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Income from licenses and taxes (Bahamas)

1) What the receipts are made of

In the Bahamas, the cash flow from the gambling industry to the state is formed from two "baskets":

(a) gaming tax with monthly reporting; (b) license and monitoring fees by license type. The regulatory framework is enshrined in Gaming Act, 2014 and Gaming Regulations, 2014; administers the Gaming Board for The Bahamas process.

2) Gambling tax (casino & interactive)

Casino (Gaming Licence)

Rate: fixed 5% of adjusted gross revenue (AGR).

Frequency: tax period - calendar month; reporting and payment - within 30 days after its end; funds are transferred to the Consolidated Fund.

Late fines: 10% of the tax amount for each week of delay started (but not more than twice the tax amount), with the right of the regulator to mitigate the fine in the absence of intent.

Gaming House Operators (numerical lotteries/betting in local jurisdiction)

Rate: the greater of 11% of taxable revenue or 25% of EBITDA for the tax period is payable.

Frequency and sanctions - similarly: monthly reporting/payment; penalty rules are identical.

💡 Terminology note: definitions of taxable revenue, AGR, statuses "mobile," "proxy," "restricted interactive," etc. are fixed in the regulations of 2014.

3) Base (annual) tax and payment schedule for casinos

In addition to the current AGR tax, the casino has an annual "basic tax": it is paid in six equal installments - the first until January 31, then on the last day of each subsequent month (with the possibility of a different schedule when the casino is launched in the middle of the year by written order of the minister).

4) Licenses and annual fees: "how much it costs to access the market"

The official Statuary Fees table establishes application fee, recovery of costs and annual/monitoring fees. Key positions: Gaming License (casino):

— Application: $5,000; Deposit: $100,000; Annual/Monitoring: Small $100,000 / Medium $250,000 / Large $500,000.

Proxy Gaming Licence:

— Application: $2,000; Deposit: $75,000; Annual: Small $30,000 / Medium $30,000 / Large $80,000.

Mobile Gaming Licence:

— Application: $2,000; Deposit: $50,000; Annual: Small $30,000 / Medium $30,000 / Large $80,000.

Restricted Gaming Licence:

— Application: $3,000; Deposit: $75,000; Annual: Small $40,000 / Medium $40,000 / Large $150,000.

Junket Operator:

— Application: $1,000; Deposit: $30,000; Annual: $600.

Gaming House Operator Licence:

— Application: $5,000; Deposit: $100,000; Annual: $250,000.

Gaming House Premises Licence:

— Application: $2,000; Deposit: $30,000; Annual: $2,000.

Gaming House Agent / Supplier:

— Application: $1,000; Deposit: $15,000; Annual: $1,000 (Agent) / $5,000 (Supplier).

Key Employee / Gambling Employee / Temporary Employee:

— Application: $250 / $150 / $100; Deposit: $2,000 / $1,000 / –; Annual: $120/$ 80/" 10 %/month "(according to the regulator table).

💡 The visual table on the regulator's website contains the current amounts; a specific Small/Medium/Large "gradation" is assigned according to the criteria specified in the licensing. To calculate the project budget, investors usually add up entrance, deposit and annual payments, as well as tax payments on AGR/EBITDA.

5) Reporting and cash flows

Where taxes are paid: licensees submit a monthly return and transfer the tax to the Gaming Board account, followed by transfer to the Consolidated Fund.

Submission deadline: within 30 days after the end of the tax month; in case of inaccuracies - mandatory adjustment within 5 days.

Reporting form: sample forms (including for Gaming House Operators) are available as monthly gaming tax return on the regulator's website.

6) How it converts to economics: a quick calculation

Example (casino):

AGR for the month = $10,000,000.
Gaming tax (5%) = $500,000 payable + current annual license fees (pro-rata/single charge - as scheduled).
If the tax is overdue for a week: penalty 10% = $50,000; with further delay, the fine increases by weeks, but in total cannot exceed 2 × of the tax amount.

Example (Gaming House Operator):

Revenue taxable revenue = $5,000,000, EBITDA = $1,600,000.
We consider: 11% of taxable = $550,000; 25% of EBITDA = $400,000.
A larger amount is charged - $550,000 + an annual fee of $250,000.

7) Transparency and statistics

To assess trends, the state publishes casino revenue reports (Casino Drop/Win-AGR, including Nassau/Paradise Island, Grand Bahama and Out Islands) and long-term series until 2024-2025. This helps to tie tax revenues to seasonality of tourist flow and dynamics of the West Atlantic cruise market.

8) What matters to investors and editors

The rate for casinos is 5% AGR, for Gaming House - max (11% taxable revenue, 25% EBITDA).

Taxes monthly, annual basic tax - 6 contributions from January; strict late fees.

Licensing/monitoring fees are significant for capex and opex, especially in the Gaming and Gaming House categories.

Check the relevance of the numbers on the official pages of Taxation Rates and Statistical Fees: the regulator periodically updates tables and explanations.

The state's revenue model from the gambling industry in the Bahamas is a combination of regular taxation (monthly with AGR/EBITDA) and significant annual licensing and monitoring fees. With record tourism in recent years, this scheme provides stable budget revenues, and for operators it sets clear rules of the game - with clear terms, rates and sanctions for delay.