Topic: Does online casinos need a permit to operate? (Read 91 times)

Wow that was really fast.  

Thank you to all for your answers.



Yes I am, is pretty obvious no?


Sorry if the question was so dumd i am new in this Gambling sections my only touch with gambling was when i worked for a casino : I Maintained Slot Machines: The Truth Behind the Wins.


Thank you I am going to start loking at this.

Gotcha thanks!


Wow, thanks this will help a lot

There are some members on this forum with great experience in operating a casino and would be good if you can reach out to them if they don't drop their comments on this thread. For example one of the is  -  SirJohnVonSlotty. He has a detailed thread on operating an online casino. In there are Frequently Asked Question. You can even find some of the answers to your questions there. Here is the thread titled - AMA: I Operate an Online Casino

You just have to check the terms of every casino, and you will find out that you need one. The cost of getting a license goes to thousands of dollars; if this is not needed, these reputable casinos will not bother to get one.
And since you are launching a casino, you should know the process of getting one. its better to be guided by a lawyer that deals with online gaming because they have a better answer on why you should get a license to operate.

Definitely you can't operate without a permit.
That's why some casinos can be found in certain countries but restricted in another.
Well everything still boils down to the country
Some laws are Casino friendly while some ain't
But to operate you have to be in compliance with their regulations.
Success on your endeavors.

Simple as that, a person developing an online casino should get a license first before they do anything else, as if they cannot get the license, then all the time, effort and money put into the development of the casino will go to waste, now I have seen some casinos that did not made a reference to be licensed and then at some point in time did so, and I am not sure if at the time the license was still being processed or if the casino owner decide to take the risk and run their business without a license, and only once the casino became a success they got one, but it is simply nor worth to take the risk to do this, as I suppose the fines a casino owner will expose themselves are no joke.

If you want to make your business legal, you need to get a license first. Online gambling is never an exception. If you want to start your own gambling website, have your license first and make yourself updated on your own local laws about gambling, particularly those legal and regulatory matters.

Know that the requirements to obtain an online gambling business varies from country to country. So country’s specific jurisdictions might differ from one another as well. However, it’s best to consult an expert first before you will go through the tough procedures in obtaining a license. It’s a lot of paper works most probably, so you need to be guided prior to the submitting of your license application.

Ironically, even with the anonymity (privacy ) feature with cryptocurrency  a lot of crypto casino gamblers drags foot with using online crypto casinos that operating without a legit registered license.

And the reasons for this is not unconnected to the fears that casinos with no license can't guarantee some level of security and fairness, and protection of data on the platform. Etc.

Different strokes for different folks.

If you live in a country that has clear laws on gambling and how casino licenses are issued and you intend to set up a casino that also operates in your country, in the sense that you accept people from your country to create accounts and play. Then you must have a license issued by the government of your country and you must also have a license issued by the government of Curacao if you intend to accept customers from other countries, but you must state in the TOS that citizens of restricted countries and countries where gambling is prohibited are prohibited. If you operate a casino without a license, then you will be committing a crime, of course the governments would only pursue you if they realized that your casino moves a lot of money and the prison sentence for operating a casino without a license is high, because the governments will also accuse you of money laundering.

Typically, Unlicensed casino is just being banned or restricted to use on countries which doesn’t allow unlicensed casino to operate but facing legal is very rare to happened since there’s no company or specific people to address the lawsuit unless the identity of the operator is posted publicly in the casino which is not happening on unlicensed casino that typically operates anonymously.


Most of the time 3rd world country like in Philippines. Our regulators are less strict on regulating online casino. Even Binance that is widely ban here still operate just because our government can’t remove the listing of this app on playstore and appstore.  

The steps you will take to register a casino will depend on the licensor and the jurisdiction you want your casino to cover.

The majority of online casinos have a Curacao license. Malta might also have an easy license process. I also suspect that getting license from these counties is cheaper.  

Gamblers are more comfortable gambling with casinos that have licenses. They believe they can be trusted since they are regulated.
 
Countries where online gambling is unregulated

You can also seek legal advice from a professional or guidance from a casino owner. 

I will skip some of the earlier questions and jump straight to this one. If you want to monetize it, then you need to make players comfortable to give you their money. If there was a loophole to allow running a casino without a license it will turn away lots of players and build a bad rep for your casino from the very start.

Now, I do not think such loophole exists. You will struggle to find a region to base hassle free and cannot spread your reach to other regions.

- Jay -

I think it depends on country you are residing. If you are paying your income taxes to X country, then you should do whatever they ask. Crypto used to be unregulated in many parts of the world so you didn't need a license back then but that's probably not the case anymore because many countries treat it as a commodity or a currency. Even if you don't need a gambling license to operate, you still have to pay your taxes. That's more important than having no license.

You are right but not totally. There are many online gambling sites that KYC is not still mandatory and they obtained a license from a country just like the Curacao license which is seen as one of the cheapest licenses in the world and provide gambling services to many people in many countries in the world. But some countries may not or may not later accept such a gambling site to operate in their country because they need the casino to pass all their regulatory licenses policies before giving it license.

Is this even a question?
Yes, you need a license to operate in a country, it doesn't matter where your business is based or if you have a presence there, there is always confusion about thinking online means you don't need to answer to the said laws, in reality, the things pretty simple, you interact with a client in a country, you provide this guy with a service, so in order to do so you have to have a license to provide this service in the said country!

Nothing can be more clear then looking at casinos and their license in Europe and realizing some are banned in Spain and Germany while operating in France, while some banned in France are operating in Spain, although both are based in the UK.


As for your other questions, for real up to date answers as information from March might be already outdated, you need to consult a lawyer, the only one I can answer is the second one, as again it doesn't matter where you operate let's say Suriname, it matters to whom you offer those services, so if you have Japanese clients you need to above the laws there and get a license there!

You'll find that most large operators will buy their licenses from overshore jurisdictions and it is questionable how rigorous that license is vetted. Some of these island nations selling a gambling license will do very few checks and rarely revoke a license even when wrongdoing is found. It is a huge source of income for many of these tiny nations. As for the owners and operators, they will likely be subject to many regulations and laws of the country they live in, even if their casino company is based in a different place. It can just be hard to unmask the owners in many situations so they can avoid prosecution by simply staying hidden.

An online casino is just like every other business, and if it is in the goal of the owner of the business for it to last long, they would seek legal documentation and license to operate, casinos online are not left out this is why I think all casinos online that have stayed long have proper licensing and legal documents. Any online casino operating without a license should be feared because that can mean that they do not plan to be in the casino business for long, and maybe are just waiting for the right time to run away with people's deposits.

Almost every casino that runs signature campaigns is having licence and it is why KYC is mandated in the casinos. Having licence is important as per the laws but few years back there are many casinos that are trusted here didn't have any. But now people look for the existence of licence which forced the crypto casinos to have one.

Even with license they might be restricted to operate in certain countries which is why we usually see banned countries list in their TOS.

It's a bit of paperwork but not really complicated, all it needs the money starting from $10k as annual fee and one time application fee of 30 to 40K.

It's a similar question that I ask before Do you ever had legal problem due to playing on Curacao licenses online casinos?.

The answer is yes, if you want to comply with the regulations.

If you didn't get authorization from the country where you accept in your casino, your casino are either in grey area or illegal, depends on the regulations where they treat online casino without authorization.

They did. It seems you are new on gambling discussion board right?

This license of the online casino is the main culprit why KYC was already implemented started to become mandatory on some casino which is a real pain in the ass for privacy seeker user since crypto was design to use anonymously.

There’s tons of legal paperwork to do and all details is available on license providers website. You can checkout Curacao license which is the most popular license being use by most casino here.

Well that is the question: Does online casinos need a permit to operate?

Let me give you a bit of context. I'm a developer for computer programs, and I've recently been exploring the idea of building an online casino. I already have the code for some basic games, such as bingo and slots, and my next step is to monetize it through a website.

However, before moving forward, I want to understand the legal framework. Do I need a specific permit, license or certificate to operate an online casino?

I asked ChatGPT about this, and according to its response, operating an online casino is illegal in most countries unless you have a proper license. There are a few exceptions, such as Costa Rica or Panama, where regulations are less strict or nonexistent, but it seems like even in those places, running an unlicensed casino could come with risks, like limited trust from players or payment processors refusing to work with you.

What has really caught my attention is that many casinos promoting their platforms through signature campaigns here on the forum must have gone through some sort of paperwork to operate legal or did they?

I’m curious:

- For those of you who have experience in this field, what steps did you take to comply with the laws in your jurisdiction?
- Are there any jurisdictions where running an online casino is genuinely hassle-free?
- Do unlicensed operators face significant challenges in terms of legality, financial services, or attracting players?
- What about countries where gambling laws are vague or don’t specifically cover online platforms?

Personally, I’m not looking to cut corners I want to build something sustainable and compliant. But understanding the range of experiences out there would really help clarify my thoughts.

It would be great to hear your thoughts, especially if you’ve worked in this industry or know someone who has. How do all these platforms we see here handle their licensing and compliance? Is it as complex as it sounds, or are there workarounds?

Looking forward to reading your answers.

Best regards!