gaming regulations.

Operators can choose between four different classes of licences. The first type enables companies to organise games of chance, whose outcome is determined by a Random Number Generator (RNG).

If an online casino offers video slots and tables, this is the suitable licence type. Other available types allow operators to organise sports betting, fantasy sports, and poker.

In 2018, MGA made essential changes in the taxation system and waived the compliance contribution for the first year of the online gambling site’s operation. Most importantly, current holders no longer need to apply for separate permits.

Acquiring a licence in Malta can be a lengthy process. It includes a minimum of five stages, including several compliance audits. After three to four weeks of the application consideration, operators receive a provisional licence for a period of six months. During that period, the regulation conducts a series of extensive checks. If approved, an operator will be issued a five-year approval.

And although the process is time-consuming, many leading online gambling and sports betting websites choose the Maltese licence, as it allows them to enter the European market while players deem it trustworthy.

Curacao

This is another small island with a significant presence in the online gambling world. The main reason is that this Caribbean nation allows operators to obtain a licence quickly.

There are two types available: master licences and sub-licenses. New online casino operators can apply for a sub-license at one of the master holders. There are four of them, and their number has been fixed since the mid-1990s. Every master licence is renewed after five years, while sub-licenses have no expiration. They stay valid as long as master licences are.

The main advantage of this licensing system is that, unlike in the UK, online casinos require only a single licence from the entire vertical. Also, Curacao approval is very cheap. Each master licence costs around $5,000 per year, while other costs include a one-time application fee of $2,000 and additional smaller fees.

The island has no corporate income tax, while a net gains tax is only 2%. The licensing process takes around six weeks to be fully completed.

Unfortunately, there are a couple of drawbacks: online casinos holding a Curacao licence can’t accept customers from certain countries, including the US and France. Still, the quickness and the simplicity of the licensing process make Curacao a choice for many companies.