Cost of a gambling license in Curacao
So you are looking for a cheap gambling license? Well look no futher! Curacao is possibly the most affordable gambling jurisdiction inorder to start a gambling business. However, the costs are a bit more than you would probably expect, here is why.
Gambling license requirements:
Have a local e-zone company
Licensing approval
Own physical hardware on the island
As you can see, you don’t just apply for a license, you setup a company then apply for a license, then you must buy hardware (you can not use your $5 hosting accountin the US).
The following are cost estimates:
E-ZONE COSTS:
Setup and maintenance of an e-zone company are:
EUR5500 – EUR6500 one-time Incorporation fee
EUR3250 – EUR5250 annual management fee
EUR500 – EUR1000 monthly administrtion costs
Your first year for corporate costs are going to be in the region of between: EUR14000 – EUR24,000
LICENSING COSTS:
Licensing fees for the online gaming (sub)license are:
EUR4500 – EUR12000 (annual) license fee (costs vary between providers)
EUR1000 – (one-time) application fee
Depending on the sub-license provider, you are in for between: EUR5500 – EUR13000 for your first year hosting fees.
HARDWARE COSTS:
You will require hardware on the island in order to satisfy the permanent establishment requirement (PE).
Server cost: $1200 – $2500 (per server)
Hosting costs: EUR6000 – EUR12000 / annum
A single server is not going to offer you redundancy, so you will likely want to buy at least three servers.
So as you can see, the real cost of a gambling license is a lot more than just the license application.
In reality, you will be spending at least EUR40,000 per annum in order to satisfy the legal requirements.
While this is a lot cheaper than most other jurisdictions, the costs do add up and they will become higher as online gambling becomes increasingly regulated.