Gambling / Online Casino license for Seychelles company is it possible?

You will want to look into Costa Rica or Isle of Man.

Online gaming or professional gambling companies are no go here. The registry wont incorporate anything with a name that even comes close to mentioning gambling and the banks won't touch them either.

What about a GAME (not gaming / gambling) business for online games is that allowed?

Philippines has Online Casino licenses that are not difficult to obtain

What about a GAME (not gaming / gambling) business for online games is that allowed?

Thats allowed and no problem at all.

Seychelles requires licensing, The Interactive Gambling Act, 2003.

Can find very little information on the application process, must be done by a Seychelles individual. Casino City shows only 1 licensee (SlotStar / Simbat Entertainment Systems Ltd), however Casino City does not verify any licensing claims.

A Curaçao sublicense is by far the cheapest and most straight-forward to acquire, but I don't know if it helps you much with banking.

AFAIK Cyprus (like Costa Rica) does not yet require explicit licensing and does have operators (Casino City shows 45 brands). Not sure what the Cypriot banks think about that though, and it seems to conflict with information provide here by CCLogic.

Gibraltar license is very cheap to acquire but they claim they will only deal with Blue Chip established operators that already have a license elsewhere.

AFAIK Cyprus (like Costa Rica) does not yet require explicit licensing and does have operators (Casino City shows 45 brands). Not sure what the Cypriot banks think about that though, and it seems to conflict with information provide here by CCLogic.

Well the point is that the OP is asking for a license to run a Online Casino and for that reason need to obtain a license. This you can forget about in Cyprus! if you read anywhere that it may be possible then good luck and feel free to jump on that train we will not engage in such. A physical Casino is something different.

CostaRicaLawyer said:

I can help open bank accounts in both Costa Rica and Panama. You do not need a casino License to operate in Costa Rica. It is called a data processing license.
Banks in Costa Rica will not open accounts for gaming. You will have to form a Costa Rica SA for a marketing/real estate type of company. Same thing in Panana.

I'm working with several start up companies now doing the same.

Lic Giovanna Barrantes

Sorry my mistake, thank you for clarification on that part, good to have you on board to clarify.

Sorry my mistake, thank you for clarification on that part, good to have you on board to clarify.

More clever to stick to what you know about ;)

Errr... no, not the same thing in Panama. Yes, most the Costa Rican operations open bank accounts in Panama (under guise of being a data processing company), and that is probably fine. However, Panama does have an explicit licensing system for online casinos and sportsbooks. You could use a Panama corporation under guise of data processing, but you will risk running foul of the licensing regime.

Admin said:

Well the point is that the OP is asking for a license to run

"OP" is what?

Depends on who is asking for a license as to which license from what jurisdiction is best. As I already said, Curaçao sublicense thru Cyberluck is the cheapest/quickest option, but won't necessarily help you much with banking. Isle of Man is much better for banking, but it's 35,000 pounds plus taxes on revenue, and the application process is much more substantial.

Last edited by a moderator: Feb 3, 2011

OP = Original Poster 😛

Maydi, do you know how to obtain a license in Curacao? Does it require staff, office and all this?

Isle of Man is much better for banking, but it's 35,000 pounds plus taxes on revenue

Is that all to pay for a fully operative Online Casino, what do I get for this money?

fxstarter said:

Need to know if I can have a license for my online casino business in the Seychelles?
This is my second venture and as my partners are ready to move forward with an online casino software from Microgames we would need a offshore company in a country where it is easy to obtain a license and it must be cheap!

We have been looking into Costa Rica where it is easy to get a license and company but we can't get any bank account or merchant account for processing credit cards so we need a country where we can have it all.

Costa Rica has by far the most relaxed regulatory regime of any country.

No formal gambling license exists nor is required.

Some, would try and sell what they call a "data processing license" this is simply a municipal license with some wording which implies licensing of gambling. The truth is, it is NOT necessary and NOT recognized by any bank(s) anywhere in the world.

The poster makes a great point, once you have the Costa Rican company, which is all you need to legally operate an online gambling business from Costa Rica, the next problem is Banking, Payment Processing, etc

Most providers out there lack the relationships and contacts to provide these critical pieces of the puzzle. This is why it is important to deal with experienced well connected professionals.

Solutions are available.

Spammed advertising, please read the TOS!

Last edited by a moderator: Jun 28, 2011

Obtaining a license in Curacao is a rather simple procedure.

Local director is required.

Total cost for the first year will run in the 27000-29000 EURO range including setting up merchant services, banking, local director, etc, etc.

EliasIT said:

OP = Original Poster 😛
Maydi, do you know how to obtain a license in Curacao? Does it require staff, office and all this?

Without exception, the moment the Panamanian Bank realizes an online gambling business is processing transactions through the account the account will be frozen and a fight the get the monies out will begin.

Always better to deal in a transparent and open manner thereby avoiding problems.

Maydi said:

Errr... no, not the same thing in Panama. Yes, most the Costa Rican operations open bank accounts in Panama (under guise of being a data processing company), and that is probably fine. However, Panama does have an explicit licensing system for online casinos and sportsbooks. You could use a Panama corporation under guise of data processing, but you will risk running foul of the licensing regime.

Thank you very much for this valueable information, please do avoid hidden advertising for your company in the future or before you have made the obligated posts to do so.

Thanks for posting