Curaçao vs Anjouan vs Malta Gaming Licence

Curaçao, Anjouan and Malta are the three gaming licences you see most often on crypto-casino footers, and they are not equal. Curaçao is the reformed Caribbean licence that most crypto casinos hold, Malta is the expensive European Union standard, and Anjouan is a cheap, fast offshore licence whose legal authority the Union of the Comoros disputes. This guide compares the fees, tax, speed and player protection of each, then shows you how to verify a licence yourself.

Our gaming licence hub explains each regulator in more depth, and our rating method sets out how much a licence weighs in our scores.

Whether you are a player checking a footer or an operator choosing a jurisdiction, the practical question is the same: what does this licence actually buy? The answer splits into four parts, which is how this guide is organised. They are cost, speed, tax, and the route you have left when something goes wrong.

Curaçao vs Anjouan vs Malta: which gaming licence fits which casino?

Curaçao is the default for crypto casinos that serve an international market, Anjouan is the cheapest and fastest but legally disputed, and Malta is the credible, expensive EU option. Choose Curaçao for a broad global crypto audience at moderate cost, Malta if you need an EU-standard licence and can fund it, and treat Anjouan as a high-risk shortcut. A casino that carries one of these three licences is telling you something about its cost base and its oversight.

For players, the licence is a signal rather than a guarantee. A Curaçao casino is common and usually crypto-first, a Malta casino has passed deeper compliance checks, and an Anjouan casino has bought one of the cheapest licences on the market from a body the Comoros central bank does not recognise. None of the three licences authorises a casino to take players from the United States or the United Kingdom.

The three also split on crypto. Curaçao has been the crypto-casino home for a decade, and its licence holders typically accept Bitcoin, Ethereum and stablecoins by default. Malta permits crypto under strict rules but its casinos usually lead with fiat and cards. Anjouan actively courts web3 and crypto casinos, which is why newer crypto sites gravitate to it. Operators should also weigh banking: payment providers and game suppliers generally accept Curaçao and Malta licences without much friction, while an Anjouan licence can attract extra scrutiny from banks and processors.

What is a Curaçao gaming licence (CGA and the LOK)?

A Curaçao licence is issued by the Curaçao Gaming Authority, or CGA, under the National Ordinance on Games of Chance, known by its Dutch initials LOK. The LOK took force on 24 December 2024 and replaced the old master-licence system, under which thousands of crypto casinos operated through intermediaries, with direct CGA licensing. Most crypto casinos you see today hold a CGA licence or are still moving onto the new register.

Curaçao has licensed offshore gaming since the 1990s, which is why the island became the default home of crypto casinos well before the reform. The 2024 change added direct licensing, anti-money-laundering duties and responsible-gambling rules. Under the old model, operators held sub-licences beneath master licence holders, a structure often shortened to ‘Curaçao eGaming’ or an 8048/JAZ reference; that wording is now obsolete. Today the CGA licenses business-to-consumer (B2C) operators and business-to-business (B2B) suppliers directly, and it publishes its fee schedule on cga.cw.

A B2C or B2B application costs €4,592 and is not refundable. A B2C licensee then pays €47,450 a year, made up of a €24,490 licence fee to the National Treasury and a €22,960 supervisory fee to the CGA, both due by 15 January. A B2B licence costs €24,490 a year. Regulator charges sit on top of company formation, legal work, platform certification and banking.

The old master licences were not renewed and lapsed between August 2024 and January 2025, pushing operators onto the new register, and the CGA has reported backlogs in processing applications. In practice the timeline to a Curaçao licence is often several months, and existing operators are still finishing the migration.

Curaçao has no gross-gaming-revenue tax on players outside the island, which is one reason crypto casinos favour it, and the CGA requires local substance and a resident key person rather than a paper payment. For players, the CGA does not mediate individual disputes: you complain to the casino first, then to one of the CGA’s certified alternative dispute resolution (ADR) bodies if the casino will not resolve it. The regulator’s portal also suffered unauthorised access on 17 and 22 September 2026 and was still offline in early October 2026; the CGA says existing licences remain valid. See our Curaçao licence explainer for the full detail.

What is an Anjouan gaming licence?

An Anjouan gaming licence is sold by an operation that calls itself Anjouan Gaming, which claims authority from the Autonomous Island of Anjouan in the Union of the Comoros. It is the cheapest of the three at €17,828 to issue and €17,828 a year to renew, with an extra €500 per additional domain, and it is marketed as one licence covering casino, sports betting and every other vertical. The Comoros central bank says the bodies behind it have no legal existence in the country.

The issuer describes itself on anjouangaming.com as the ‘designated regulatory authority for internet gaming licensing’ and issues both B2C and B2B licences. Its own pages name the Anjouan Offshore Finance Authority as its governing authority and point to a public register with a certificate-verification framework that took effect on 1 April 2026.

Operators choose Anjouan for speed and cost. Its marketing promises approval in a matter of weeks, no gross-gaming-revenue tax and no corporate tax, and minimal substance requirements. The same appeal carries the risk: the licence rests on island legislation that the Comoros government does not accept, so a cheap and fast approval buys weaker legal backing.

The Anjouan authority does not handle player complaints itself. Under its process you raise a dispute through the site’s licence seal, the operator has 30 days to respond, game-outcome disputes must be raised within 14 days, and if that fails the matter goes to ADR that the operator pays for. Read our Anjouan licence explainer before trusting a seal.

What is a Malta gaming licence (MGA)?

A Malta licence is issued by the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) under the Gaming Act of 2018, known as Cap. 583. It is the most expensive and most respected of the three, with a ten-year term, a €5,000 non-refundable application fee, a €25,000 annual licence fee and a revenue-based compliance contribution that starts at €15,000 a year. A Malta licence signals EU-standard compliance, but it does not by itself let a casino accept players across the EU.

The MGA issues a Gaming Service Licence for B2C operators and a Critical Gaming Supply Licence for B2B suppliers. A B2C operator offering Type 1 games, meaning casino games and slots, needs €100,000 in minimum share capital. Applications typically take four to six months, and six to twelve for complex cases.

Malta’s gaming tax applies only to revenue from players who are in Malta. Until 30 September 2026 it was a flat 5%. From 1 October 2026, under Legal Notices 84 and 86 of 2026, it is 15% on Type 1 games and 10% on Types 2, 3 and 4.

Operators pay more because the licence buys credibility. Banks, payment providers, B2B suppliers and other regulators treat an MGA licence as a marker of EU-standard compliance, and the ten-year term means the fixed €25,000 annual fee is paid for a licence that does not need frequent renewal. A casino that wants to work with regulated European operators is often expected to hold an MGA licence.

For players, the MGA’s Player Support Unit stopped ruling on individual disputes on 1 April 2019, so you go through an ADR provider such as eCOGRA instead. Our Malta Gaming Authority explainer covers the licence classes and the ten-year term.

Is an Anjouan gaming licence actually valid?

Not according to the Union of the Comoros. In a communiqué of 10 December 2025 the Central Bank of the Comoros listed the Anjouan Offshore Finance Authority and Anjouan Corporate Services among ‘fictitious structures’ with no physical or legal existence in the territory. In April 2026 the bank’s financial intelligence unit told The Irish Times that an Anjouan-issued gambling licence was ‘fraudulent’ and that gambling activities are not authorised in the Union of the Comoros.

The claimed legal basis is island legislation passed in 2005, the Computer Gaming Licensing Act 007 of 2005, dating from Anjouan’s short separatist period. A World Bank mission earlier found that creating offshore banks in Anjouan was illegal, and Comorian banking laws of 2013 and 2015 stripped the Anjouan Offshore Finance Authority of its recognised status. An ABC News investigation published on 31 December 2025 reported that the licensing operation has issued more than 1,300 gambling licences and named Leon Casino as one Anjouan-licensed site that Australian officials called illegal.

This does not mean every Anjouan-licensed casino is a scam, and plenty of live crypto casinos display an Anjouan seal. It does mean the licence has the weakest legal backing of the three, so banks, payment providers and players treat it with more caution.

How do Curaçao, Anjouan and Malta compare on cost, speed and tax?

Anjouan is the cheapest at €17,828 a year. Curaçao sits in the middle at €47,450 a year for a B2C licence, plus a €4,592 application fee. Malta is the dearest, with a €5,000 application fee, a €25,000 annual fee and a compliance contribution that rises with gaming revenue. Malta is also the slowest at four to six months, against roughly two weeks for Anjouan and several months for Curaçao.

As a worked example of annual cost, a Curaçao B2C operator pays a €4,592 application fee and €47,450 a year. An Anjouan operator pays €17,828 a year. A Malta Type 1 operator pays a €5,000 application fee, €25,000 a year and at least €15,000 a year in compliance contribution, and must also hold €100,000 in share capital. These are regulator charges only; company formation, legal work and platform certification sit on top.

Market access is the fourth axis and it matters more than the fee. Curaçao and Anjouan licences target international players in markets without their own regime, and operators are expected to geo-block countries that demand a local licence. Malta targets the regulated EU market, but each member state can still require its own licence, and none of the three covers the UK.

How do you verify a casino’s Curaçao, Anjouan or Malta licence?

Each licence is checked differently, and the check matters more than the badge a casino prints in its footer. For Curaçao, look the operator up on the CGA register at cga.cw. For Malta, search the MGA’s licence-holder register. For Anjouan you must enter the site’s licence seal ID, because a bare domain search returns ‘invalid’. A footer logo alone proves nothing.

1. Find the licence number or seal ID. It usually sits in the casino’s footer or terms page, next to the licence logo.
2. For Curaçao, open cga.cw (or the certificate portal at cert.cga.cw) and confirm the company name and licence status match the casino you are looking at.
3. For Malta, search the MGA licence-holder register by company name or licence number, and check that the licence class matches the games on offer.
4. For Anjouan, open the issuer’s register and enter the seal ID shown on the casino’s site. A search by domain name alone will show ‘invalid’, which is by design.
5. Cross-check the name. If the footer names a different company from the one on the register, treat it as a red flag.

While you are checking the licence, you can also confirm that a game’s outcomes are fair with our provably fair guide, which shows how to verify individual bets on blockchain-based games.

What do these licences mean for your money as a player?

A licence is a licensing bill, not a guarantee that you will be paid. None of the three regulators reliably forces a casino to return a disputed balance. The CGA does not mediate individual disputes, the Anjouan authority does not handle complaints, and the MGA stopped ruling on individual player disputes on 1 April 2019. Your real protection is the casino’s own terms, its payment record and the ADR route each licence allows.

In practice, complain to the casino first. If it will not pay, escalate to the ADR body its licence allows: a CGA-certified ADR body for Curaçao, the operator-paid ADR for Anjouan, or eCOGRA for Malta. A licence also tells you where a casino may not operate; none of the three covers the United States or the United Kingdom.

Set limits and only gamble what you can afford to lose. The house edge means you lose over the long run, and no strategy changes that. If gambling stops being a choice, help is available at gamblersanonymous.org or gamblingtherapy.org, and our responsible gambling page lists the tools each site should offer.

FAQ

Is a Curaçao gaming licence still credible after the LOK reform?

Yes, and more credible than before. The LOK, in force since 24 December 2024, replaced the old master-licence and sub-licence model with direct licensing by the Curaçao Gaming Authority, plus new anti-money-laundering and responsible-gambling rules. The CGA does not mediate individual player disputes, so you still complain to the casino first and then to a CGA-certified ADR body.

Is an Anjouan gaming licence legitimate?

The Union of the Comoros says no. Its central bank has called the Anjouan Offshore Finance Authority and related bodies ‘fictitious structures’ with no legal existence in the country, and its financial intelligence unit has described an Anjouan-issued gambling licence as ‘fraudulent’. Many casinos still display Anjouan seals, but the licence has the weakest legal backing of the three.

Does a Malta licence let a casino accept players anywhere in the EU?

No. An MGA licence is a strong EU-standard credential, but it does not automatically passport a casino into other EU member states, each of which can require its own licence. A casino that wants UK players also needs a separate UK Gambling Commission licence.

Which is cheaper: Curaçao, Anjouan or Malta?

Anjouan is cheapest at about €17,828 a year. Curaçao costs a €4,592 application fee plus €47,450 a year for a B2C licence. Malta costs a €5,000 application fee plus €25,000 a year, a compliance contribution from €15,000 a year, and €100,000 in share capital for Type 1 games.

How do I check a casino’s gaming licence?

Find the licence number or seal ID in the casino’s footer, then look it up on the right register: cga.cw for Curaçao, the MGA licence-holder register for Malta, and the Anjouan register’s seal-ID search. For Anjouan a search by domain name alone always returns ‘invalid’, which is by design.

Do these licences protect my money if a casino refuses to pay?

Not directly. None of the three regulators reliably forces a casino to return a disputed balance. You complain to the casino first, then to the ADR body the licence allows. Your best protection is the casino’s own terms, its payment record, and only gambling money you can afford to lose.