Updated: August 19, 2026.
local market licenses
offshore licenses
jurisdictions compared
Regulatory ground has shifted under operators more than once in the past eighteen months. Curaçao replaced its master/sub-license system with direct licensing under the LOK reform. Peru’s market only opened in February 2024 and is still being restructured. Mexico’s federal gambling tax nearly doubled for 2026. Picking a licensing jurisdiction today means picking a moving target, and getting it wrong costs an operator months, not days.
Do you need to serve players resident in one specific country?
Access to players in one specific country.
SEGOB / DGJS
Closed to new standalone permits
Internet betting exists only as an extension of a land-based permit. The practical route in is a partnership with an existing permisionario.
Coljuegos
Open since 2016
The first regulated online market in Latin America and still the most centralized: one national regulator, one concession contract.
MINCETUR / DGJCMT
Open since February 2024
A young market still being restructured. Casino and sports betting take separate authorization codes, each registered before that vertical can go live.
LOTBA, IPLyC and other provincial regulators
Closed to new applicants
Twenty-four provinces and no federal license. Both markets worth having have been closed to new applicants since 2024 — this is an acquisition market, not an application market.
Local market licenses grant access to players in one country, and are the only legal route into markets that require them. Offshore licenses grant one broad authorization across many markets at lower cost and faster approval, but carry less recognition with tier-one payment processors and never substitute for a required local license.
Within each group, the status badge shows whether a new applicant can get in at all: Open, Capped, Closed to new applicants, Betting only, or State monopoly.
The two offshore licenses our operators choose most often. Since the LOK reform, the gap between them has widened.
| Curaçao | Anjouan | |
|---|---|---|
| Year-one budget | €75,000–150,000 all-in | ~€17,000–18,000 |
| Approval | 3–8 months | 4–8 weeks |
| GGR tax | 0% | 0% |
| Local presence | Required: local entity, resident director, office, server on the island | Not required |
| Payment processor recognition | Broad | Limited |
| One license covers | Casino, sportsbook, poker, lotteries | — |
| Best for | Brands planning to scale into tier-one banking and provider relationships | Early-stage launches testing a market fast and cheap |
The two numbers operators ask about first, side by side.
| How much it costs | How long it takes | |
|---|---|---|
| Anjouan | ~€17,000–18,000 | 4–8 weeks |
| Costa Rica | 8,000–25,000 | – |
| Tobique | ~36,000–40,000 (reported) | – |
| Kahnawake | ~$40,000 | 6–8 months |
| Curaçao | €75,000–150,000 | 3–8 months |
| Malta | €80,000–250,000+ | 6–9 months |
| Colombia | ~€250,000 + guarantee | – |
| Brazil | Tens of millions of reais | – |
| Philippines | – | – |
| Mexico | – | 12–18 months |
Local licenses in Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Paraguay have no publicly fixed decision period.
A license is what unlocks the rest of the business:
Mainstream PSPs and acquiring banks tier operators by license quality; an unlicensed or weak offshore-only operator gets locked out of the payment rails a serious brand needs.
Most top-tier game studios and sportsbook feed providers require a valid license before they’ll sign a commercial agreement.
Regulated ad networks and affiliate programs in most markets require proof of a valid local or recognized offshore license before onboarding a brand.
A licensed operator has a regulator of last resort for player complaints, which affiliate reviewers and player forums treat as a baseline trust signal.
An unlicensed operator has a much weaker position enforcing payment, provider, or player disputes in local courts.
| B2C license | B2B license | |
|---|---|---|
| Who needs it | Operators taking bets or running a casino directly with players | Platform providers, aggregators and software vendors supplying licensed operators without holding player funds |
| Where | Every market the brand serves | Only where a jurisdiction runs a separate B2B track |
| Examples | Required in all BSW core markets | Malta today; Curaçao for island-based suppliers from around December 2026 |
A platform provider working under the operator’s license, the way BSW’s technology stack operates, typically doesn’t need its own B2C authorization in each market. Confirm which category applies, and by when, before assuming a single license covers both roles.
Requirements differ by jurisdiction, but most licensing processes follow the same eight steps.
Two steps consistently take longer than applicants expect. The financial guarantee often triggers a second round of source-of-funds documentation, and in Curaçao and Malta, certification is slowed less by paperwork than by standing up a genuine local office, director and compliance team. Booking accredited lab time early, before the rest of the filing is ready, saves more time than any other single step.
The document set behind those eight steps looks similar across most jurisdictions on this page:
Documents issued outside the licensing jurisdiction typically need translation and apostille or notarization before filing. A few jurisdictions add requirements this general list doesn’t cover.
A license is only as good as the platform behind it. Regulators expect the technology stack to handle certified RNG and game integrity, reporting integration with the regulator’s own systems, responsible gambling tooling, KYC and AML screening at onboarding and on an ongoing basis, and payment methods that match what players in that market actually use.
BSW’s custom platform goes live in 1–2 days once branding and configuration are confirmed, with RNG-certified game integrations, KYC and AML tooling, and responsible gambling controls built in from day one — so the platform side doesn’t become the bottleneck once a license clears. It connects to a sportsbook, an aggregator and API layer covering hundreds of certified providers, and a payments stack scoped to the region.
BSW does not handle gambling licensing itself. Licensing and legal authorization stay with the operator and vary by jurisdiction.
The two numbers operators ask about first, side by side.
| Market | Regulator | Cost | Timeline | Tax on GGR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | SPA | Tens of millions of reais | Not publicly fixed | 12%, rising to 18% by 2028 |
| Colombia | Coljuegos | ~€250,000/year + guarantee | Not publicly fixed | 15% after prizes + temporary 19% VAT |
| Peru | MINCETUR | Application fee + guarantee of 3% of net income or 600 UIT | Not publicly fixed | 12% + 1% ISC on wagers |
| Paraguay | CONAJZAR | Tender-based | Tied to tender cycle | ~22% + 10% corporate |
| Argentina | LOTBA / IPLyC | Acquisition, priced deal by deal | Several months | ~15–17% in Buenos Aires |
| Mexico | SEGOB | Permisionario partnership | 12–18 months | 50% IEPS + state prize tax |
| South Africa | Nine provincial authorities | Varies by province | Varies by province | 6–15% provincial |
| Tunisia | Promosport | No private route | — | — |
| Curaçao | CGA | €75,000–150,000 year one | 3–8 months | 0% |
| Anjouan | AOFA | ~€17,000–18,000/year | 4–8 weeks | 0% |
| Malta | MGA | €80,000–250,000+ year one | 6–9 months | 5%, rising to 10–15% from Oct 2026 |
| Kahnawake | KGC | ~$40,000 year one | 6–8 months | 0% |
| Costa Rica | None | 8,000–25,000 all-in | 4–8 weeks | No gaming tax regime |
| Tobique | TGC | ~36,000–40,000/year (reported) | A few weeks (reported) | 0% (reported) |
| Philippines | PAGCOR | ~$40,000–50,000 + $440,000 capital | 3–6 months | 30%, domestic only |
Data verified as of August 2026 from regulator publications and industry sources. Confirm current figures with the relevant regulator before filing.
It depends heavily on the jurisdiction. Offshore licenses run from under €20,000 a year (Anjouan) to a realistic €75,000–150,000 first-year budget (Curaçao) or €80,000–250,000+ (Malta). Local licenses in BSW’s core markets range from an application fee plus a revenue-based guarantee (Peru, Colombia) to a seven-figure federal authorization fee (Brazil).
Anjouan can clear in four to eight weeks. Curaçao typically takes three to eight months depending on documentation quality, Malta six to nine months. Local licenses in regulated Latin American markets generally run from four months to over a year, depending on how much local partnership structuring and technical certification the process requires.
In most of BSW’s core markets, yes. Argentina’s Buenos Aires province and Mexico’s permisionario model both require a local partner or entity by law, and Curaçao and Malta now require a genuine local office and resident director. Anjouan and Kahnawake are the more flexible options.
An offshore license like Curaçao or Anjouan lets an operator serve players in many markets not otherwise restricted, but it doesn’t substitute for a local license once a market — Brazil, Colombia, Peru and others — requires its own authorization to serve resident players.
Since December 24, 2024, Curaçao issues licenses directly through the Curaçao Gaming Authority rather than through master license holders. Every operator on an old sub-license lost that authorization when the last one expired on January 31, 2025, and every licensee now has to maintain genuine local substance on the island.
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