DCG IGAMING License
A one stop shops for any B2B, B2C operators looking for a gambling license or any other approval from a gaming regulator.
GAMBLING LICENSE CONULTANCY
A one stop shops for any B2B, B2C operators looking for a gambling license or any other approval from a gaming regulator. We also assist companies with all their relocation needs.
Most business owners are not knowledgeable about enough jurisdictions to be able to make an informed decision about where to license their business, nor do they know enough about the regulatory process itself to be able to execute it in the most efficient way.
This is where DCG Advisers comes in. Our team has an impressively experienced with the regulatory process for a range of different licenses for online businesses, including the most attractive jurisdictions for each type of license.
We partner with law firms in several countries that have unrivaled expertise when it comes to licensing and regulation in their respective countries.
LICENSE GAMBLING FOR MALTA
DCG Advisers offers a “one-stop-shop” service to online gaming operators by assisting clients in setting up or relocating their gaming operation to Malta or other jurisdiction by assisting clients in submitting and pursuing a Gaming Licence application to the Authority.
The MGA offers predominantly two types of licences, and applicants may apply for either a gaming service or a critical gaming supply licence as explained below. Applicants may opt to apply for both, depending on the way their business operation is set up.
Gaming service licence is a business-to-consumer (B2C) licence to offer or carry out a gaming service. A critical gaming supply licence is a business-to-business (B2B) licence to provide or carry out a critical gaming supply.
The following services shall each constitute a gaming service: offering, provision or operation of a gaming service; and hosting by a person in his premises accessible to the public, the operation or making available for use a gaming device or gaming system.
The following services shall each constitute a critical gaming supply: supply and management of material elements of a game; and supply and management of software, to generate, capture, control or process essential regulatory record and/or supply and management of the control system itself on which the software resides.
Applicants applying for a gaming service or a critical gaming supply can offer one or more of the following game types:
- Type 1 – Games of chance played against the house, the outcome of which is determined by a random generator, and shall include casino type games, including roulette, blackjack, baccarat, poker played against the house, lotteries, secondary lotteries and virtual sports games;
- Type 2 – Games of chance played against the house, the outcome of which is not generated randomly, but is determined by the result of an event or competition extraneous to a game of chance, and whereby the operator manages his or her own risk by managing the odds offered to the player;
- Type 3 – Games of chance not played against the house and wherein the operator is not exposed to gaming risk, but generates revenue by taking a commission or other charge based on the stakes or the prize, and shall include player versus player games such as poker, bingo, betting exchange, and other commission based games;
- Type 4 – Controlled skill games as per regulation 8 of the Gaming Authorisations Regulations. Further information can be obtained here.
Provided further that in the case of a game displaying elements which may fall under more than one of the types referred to above, it would be up to the MGA’s discretion to categorise the game in the type it believes closest reflects the nature of the game.
The MGA requires a separate approval for each gaming vertical that requires safeguards in order to ensure that it is offered in a manner which adheres to the Law and the regulatory objectives:
- Casino;
- Live casino;
- Lotteries and secondary lotteries;
- Fixed odds betting;
- Pool betting, including betting exchange;
- Poker and other commission-based, peer-to-peer games such as bingo, but excluding betting exchange;
- Lottery messenger services; and;
- Controlled skill games.
- Administrative & Licence Fees
- Administrative Fees Table
- Licence & Compliance Dues
The Gaming Licence Fees Regulations (L.N. 409 of 2017) , were brought into force on 1 January 2018. Any person in possession of a licence issued by the MGA shall pay the Authority the appropriate non-refundable fixed annual licence fee. Licensees shall also pay the compliance contribution depending on the type of approval issued by the Authority.
Fixed Annual Licence Fee (B2C ONLY):
| Fixed Annual License Fee |
| Non-refundable Fixed Annual Licence Fee |
| Non-refundable Fixed Annual Licence Fee for operators providing solely Type 4 gaming services |
Fixed Annual Licence Fee (B2B ONLY):
| Fixed Annual Licence Fee | |
| Licence Fee for providers supplying solely Type 4 gaming supplies | €10,000 |
Compliance Contribution
Gaming Service Licence – B2C
| B2C – Type 1 Gaming Services | Minimum* €15,000; Maximum €375,000 | |
| Compliance Contribution for the Financial Year** | Rate |
| For every euro of the first €3,000,000 | 1.25% |
| For every euro of the next €4,500,000 | 1.00% |
| For every euro of the next €5,000,000 | 0.85% |
| For every euro of the next €7,500,000 | 0.70% |
| For every euro of the next €10,000,000 | 0.55% |
| For every euro of the remainder | 0.40% |
| B2C – Type 2 Gaming Services Minimum* €25,000; Maximum €600,000 | |
| Compliance Contribution for the Financial Year** | Rate |
| For every euro of the first €3,000,000 | 4.00% |
| For every euro of the next €4,500,000 | 3.00% |
| For every euro of the next €5,000,000 | 2.00% |
| For every euro of the next €7,500,000 | 1.00% |
| For every euro of the next €10,000,000 | 0.80% |
| For every euro of the next €10,000,000 | 0.60% |
| For every euro of the remainder | 0.40% |
| B2C – Type 3 Gaming Services Minimum* €25,000; Maximum €500,000 | |
| Compliance Contribution for the Financial Year** | Rate |
| For every euro of the first €2,000,000 | 4.00% |
| For every euro of the next €3,000,000 | 3.00% |
| For every euro of the next €5,000,000 | 2.00% |
| For every euro of the next €5,000,000 | 1.00% |
| For every euro of the next €5,000,000 | 0.80% |
| For every euro of the next €10,000,000 | 0.60% |
| For every euro of the remainder | 0.40% |
| B2C – Type 4 Gaming Services Minimum* €5,000; Maximum €500,000 | |
| Compliance Contribution for the Financial Year** | Rate |
| For every euro of the first €2,000,000 | 0.50% |
| For every euro of the next €3,000,000 | 0.75% |
| For every euro of the next €5,000,000 | 1.00% |
| For every euro of the next €5,000,000 | 1.25% |
| For every euro of the next €5,000,000 | 1.50% |
| For every euro of the next €10,000,000 | 1.75% |
| For every euro of the remainder | 2.00% |
Critical Gaming Supply Licence – B2B
| B2B – Critical Gaming Supply | Annual Licences fees used (supply & manage material elements of the game) | |
| Licence Fees on Annual Revenue | Fee |
| Where annual revenue does not exceed €5,000,000 | €25,000 |
| Where annual revenue exceeds €5,000,000 but does not exceed €10,000,000 | €30,000 |
| Where annual revenue exceeds €10,000,000 | €35,000 |
| B2B – Critical Gaming Supply | Annual Licences fees used (supply & management of software) | |
| Licence Fees on Annual Revenue | Fee |
| Annual revenue does not exceed €1,000,000 | €3,000 |
| Annual revenue in excess of €1,000,000 | €5,000 |
5% Gaming Tax
5% Gaming Tax is applied on Gaming Revenue generated from Malta based players. Determination of taxability is whether the player is established, has his permanent address and/or usually resides in Malta.
* Minimum compliance contribution for new operators will not apply until the first financial year end of operations following licence acquisition.
** Start-Ups who qualify under the Directive on Start-Up Undertakings will benefit from a moratorium period of 12 months in which they are exempt from paying compliance contribution.
The Curaçao authorities can issue two different types of egaming licences:
- Master Licence: Curaçao basic licence, but also allowing licencees to sub-licence. The Master Licence allows holders to offer any type of e-gaming business, covering all casino games, sports betting, exchanges, lotteries, games of skill and chance and also bingo. Same privileges can be passed on to the sub-licencees, who would thus be operating under the auspices of the Master Licence. (A White Label concept). Only few companies are in possession of a Master Licence.
- Sub-Licence: This type of licence is very similar to the Master Licence and allows licencees to offer all types of services which are allowed to Master Licence holders. The main difference between the two is that Master Licence holders are allowed to sub-licence, but sub-licencees are not allowed to sub-licence to other third parties. To obtain a sub-licence, a company needs to apply with holders of a Master Licence.
The Curaçao licence allows holders to offer gaming and betting services to practically everywhere across the globe.
Obtaining a Curaçao e-gaming licence, is not considered complicated, but going through a service provider like IGA (iGaming Advisors) is a must in order to obtain a pre-approval and then be able to apply for an e-gaming and IP License. A pre-approval is usually granted within 24 hours, with the licence roughly being issued within a period of 4 to 6 weeks.
You will need to have hardware based in Curaçao with at least your customer database on the local (Curaçao) server in order to comply with the Permanent Establishment Requirement (PE). Then you can apply for a Sublicense from a Master License holder.
Once issued, a Curaçao e-gaming licence is valid indefinitely, unless cancelled. Hence there is no need to formally request a renewal of the licence as long as it is kept active, with the annual licence fees duly paid on time.
Administrative & Licence Fees
Curaçao tax on net profits is only 2%, but in order to obtain a licence and start your business, you need to get assistance from a corporate service provider.
Depending on whether you set up the company through the same Master licence providing you with the sub-licence or else you set up the company directly through a trust management company, incorporation and initial set up fees can obviously differ.
The solution and the type of company you opt for, will then determine your ongoing company costs in Curaçao.
In addition, one needs to keep in mind that to satisfy the Permanent Establishment (PE) requirements, servers must be located in Curaçao, and this may or may not be costly, depending on whether or not you have the right partner.
Licensing fees for the online gaming sub-licence are:
| Licence Application Fee (one-time) | €4,500 to €12,500 (depending on the Master Licence provider chosen) |
| Annual Licence Fee | €1,500 |
To obtain an online gambling licence, an application must be filed with the National Gambling Office. The gaming license is issued for a period of 10 years for Class 1 Licences. In Romania there are predominantly 2 types of licences available, since the 3rd type is restricted to lottery games which are run by the State Monopoly.
In order to operate in Romania, a gambling operator must apply for both a Class 1 Licence to organise games of chance, as well as one or several authorisations to operate/offer games.
In Romania, both B2C operators and B2B operators require a licence.
Class 1 Licence: Licence for Business to Consumer (B2C) operators who want to target the Romanian players.
Class 2 Licence: Licence for Business to Business (B2B) operators, which include the provision of gaming software and its distribution, as well as providing game platform management and hosting facilities.
Categories of B2B suppliers that would need to obtain a licence by the ONJN include the following:
- Software providers;
- Platform management and hosting services;
- Certification labs;
- Game manufacturing, production and delivery to B2Cs;
- Casino providers (including live casinos);
- Affiliates.
Class 3 Licence: This licence covers the organisation and operation of lottery games, whether as land-based or online, and which are exclusively run by the State Monopoly of Romania, “Loteria Romana”.
To obtain a licence from the Romania, a company must be established with the EU, EEA or Swiss Confederation, and operators having game servers outside the Romanian territory must implement and install a mirror server in Romania, replicating the main gambling activity as required by ONJN.
In addition to this, operators targeting the Romanian players, must appoint a local representative, who would be the key person representing the operator with the Romanian authorities.
Class 1 operators can only obtain payment services from operators in possession of a Class 2 licence duly issued by the Romanian regulator, and all transactions need to take place through a Romanian bank account.
Gambling organizer’s license fees (annual):
| Gambling organizer’s license fees (annual): | |
|---|---|
| Lottery games | €115,000 |
| Mutual Betting | €45,000 |
| Fix-rate Betting | €25,000 |
| Counterpart Betting | €25,000 |
| Game of chance characteristic of casinos | €95,000 |
| Game of chance characteristic of Poker clubs | €15,000 |
| Slot machine-type games | €20,000 |
| Bingo games taking place in gambling halls | €10,000 |
| Bingo games of chance organized via television network systems | €70,000 |
1st Class Licence: This is granted to operators organizing remote games of chance, who have direct contracts with players, and is calculated according to the organizer’s turnover.
2nd Class Licence: for legal persons involved in the field of traditional and remote games of chance, as well as conformity evaluation bodies. This is subject to a fee of EUR 6000/ year.
3rd Class Licence: for the State monopoly remote games provided for in Article 10(1)(h) of the Emergency Ordinance.
| Poker festivals | €5,000 |
| Temporary casino-type games (valid three months) | €23,750 |
| Temporary slot machine-type games (valid three months) | €5,000 |
| Temporary bingo-type games in halls (valid three months) | €2,500 |
| Tombola type of games -traditional game | €5,000 |
| Video lottery game-traditional game | €50,000 |
II. Gambling operator’s authorization fees (annual):
| Traditional lottery-type games: €180,000 | |
| Mutual betting – traditional: 16 % of the organizer’s income from games of chance, as defined in Article 11 of this Emergency Ordinance, but not less than: €90,000 | |
| Fixed-rate betting – traditional: 16 % of the organizer’s income from games of chance, as defined in Article 11 of this Emergency Ordinance, but not less than: €90,000 | |
| Counterpart betting – traditional: 16 % of the organizer’s income from games of chance, as defined in Article 11 of this Emergency Ordinance, but not less than: €90,000 |
Solutions
DCG offers services covering most functions of setup and operations, all services are designed to either improve productivity, profit or ensure compliance with local legislation.
If you have a specific service that you need to improve then feel free to contact us to discuss your needs.
- Platform
- Payment
- Management