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Updated: Dec, 30 2025

Dedicated Legal Assistance for Earning Gaming License

Online gambling is a flourishing and lucrative industry. One of the most important steps to success is obtaining an online gaming license.

Gambling Licenses - Things to Know

Introduction to Gambling Licences

When programming an online casino, designing a sports betting website, or even preparing a play2earn game, one should look into gambling licenses as early as possible. The industry of games, usually called gambling for the sake of simplicity, is highly regulated in the major part of the world. In order to act faithfully and to protect the players, a gambling project must know about the following information.

What is a gambling license?

Definition of a gambling license

In simple terms, a gambling license is your permit to run a gambling business. Whether it is an online casino, a sports betting site, or both of them combined, you cannot launch them legally until you have obtained a license from one of the authorized jurisdictions. 

The worldwide gambling industry is mostly regulated and can be quite strict in its regulations, too. Since the main goal is to protect the customers from variable dangers, like fraud, money laundering, or gambling addiction, a license is a green light that will gain your casino or sportsbook unwavering trust from governmental authorities and potential clients alike. On top of it, an online gambling license benefits the company itself, protecting it from possible legal obstacles.

Does my business need a gambling license?

Who needs a gambling license?

An official gambling license is an automatic boost to the trustability of your gambling business. Any deals that you have to run with banks, payment systems, partners, and customers go through way faster and easier when you have a license. 

Does your particular business need a gambling license? The answer to this question depends on the types of services you intend to provide. For example, some kinds of casino games do not require a license if their payouts are calculated randomly. 

At the same time, if your startup combines different games and other types of gambling entertainment, the importance of a license gets more complicated to predict. In that case, you will need some legal assistance, which we are always ready to provide.

What are the best gambling licenses?

Which gambling licenses are the best in 2025

The most widespread gambling licensers keep their firm ground in the industry: Curacao, Malta, Anjouan, Costa Rica gambling license, and others. Each of these jurisdictions licenses different types of gambling businesses and has different requirements respectively.

When it comes to the best online gambling licenses, the scope is vast. The question to ask here is: which one of them will be the most beneficial to your startup? To answer it, you might need to contact an expert who will review your particular case and save you the hassle.

Where is the cheapest online gambling license?

The cheapest and easiest gambling licenses to obtain in 2025

Finding the cheapest online gambling license that will meet all your needs is not an easy task. Besides, starting a gambling business is rather expensive in its own right. How much does a gambling license cost?

In every existing jurisdiction, the licensing fee will depend on such aspects as the company type, the scope of provided services, and the license validity period. With some efficient legal assistance, you will be able to balance the price of a license with its cost-effectiveness for your company.

One may argue that offshore gambling licenses tend to have competitive pricing, in comparison to traditional jurisdictions. We studied the matter in our guide to offshore gambling licenses.

Possible activities with a gambling license

Without a gambling license, your online casino is just a website full of exciting games and services that you are unauthorized to offer. A license, however, will add important components such as legality, trustability, and safe cooperation with banks, partners, and clients. It will open doors to many possibilities depending on the gambling activities you plan to provide.

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Online casino
The most widespread type of gambling company is an online casino — a website that offers games with live dealers, such as blackjack, baccarat or roulette, as well as virtual slot machines. All these forms of gambling can and should be regulated for one simple reason: they are addictive, and gambling addiction is a threat not only to vulnerable social groups — anyone can be at risk. With our assistance, you will be able to protect your clients and your reputation at the same time.
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Lottery and raffle
Other popular online gambling sectors are lottery and raffle. In these games, the winner is always chosen randomly. Regulating lottery and raffle gains the trust of players since it ensures that the results are always transparent and fair. Choosing a gambling license that covers these activities might be a hassle — since not all of them do — so we generally recommend consulting a specialist who will help you pick a jurisdiction that works for your company.
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Sports betting
Sports betting, often combined with other gambling activities, is betting on the outcome of a sporting event. Since it is based purely on chance rather than skill, unregulated sports betting can lead to unhealthy addiction and a huge outflow of money on your client’s side. A gambling license picked under the supervision of an expert who knows all the intricacies of the process will prevent these undesirable consequences.
eSports betting image
eSports betting
eSports betting involves guessing the outcomes of cybersports matches and major tournaments. With the current mind-boggling popularity of cybersports in the world, more and more countries require bookmakers to obtain a license before offering eSports betting to clients. If you intend to run such a business legally, contact us to get more details on the licensing process.
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Online poker
Online poker is a unique game in all regards since it is a blend of both chance and skill. Experienced gamblers are unlikely to entrust their money to unlicensed casinos, fearing possible rigging or fraud. With the right type of license that covers online poker, you will secure the game and gain customer trust, which is one of your primary concerns.
Crypto gambling image
Crypto gambling
If you are familiar with Axie Infinity, a blockchain game in which players can buy, sell and trade their crypto tokens, then the concept of crypto gambling should be familiar to you. Games similar to Axie Infinity often use the so-called lootboxes, the mystery boxes that contain in-game rewards of different values. Since the value of what you can get in these boxes is randomized and can be below or above your initial ticket price, most countries and jurisdictions regulate such activities.
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Gambling licenses available with LegalBison

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Process to get a gambling license

Step-by-step general procedure to get licensed

How to obtain a gambling license? The main lines of the process are similar regardless of the jurisdiction, even though the requirements may vary. The key to success is to approach the licensing procedure with all responsibility as one wrong step or oversight can endanger the trustability of your business.

STAGE 1
Usually 1-2 weeks

Forming a company in the desired jurisdiction

The process starts with picking a country to register the gambling startup. Then comes the introduction of your business to the world: what form of a company it will be, what types of services it will provide, and, most importantly, its legal name. This is the most responsible and decisive step of the entire procedure, so we advise consulting an expert before making a choice.

STAGE 2
Depending on the project

Preparing the requirements for the license

The second step of the process is to tailor the corporate details in order to meet all the licensing requirements. This usually means thinking through a set of technical and legal documents, information about the team, corporate and IT schemes, organization charts, business plans, etc. At this stage, it is dangerously easy to overlook crucial details, hence the importance of going through the necessary requirements with a trusted legal specialist.

STAGE 3
Depends on the jurisdiciton

Application to the gambling license

Finally, the last step is to submit a well-shaped and polished application for obtaining a gambling license. In any case, it will be better to have a team of experienced legal professionals who will contact the regulatory body and navigate the procedure on the licensee’s behalf.

What is usually necessary to get licensed

Requirements to run a gambling licensed company

Application
Business plan
IT & Software
Economic substance
Legal documents & consultation

About gambling licenses

Do you need a gambling license for bingo?

Yes, a gambling license is required for most cases of bingo games. Since the outcome of bingo is entirely random, financial regulators want to ensure consumer protection by assessing how the element of randomness is managed by the gaming operator. This assessment takes the form of a gambling license.

Do I need a gambling license for a raffle?

Raffle, just like the lottery, is a rather grey area when it comes to licensing. Depending on what kinds of gambling services you are going to provide in tandem with a raffle, you might need a specific license that will cover them all and leave no gaps in legality and transparency. In that case, it is better to ask a legal expert to help you pick a jurisdiction that will work in your favor.

What is the cheapest online gambling license?

One of the most popular questions we get is: how much is a gambling license? While we can give you approximate licensing fees imposed by each jurisdiction, it is difficult to define which one of them will end up being the cheapest in the long run. The cost of a gambling license will depend on the requirements of your specific startup.

What are the different types of gambling license?

The types of gambling licenses vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. The most popular one is a basic gambling license that will allow you to provide real-money casino games to customers. There are also B2B (business-to-business) licenses issued to game developers to offer their products to online casinos, B2C (Business-to-Consumer) licenses needed to provide gambling services directly to clients, licenses for betting services, online gaming platforms, and gaming software.

What are the requirements to start a casino?

The most important requirement to start an online casino is to obtain a gambling license from one of the authorities. In order to pick a fitting licenser, you need to have a detailed business plan and know exactly what types of gambling services you are going to provide. With efficient legal assistance from an expert, picking a license for your gambling startup will be faster and easier in all regards.

What is the easiest country to get a gambling license in?

First, we need to define “the easiest”. Some of the licensers are more lenient in requirements but they also cover a lesser scope of gambling activities. Besides, the question you might ask is how long does it take to get a gambling license? Since all these aspects depend on your particular company case, it is better to ask for expert assistance before applying for a gambling license.

How do I know if my projects require a gambling license?

There are many aspects you will need to take into account, such as whether your games will have an element of randomness in them and if yes, then to which extent. On top of it, you will have to think through the payout system so that it is both transparent and fair to the customer and beneficial for your business. In any case, we recommend consulting an expert who will deal with your specific case.

Start your gambling company today

Inquire about the cost, timeline, and requirements for setting up a legal entity for your online gambling company now. Our team will gladly answer all your questions. Book a free first call now.

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Gambling License Consulting Team

Our team of experienced professionals to assist you with any question and project pertaining to gaming projects.

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Adrien Marchand Specialist - Associate

Former investment banker turned crypto & gambling regulation specialist.