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Compare iGaming licences: Great Britain, Malta, Curaçao and the Isle of Man
The first question is not which licence is cheapest but which market your players are in. A market licence such as Great Britain's is required to serve that country's consumers wherever your company sits. A hub licence such as Malta's, Curaçao's or the Isle of Man's authorises you to operate from that jurisdiction, and every country you target still needs its own check. Pick two to four regimes below; every value shows its source, how strong that source is and the date we read it.
| Field | Great Britain | Malta | Curaçao | Isle of Man |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legal status | ||||
| Regulator | UK Gambling Commission LawGambling Act 2005, read 26 October 2026 | Malta Gaming Authority LawGaming Authorisations Regulations (S.L. 583.05), read 26 October 2026 | Curaçao Gaming Authority LawNational Ordinance on Games of Chance (LOK), English translation (archived), read 23 September 2026 | Gambling Supervision Commission Regulator guidanceOnline gambling licence, read 27 October 2026 |
| Main law | Gambling Act 2005 LawGambling Act 2005, read 26 October 2026 | Gaming Act (Chapter 583) and its subsidiary legislation LawGaming Authorisations Regulations (S.L. 583.05), read 26 October 2026 | National Ordinance on Games of Chance (LOK), fully in force since 24 December 2024 LawNational Ordinance on Games of Chance (LOK), English translation (archived), read 23 September 2026 | Online Gambling Regulation Act 2001 Regulator guidancePrimary legislation, read 27 October 2026 |
| Licence model | Market licence: authorises gambling for consumers in Great Britain Kompanion analysisRemote casino operating licence, read 26 October 2026 | Hub licence: authorises services from Malta; each target market needs its own check Kompanion analysisGaming Authorisations Regulations (S.L. 583.05), read 26 October 2026 | Hub licence: authorises services from Curaçao; each target market needs its own check Kompanion analysisNational Ordinance on Games of Chance (LOK), English translation (archived), read 23 September 2026 | Hub licence: authorises services from the Isle of Man; each target market needs its own check Kompanion analysisOnline gambling licence, read 27 October 2026 |
| Licence types | One remote operating licence per gambling activity: casino, bingo, betting, gambling software and others Regulator guidanceRemote casino operating licence, read 26 October 2026 | Two licences: a gaming service licence (B2C) and a critical gaming supply licence (B2B) LawGaming Authorisations Regulations (S.L. 583.05), read 26 October 2026 | B2C Gaming License and B2B Supplier License, issued directly by the CGA Regulator guidanceLOK fees and charges (archived), read 27 October 2026 | Full licence, sub-licence, network services, software supplier and token-based software licences Regulator guidanceOnline gambling licence fees, effective 6 July 2023 (October 2025 edition), read 27 October 2026 |
| Licence term | Not checked yet | 10 years, original or renewed LawGaming Authorisations Regulations (S.L. 583.05), read 26 October 2026 | Indefinite; kept in force by the annual fee rather than renewed LawNational Ordinance on Games of Chance (LOK), English translation (archived), read 23 September 2026 | Five years initial term Independent secondaryGuide to gambling law in the Isle of Man 2026, read 3 September 2026 |
| Market access | ||||
| Covers consumers in Great Britain | Yes. Required wherever the business is based Regulator guidanceRemote casino operating licence, read 26 October 2026 | No. Great Britain requires a UK Gambling Commission licence LawGambling (Licensing and Advertising) Act 2014, read 16 September 2026 | No. Great Britain requires a UK Gambling Commission licence LawGambling (Licensing and Advertising) Act 2014, read 3 September 2026 | No. Great Britain requires a UK Gambling Commission licence LawGambling (Licensing and Advertising) Act 2014, read 3 September 2026 |
| Access to other EU markets | Not applicable: authorises Great Britain only Kompanion analysisRemote casino operating licence, read 26 October 2026 | No passport. EU member states license gambling nationally LawGaming Authorisations Regulations (S.L. 583.05), read 16 September 2026 | Not applicable: Curaçao is not an EU member state Kompanion analysisNational Ordinance on Games of Chance (LOK), English translation (archived), read 23 September 2026 | Not applicable: the Isle of Man is not in the EU Kompanion analysisOnline gambling licence, read 27 October 2026 |
| Regulator fees | ||||
| Application fee | £8,185 for remote casino in the smallest band (GGY under £250,000), rising with GGY to £165,069 Regulator guidanceRemote casino operating licence, read 26 October 2026 | €5,000 one-off LawGaming Licence Fees Regulations (S.L. 583.03), read 26 October 2026 | €4,592 per application, plus €150 per ultimate beneficial owner Regulator guidanceLOK fees and charges (archived), read 27 October 2026 | £5,250 for every licence type Regulator guidanceOnline gambling licence fees, effective 6 July 2023 (October 2025 edition), read 27 October 2026 |
| Annual fee, B2C operator | £7,000 for remote casino in the smallest band, rising with GGY; first annual fee reduced by 25% Regulator guidanceRemote casino operating licence, read 26 October 2026 | €25,000; €10,000 if the licence covers only Type 4 games LawGaming Licence Fees Regulations (S.L. 583.03), read 26 October 2026 | €47,450: €22,960 supervisory fee to the CGA and €24,490 licence fee to the Treasury Regulator guidanceLOK fees and charges (archived), read 27 October 2026 | £36,750 for a full licence; £5,250 for a sub-licence Regulator guidanceOnline gambling licence fees, effective 6 July 2023 (October 2025 edition), read 27 October 2026 |
| Annual fee, B2B supplier | Not checked yet | €25,000 to €35,000 by revenue for suppliers of game elements; €3,000 to €5,000 for suppliers only of regulatory-records software LawGaming Licence Fees Regulations (S.L. 583.03), read 26 October 2026 | €24,490 supervisory fee; no Treasury licence fee Regulator guidanceLOK fees and charges (archived), read 27 October 2026 | £36,750 software supplier licence; £52,500 token-based software or network services Regulator guidanceOnline gambling licence fees, effective 6 July 2023 (October 2025 edition), read 27 October 2026 |
| Tax and revenue charges | ||||
| Revenue-based regulator charge | Not checked yet | Compliance contribution: Type 1 from €15,000 to €375,000 a year at 1.25% falling to 0.40% of revenue; a recognised start-up pays none in its first 12 months LawGaming Licence Fees Regulations (S.L. 583.03), read 26 October 2026 | Not checked yet | Not checked yet |
| Gaming tax or duty | Remote Gaming Duty of 40% of remote gaming profits from UK customers, from 1 April 2026 Regulator guidanceChanges to Gambling Duties (policy paper), read 26 October 2026 | From 1 October 2026: 15% for Type 1 and 10% for Types 2 to 4; for remote gaming, charged on players established or resident in Malta LawLegal Notice 84 of 2026 (gaming tax), read 27 October 2026 | None under the gaming law: its charges are the application and annual fees LawNational Ordinance on Games of Chance (LOK), English translation (archived), read 23 September 2026 | Gambling duty of 1.5% of gross gaming yield up to £20 million, 0.5% from £20 to £40 million, 0.1% above Regulator guidanceGambling duty, read 3 September 2026 |
| Timeline | ||||
| Published decision time | 16 weeks on average for a complete operating licence application; not guaranteed Regulator guidanceLicence application processing times, read 26 October 2026 | Not published. Neither the Act nor the Authority sets a period for deciding an application Regulator guidanceGaming Authorisations and Compliance Directive (Directive 3 of 2018), read 16 September 2026 | Statutory: phase-one decision within 8 weeks of a complete file, final decision within 8 weeks of phase-two documents, each extendable by 4 weeks. The CGA indicates about 3 to 4 months LawNational Ordinance on Games of Chance (LOK), English translation (archived), read 23 September 2026 | 8 to 12 weeks if there are no unexpected issues, per the government's eGaming agency Regulator guidanceTypes of licence and basic criteria, read 27 October 2026 |
| Company and capital | ||||
| Local company and people | No UK company required: licensees in the register include businesses with head offices in Malta, Gibraltar, Cyprus and Ireland Official registerPublic register of gambling businesses, read 26 October 2026 | Not checked yet | Curaçao NV or BV managed by a Curaçao resident; a full-time local key person and exclusive local premises. New B2C licensees under ANG 20 million GGR are exempt from the last two for three fiscal years LawNational Ordinance on Games of Chance (LOK), English translation (archived), read 23 September 2026 | Isle of Man company with at least two local directors and a resident designated official Independent secondaryGuide to gambling law in the Isle of Man 2026, read 3 September 2026 |
| Minimum capital | Not checked yet | Paid-up share capital of €100,000 for Type 1 or 2, €40,000 for Type 3, Type 4 or critical supply; capped at €240,000 Regulator guidanceCapital Requirements Policy, read 16 September 2026 | Not checked yet | Not checked yet |
| Transparency and player protection | ||||
| Public licensee register | Yes. Downloadable register of businesses, licences, activity statuses and declared domains Official registerPublic register of gambling businesses, read 26 October 2026 | Yes. Licensee register with a URL checker, plus an enforcement register Official registerLicensee Register and URL Checker, read 27 October 2026 | Not confirmed. The CGA website and portal returned errors on 27 October 2026 UnverifiedOnline gaming portal (archived), read 27 October 2026 | Yes. Online gambling licensee register with company profiles and live websites Official registerOnline gambling licensee register, read 27 October 2026 |
| Central self-exclusion scheme | Not checked yet | No. Each licensee runs its own; a unified system was only at consultation stage Regulator guidancePlayer Protection Directive (Directive 2 of 2018), read 16 September 2026 | Not checked yet | Not checked yet |
Which licence model fits your business?
- Do you take bets or wagers from consumers in a country that licenses online gambling itself? Then that country's licence is normally required. Great Britain is the example here: no hub licence replaces a UK Gambling Commission licence for British players.
- Are you a B2B supplier of games, platforms or software? Compare supplier licences: Malta's critical gaming supply licence, Curaçao's supplier licence and the Isle of Man's software supplier licence, then check whether each target market also asks for its own supplier approval.
- Are you a B2C operator targeting several markets? A hub licence covers where you operate from. Each target market still has to be checked on its own, because a hub licence does not passport into regulated markets.
What the comparison does not show
- Total cost. Legal fees, company formation, testing labs, staff, banking and payment processing are not regulator charges and are not added in.
- Payment acceptance. Holding a licence does not mean a payment provider will onboard you; provider evidence comes in a later release.
- Requirements in full. AML, technical certification, advertising and player-funds rules are linked from each jurisdiction page but not summarised until a lawyer has reviewed them.
How this comparison is built
Each value is one claim with one source. The badge says how strong that source is:
- Official register read from the regulator's public register.
- Law a statute, regulation or legal notice.
- Regulator guidance the regulator's or government's own page or document.
- Independent secondary a law firm or other independent source, used only where the regulator does not publish the figure.
- Kompanion analysis our classification, such as market versus hub licence, with the source it rests on.
- Unverified could not be confirmed on the date shown.
There is no overall score: weighting fees against market access or decision time depends on your business, so we leave it to you. Fields are rechecked monthly and when a regulator publishes a change. Rules for sources are in the methodology; every source is listed in the source registry. Found an error? Report a correction.