Online Gambling Law Map for Operators
A source-reviewed map of selected markets, local-license requirements, restricted products and the limits of offshore permissions.
Online gambling market access is not determined by where a company is incorporated, where its servers sit, or which offshore license appears in the footer. The useful question is narrower: may this legal entity provide this product, through these domains and suppliers, to people in this territory under the rules in force on the launch date?
This guide is a source-reviewed operator map for 15 important or instructive markets, reviewed on July 12, 2026 from primary sources checked on July 11 and 12. It is not an exhaustive world catalog, a player guide, or a substitute for advice on a specific launch. It covers Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, Italy, Ireland, Brazil, Ontario within the Canadian framework, the United States state-level boundary, Australia, South Africa, Malta, and Curaçao.
We separate the consumer-facing operating route from B2B software and supplier permissions, product approval, advertising, payments, player location, and current register status. A market is not marked open merely because legislation names a license category, an application portal exists, or an operator can technically accept a registration.
- + Treat the player location and the market's targeting rules as the starting point; an offshore corporate or server location does not displace local law.
- + Match the exact product to the permission. Casino, virtual slots, poker, bingo, sports betting, in-play betting, lottery, fantasy, and peer-to-peer products can follow different routes in the same market.
- + Verify the license holder, activity, brands, domains, status, effective dates, and regulator conditions in the official record. A logo or copied seal is not proof.
- + Map B2B exposure separately. Great Britain, Sweden, Denmark, Ontario, New Jersey, Malta, and Curaçao illustrate materially different software and supplier boundaries.
- + An MGA or Curaçao authorization is a license-base credential, not a passport into Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, Italy, Ireland, or any other target market.
- + Advertising, affiliates, payments, identity, self-exclusion, geolocation, game certification, and reporting can stop a launch even after the main operating route is identified.
- + Canada and the United States require province-, territory-, or state-specific analysis. Ontario registration does not authorize the rest of Canada, and there is no single US online gambling license.
- + Recheck volatile markets and live registers immediately before taking deposits. This map has a 30-day legal review cycle and an earlier event-driven review whenever a regulator changes a rule, register, or transition date.
Market map scope and method
The table below answers a procurement and launch-gating question, not the broad social question of whether gambling is legal. Each row identifies the current online position, the authority or route that controls entry, and the decision an operator should take next. It does not approve a particular company, brand, game, advertisement, payment flow, or technical build.
The review starts with primary public material: legislation, regulator licensing pages, application guidance, current operator or domain registers, and enforcement notices. Regulator summaries are used to explain implementation, while legislation controls if the two conflict. We do not infer permission from missing enforcement, a reachable website, a pending application, or a foreign license.
Territorial language matters. Great Britain uses a consumer-facing point-of-consumption test. Denmark publishes indicators of Danish targeting. Australia uses an Australian-customer link and focuses on where the customer is physically present. Canada places lawful conduct and management at the provincial level, while US legality depends on the relevant state product regime plus federal constraints.
- + Define the legal entity taking the wager, holding the player account, controlling the game, and receiving funds.
- + Classify the product and each embedded side game instead of using a single casino or betting label.
- + Record the player-location, residence, targeting, domain, language, currency, payment, and marketing facts.
- + Verify B2C, B2B, game, laboratory, key-person, and technical approvals separately.
- + Use the current official register and the underlying decision or license where available.
- + Record unknowns as launch blockers; do not convert silence into a legal conclusion.
What this map does not prove
A market row does not establish tax, corporate, AML, privacy, consumer-credit, sports-data, media, sanctions, or employment compliance. Those workstreams need their own signed-off scope before launch.
Operator market-access map
The positions below are deliberately operational. “Licensed” means a local authorization route exists for the named product; it does not mean every applicant qualifies or every product variant is available. “Prohibited” is limited to the product boundary stated in that row.
The authority column names the main entry route, not every agency with jurisdiction. Advertising, tax, AML, data protection, consumer protection, payment, sports-integrity, and local land-based authorities can still apply.
| Market | Current online position | Authority or license route | Operator takeaway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Great BritainRemote gambling sector guidanceRemote gambling software licensePublic register | Remote casino, betting, bingo, and specified lottery activities can be offered under the matching Gambling Commission operating license. The point-of-consumption rule reaches overseas businesses serving consumers in England, Scotland, or Wales. Northern Ireland is outside this row. | UK Gambling Commission activity-specific remote operating license; separate gambling-software and, where relevant, host permissions. | Confirm the exact licensed entity, activity, domains, software supply chain, host role, and current register status before serving British consumers. |
| GermanyPermitted online gambling products and authority splitOfficial gambling provider whitelistInterstate Treaty on Gambling 2021 | Sports and horse betting, virtual slots, online poker, and certain lottery activity are licensable. Online casino table games follow Land-level models and are not interchangeable with the nationwide GGL virtual-slot route. | GGL for assigned cross-state products; German Länder for online casino games and other reserved areas; official GGL whitelist records permitted operators and products. | Map each game to its statutory category and competent authority. Do not market virtual slots as casino games or treat one product permission as a full-casino license. |
| NetherlandsOffering online games of chanceKansspelwijzer authorized-provider registerRemote gambling license questions and answers | House-banked and player-versus-player online casino games, sports betting, and horse betting may be offered only under a Dutch remote-gambling authorization. Other gambling categories follow separate routes. | Kansspelautoriteit Koa license under article 31a; current authorized operators, brands, and domains in Kansspelwijzer. | The B2C operator needs Koa. A software supplier does not receive its own Koa license, but the licensed operator remains responsible for outsourced systems and live-casino arrangements. |
| SwedenCommercial online gambling and betting licensesGambling-software permit guidance | Commercial online casino, online bingo, and computer-simulated machine games use the commercial online gambling license; betting has its own license route. | Spelinspektionen operator license plus a gambling-software permit for businesses that manufacture, supply, install, or modify covered software used by Swedish online licensees. | Check both the operator and the software-control chain. Contracting, ownership, and control of covered software can create a permit obligation even for a subcontractor or group company. |
| DenmarkOnline casino licensingGame-supplier licensingIllegal gambling and Danish targeting indicatorsLicensed gambling operators | Online casino, including poker and online bingo, and betting are available under Danish Gambling Authority licenses. The authority applies a factual targeting test to unlicensed offshore offers. | Spillemyndigheden operator license; separate game-supplier license for businesses supplying games or services that operate and settle bets to Danish-licensed operators. | License the operator and in-scope game suppliers, use the current operator list, and review Danish language, support, currency, payment methods, registration defaults, marketing, and game selection as targeting signals. |
| SpainOnline gambling license structureLicensed operator and domain searchLaw 13/2011 on gambling regulation | Non-occasional nationwide online gambling requires a general license for the broad modality and a singular license for each regulated game. State lotteries are reserved. Activity limited to one autonomous community can follow a different regional route. | Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego for nationwide online activity; DGOJ operator and domain register; autonomous-community authority for qualifying regional activity. | Verify general and singular licenses, technical homologation, approved domains, and geographic scope. A national license for one game does not authorize another game or a reserved lottery. |
| ItalyLegislative Decree 41/2024 on remote public gamblingRemote-gaming concession tender and award recordADM remote-gaming decrees and technical extensionsAuthorized remote-gambling concessionaires | Permitted public remote games use the state concession system. ADM published award determination no. 594211 for the reorganized remote concessions on September 17, 2025, and the second technical extension for prior concessions ran no later than November 12, 2025. An award record still does not prove that every named entity or domain is currently production-ready. | Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli remote-gaming concession under Legislative Decree 41/2024; award determination no. 594211; current concessionaire and approved-site record. | Do not rely on an old concession number, expired extension, or tender participation. Confirm the awarded and currently effective concessionaire, approved sites, product rules, technical connection, and any later ADM decision immediately before launch or acquisition. |
| IrelandOpening of Ireland's 2026 gambling licensing phaseGRAI Operator Portal | The GRAI opened applications for remote betting, remote betting intermediary, and in-person betting licenses in February 2026. The government identified July 1, 2026 as the transition point for existing remote operators. Other B2C game categories and B2B licensing are phased and must not be assumed operational. | Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland under the Gambling Regulation Act 2024 and the 2026 commencement order; GRAI Operator Portal for the betting categories currently verified as open. | A notice of intent or submitted application is not a license. Obtain the issued permission and effective scope. Treat remote gaming, lottery, and B2B supply as blocked until the relevant phase, regulations, and authorization are confirmed directly from GRAI. |
| BrazilFederal fixed-odds betting and online-game marketBrazil national authorization and court-order operating listsSPA technical questionsFixed-odds betting regulatory library | Federal fixed-odds sports betting and qualifying online games use prior SPA authorization and approved .bet.br brands as the regulated route. The SPA publishes fully authorized companies separately from businesses operating because of court orders; a court-order listing is not SPA authorization. Peer-to-peer, multiplayer, fantasy, and other products outside the authorized definition are not made legal by the fixed-odds route. | Secretaria de Prêmios e Apostas of the Ministry of Finance; federal authorization under Laws 13,756 and 14,790 and SPA/MF Ordinance 827; live authorized-company list. | Match the Brazilian legal entity, authorization ordinance, brand, .bet.br domain, game certification, payments, marketing, SIGAP reporting, and actual game mechanic. If the official list places a business in the court-order category, verify that separate legal basis and scope and do not describe it as SPA-authorized. |
| Canada — Ontario boundaryCriminal Code section 207 — permitted lottery schemesSteps to join the Ontario marketInternet Gaming Suppliers Application Guide | Canada's Criminal Code makes provincial conduct and management central. Ontario operates an open model for eligible online casino and sports betting, but that Ontario route does not authorize access in other provinces or territories. | AGCO registration as an Internet Gaming Operator plus an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. Supplier registration is a separate, function-based question: AGCO decides case by case whether the actual goods or services fall within a Gaming-Related Supplier category. | Geofence the Ontario offer and contract in the iGO model. Run a separate province- or territory-specific analysis for the rest of Canada; do not label Ontario registration a Canadian license. |
| United States31 USC 5363 — unlawful internet gambling payments18 USC 1084 — transmission of wagering informationAuthorized Michigan online gaming and sports-betting platformsNew Jersey internet-gaming supplier rules | There is no single federal online gambling license. States authorize different combinations of sports betting, online casino, poker, lottery, fantasy, and related products; federal law adds payment and interstate constraints without creating state permission. | The relevant state gaming regulator and statute, plus applicable tribal and federal law. Michigan's current operator/platform list and New Jersey's supplier rules illustrate different state layers. | Build a state-and-product matrix tied to player location. Verify the operator, market-access partner, skin or brand, platform, game and supplier approvals, geolocation, payment controls, and state launch authorization for every state. |
| AustraliaInteractive Gambling Act overviewRegister of licensed interactive wagering servicesInteractive gambling investigations and enforcement | Online casino, slots, poker, in-play sports betting, and betting on a lottery outcome are prohibited services when offered to people in Australia. Other online wagering can be supplied only under an Australian state or territory license and federal Interactive Gambling Act controls. | State or territory wagering license plus Australian Communications and Media Authority oversight; licensed wagering services appear in the ACMA register. | Do not launch online casino content. For wagering, verify the service and domain in the ACMA register, remove prohibited in-play and credit features, control physical player location, and review advertising and BetStop obligations. |
| South AfricaLegal online betting and prohibited interactive gamblingVerified South African gambling operators | Online betting is legal through bookmakers licensed in South Africa for online betting. Interactive online casino games remain prohibited. | Provincial gambling board bookmaker license, with National Gambling Board oversight and the NGB verified-operator portal. | Limit the offer to the product and channels approved by the named provincial authority, verify the operator in the NGB or provincial record, and do not rely on an offshore license for online casino access. |
| MaltaEU gambling case-law overviewMalta B2C and B2B gaming license typesMGA licensee register | Malta licenses B2C gaming services and B2B critical gaming supplies under separate categories. The authorization governs the Maltese licensed activity but does not override the market-access law where players are located. | Malta Gaming Authority B2C Gaming Service license or B2B Critical Gaming Supply license; current authorization, verticals, domains, and status in the MGA register. | Use Malta as a regulated operating or supply base only within the MGA scope. Obtain every required target-market authorization separately and verify the exact MGA entity, license type, vertical, service provider, domain, and status. |
| CuraçaoEU gambling case-law overviewCuraçao online gaming and supplier licensing frameworkSupplier licensing and registration transition announcementLicense conditions for an indefinite-term supplier license | The LOK has governed online gaming in or from Curaçao since December 24, 2024. An online gaming license is required for the operator and entities that directly or indirectly control player databases and transactions. In its June 24, 2026 transition update, the CGA confirmed that from December 24, 2026 a Curaçao-established critical supplier must hold a supplier license and register, while a foreign critical supplier serving a CGA licensee must register but does not need a Curaçao supplier license. | Curaçao Gaming Authority under the National Ordinance on Games of Chance; separate online-gaming and supplier-license routes, approved domains, license conditions, and dynamic seal. | Verify the LOK operator license and each authorized domain, then classify every critical supplier as Curaçao-established or foreign and apply the correct license-and-registration route. The CGA said it expected the supplier-registration workflow to open in October 2026, so recheck that operational date and the December 24, 2026 mandatory date before onboarding or launch. |
A pending application is not market access
Tender participation, a notice of intent, an application reference, technical certification, or a provisional workflow step is not equivalent to an effective operating authorization. Launch only against the issued permission and its current conditions.
Local-license principle and offshore-license limits
A license answers the law of the issuing jurisdiction and the activities written into that permission. It does not answer every law that can attach when a player in another country sees an advertisement, opens an account, deposits, places a wager, or receives a payout.
The European position is explicit: there is no sector-specific EU gambling legislation and no obligation for one country to recognize another country's gambling authorization. Great Britain also states directly that an overseas business serving British consumers needs a Gambling Commission license. Denmark uses a fact-based targeting assessment rather than treating foreign incorporation as a safe harbor.
Malta and Curaçao remain useful regulated bases when the entity, technology, people, reporting, and licensed activity genuinely sit within their regimes. Their value is due-diligence evidence, not a substitute for target-market permission. The contract should state which entity and license support each market instead of using a generic group-license warranty.
- + Do not describe an MGA or CGA authorization as worldwide, international, EU-wide, or covering markets that have their own local route.
- + Do not use server location, a blocked country list, or terms-of-service language as the only territorial analysis.
- + Do not assume a B2B license allows the supplier to accept wagers or hold player funds.
- + Do not assume a B2C license covers every game type, brand, domain, group company, or outsourced host.
- + Require a market schedule that names the local permission, legal entity, activity, domain, product, and launch condition for every territory.
License-base versus market-access
A license-base authorization regulates activity in or from the issuing jurisdiction. Market-access authorization answers whether the offer may lawfully reach the player. A serious launch needs both answers wherever both layers apply.
Product and territorial classification
Product labels used by sales teams are too broad for licensing. A casino lobby can contain house-banked games, peer-to-peer poker, live studio games, bingo, virtual sports, lottery-like products, and a sportsbook. Regulators can place those mechanics in different categories or prohibit only part of the lobby.
Classify what creates the outcome, who plays against whom, who holds the stake, whether odds are fixed, whether the event has started, whether liquidity or jackpots are pooled, and whether a prize depends on a lottery result. Then map every mechanic to the local definition and permission.
Territorial facts need the same precision. Record physical player location, residence or ordinary presence where relevant, language, currency, payment method, domain, country defaults, local support, marketing, affiliates, and whether the operator accepts registration or wagers from that location.
| Question | Why it changes the route |
|---|---|
| Is the product a virtual slot, online casino table game, live studio game, or peer-to-peer game?Permitted online gambling products and authority splitCommercial online gambling and betting licensesOnline casino licensingLegal online betting and prohibited interactive gambling | Germany separates virtual slots, poker, and Land-level online casino games; Sweden and Denmark define their own online-casino coverage; South Africa prohibits interactive casino games while permitting licensed online betting. |
| Is a bet pre-match, in-play, pool, exchange, fixed-odds, or on a prohibited event?GRAI Operator Portal31 USC 5363 — unlawful internet gambling payments18 USC 1084 — transmission of wagering informationInteractive Gambling Act overview | Australia prohibits online in-play sports betting while licensing other wagering; Ireland separates remote betting and intermediary routes; US state permissions and federal payment restrictions must both be checked. |
| Is it a lottery, bingo product, casino game, or bet on a lottery outcome?Online casino licensingOnline gambling license structureInteractive Gambling Act overview | Spain reserves nationwide lotteries, Denmark includes online bingo within online casino, and Australia prohibits online betting on a lottery outcome. The commercial label does not control the legal category. |
| Is it peer-to-peer, multiplayer, fantasy, sweepstakes, or another adjacent mechanic?Federal fixed-odds betting and online-game marketSPA technical questions | Brazil's current fixed-odds online-game guidance excludes peer-to-peer, multiplayer, fantasy, and unregulated mechanics from that authorization. A new label does not bring an excluded mechanic into scope. |
B2B software and supplier exposure
An operator license does not settle the supplier question. Some markets license critical software manufacturers, hosts, game suppliers, payment or identity vendors, and other businesses separately. Others place the main licensing duty on the operator but still expose suppliers through suitability, technical, certification, enforcement, or contract requirements.
Follow the function, not the invoice chain. Identify who owns and controls the game or sportsbook logic, hosts the RNG or betting engine, accepts and records wagers, settles outcomes, changes software, controls player accounts or transactions, provides geolocation and identity checks, and contracts with the licensed operator.
The correct result can differ even for the same platform. A Dutch supplier does not receive Koa merely for supplying software, while covered Swedish and Danish suppliers need their own permissions. New Jersey expressly captures several internet-gaming, payment, identity, age, and geolocation services. Ontario instead makes a case-by-case determination based on the supplier's actual functions, not its business label.
| Market | Supplier boundary to test |
|---|---|
| Great BritainRemote gambling software licenseOnline license conditions and codes of practice | Manufacturing, supplying, installing, or adapting gambling software requires the relevant software license; hosting games or providing gambling facilities can require an additional host or operating permission. |
| SwedenGambling-software permit guidance | The permit reaches businesses that manufacture, supply, install, or modify covered software used for licensed online gambling, with control and ownership central to the analysis. |
| DenmarkGame-supplier licensing | A game-supplier license covers casino-game suppliers and services that operate and settle bets when supplied to Danish betting or online-casino licensees. |
| NetherlandsRemote gambling license questions and answers | Koa is issued to the B2C gambling provider, not the software supplier. The operator remains responsible for outsourcing and the compliant gambling system. |
| Ontario and New JerseyInternet Gaming Suppliers Application GuideNew Jersey internet-gaming supplier rules | Ontario requires registration where the actual activities fall within a Gaming-Related Supplier category, with AGCO deciding the boundary case by case. New Jersey rules identify internet gaming systems, wager administration, payment services, identity, age, and geolocation providers as licensable supplier functions. |
| Malta and CuraçaoMalta B2C and B2B gaming license typesCuraçao online gaming and supplier licensing frameworkSupplier licensing and registration transition announcementLicense conditions for an indefinite-term supplier license | Malta licenses critical gaming supply separately. From December 24, 2026, Curaçao-established critical suppliers must hold a CGA supplier license and register; foreign critical suppliers serving CGA licensees must register but do not need that local supplier license. The CGA expected the registration workflow to open in October 2026, which remains a date to recheck. |
Advertising, payments, geolocation, and distribution controls
Market access is also a distribution-control problem. An operator can hold the right license and still breach local rules through an affiliate, bonus, sponsorship, payment method, prohibited in-play feature, unapproved domain, player-location failure, or supplier that exposes the wrong product.
Write these controls as launch requirements rather than post-launch policy. The product catalog, marketing system, affiliate platform, payment routing, identity flow, geolocation service, self-exclusion connection, customer support, and data warehouse must all enforce the same market decision.
Controls must be tested against negative cases: VPN or location spoofing, a player crossing a border mid-session, a blocked or self-excluded account, an unapproved payment instrument, an affiliate deep link, a game enabled under the wrong regulatory category, and an unapproved brand or domain.
- + Advertising: approve every channel, affiliate, influencer, sponsorship, bonus, audience, and creative against the local operator and product permission. The Netherlands' untargeted-advertising and sports-sponsorship restrictions show why a license alone is insufficient.
- + Payments: identify the merchant of record, permitted instruments, account-name matching, withdrawal path, chargeback ownership, prohibited credit, and regulator blocking exposure. US federal law and Brazil's financial-disruption rules make payment legality a separate gate.
- + Geolocation: define whether the rule uses physical presence, residence, ordinary presence, or targeting. Prevent registration, deposit, play, and product access at the required control points rather than relying on a country dropdown.
- + Player protection: integrate age and identity checks, limits, self-exclusion, safer-gambling monitoring, and complaint records before accepting a wager.
- + Domains and apps: reconcile every production and redirect domain, app bundle, mirror, white-label skin, and dynamic license seal with the regulator record.
- + Data and reporting: identify the authoritative transaction ledger and preserve the records required for regulator access, game testing, disputes, AML, player protection, and incident reporting.
Affiliates are part of the regulated distribution chain
Contract language that calls an affiliate independent does not prevent its ad, link, audience, or payment funnel from creating enforcement exposure. Approve and monitor the actual placement and destination.
Official registers and enforcement signals
A license claim is verified at the entity-activity-domain level. Search the regulator's current record, open the individual license or authorization where available, and compare the legal name, trading names, domains, activities, status, dates, conditions, and enforcement history with the proposed launch.
A brand page, footer seal, certificate image, vendor deck, app-store listing, or search-engine result is not a substitute. Registers can contain surrendered, suspended, expired, provisional, renamed, or transferred permissions. Some regulators also publish judicially operating, transitional, or otherwise qualified lists that must not be merged with fully authorized operators.
Enforcement is not limited to fines against the B2C operator. Authorities use domain and ISP blocking, payment disruption, advertising controls, supplier action, license conditions, suspension, and criminal referral. Lack of action against a specific site is not evidence that the offer is permitted.
- + Save a dated PDF, CSV, screenshot, or register export and the underlying decision where possible.
- + Reconcile parent, applicant, licensee, contracting entity, merchant, brand, domain, and app publisher; never assume they are the same company.
- + Check activity and product scope, not only active status.
- + Read recent enforcement and transition notices for the market and the supplier chain.
- + Set an automated expiry and status alert, but retain a human check before launch and material releases.
Market-entry due-diligence workflow
Run the workflow for one legal entity, product set, brand, domain, channel, and target territory at a time. The deliverable is a dated go, conditional go, or no-go record with named evidence owners and unresolved blockers.
- 1Freeze the actual launch scope
List every game and bet mechanic, side game, stake and prize flow, target territory, domain, app, language, currency, payment method, acquisition channel, supplier, and planned launch date. Separate casino, slots, live casino, poker, bingo, betting, lottery, fantasy, sweepstakes, and peer-to-peer mechanics.
Sources:Permitted online gambling products and authority splitOnline gambling license structureSPA technical questionsInteractive Gambling Act overview - 2Map the territorial trigger
Document physical location, residence, targeting, remote equipment, marketing, domain, support, currency, payment, and registration facts. Obtain a reasoned conclusion for each jurisdiction instead of copying a global restricted-country list.
Sources:Remote gambling sector guidanceIllegal gambling and Danish targeting indicatorsCriminal Code section 207 — permitted lottery schemesInteractive Gambling Act overview - 3Draw the legal-entity and funds map
Name the applicant, licensee, player contracting party, merchant of record, wallet and funds holder, game and platform owner, host, data controllers and processors, support entity, and every regulated subcontractor. Reconcile this map with contracts and production configuration.
Sources:Remote gambling software licenseRemote gambling license questions and answersSteps to join the Ontario marketCuraçao online gaming and supplier licensing framework - 4Verify permissions in the official record
Open the current regulator record and underlying decision. Match legal name, number, activity, products, brands, domains, status, dates, conditions, technical approval, and supplier permissions. Save dated evidence and record any gap as a blocker.
Sources:Public registerOfficial gambling provider whitelistKansspelwijzer authorized-provider registerLicensed operator and domain searchBrazil national authorization and court-order operating lists - 5Clear the B2B and technical chain
Determine which manufacturers, suppliers, hosts, aggregators, labs, payment providers, identity services, geolocation vendors, and key people need licensing, registration, certification, disclosure, or regulator approval. Confirm version and deployment scope for every certificate.
Sources:Gambling-software permit guidanceGame-supplier licensingInternet Gaming Suppliers Application GuideNew Jersey internet-gaming supplier rulesMalta B2C and B2B gaming license types - 6Test distribution and player controls
Test advertising approval, affiliate links, registration, identity and age checks, geolocation, deposits, withdrawals, prohibited payments, product restrictions, limits, self-exclusion, responsible-gambling interventions, complaints, reporting, and blocked-market behavior in a production-like environment.
Sources:Online license conditions and codes of practiceOnline gambling sports-sponsorship ban implementationFixed-odds betting regulatory library31 USC 5363 — unlawful internet gambling payments18 USC 1084 — transmission of wagering informationInteractive gambling investigations and enforcement - 7Gate contracts and launch
Make launch conditional on issued permissions, regulator and partner approvals, technical acceptance, complete evidence, and zero unresolved high-risk gaps. Put suspension, data export, player-funds, regulator cooperation, supplier replacement, and market-exit duties in the agreements.
Sources:Legislative Decree 41/2024 on remote public gamblingOpening of Ireland's 2026 gambling licensing phaseSteps to join the Ontario market - 8Monitor changes after launch
Assign owners for regulator notices, statutes, registers, license dates, domains, product approvals, enforcement, supplier status, and contract changes. Re-run the affected market decision before enabling a new game, brand, domain, payment method, supplier, or acquisition channel.
Sources:Official gambling provider whitelistAuthorized remote-gambling concessionairesGRAI Operator PortalBrazil national authorization and court-order operating listsMGA licensee register
Evidence and contract pack
A market memorandum is useful only if operations can reproduce its conclusion. Keep a structured evidence pack for the operator, each critical supplier, and every production brand and domain. The pack should show what was checked, when, by whom, against which official source, and what changed after review.
The contract pack must allocate regulatory work to the party that can actually perform it. An operator cannot delegate away accountability by calling a platform turnkey, while a supplier should not accept undefined worldwide compliance for markets it does not control.
Exit terms are part of legal readiness. If a license, operating agreement, supplier permission, game approval, or payment relationship ends, the business needs a tested way to stop acquisition and play, protect balances and open bets, preserve records, notify players and authorities, and migrate or close without continuing an unauthorized service.
- + Current license, concession, registration, conditions, regulator correspondence, domains, brands, products, and key-person approvals.
- + Corporate chart, beneficial ownership, contracting entities, player terms, privacy roles, merchant and bank accounts, and funds-flow diagram.
- + B2B permissions, game and platform certificates, lab scope, release version, hosting architecture, data locations, and critical subcontractors.
- + Market-specific product catalog, advertising rules, affiliate approvals, payment matrix, geolocation rules, identity flow, self-exclusion, limits, and safer-gambling controls.
- + Incident, complaint, AML, game, payment, player-protection, regulator-reporting, data-retention, audit, and evidence-export procedures.
- + Suspension, regulatory change, supplier failure, data export, player funds, open wagers, jackpot, migration, domain, and termination clauses.
Review cadence and change control
This guide is reviewed on a 30-day cycle because several included regimes are moving. That interval is a publication control, not permission to wait 30 days after a legal change. Ireland is phasing in its new authority, Italy is implementing a reorganized remote-concession framework, Brazil continues to update authorization and operating rules, and active registers can change at any time.
Use event-driven review for a new statute, regulation, regulator FAQ, license decision, register change, enforcement action, product classification, certification rule, domain, supplier, corporate transaction, market exit, or court order. A material change freezes the affected launch or release until the decision record is updated.
For every live market, the operating team should perform a daily automated status and domain check where the official source supports it, a monthly human register and rule review, a quarterly end-to-end control test, and an immediate pre-launch or pre-release verification. Keep the prior conclusion and evidence so the business can explain why it acted at the time.
- + Daily or event-driven: license status, authorized domains, regulator alerts, suspension, blocking, and critical supplier status.
- + Before each release: product classification, game approval, software version, suppliers, payment methods, geolocation, marketing, and player-protection controls.
- + Monthly: statute and regulator guidance, license conditions, registers, enforcement, advertising, payments, and reporting changes.
- + Quarterly: production evidence, negative-location tests, affiliate sampling, payment testing, self-exclusion, incident drills, data export, and exit readiness.
- + At acquisition or restructuring: recheck ownership, entity, concession transfer, key people, merchant, domains, contracts, and change-of-control approvals before completion.
Current review window
Reviewed July 12, 2026 from sources checked July 11 and 12. Scheduled review due August 10, 2026. Any regulator, license, register, product, supplier, domain, or enforcement change triggers an earlier review.
FAQ
Does a Malta or Curaçao license let an operator accept players worldwide?+
No. Each authorization governs its own licensed activity and jurisdictional scope. The EU does not require mutual recognition of gambling licenses, and target markets can require their own local permission. Use the MGA or CGA license as evidence about the licensed base, then run a separate market-access analysis for every player territory.
Sources:EU gambling case-law overviewMalta B2C and B2B gaming license typesCuraçao online gaming and supplier licensing frameworkIs one European gambling license valid across the EU?+
No. There is no sector-specific EU gambling law and no mandatory mutual recognition of national gambling authorizations. Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, Italy, Ireland, and Malta each apply their own product, entity, technical, and distribution rules.
Sources:Online gambling in the EUEU gambling case-law overviewOffering online games of chanceOnline gambling license structureCan an operator launch while its license application is pending?+
Do not equate an application, tender, notice of intent, or portal reference with permission. The operator needs the issued authorization and any required operating agreement, technical approval, registered domain, and effective date. Ireland's phased application opening and Italy's dated award and expired technical extensions show why an application or historical transition record is insufficient.
Sources:Legislative Decree 41/2024 on remote public gamblingRemote-gaming concession tender and award recordADM remote-gaming decrees and technical extensionsAuthorized remote-gambling concessionairesOpening of Ireland's 2026 gambling licensing phaseGRAI Operator PortalDo gambling software and game suppliers need their own licenses?+
Sometimes. Great Britain licenses gambling software activity, Sweden requires permits for covered software functions, Denmark licenses in-scope game suppliers, and Malta has a B2B critical-supply license. Ontario determines supplier registration case by case from the actual function, while New Jersey licenses specified supplier functions. The Netherlands does not issue Koa to a software supplier, but the B2C operator remains responsible. Test the actual function and entity in each market.
Sources:Remote gambling software licenseRemote gambling license questions and answersGambling-software permit guidanceGame-supplier licensingInternet Gaming Suppliers Application GuideNew Jersey internet-gaming supplier rulesMalta B2C and B2B gaming license typesIs a website legal if it is accessible but does not advertise locally?+
Accessibility alone does not produce one universal answer, and no-advertising language is not a safe harbor. Great Britain focuses on providing facilities to British consumers, Denmark assesses multiple targeting signals, and Australia applies its Australian-customer link to customers physically present there. Document the complete registration, deposit, play, support, domain, language, currency, payment, and marketing facts for the target market.
Sources:Remote gambling sector guidanceIllegal gambling and Danish targeting indicatorsInteractive Gambling Act overviewDoes an Ontario registration cover all of Canada?+
No. Canada's Criminal Code makes provincial conduct and management central. Ontario's open model requires AGCO registration and an iGaming Ontario operating agreement, but other provinces and territories have their own structures. Treat every province or territory as a separate market decision.
Sources:Criminal Code section 207 — permitted lottery schemesSteps to join the Ontario marketIs there one US online casino or sportsbook license?+
No. Authorization is state- and product-specific, with federal law adding payment and interstate constraints. Michigan's official list shows state-authorized operators and platform providers, while New Jersey applies its own operator and supplier structure. Verify player location and every state layer before accepting a wager.
Sources:31 USC 5363 — unlawful internet gambling payments18 USC 1084 — transmission of wagering informationAuthorized Michigan online gaming and sports-betting platformsNew Jersey internet-gaming supplier rulesCan an offshore-licensed operator offer online casino games in Australia or South Africa?+
No. Australia prohibits online casino, slots, poker, and other specified interactive services to people in Australia. South Africa prohibits interactive online casino games while allowing online betting through locally licensed bookmakers. A foreign license does not change either product boundary.
Sources:Interactive Gambling Act overviewInteractive gambling investigations and enforcementLegal online betting and prohibited interactive gamblingHow should an operator verify a license before launch?+
Use the regulator's live register and underlying decision. Match the legal entity, license number, activity, products, brands, domains, status, dates, conditions, technical approvals, and supplier permissions. Save dated evidence and repeat the check immediately before deposits open; a footer logo or vendor certificate is not enough.
Sources:Public registerOfficial gambling provider whitelistKansspelwijzer authorized-provider registerLicensed gambling operatorsLicensed operator and domain searchBrazil national authorization and court-order operating listsRegister of licensed interactive wagering servicesVerified South African gambling operatorsMGA licensee registerSources reviewed
A linked source establishes only the scope described in its note. It does not validate unrelated claims by the same publisher.
- government2026-07-11European Commission: Online gambling in the EU
The Commission states that there is no sector-specific EU gambling legislation and that member countries organize their own online gambling systems.
- government2026-07-11European Commission: EU gambling case-law overview
The official overview states that EU law does not require mutual recognition of gambling authorizations issued by another EU country.
- regulator2026-07-11UK Gambling Commission: Remote gambling sector guidance
Current guidance says an overseas business needs a Commission license when providing remote gambling facilities to consumers in Great Britain and lists the activity-specific routes.
- regulator2026-07-11UK Gambling Commission: Remote gambling software license
The page defines the remote software permission and explains that hosting gambling facilities can require an additional host operating license.
- regulator2026-07-11UK Gambling Commission: Online license conditions and codes of practice
The version effective April 6, 2026 groups current conditions for technical standards, funds, payments, digital ads, identity, player protection, marketing, and complaints.
- official register2026-07-11UK Gambling Commission: Public register
The register provides licensed businesses, activities, individuals, premises, and published regulatory actions; individual activity and status must be inspected.
- regulator2026-07-11Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder: Permitted online gambling products and authority split
The GGL lists licensable internet products, its assigned cross-state responsibilities, and the separate Länder responsibility for online casino games.
- official register2026-07-11Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder: Official gambling provider whitelist
The current official whitelist identifies permitted operators, product categories, responsible authorities, and approved sites and is updated at least monthly.
- government2026-07-11Bavarian State Government legal service: Interstate Treaty on Gambling 2021
The official consolidated treaty text defines and separates virtual slots, online poker, and online casino games and sets product and player-control requirements.
- regulator2026-07-11Kansspelautoriteit: Offering online games of chance
The Ksa identifies the four remote high-risk game categories and states that they may be offered only with an article 31a Koa license.
- official register2026-07-11Kansspelautoriteit: Kansspelwijzer authorized-provider register
The live register is the Ksa source for authorized providers and should be searched by company, site, app, and license scope.
- regulator2026-07-11Kansspelautoriteit: Remote gambling license questions and answers
The Ksa states that Koa is not issued to B2B software suppliers and that the customer operator needs the license and remains responsible for outsourcing.
- regulator2026-07-11Kansspelautoriteit: Online gambling sports-sponsorship ban implementation
The Ksa records the untargeted-advertising ban from 2023 and the end of the sports-sponsorship transition on July 1, 2025.
- regulator2026-07-11Spelinspektionen: Commercial online gambling and betting licenses
The authority separates commercial online casino, bingo, and simulated machine games from the betting license route and provides current application material.
- regulator2026-07-11Spelinspektionen: Gambling-software permit guidance
Current guidance explains the permit boundary for manufacturing, supplying, installing, and modifying software and the roles of ownership, control, intermediaries, and subcontractors.
- regulator2026-07-11Danish Gambling Authority: Online casino licensing
The authority lists covered online-casino products, including poker and online bingo, and states that a Danish online-casino license is required.
- regulator2026-07-11Danish Gambling Authority: Game-supplier licensing
The page states that suppliers of games and bet operation or settlement services to Danish betting and online-casino operators require a supplier license.
- regulator2026-07-11Danish Gambling Authority: Illegal gambling and Danish targeting indicators
The authority lists factual targeting indicators such as language, support, currency, local payment methods, registration defaults, marketing, and game selection.
- official register2026-07-11Danish Gambling Authority: Licensed gambling operators
The current official operator list was updated July 6, 2026 and is the launch-time check for Danish authorization.
- regulator2026-07-11Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego: Online gambling license structure
The DGOJ explains the general and singular license structure, reserved nationwide lotteries, legal-entity requirements, and licensing procedure.
- official register2026-07-11Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego: Licensed operator and domain search
The current DGOJ search identifies licensed entities, general and singular activities, approved domains, and related license and technical decisions.
- government2026-07-11Boletín Oficial del Estado: Law 13/2011 on gambling regulation
The official consolidated law provides the nationwide online-gambling framework and the requirement for general and game-specific permissions.
- government2026-07-11Normattiva: Legislative Decree 41/2024 on remote public gambling
The in-force text reorganizes Italy's public remote-gambling framework and the concession relationship, with implementing and transition provisions requiring current review.
- official register2026-07-11Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli: Remote-gaming concession tender and award record
The official procurement record publishes award determination no. 594211 dated September 17, 2025. It establishes the award milestone but does not by itself prove each concessionaire's current domain approval, technical completion, or production status.
- regulator2026-07-11Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli: ADM remote-gaming decrees and technical extensions
The official ADM record links second technical-extension determination no. 504068 of July 24, 2025, which ran the prior remote concessions no later than November 12, 2025. It is historical transition evidence, not a current concession record.
- official register2026-07-11Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli: Authorized remote-gambling concessionaires
The official ADM list maps remote concession codes to concessionaires and approved sites; current effectiveness and later decisions still require confirmation against the live record.
- government2026-07-11Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: Opening of Ireland's 2026 gambling licensing phase
The government confirms the 2026 commencement for betting applications and enforcement and identifies July 1, 2026 as the remote-operator transition point.
- regulator2026-07-11Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland: GRAI Operator Portal
The live portal identifies remote betting, remote betting intermediary, and in-person betting as the application categories currently verified as open and explains the February 2026 transition.
- regulator2026-07-11Brazil Ministry of Finance: Federal fixed-odds betting and online-game market
The SPA states that its federal administrative regime requires prior authorization and that approved sites use .bet.br. The separate official-list source must be used to distinguish fully authorized companies from businesses operating because of court orders.
- official register2026-07-11Brazil Ministry of Finance: Brazil national authorization and court-order operating lists
The official page publishes the current authorized-company PDF and CSV and separately identifies businesses operating because of court orders.
- regulator2026-07-11Brazil Ministry of Finance: SPA technical questions
The SPA states that the authorized operator, not its suppliers, makes regulatory submissions and that unregulated skill, fantasy, multiplayer, and peer-to-peer products fall outside the fixed-odds online-game route.
- government2026-07-11Brazil Ministry of Finance: Fixed-odds betting regulatory library
The official library links current authorization, systems, games, certification, payments, marketing, player protection, monitoring, sanctions, domains, and financial-disruption rules.
- government2026-07-11Justice Laws Website, Government of Canada: Criminal Code section 207 — permitted lottery schemes
Section 207 makes provincial conduct and management central to lawful lottery schemes and provides the federal boundary for provincial online models.
- government2026-07-12iGaming Ontario: Steps to join the Ontario market
The official process requires AGCO registration and completion of iGaming Ontario steps, including the operating agreement, before market entry.
- regulator2026-07-12Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario: Internet Gaming Suppliers Application Guide
The AGCO defines the two Gaming-Related Supplier categories, says registration depends on the activity rather than the business label, and makes the determination case by case. It also gives examples of functions that may or may not require registration.
- government2026-07-11United States House Office of the Law Revision Counsel: 31 USC 5363 — unlawful internet gambling payments
The current US Code prohibits a gambling business from knowingly accepting specified financial instruments in connection with unlawful internet gambling; it does not create a national operating license.
- government2026-07-11United States House Office of the Law Revision Counsel: 18 USC 1084 — transmission of wagering information
The current Wire Act text addresses interstate or foreign wire transmissions involving bets, wagers, and wagering information on sporting events or contests and preserves state-law exposure.
- official register2026-07-11Michigan Gaming Control Board: Authorized Michigan online gaming and sports-betting platforms
The current Michigan record pairs state-authorized operators with platform providers and approved casino, poker, and sports-betting sites.
- regulator2026-07-11New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement: New Jersey internet-gaming supplier rules
The current rules identify licensable internet-gaming software, wager administration, payment, identity, age, and geolocation supplier functions and distinguish general vendors.
- regulator2026-07-11Australian Communications and Media Authority: Interactive Gambling Act overview
ACMA identifies prohibited online casino, in-play sports, unlicensed wagering, and lottery-outcome betting services and the related advertising and credit restrictions.
- official register2026-07-11Australian Communications and Media Authority: Register of licensed interactive wagering services
The live register maps licensed wagering brands, license holders, URLs, and state or territory licensing authorities.
- regulator2026-07-11Australian Communications and Media Authority: Interactive gambling investigations and enforcement
The current enforcement table distinguishes prohibited and unlicensed services, physical customer location, affiliate and ancillary exposure, formal warnings, penalties, and blocking.
- regulator2026-07-11National Gambling Board of South Africa: Legal online betting and prohibited interactive gambling
The NGB states that online gambling is prohibited except online betting through South African-licensed bookmakers and directs users to provincial license information.
- official register2026-07-11National Gambling Board of South Africa: Verified South African gambling operators
The NGB portal consolidates verified operators and provincial license details and warns against environments absent from the list.
- regulator2026-07-11Malta Gaming Authority: Malta B2C and B2B gaming license types
The MGA distinguishes the B2C Gaming Service license from the B2B Critical Gaming Supply license for material game elements and essential regulatory-record systems.
- official register2026-07-11Malta Gaming Authority: MGA licensee register
The current register supports searches by licensee, authorization status, URL, and gaming service, with license and vertical detail available through the dynamic seal.
- regulator2026-07-12Curaçao Gaming Authority: Curaçao online gaming and supplier licensing framework
The CGA states that the LOK took effect December 24, 2024, defines the online-operator and player-database boundary, and limits the local supplier-license requirement to Curaçao-established critical suppliers.
- regulator2026-07-12Curaçao Gaming Authority: Supplier licensing and registration transition announcement
The June 24, 2026 announcement makes licensing and registration fully mandatory on December 24, 2026: local critical suppliers need both, foreign critical suppliers serving CGA licensees need registration but no Curaçao supplier license, and the registration workflow was expected to open in October 2026.
- regulator2026-07-12Curaçao Gaming Authority: License conditions for an indefinite-term supplier license
Official conditions effective December 22, 2025 establish the active indefinite-term supplier license for Curaçao companies supplying the critical services and goods named in the license. The Dutch version prevails over the English translation if they conflict.
This is an operator-oriented research map, not legal advice and not an exhaustive statement of gambling law. It is limited to the products, markets, and official public sources identified above, reviewed on July 12, 2026 from sources checked on July 11 and 12. Laws, commencement orders, regulator guidance, registers, court decisions, license conditions, enforcement positions, and technical rules can change without notice. Do not launch, advertise, process payments, supply regulated technology, or accept players based on this guide alone. Obtain current advice for the exact legal entities, product mechanics, player locations, brands, domains, suppliers, funds flow, and launch date, and verify every authorization directly with the responsible authority.