Do i need a license if i want to create a crypto gambling site?

[el kaka22]

Depends on how you want to run with it. If you want a legit business you can't have a business with no licenses, however there are billions of websites in the world that has no licenses or even pays taxes, they work like that until they get caught which actually hurts even more than actually starting out legit.

Now this is just for regular websites that makes money on adsense or whatever, you are here telling us that you want to create a casino for crypto and you do not want to have a license, now those types of websites exists as well however they do not make any sense what so ever considering you are dealing with other peoples money and there is provably fair everywhere, you might as well get a license too so you can be an actual legit website.

[mindrust]

Don't do this if you live in a developed country. You can still get away with it if your customers are mainly from a different country but if a customer decides to sue you because he thinks he is being scammed or just because he can, your address will be exposed to the authorities in your country and this means trouble.

If you ever going to do it without a licence, at least make sure that you don't deal with FIAT in any way. None. If you ignore this, your chances of not getting yourself in trouble is zero.

[EdenHazard]

The license will give you the security and trust of your gambling site users. All we know, internet business or things related to money in the internet world are very vulnerable to fraud. At least with the license that you have will make the majority of people who come to your site and they really are to become members of your gamble site. Therefore, a license is the most important factor for creating a gamble site that you have visited and used by many IMO people.

[Don Pedro Dinero]

If i wanted to create a crypto gambling site would i need to get a license in the countries where my customers would come from?

as in if i targeted people in the UK would i need a UK license?

or is the crypto space exempt from the licensing as it's not "fiat"

and if a licence is needed would i need one for each country i want my site to be used in or just one in general?

i realize this might be a nooby question but i wanted to ask as i don't know much about the legal side of the gambling scene.

I don’t know about the UK precisely but there are some countries in Europe where you need a license to operate on. One for each regulated country. Otherwise, if you accept people from those countries you are breaking the law, and those licenses aren’t cheap.

[Pab]

There is many gambling sites what accepting crypto currencies what run without license and his customers are happy there is planty who are accepting both fiat and crypto what are  licensed many of them already lost license but they are still offering his service
It is up to you there is better to have license but not exactly obligation if you will only accept crypto

[hulla]

You will want to get a license if you are aiming to build a large website with a lot of traffic.  A few countries have very loose gambling laws but they are starting to crack down on crypto gambling and bringing on more strict regulations.  Be aware that this field is highly competitive and you may struggle to attract players for a very long time, so be prepared to operate at a loss.

You might be right but if the OP manage to get the UK license with good customers support portal and nice website and do some campaign i.e signature campaign I totally believe he/she will not experience any loss because the cryptocurrency community believed in all what I mentioned.

[btcdevil]

You will want to get a license if you are aiming to build a large website with a lot of traffic.  A few countries have very loose gambling laws but they are starting to crack down on crypto gambling and bringing on more strict regulations.  Be aware that this field is highly competitive and you may struggle to attract players for a very long time, so be prepared to operate at a loss.

You might be right but if the OP manage to get the UK license with good customers support portal and nice website and do some campaign i.e signature campaign I totally believe he/she will not experience any loss because the cryptocurrency community believed in all what I mentioned.

What if the OP is from other country where gambling sites are illegal and even crypto is also not legal, what will be do then.

What i am saying is first check about gambling is legal or not with the country where you are living. As if it is illegal then their is no point of further talk. If it is legal then you can take a gambling license from your country as you dont need to have license for the customers living country. As the gambling site legal jurisdiction is where from their only you have to take license. Because once you get license from your country then you are totally free to start your online crypto gambling site giving your country license certificate which will make more legality of your site and more customers will be attracted. Same time check with other country users from where they are joining and whether their respective country have legal in gambling if not you have to forfeit them from joining your site.

[CryptoGamblingSites]

Of course you need a license if you really want your gamble site to gain high traffic and more user trust but it will be more nice if you can get a UK license since you're targeting the UK customer because some countries from Europe have already implemented blocking through local ISPs to circumvent traffic away from internationally operating and unlicensed gambling websites. If you can't get the UK license try another respected crypto friendly country license.

Just FYI, UK is a TERRIBLE country to get a license in. They charge you yearly for the license then they tell you how to advertise and run your casino or sportsbook.

The commission claims there are 25,000 problem gamblers between the ages of 11-16 in the UK (think of the children!!!)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6016145/Betting-firms-target-youngsters-adverts-face-unlimited-fines.html

And they fine companies constantly.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/aug/31/gambling-firm-888-fined-online-bookmaker-problem-gamblers
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/feb/20/william-hill-fined-62m-by-gambling-commission
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/may/02/leovegas-fined-for-accepting-bets-from-problem-gamblers

Those are JUST the recent ones...

Bringing bitcoin casinos to the UK regulators (most get the Malta gambling license or Curacao license) would be a very bad idea because they are constantly trying to make headlines that they are cracking down on gambling issues in the country.

Gambling sites cannot technically offer gambling to people in UK without the license however there have been real money and now crypto options available to anyone in the UK. There is a whole strategy around how to setup the "unregulated" casinos and "regulated" casino, both cost the casinos a ton of money either way in legal costs.

[CryptoGamblingSites]

Depends on how you want to run with it. If you want a legit business you can't have a business with no licenses, however there are billions of websites in the world that has no licenses or even pays taxes, they work like that until they get caught which actually hurts even more than actually starting out legit.

These guys ran with no license and made $26 million http://www.thejakartapost.com/seasia/2018/06/23/vietnam-busts-26-million-online-betting-ring-state-media.html

Like you say, it can hurt even more since they're in jail. 

It seems very dumb to run a site in Vietnam for Vietnamese gamblers that they know is illegal. If they had been hosted in Curacao, for example, highly doubt it is illegal to offer online gambling to Vietnam from Curacao.

[just_Alice]

I think if you want your crypto website to be popular you rather count on customers from all over the world, than just from one particular country. But it's not your problem whether gambling and online casinos are allowed in countries where the users will be from, or not. You need a license more as a warrant that your casino is legal, that you pay taxes (pay attention to that one) and, finally, that your site is trustworthy. However, different countries have different requirements as to legislation of an online casino and you have to choose an appropriate jurisdiction that corresponds your current needs and possibilities in order to issue your gambling website license, make sure that it meets all of the requirements (such as software, taxation policies, availability of some important information on your website, such as terms and conditions, etc.).

[rodskee]

If i wanted to create a crypto gambling site would i need to get a license in the countries where my customers would come from?

as in if i targeted people in the UK would i need a UK license?

or is the crypto space exempt from the licensing as it's not "fiat"

and if a licence is needed would i need one for each country i want my site to be used in or just one in general?

i realize this might be a nooby question but i wanted to ask as i don't know much about the legal side of the gambling scene.

I think can't answer your question, but crypto is using online net hard and difficult to trace
In my knowledge herein my location online casino gambling using fiat are need to registered in the governmnet to get legal papers to avoid banning in crypto gambling site i have no idea if needed to get an license to operate i suggest with you ask toat the responsible agency in your location country.

[Kprawn]

The things I have read on this only states that you need a licence to host that casino in a specific country. I also know some

Casinos have blocked people, based on their location. Read a little bit more about Geo-blocking and Geo-targeting on this

site : https://www.onlinecasinowebsites.com/geo-blocking/ - Offshore casino websites typically operate outside of a region’s

borders and adhere to different international laws and regulations. Tricky question to answer, because it differs from country

to country. 

[Mister1k]

That is upon the country rules you are from! If you want to invest your money gambling site please find the web dev and API writers to make the website perfect. Since the decentralized crypto currencies being used on the site you will not find the any rules applicable to have the cryptos as a funding source.
Still if you are having doubt on that check your PR to discuss with the government to have the website.

[krishnaverma]

I made a similar thread in this section and as per the responses there, I came to know that it would depend on the laws of that country.

Also, there are some crypto friendly countries where you can get the license easily at very less cost.

[akosipepot]

Depends on how you want to run with it. If you want a legit business you can't have a business with no licenses, however there are billions of websites in the world that has no licenses or even pays taxes, they work like that until they get caught which actually hurts even more than actually starting out legit.

Now this is just for regular websites that makes money on adsense or whatever, you are here telling us that you want to create a casino for crypto and you do not want to have a license, now those types of websites exists as well however they do not make any sense what so ever considering you are dealing with other peoples money and there is provably fair everywhere, you might as well get a license too so you can be an actual legit website.

I agree with you. Although, it can be a pain in the back taking a license, but if you have it the better trust you get from the gambling community and you'll feel safer too.

[btc-facebook]

Every country have different policy against gambling so you should ask about them.
As long as it's not restrict your gambling activity, I'm sure you will got your license without worry.

Of course license become primary need before start any operation !

[eternalgloom]

Of course you need a license if you really want your gamble site to gain high traffic and more user trust but it will be more nice if you can get a UK license since you're targeting the UK customer because some countries from Europe have already implemented blocking through local ISPs to circumvent traffic away from internationally operating and unlicensed gambling websites. If you can't get the UK license try another respected crypto friendly country license.

Just FYI, UK is a TERRIBLE country to get a license in. They charge you yearly for the license then they tell you how to advertise and run your casino or sportsbook.

The commission claims there are 25,000 problem gamblers between the ages of 11-16 in the UK (think of the children!!!)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6016145/Betting-firms-target-youngsters-adverts-face-unlimited-fines.html

And they fine companies constantly.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/aug/31/gambling-firm-888-fined-online-bookmaker-problem-gamblers
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/feb/20/william-hill-fined-62m-by-gambling-commission
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/may/02/leovegas-fined-for-accepting-bets-from-problem-gamblers

Those are JUST the recent ones...

Bringing bitcoin casinos to the UK regulators (most get the Malta gambling license or Curacao license) would be a very bad idea because they are constantly trying to make headlines that they are cracking down on gambling issues in the country.

Gambling sites cannot technically offer gambling to people in UK without the license however there have been real money and now crypto options available to anyone in the UK. There is a whole strategy around how to setup the "unregulated" casinos and "regulated" casino, both cost the casinos a ton of money either way in legal costs.

If you look at most other gambling sites, you see that they usually pick Malta or Curaçao as a base for their operations.
You're right that the UK wouldn't be the best place to get your license.

Here's an extensive resource with more information about gambling regulations in Malta:
https://www.mga.org.mt/legislations-regulations/

Here's similar info for Curaçao:
https://iclg.com/practice-areas/gambling-laws-and-regulations/dutch-caribbean

[posi]

Of course you need a license if you really want your gamble site to gain high traffic and more user trust but it will be more nice if you can get a UK license since you're targeting the UK customer because some countries from Europe have already implemented blocking through local ISPs to circumvent traffic away from internationally operating and unlicensed gambling websites. If you can't get the UK license try another respected crypto friendly country license.

Just FYI, UK is a TERRIBLE country to get a license in. They charge you yearly for the license then they tell you how to advertise and run your casino or sportsbook.

The commission claims there are 25,000 problem gamblers between the ages of 11-16 in the UK (think of the children!!!)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6016145/Betting-firms-target-youngsters-adverts-face-unlimited-fines.html

And they fine companies constantly.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/aug/31/gambling-firm-888-fined-online-bookmaker-problem-gamblers
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/feb/20/william-hill-fined-62m-by-gambling-commission
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/may/02/leovegas-fined-for-accepting-bets-from-problem-gamblers

Those are JUST the recent ones...

Bringing bitcoin casinos to the UK regulators (most get the Malta gambling license or Curacao license) would be a very bad idea because they are constantly trying to make headlines that they are cracking down on gambling issues in the country.

Gambling sites cannot technically offer gambling to people in UK without the license however there have been real money and now crypto options available to anyone in the UK. There is a whole strategy around how to setup the "unregulated" casinos and "regulated" casino, both cost the casinos a ton of money either way in legal costs.

If you look at most other gambling sites, you see that they usually pick Malta or Curaçao as a base for their operations.
You're right that the UK wouldn't be the best place to get your license.

Here's an extensive resource with more information about gambling regulations in Malta:
https://www.mga.org.mt/legislations-regulations/

Here's similar info for Curaçao:
https://iclg.com/practice-areas/gambling-laws-and-regulations/dutch-caribbean

Yes,i also saw a lot new projects picking up their license from Maltas, Japan, Curacao etc and I never knew that UK is so picky and terrible to get license for e gamble owner. However, I advice to OP to get UK license because he/she was targeting the UK customer and getting a license from UK could also boost customers trust. I bet, the OP choose UK because the European side love sport gambling.

[CryptoGamblingSites]

He probably chose UK from doing zero research and has no experience with the regulation in different jurisdictions.

Forum is worst place to learn, everyone knows op has to go spend the money to get answers for specific situation.

[hulla]

You will want to get a license if you are aiming to build a large website with a lot of traffic.  A few countries have very loose gambling laws but they are starting to crack down on crypto gambling and bringing on more strict regulations.  Be aware that this field is highly competitive and you may struggle to attract players for a very long time, so be prepared to operate at a loss.

You might be right but if the OP manage to get the UK license with good customers support portal and nice website and do some campaign i.e signature campaign I totally believe he/she will not experience any loss because the cryptocurrency community believed in all what I mentioned.

What if the OP is from other country where gambling sites are illegal and even crypto is also not legal, what will be do then.
What i am saying is first check about gambling is legal or not with the country where you are living. As if it is illegal then their is no point of further talk

Basically, he have to check with legal advisors from his country but if gamble site or Crypto currency is not legal in his country he can open the gamble business and get the license by going to a crypto friendly country to start his business and get the license there. Remember, when Chinese government was acting weird towards crypto currency then? A lot of crypto currency exchange owner that have money to move and continue their business did so.