Anjouan vs Curaçao: which license first?

Most new operators weigh the same two offshore licenses: Curaçao and Anjouan. The choice changes your first-year budget, how soon you can launch and which payment and game providers will work with you. This guide sums up what the regulators and public sources say as of October 2026.

At a glance

	Curaçao	Anjouan
Regulator	Curaçao Gaming Authority (CGA), National Ordinance on Games of Chance (LOK)	Anjouan Offshore Finance Authority; Computer Gaming Licensing Act 2005
License types	B2C and B2B, issued for an indefinite term	B2C and B2B, renewed every year
Official fees	Application €4,592; B2C annual fee €47,450	Issuance €17,828; annual renewal €17,828
Timeline	Two review phases of up to 8 weeks each (+4 weeks optional): about 4–6 months from a complete file	No official timeline; in our practice 2–3 months with a complete file
Local presence	Resident director, local staff and an office; enforcement postponed to 1 April 2027	None stated on the official pages
Status	Reformed national regime	See “Legal status” below

Fees are taken from the regulators’ published guidance and can be revised; check the current documents before you budget.

Curaçao: the reformed regime

The National Ordinance on Games of Chance (LOK) took effect at the end of December 2024 and replaced the old master/sub-license system. The Curaçao Gaming Authority now issues its own B2C licenses for operators and B2B licenses for suppliers, for an indefinite term as long as the holder stays compliant and pays the fees.

Fees. Under the CGA fee guidance of October 2025, an application costs €4,592. A B2C license then costs €47,450 a year: a €24,490 license fee plus a €22,960 supervisory fee. Extra domains, additional beneficial owners and key-person registrations carry smaller per-item fees. The annual payment is due in January.

Timeline. The review runs in two phases — integrity and financial checks, then full compliance — each up to 8 weeks with an optional 4-week extension. That gives roughly 4–6 months from a complete file. During the 2024–2025 transition, backlogs pushed many applications beyond that.

Local substance. The LOK expects a Curaçao-resident managing director, local staff and a physical office. Enforcement of these rules has been postponed to 1 April 2027 — plan for them anyway.

What the CGA checks. An AML/CFT programme, responsible gaming tools (self-exclusion, deposit limits), age verification, certified game RNGs and fit-and-proper checks on owners and key persons.

Two recent points to keep in mind:

• Since 1 July 2025, a company established in Curaçao may not offer gaming in or from Curaçao under a foreign license, such as Anjouan.
• In September 2026 the CGA confirmed unauthorised access to its licensing portal between December 2025 and September 2026 (SCCG, 24 Sep 2026).

Anjouan: lower fees, no published timeline

Anjouan licenses are issued under the Computer Gaming Licensing Act 2005 through the Anjouan Offshore Finance Authority, administered since 2023 by Anjouan Licensing Services. There are B2C and B2B licenses.

Fees. The official fee page lists €17,828 for issuance and the same amount for each annual renewal, plus €500 per additional domain. Fees are non-refundable and subject to periodic review.

Timeline. The regulator publishes no timeline: processing depends on how complete your documents are. Estimates from licensing agents range from a few days to a few months; in our practice it takes 2–3 months with a complete file.

Documents. The full ownership chain up to the beneficial owners, IDs and proof of address for directors and owners, proof of financial standing (financial statements, bank reference, source of funds), key-person authorisation, an approved dispute-resolution (ADR) provider and approved domains only.

Suppliers. Since July 2025, B2B suppliers serving Anjouan licensees need an Anjouan B2B license or a recognition certificate.

Legal status. The federal Comoros authorities and Anjouan differ on who may license what:

• In a communiqué dated 15 June 2022, the Central Bank of the Comoros listed the Anjouan Offshore Finance Authority among “fictitious structures” claiming to grant banking and financial licences, and stated that licensing banks and financial institutions is its exclusive competence. The communiqué concerns banking and financial licences, not gaming.
• In a report published on 31 December 2025, Australia’s ABC quoted an official of the Central Bank’s financial intelligence unit saying that Anjouan Corporate Services is operating illegally.
• GIABA’s 2024 mutual evaluation of the Comoros records that gambling is prohibited under the Comorian Penal Code.
• Anjouan Gaming states that its licences are issued under the framework of the Autonomous Island of Anjouan. In a statement on 10 June 2026 it added that an Anjouan licence “is not, and has never been presented as, a universal authorization to operate in every country in the world.”

Fake licences are a separate topic: the Central Bank’s warnings since 2020 about institutions falsely claiming Comorian licences concern offshore banks, not gaming licences.

Before applying, confirm in writing with your bank and your payment and game providers that they accept an Anjouan license for your target markets.

How to choose

• Choose Anjouan if the lowest cost and the fastest start matter most — and your payment and game partners have confirmed they accept it.
• Choose Curaçao if you need a recognised regime and broad partner acceptance, and your budget covers about €47,000 a year plus local presence from 2027.
• Plan for growth. Some operators start with one license and add another later; budget the annual fees of both.

Before applying anywhere, ask three questions: will our payment providers accept this license for our markets, will our game aggregator, and will our bank?

How we help

With Turnkey and source code, the license is yours. We guide your application in Anjouan or Curaçao, from documents to approval, and your casino is ready to go live on our platform once the license is issued. See licensing for the process.