Major operators licensed here in the 1990s and 2000s (Antigua and Barbuda)

Large operators licensed here in the 1990s and 2000s

After the adoption of the rules for Interactive Gaming/Interactive Wagering in 1994, Antigua and Barbuda quickly pulled the first wave of online brands. By 2000, the authorities reported about 100 licensed iGaming companies and thousands of jobs, although then the industry experienced US pressure and recession.

Below are the key names and why they matter to the story.

Intertops - "first online bet" and early Antigua licence (1996)

What's known: Intertops took the first online bid in January 1996 and received one of the first Antiguan licenses, partially moving operations to the island to legally work with North American audiences.

Why it matters: this is the "launch moment" of commercial online sports betting recorded by historians; the case is often placed first in the market chronicle.

World Sports Exchange (WSEX) - "ambition to do everything in white" (main. 1996, Antigua)

What is known: the startup of Jay Cohen, Steve Schillinger and Hayden Ware received one of the first Antiguan licenses and launched in 1996. Interviews and investigations confirm the payment of Antigua's annual license fee (from $25k, later to $100k) and an attempt to build a business with CCP/age verification.

US context: there was a high-profile Wire Act prosecution against WSEX; appeal in the United States v. Jay Cohen case secured the verdict, marking a milestone in U.S. conflicts with offshore bookmakers.

World Wide Tele-Sports (WWTS) - one of the largest offshore bookmakers of the late 1990s

What's known: WWTS/BetWWTS has been licensed and regulated in St. John's (Antigua) since the mid-1990s; sources of industry profiles emphasized the official status "since 1994" and turnover of over $1.3 billion in the "peak" years.

Legal background: in the blocks of accusations of the late 1990s, the US Department of Justice mentioned World Wide Tele-Sports of Antigua as a defendant in offshore cases - a characteristic illustration of the "jurisdictional conflict" of that time.

Bodog (later Bodog. eu/Bovada) - Calvin Ayr brand and Antiguan licenses

What's known: Bodog publicly indicates that it is licensed through the Antigua and Barbuda FSRC (with interactive license numbers).

Era context: Ayr itself was closely associated with Antigua; sources noted that in 2000, about 100 licensed iGaming companies operated on the island before pressure from the United States.

Starnet/World Gaming - "mass" provider of software and online casinos

What is known: in the late 1990s, Starnet appeared in the media as the Antiguan "engine" of hundreds of sites (through software/franchises), reflecting the model of early B2B licensees and white-label.

Why it matters: shows that Antigua was not only a "home for B2C," but also a hub for providers who scaled the industry with technology.

Other licenses of the late 1990s - early 2000s

Sportsbook brands and conglomerates with Antiguan permits were regularly mentioned in the press of that period (some of them also had structures in Curaçao/Costa Rica). Wired arrays include World Wide Tele-Sports (Antigua) and World Wide Tele-sports/Grand Holiday among the defendants in federal cases.

Netforce Entertainment (SEC disclosure, 1999): Expressly discloses receipt of Antigua and Barbuda's official online casino and betting license. This is a valuable written trail for compliance chronology.

Why Antigua: the regulator and the "window of opportunity"

Early start (1994): The jurisdiction was one of the first to license online casinos/bookmakers, creating a "pull effect" for pioneers.

Public Register of Licensees: FSRC/Division of Gaming maintains an open list of active licenses, which strengthened confidence in the "white" status of the sites (for current status and historical revisions, see the Licenses page).

How the "antiguan wave" affected the industry

1. Compliance standards (age/ID verification, transparency of payment chains) have become the market standard - leaders publicly emphasized "doing everything according to the rules."

2. Shift of centers: other hubs (EU and Caribbean) later lined up on the experience of Antigua.

3. Legal precedent: the confrontation between the United States and Antiguan licensees ended with the WTO DS285 case, which recorded a systemic conflict in the regulation of cross-border services (see USITC review).

Short chronology (selective)

1994-1996: Licensing launch; Intertops accepts the first online bid (1996), WSEX receives an early license and starts in Antigua.

1996-1999: rapid growth; WWTS and co are enlarged, information about Antigua licenses appears in SEC files (for example, Netforce, 1999).

2000: peak density - authorities report ~ 100 licensed companies on the island.

2000-2007: conflicts with the United States (cases against operators and payment chains) → increased tension, then WTO DS285.

Important about verification "who was licensed where"

• official FSRC (Licensees) list for current, archival press/investigations (Wired, Sports Illustrated) and court materials (Jay Cohen case), public statements by the operators themselves (e.g. current Bodog pages with license numbers).

In the 1990s and 2000s, Antigua and Barbuda became a platform where the first global online betting and casino players received legal licenses and infrastructure for scaling: Intertops, WSEX, WWTS, Bodog, as well as a whole layer of technology suppliers (in the spirit of Starnet) and new public companies (Netforce). It was the concentration of such "first" brands that gave the jurisdiction a reputation as the historical core of online gambling - with effects that the entire industry still feels.

To deepen: the official section of FSRC → Licensees, Sports Illustrated materials about WSEX, Wired chronicle of the late 1990s and the United States v. Jay Cohen case (appeal).