How casinos get a license to operate

A license is a regulator's permission to operate in the gambling market. She confirms that the operator has transparent owners and management, the data and money of the players are protected, the games are honest and tested, and the tools of responsible play are built into the product. The process does not come down to "submit a questionnaire and pay a fee" - this is a project for several months with legal, financial and technical training.

1) We define the model and jurisdiction

B2C (operator): accepts deposits, stores players' wallets, is responsible for payments and Responsible Gambling.

B2B (supplier/platform/studio): delivers games/Platform, does not work with player wallets.

When choosing a jurisdiction, they look at:

Market and geo: where you plan to attract players (do you need local licenses).
Requirements for capital adequacy and guarantees: deposit protection, trust/segregated accounts, bank guarantees.
Licensing speed and cost: fees, audit, cost of local office/directors.
Technical requirements: recognized test laboratories, RNG/game certification, data center requirements.
Regulator reputation: the power of supervision and the trust of payment/advertising partners.

2) Corporate training

1. Legal entity and ownership structure. Transparent beneficiaries, statutes, corporate resolutions.

2. Key Persons and compliance officers. We need title roles: MLRO/AML officer, RG officer, Data Protection Officer, technical director of the platform.

3. Policies and Procedures (SOPs):

AML/CFT and KYC: identification, risk assessment, sources of funds, transaction monitoring, sanctions lists.
Responsible Gambling: deposit/time limits, self-exclusion, "cooling," behavioral triggers and interventions.
Fair & Safe Gaming: Incident Management, Returns, Complaints/ADRs, Bonus Control.
Information security: access control, encryption, backups, event logging.
4. Finmodel and proof of stability. Budgets, P & L/CF forecasts, commitment provision, bank/payment providers agreement.

3) Technical circuit and providers

Platform (PAM): accounts, wallets, limits, reporting, event log, integration of CUS/payments.

Content (games, live-casinos): contracts with providers and aggregators; make sure they have the right B2B licenses for your jurisdiction.

RNG/games: certificates from recognized laboratories (e. g., GLI, iTech, BMM, eCOGRA) and particular reports for each title (paytable, version, RTP).

Hosting/data center: compliance with the requirements of the regulator (location, physical security, logs, inspector access).

Monitoring and reporting: automatic GGR/NGR reports, responsible game logs, uploads for the regulator.

4) Filing package: What's usually requested

Questionnaires of beneficiaries and key persons (passport, address, CV, certificates of non-conviction, sources of funds).

Organizational chart and contracts with critical providers (payments, hosting, KYC, content).

Policy suite: AML/KYC, RG, complaints and ADR, bonuses, IT security, incidents, redundancy, retention period logs.

Financial documents: business plan (1-3 years), bank letters/guarantees, authorized capital, insurance (if required).

Technical description of the platform: architecture, version control, deploy, anti-exclusion, anti-bot, affiliate management.

UX content: T&C templates, bonus rules, responsible game pages, self-exclusion mechanics and limits.

5) "fit & proper" exam

The regulator conducts due diligence on owners and key management: business reputation, lack of crime/sanctions, adequacy of capital sources, relevant experience, conflict of interest. Interviews/interviews of officers (especially AML/RG) are often provided.

6) Technical audit and certification

1. RNG/games audit - compliance with the declared RTP, correctness of pay tables, exception handling.

2. Verification of integrations - correctness of logs, reports, limits, RG triggers and AML logs.

3. Pentest/vulnerability scans - at the request of the regulator or hosting standards.

4. Change control - how build versions are recorded, who approves releases, how bugs are rolled back.

7) Finance, trusts and customer funds protection

Segregated accounts/trusts for player funds (level of protection varies by jurisdiction).

Bank guarantees/deposits against obligations to players and taxes.

Separate registers of unpaid funds frozen under KYC/AML, etc.

Return procedures and timing of disbursements, KPIs and escalations.

8) Communications with regulator and pre-lounge

Application questions/answers: prepare a "matrix of answers" and the owner of each topic (legal/tech/finance).

Test environment for the inspector: demo accounts, logs, "screencasts" of RG/AML streams.

Conditional permission: elimination of comments, repeated tests, publication of mandatory warnings and legal pages.

9) After license issue: obligations "for every day"

Reporting: regular GGR/NGR reports, RG metrics, suspicious transactions (SAR/STR), security incidents.

Continuous compliance: personnel training, risk review, routine audits, rotation of key persons upon notification.

Product changes: new providers/games only after certification and (where required) regulator notification.

Marketing and affiliates: control of creatives, ban on misleading bonuses, age verification.

Storage of logs: retention periods and access to the inspector upon request.

Risks of sanctions: fines/suspension/recall for violations of AML/RG, delays in payments, inaccurate reporting.

10) Deadlines and benchmarks (generalized)

Package preparation: 6-12 weeks (depends on the readiness of policies and contracts, the speed of certificates and banks).

Consideration: from 2-3 to 6 + months (complex cases - longer).

Technical audits/corrections: in parallel, 2-8 weeks.

Fact: accelerates the availability of an experienced platform provider, pre-certified games, completeness of KYC/AML evidence and an understandable financial model.

11) Typical errors of applicants

Opaque beneficiary/" denominations. "

Raw politicians: "copy paste" without procedures and responsible persons.

No real RG/AML integrations: Limits are "on paper" but not in the product.

Unconfirmed sources of funds: no bank letters/contracts/sources of capital.

Weak reporting: no uploads for event log, affiliates, bonuses, returns.

Premature marketing: Traffic/PR before resolution - risk to application.

12) White-label, turnkey and alternative from scratch

White-label: the operator operates under a platform holder license (fast start, less control, dependence on the WL provider).

Turnkey (organisational sponsor): assistance in preparing for own licence, turnkey infrastructure and processes.

Own B2C license: longer and more expensive, but increases product control and margins.

13) Short checklist before submission

Legal structure, beneficiaries and key persons are defined and verified.
AML/KYC, RG, information security policies, bonuses, complaints are not just documents, but implemented processes.
Platform and content are certifiable, providers with relevant B2B permissions.
Hosting meets requirements, logs and reports are available.
Finance: capital, guarantees/segregation, bank and payment agreements.
Site templates: T&C, responsible play policy, privacy, cookies, bonus terms - ready.

[An] internal "dress rehearsal" interview with the regulator (especially for AML/RG officers).

14) Legal Note

The rules vary by country and are frequently updated. Before starting, get advice from a subject matter lawyer in the selected jurisdiction and check if a separate local license is required for the target markets (e.g. individual provinces/states).

Obtaining an online casino license is a manageable but comprehensive project: corporate transparency, strong compliance (AML/KYC, Responsible Gambling), certified software and hosting, financial guarantees and readiness for constant reporting. The earlier you collect evidence of a "fair system" (processes, logs, contracts, certifications), the faster you will pass the audit and the more stable the business will be after launch.