Is the era of ultra cheap licenses over?

[alani123]

I remember it used to be the case that an online casino could go through the whole process of acquiring a license under the Curacao sub license scheme for a very affordable price maybe a few hundreds dollars total.

Nowdays, after Curacao changed their licensing process, their license became significantly more expensive. Of course some casinos renewed their license under the new fee scheme that is up to the tens of thousands of USD per year, but some opted for different licenses. I've seen mostly the Anjuan license around but also in some rare cases the Kahnawake license.

I noticed Vunuatu is also trying to promote an online gaming license with a cost of around 10k EUR per year. This is significantly cheaper than both Curacao and Anjuan fees but also I've never seen a casino under this license for some reason
 Still though I haven't seen any country or territory offering licensed for as cheap as Curacao sub-licenses used to go. I'm wondering if the lower prices are going to change anything because Anjuan already seems to be having some competition.

[freedomgo]

no dude, there's still cheap license provider.

That's Anjouan Gaming. I think many casinos have already transferred here. I believe even sportsbet.io has Anjouan Gaming license, it previously has Curaçao gaming license.

https://anjouangaming.com/licensing/fees/



I think this one is the cheapest and most reliable for now.

[crwth]

I didn't know it was that cheap to get a license before. Maybe that's why it didn't last long. The license isn't the problem; the compliance aspect is what makes it hard to ensure it's substantial and applicable to regulations.

Imagine having to deal with these

• AMLC
• KYC
• Corporate administration
• Payment processing

It's probably why it's getting more expensive.

[Japinat]

I didn't know it was that cheap to get a license before. Maybe that's why it didn't last long. The license isn't the problem; the compliance aspect is what makes it hard to ensure it's substantial and applicable to regulations.

Correct, because there was a major change in Curaçao's licensing system, which could be one of the reasons why some casinos decided to leave.

This is because of the new LOK (Landsverordening op de Kansspelen, a Dutch term meaning National Ordinance on Games of Chance.)

https://www.cga.cw/regulation/online-gaming/

Previous legislation

Before the enactment of the LOK, online gaming licenses were governed by the Landsverordening buitengaatse hazardspelen (LBH), translated as the National Ordinance on Offshore Games of Hazard.

In 2019, the responsibility for licensing and supervision under the LBH was transferred to the Minister of Finance.

Since March 2020 and up until the enactment of the LOK, the CGA was tasked with licensing of the online gaming sector on behalf of the Minister of Finance. In November 2023, the CGA, on behalf of the Minister of Finance began implementing phased reforms to prepare for the LOK.

Despite the introduction of the LOK, the LBH remains relevant based on the transitional provisions that are based on Article 15.1 of the LOK.

Current legislation

As of December 24, 2024, the new Landsverordening op de kansspelen (LOK), translated as the National Ordinance on Games of Chance, has officially come into effect, marking a pivotal reform in the regulation of Curaçao's online gaming sector.

This legislation is designed to further address longstanding issues and challenges within the industry, ensuring a safer, more transparent, and well-regulated environment for all stakeholders.

Recognizing the issues and challenges within the sector, the Curaçao Gaming Authority (CGA) on behalf of the Minister of Finance, began a phased reform of the online gaming regime in November 2023, laying the groundwork for the LOK's implementation. These endeavors reflect a commitment to ongoing improvements while addressing existing issues. Although not all issues and challenges can be solved at once, the introduction of the LOK as key component of the reform represents a significant step toward a more robust gaming legal framework.

With the introduction of the LOK, the GCB will be referred to as the Curaçao Gaming Authority, further solidifying its role in overseeing and regulating the gaming industry under the new legislation as a more independent organization in relation to online gaming.

[Karl_3000]

no dude, there's still cheap license provider.

Why did you not list their names so that we can know them? No gambling license is cheap, they are all expensive.

I think this one is the cheapest and most reliable for now.

Anjouan license cost is €17,828 and it requires annual renewal fee of up to the license cost. Almost $20,000 is not cheap at all if you compare it with the license in many other industries.

[alani123]

no dude, there's still cheap license provider.

That's Anjouan Gaming. I think many casinos have already transferred here. I believe even sportsbet.io has Anjouan Gaming license, it previously has Curaçao gaming license.

https://anjouangaming.com/licensing/fees/



I think this one is the cheapest and most reliable for now.

I'm not sure if you read the OP  

The cost to license a casino under the old Curacao scheme was a few hundred dollars per year.
The sub-license scheme was supposedly licensing a sub-division of a company but Curacao was allowing thousands of licenses to be issued under 4 "master license" holders. Today's prices have nothing to do compared to how cheap a Curacao license was.

[freedomgo]

no dude, there's still cheap license provider.

Why did you not list their names so that we can know them? No gambling license is cheap, they are all expensive.

I have already mentioned it, and it's license provider, not providers.

Anjouan license cost is €17,828 and it requires annual renewal fee of up to the license cost. Almost $20,000 is not cheap at all if you compare it with the license in many other industries.

But are those cheap license providers you are referring reliable as well? That's two should come together, you don't just get a license because it's cheap.

I'm not sure if you read the OP  

The cost to license a casino under the old Curacao scheme was a few hundred dollars per year.
The sub-license scheme was supposedly licensing a sub-division of a company but Curacao was allowing thousands of licenses to be issued under 4 "master license" holders. Today's prices have nothing to do compared to how cheap a Curacao license was.

Yes, you were referring to the old license fee, but your question pertains to the current.

The current is, almost €50k already, so it's no longer cheap anymore.
Those who have license with curacao gaming before already transferred to Anjouan

[swogerino]

no dude, there's still cheap license provider.

That's Anjouan Gaming. I think many casinos have already transferred here. I believe even sportsbet.io has Anjouan Gaming license, it previously has Curaçao gaming license.

https://anjouangaming.com/licensing/fees/



I think this one is the cheapest and most reliable for now.

I'm not sure if you read the OP  

The cost to license a casino under the old Curacao scheme was a few hundred dollars per year.
The sub-license scheme was supposedly licensing a sub-division of a company but Curacao was allowing thousands of licenses to be issued under 4 "master license" holders. Today's prices have nothing to do compared to how cheap a Curacao license was.

So even Curacao is not cheap anymore. If that is the case let's move to Virgin or British Island or Seychelles, jokes a part now many casinos opt for the easiest option and I don't think like paying 20.000 EUR a year in license fee is relevant to them, most casinos, well known and reputable ones with a good user base make that amount in 1 hour. Now even the license cost goes to 200000 EUR a year still is nothing compared to what casinos win out of their business.

[Somegory]

no dude, there's still cheap license provider.

That's Anjouan Gaming. I think many casinos have already transferred here. I believe even sportsbet.io has Anjouan Gaming license, it previously has Curaçao gaming license.

https://anjouangaming.com/licensing/fees/



I think this one is the cheapest and most reliable for now.

You call this cheap? God damn, it seems someone can't even manage to run a online casino without having alot of money, that's alot of money and my type of person can't even get closer to the business.

If you aren't made of money don't even think about running a online casino it seems, and it's going to get expired, no wonder casinos are struggling especially the new ones, they need to make money to stay in business.

This is getting interesting day by day, I guess there is a lot I still don't know about running a online casino.

[freedomgo]

You call this cheap? God damn, it seems someone can't even manage to run a online casino without having alot of money, that's alot of money and my type of person can't even get closer to the business.

If you aren't made of money don't even think about running a online casino it seems, and it's going to get expired, no wonder casinos are struggling especially the new ones, they need to make money to stay in business.

This is getting interesting day by day, I guess there is a lot I still don't know about running a online casino.

Yes it's cheap when you compare it with other providers. But of course, it's still a huge amount of money for us, but they are running a business and they should ensure they have sufficient capital before starting one, if they cannot even afford to pay for the license, then they have no business running a casino as they will most likely end up bankrupt due to a lack of customer trust, or might even end up becoming a scam.

Here's a comparison of licensing fees from different jurisdictions.

Code:

Licensing        Application /       Annual
Jurisdiction     Issuance            Licensing Fees
--------------------------------------------------------------
Anjouan          €17,828             €17,828
Curaçao          Approx. €4,592      Approx. €47,450
Kahnawà:ke       US$35,000           US$20,000
Malta (MGA)      €5,000              €25,000 + compliance contribution
--------------------------------------------------------------

And these casinos Sportsbet.io and MetaWin choose Anjouan for a reason. if we wanna check on other casinos, we can use this https://anjouangaming.com/license-register/

[alani123]

no dude, there's still cheap license provider.

That's Anjouan Gaming. I think many casinos have already transferred here. I believe even sportsbet.io has Anjouan Gaming license, it previously has Curaçao gaming license.

https://anjouangaming.com/licensing/fees/



I think this one is the cheapest and most reliable for now.

You call this cheap? God damn, it seems someone can't even manage to run a online casino without having alot of money, that's alot of money and my type of person can't even get closer to the business.

If you aren't made of money don't even think about running a online casino it seems, and it's going to get expired, no wonder casinos are struggling especially the new ones, they need to make money to stay in business.

This is getting interesting day by day, I guess there is a lot I still don't know about running a online casino.

To be fair, licenses aren't strictly necessary.
What if you run a casino without a license? Many countries have no enforcement against either.
So long as you aren't actively trying to recruit people or a certain country it's hard to have trouble.
And even if you are promoting to US or other countries where gambling is regulated you need a specific license so might as well go with 0 licenses because it's not like these cheap offshore licenses grant any special rights for any countries with their own gambling regulation.

[eisen33]

So even Curacao is not cheap anymore. If that is the case let's move to Virgin or British Island or Seychelles, jokes a part now many casinos opt for the easiest option and I don't think like paying 20.000 EUR a year in license fee is relevant to them, most casinos, well known and reputable ones with a good user base make that amount in 1 hour. Now even the license cost goes to 200000 EUR a year still is nothing compared to what casinos win out of their business.

I've never really wondered how much a casino license might cost, but I agree with you that for a casino with a solid customer base, it's not an impossibly high amount. It might seem expensive at first for some new casinos that are just getting started. But when you consider how much casinos spend on different types of advertising, it's clear they have the money, so getting a license shouldn't be a problem for them.

[goldkingcoiner]

no dude, there's still cheap license provider.

That's Anjouan Gaming. I think many casinos have already transferred here. I believe even sportsbet.io has Anjouan Gaming license, it previously has Curaçao gaming license.

https://anjouangaming.com/licensing/fees/



I think this one is the cheapest and most reliable for now.

You call this cheap? God damn, it seems someone can't even manage to run a online casino without having alot of money, that's alot of money and my type of person can't even get closer to the business.

If you aren't made of money don't even think about running a online casino it seems, and it's going to get expired, no wonder casinos are struggling especially the new ones, they need to make money to stay in business.

This is getting interesting day by day, I guess there is a lot I still don't know about running a online casino.

To be fair, licenses aren't strictly necessary.
What if you run a casino without a license? Many countries have no enforcement against either.
So long as you aren't actively trying to recruit people or a certain country it's hard to have trouble.
And even if you are promoting to US or other countries where gambling is regulated you need a specific license so might as well go with 0 licenses because it's not like these cheap offshore licenses grant any special rights for any countries with their own gambling regulation.

Would you gamble on a new casino that did not even have a license? I would not. I think the biggest thing about having a license is public image. Also, I am not sure about whether or not a license is unnecessary. The casino needs to advertise and work with payment processors and have its business protected legally in  certain cases. All things that not having a license would make difficult.

[alani123]

Would you gamble on a new casino that did not even have a license? I would not. I think the biggest thing about having a license is public image. Also, I am not sure about whether or not a license is unnecessary. The casino needs to advertise and work with payment processors and have its business protected legally in  certain cases. All things that not having a license would make difficult.

I've personally gambled on many sites with 0 licenses. It used to be the norm actually, not anymore I guess.
Now the standards have been raised and consumer preferences have shifted as well. Having a license, any license, evokes a sense of trust.
But what is it for a casino to lose an offshore gambling license anyway? I don't think these license offer any real security to the player.
There have been examples of players going all the way to sue a casino in these offshore destinations, and the casinos even if they lose the case, instead of paying, they just drop the license and open one in another offshore territory.

[Zlantann]

I've never really wondered how much a casino license might cost, but I agree with you that for a casino with a solid customer base, it's not an impossibly high amount. It might seem expensive at first for some new casinos that are just getting started. But when you consider how much casinos spend on different types of advertising, it's clear they have the money, so getting a license shouldn't be a problem for them.

Making these license expensive might reduce the rate at which scam casinos get them. The demerit is that it might discourage genuine investors from engaging in casino business. The amount might be small for established casinos but unpopular ones might struggle to raise such funds.

Would you gamble on a new casino that did not even have a license? I would not. I think the biggest thing about having a license is public image. Also, I am not sure about whether or not a license is unnecessary. The casino needs to advertise and work with payment processors and have its business protected legally in  certain cases. All things that not having a license would make difficult.

Although these licenses offer less privileges or security to gamblers, I would still prefer to gamble on a licensed casino. It gives a sense of legitimacy to the casinos and users.

[Alex077]

I remember it used to be the case that an online casino could go through the whole process of acquiring a license under the Curacao sub license scheme for a very affordable price maybe a few hundreds dollars total.

Nowdays, after Curacao changed their licensing process, their license became significantly more expensive. Of course some casinos renewed their license under the new fee scheme that is up to the tens of thousands of USD per year, but some opted for different licenses. I've seen mostly the Anjuan license around but also in some rare cases the Kahnawake license.
...

In my opinion for a serious operator, what matters much more is whether payment providers, banks, game suppliers, and other partners actually recognize and accept that license. After all, you might get a cheap license and then run into problems connecting payment systems or signing deals with major game providers.  But offering a good price alone isn't enough...
But for gamblers, what matters much more isn't how much a license costs, but how effectively the regulator protects their interests.

[xenomorfo]

I didn't know it was that cheap to get a license before. Maybe that's why it didn't last long. The license isn't the problem; the compliance aspect is what makes it hard to ensure it's substantial and applicable to regulations.

Imagine having to deal with these

• AMLC
• KYC
• Corporate administration
• Payment processing

It's probably why it's getting more expensive.

I also think that getting the license isn't really a problem, i think the biggest problem is going through all the bureaucratic process. That in my opinion is the true absolute limit of everything.
Excessive bureaucracy kills the desire to do things.

[Filicius]

Out of curiosity, when you say that Curaçao's licenses were cheap in the past, what price are you talking about?

As per Anjouan Gaming, 18k a year is definitely not cheap, and it is a barrier to entry for many small entrepreneurs who may be interested in trying their luck with their own small casino.

It may sound utopian, but a price based on earnings would seem fairer at first glance.

[cryptomaniac_xxx]

Perhaps the price might have change, it's because there are a some competitions as well.

And specially in crypto, there are a lot of regulations and added features that they need to undergo that's why the license might look expensive at today's time. But it might still the same commissions that overlook the gaming license.

I don't know, since this is gambling, there could be some corruption that might be involved as well and under the table pay to make the license released as early as possible so that casinos that operate.

[Cointxz]

Honestly, I don’t see the difference at all if the casino is licensed and unlicensed especially of its from Anjouan or Curacao considering how unhelpful they are in case of dispute.

Most of the time I look the license as some sort of badge which casino pay for it which I consider an investment for casino to help their reputation boost as user looking for license nowadays regardless if the license provider is truly doing their job.

Online casino will always use for cheaper and less strict alternatives.