An Anjouan gaming licence costs €17,828 in regulator fees for the first year, or about €22,000 to €30,000 once an agent and a company are added. It takes from about a month to several months to issue, allows crypto, and charges no tax on gaming revenue. That makes it the cheapest and quickest licence a crypto casino can start on. The trade-off is recognition: the national authorities of the Comoros dispute it, and some banks and suppliers are cautious with it as a result. Here are the costs, the timeline, the paperwork, the countries you cannot serve, and how operators weigh the risk.
What the licence covers
One Anjouan licence covers online casino, sportsbook, poker, esports and lotteries, for operators and for suppliers. Crypto deposits and withdrawals are allowed. Most applicants form an Anjouan international business company, and companies from elsewhere are accepted if they meet the same requirements.
What it costs
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Licence, first year: the regulator's fee, with due diligence and two domains | €17,828 |
| An agent's support and company formation | about €4,400 to €10,000 |
| Each extra casino domain | €500 |
| Renewal, each year after | €13,300 to €17,828 |
| Tax on gaming revenue | 0% |
The regulator's fee is the same whichever agent you use; what the agent adds is not. A basic first year comes to about €22,000 to €30,000. With nominee directors, banking support and the compliance set up properly, estimates run to €40,000 to €70,000. Renewal quotes differ too, from €13,300 to the full €17,828, depending on whether the due diligence and the compliance officer's authorisation are counted in.
How long it takes
1 to 2 weeks
Prepare the documents
Papers for every owner and director, the company records, and the casino's policies and certificates.
5 to 10 business days
File the application
Your agent submits the complete file.
7 to 14 business days
Background checks
Run in parallel with the filing.
2 to 3 weeks
Due diligence and approval
Questions, answers, and the licence.
That adds up to four to eight weeks in the quick case. Some agents plan for 12 to 20 weeks from start to finish, because the issuer publishes no fixed review period. A complete file on the first day is what keeps you at the quick end.
What the application asks for
Every owner and director
- A notarised or apostilled passport copy
- Proof of address, under 90 days old
- A police clearance certificate, under 90 days old
- A bank reference and a professional reference, each from two years or more
The company
- Certificate of incorporation
- Articles of association
- Certificate of incumbency, under 90 days old
- Register of shareholders and a declaration of beneficial owners
- A board resolution
The casino
- Proof that you own the domain
- An RNG fairness certificate for the games
- An AML and KYC policy
- A responsible gaming policy
- Terms and conditions
Countries you cannot serve
An Anjouan licence authorises you to run a gambling business. It does not give you the right to take players from any particular country, and it comes with no list of countries it opens. Agents and payment partners commonly require you to block:
- United States
- United Kingdom
- Australia
- France
- Germany
- Spain
- Italy
- Austria
- Netherlands
- Denmark
- Sweden
- FATF blacklisted countries
- Sanctioned countries
Payment partners and game suppliers add their own exclusions, and a single acquiring bank that finds traffic from a blocked country can freeze your settlements. Block by IP address at sign-up, and check the country again at KYC.
The risk to weigh
Anjouan issues its licences under its own offshore finance law, and the national authorities of the Comoros dispute its right to do so: the Central Bank of the Comoros has said publicly that it does not recognise the island's regulators.
In practice that shows up in two places. Some card processors, banks and game studios decline Anjouan licensees, or ask for more before they sign. And the licence counts for little when you later apply in a regulated market.
Operators still choose it: more than a thousand online casinos show an Anjouan licence. A crypto-first casino takes no cards, keeps player funds in crypto rather than at a bank, and grows through streamers and affiliates rather than Google or Meta ads, so those relationships matter less. The cost and the speed are hard to match.
Anjouan or Curaçao
Curaçao rebuilt its regime under a new gaming law in force since 24 December 2024. Operators now apply directly to the Curaçao Gaming Authority, and the old sublicences are gone.
Anjouan
- Authority fees
- €17,828 the first year, then €13,300 to €17,828 a year
- First year, all in
- about €22,000 to €70,000
- Time to licence
- 4 to 20 weeks
- Local presence
- None required
- Standing
- Disputed by the Comoros authorities
Curaçao
- Authority fees
- €4,592 to apply, then €47,450 a year
- First year, all in
- about €70,000 to €110,000
- Time to licence
- 3 to 5 months
- Local presence
- A resident managing director and a company seated on the island
- Standing
- Issued by the state authority under the 2024 law
If the budget allows, Curaçao buys acceptance with banks, studios and payment partners. If it does not, Anjouan gets you live, and Curaçao can follow once the casino pays for it.
Where BTX fits
BTX is a turnkey crypto casino platform that runs on your own licence. If you do not have one yet, we give full guidance through the application and introduce you to licensing agents. We build your casino while the application runs, so the platform is ready when the licence arrives. See the platform or book an intro call.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Fees and rules change, so confirm them with a licensing agent or a lawyer before you apply.