How to start an online casino in 2026: step-by-step

An online casino launch is ten pieces of work. Some run one after another, and some — the license, the platform and payments — run best in parallel. Here is the order, with official figures where regulators publish them, as of October 2026. Each step links to a detailed guide where we have one.

Step 1. Choose your business model and target markets

Start with who your players are and where they live. The markets decide almost everything that follows: which license you need, which payment methods and currencies you must offer, which games you may show and how you can advertise.

Write down:

• target countries, languages and currencies, fiat and crypto;
• the product: casino, live casino, sports betting or a mix;
• one brand or several brands on one platform;
• how you plan to acquire players: affiliates, paid media, SEO or your own audience.

Gambling law is national: a license from one jurisdiction does not make your casino legal everywhere. Even Anjouan’s regulator says its license is not a universal authorisation to operate in every country. Have a lawyer check each target market before you choose a license.

Step 2. Choose a jurisdiction and get a license

The license is usually the longest step and the most predictable cost, because regulators publish their fees. Most new operators compare two offshore licenses, Curaçao and Anjouan:

• Curaçao (CGA). The reformed regime under the National Ordinance on Games of Chance (LOK) took effect at the end of December 2024. An application costs €4,592; a B2C license then costs €47,450 a year. The review runs in two phases of up to 8 weeks each, with an optional 4-week extension — about 4–6 months from a complete file. The CGA checks your AML/CFT programme, responsible gaming tools, age verification, certified game RNGs and the owners and key persons.
• Malta (MGA) is often considered for EU-facing brands: a €5,000 application fee and a fixed annual fee of €25,000 for a B2C license, plus the revenue-based charges in the MGA’s fee guidance.
• Anjouan. €17,828 for issuance and the same amount for each annual renewal, plus €500 per additional domain. The regulator publishes no timeline; in our practice it takes 2–3 months with a complete file. Before applying, confirm in writing with your bank and your payment and game providers that they accept an Anjouan license.

Our guide to Anjouan and Curaçao compares the two in detail, including the legal-status questions around Anjouan. With source code and turnkey the license is yours, and we guide the application in Curaçao or Anjouan from documents to approval.

Step 3. Set up the company and open a bank account

The company that holds the license must meet the regulator’s requirements, and so must its owners.

• Curaçao expects a resident managing director, local staff and an office; enforcement of these rules has been postponed to 1 April 2027. Since 1 July 2025 a company established in Curaçao may not offer gaming under a foreign license, such as Anjouan.
• Anjouan asks for the full ownership chain up to the beneficial owners, IDs and proof of address for directors and owners, and proof of financial standing: financial statements, a bank reference and source of funds.

Open bank accounts early. Banks and payment providers classify gambling as high-risk and run enhanced checks on the business, its owners and the source of funds.

Step 4. Choose your casino platform

The platform is the back-office, the player frontend, the wallet and the integrations with games and payments. There are four ways to get one.

Option	Pros	Cons	Time to launch
In-house build	Full control and your own technology	The most expensive and the slowest; one vendor estimates €2.5–5 million	12–24 months to a first version, by the same estimate
Source code license	Full control and your own servers; no platform revenue share	One-time license fee; you need your own tech team and hosting	Depends on your team and the changes you make
Turnkey	Your brand and your license on a ready, hosted platform; little technical work	Ongoing platform fees or revenue share; less control over the roadmap	About 3–8 weeks plus licensing, by public vendor ranges
White label	Fastest start, under the provider’s license; lowest upfront cost	Revenue share, often 10–30% of NGR; you do not hold the license and depend on the provider	About 3–8 weeks, by public vendor ranges

Whatever you choose, check the back-office: player accounts and KYC, multi-currency wallets, bonuses, roles and permissions, reporting, AML flags and responsible gaming tools.

With us, source code gives you the whole stack to run on your own servers, and turnkey puts your brand on our hosted platform.

Step 5. Connect game content

Players expect a large catalogue of slots, table games and live casino from many studios. There are two ways to connect them:

• Aggregator. One integration gives you many providers. It is faster and cheaper to set up than integrating each studio directly.
• Direct integrations. You integrate the studios that matter most for your markets, usually for better commercial terms or exclusive content, at the cost of more integration work.

Providers are usually paid a share of the gross gaming revenue (GGR) their games generate; industry sources commonly quote around 10–20%, higher for top live-casino brands. Licensing works in both directions: under Curaçao’s LOK an operator may not do business with unregistered suppliers, with supplier licensing in full effect from 24 December 2026, and since July 2025 B2B suppliers serving Anjouan licensees need an Anjouan B2B license or a recognition certificate. In Great Britain, the Gambling Commission has warned licensed suppliers that letting their games reach unlicensed sites puts their own license at risk.

Step 6. Set up payments

Payments decide whether players can deposit at all, so plan them for each market.

• Cards. Processing for high-risk merchants such as casinos is reported at about 2.5–5% per transaction, compared with 1.5–2% for standard merchants. Processors often hold a rolling reserve of 5–15% of sales for 6–12 months. Card schemes add their own rules: under Visa’s rules an online gambling merchant must hold a valid license and identify its transactions with the gambling merchant code (MCC 7995), and Mastercard’s rules require the acquirer to register a gambling merchant before processing its payments.
• Local methods and e-wallets: choose them country by country, based on what your players already use.
• Crypto. Gateways publish fees of up to about 1% on deposits. Curaçao’s crypto policy of June 2026 treats crypto as high-risk by default and requires full compliance by June 2027.

Our guide to crypto payments covers license rules, custody and wallet screening. With turnkey, we connect payment providers for your markets, crypto included.

Step 7. Put KYC, AML and responsible gambling in place

These have to work before the first player deposits, and the regulator checks them during licensing.

• KYC: verify every player’s identity and age, and screen them against sanctions lists. Public price lists of verification services start at around $1–2 per check, usually with a monthly minimum.
• AML: a written AML/CFT programme, transaction monitoring, source-of-funds checks for large amounts and a reporting process.
• Responsible gambling: a written policy and player tools. In Curaçao the policy is uploaded to the CGA for evaluation; self-exclusion of at least one year, deposit limits, cooling-off and self-assessment are mandatory, and players must be 18 or older.

Our back-office covers players and KYC, AML flags and responsible gaming tools.

Step 8. Build the website and the brand

The site is where players meet your brand, read your license details and make deposits and withdrawals.

• Domains. Licenses cover named domains: Anjouan approves domains and charges €500 for each additional one; Curaçao charges a fee per extra domain.
• Legal pages: terms and conditions, privacy policy, responsible gambling, bonus terms and your license details.
• The site itself: fast on mobile, in your players’ languages and currencies, with deposits and withdrawals easy to find.

Our casino frontend is reskinned with your logo, colours and domain.

Step 9. Plan marketing and affiliates

Marketing is often the largest cost after launch.

• Affiliates are the main channel for many casinos. They are paid by revenue share — benchmarks put it around 25–45% of NGR, with about 30% as a typical figure — or by CPA per first-time depositor, commonly quoted at $150–400 in tier-1 markets.
• Paid advertising is restricted for gambling. Google accepts online gambling ads only in the countries it lists, after Google certification and with a valid local license for every targeted region; the landing page must show an age warning, addiction resources, terms and the license details. Meta requires authorisation and proof that the activity is licensed or lawful in each targeted country, and gambling ads may not target people under 18.
• SEO and content take months to work, so start them before launch.

Budget for a launch period before revenue covers acquisition.

Step 10. Launch and operate

Launch in stages, and keep the license in good standing after go-live.

1. Test the full player journey with real money: registration, KYC, deposit, play, withdrawal.
2. Check that responsible gambling tools and AML alerts actually trigger.
3. Open to a limited audience first, then scale marketing.
4. Keep up with license obligations: annual fees (Curaçao’s are due in January, Anjouan’s on each renewal) and changes such as Curaçao’s local substance rules from April 2027.

With turnkey, a new brand on our platform goes live in about a week once the license and payment providers are in place, and we run hosting and maintenance.

Timeline by step

Step	Typical time	Basis
License: Curaçao (CGA)	About 4–6 months from a complete file	Two review phases of up to 8 weeks each, plus an optional 4 weeks
License: Anjouan	2–3 months	Our practice; the regulator publishes no timeline
Platform: white label or turnkey	About 3–8 weeks	Public vendor ranges
Platform: in-house build	12–24 months	One vendor’s estimate
Platform: source code	Depends on your team	—
Company, bank, payments, games	Depends on jurisdiction and partners	No reliable public figure
New brand on our turnkey platform	About a week once license and payments are in place	Our practice

Run the license application, the platform setup and payment onboarding in parallel — that is the biggest time saving available. For the budget, see what it really costs to launch an online casino.

Frequently asked questions

How much money do you need to start an online casino?

There is no single figure. License fees are published: Curaçao charges €4,592 to apply and €47,450 a year for a B2C license; Anjouan charges €17,828 for issuance and for each annual renewal. Public vendor ranges put white label setup at about €20,000–60,000 and above and turnkey setup at about €60,000–100,000 and above; one vendor estimates an in-house build at €2.5–5 million. Payments, compliance and marketing come on top — see our guide to launch costs.

Can you run an online casino without a license?

In practice, no. Visa's rules require an online gambling merchant to hold a valid license or other appropriate authority, and every transaction must be legal in both the player's and the merchant's jurisdiction. Google and Meta accept gambling ads only from advertisers who prove a license or lawful status for each targeted country. A white label lets you start under the provider's license while you apply for your own.

How long does it take to launch an online casino?

The license is usually the longest step: about 4–6 months for Curaçao from a complete file and 2–3 months for Anjouan in our practice. A turnkey or white label platform takes weeks; building in-house takes 12–24 months by one vendor's estimate. Running the license application and the platform setup in parallel saves the most time.

White label or turnkey: which should I choose?

White label runs on the provider's platform and license: it is the fastest and cheapest way to start, but you pay a revenue share, have less control and do not hold the license. Turnkey runs on the provider's platform under your own license: you need the license first, and in return you get more control and independence. If you want full control and have a tech team, license the source code instead.

Which license is best for a first online casino?

Most new operators compare Curaçao and Anjouan. Curaçao has a reformed national regime and broad partner acceptance, at €47,450 a year plus local presence from April 2027. Anjouan costs less, €17,828 a year, and in our practice takes 2–3 months; before applying, confirm in writing with your bank and your payment and game providers that they accept an Anjouan license.

Can an online casino accept crypto?

It depends on your license and your markets. Curaçao's crypto policy of June 2026 treats crypto as high-risk by default and requires full compliance by June 2027; some regulated markets, such as Ontario, do not accept crypto deposits at all. See our guide to crypto payments.

Do I need my own developers?

With an in-house build or a source code license, yes: your team deploys, changes and runs the platform. With turnkey or white label, the provider runs the platform and your team focuses on the brand, marketing and operations.

What do I need for KYC, AML and responsible gambling?

Identity and age verification for every player, sanctions screening, a written AML/CFT programme with transaction monitoring, and responsible gambling tools. Curaçao, for example, sets the minimum age at 18 and makes self-exclusion of at least one year, deposit limits, cooling-off and self-assessment mandatory. The back-office has to support all of this from day one.