Vanuatu Interactive Gaming License
Vanuatu interactive gaming law, fees, tax, application clock, term, local company and banking requirements, game approvals, and regulator boundary.
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Vanuatu's Interactive Gaming Act establishes a real operator-license route for paid online games and event betting conducted wholly or partly in Vanuatu. The statutory Regulator is the Director of Customs and Inland Revenue. VGA Limited operates the current application site as an administrative agent, but its branding does not replace the authority named in the Act. A Vanuatu license also does not authorize a player market that requires its own local permission.
Fees start at EUR 5,000 to apply, EUR 10,000 on grant and each anniversary for one domain, and EUR 1,500 for every additional wagering domain. Gaming tax is 1 percent of GGR. The applicant needs a Vanuatu company, a local licensed financial-institution account, fit-and-proper and source-of-funds evidence, approved games and systems, local record arrangements, and annual audit. The two-month decision period begins only after all requested information arrives; it is not a guaranteed two-to-three-week launch time.
License facts: The Director of Customs and Inland Revenue is the statutory Regulator under section 34 of the Vanuatu Interactive Gaming Act. VGA Limited operates the current online application and administration site and describes itself as the Department's exclusive agent; it is not the regulator named in the Act.
- Cost boundary
- Order 110 of 2024 sets a non-refundable EUR 5,000 application fee. The license fee is EUR 10,000 for all forms of interactive gaming on one domain, payable on grant and on each anniversary. Each additional wagering domain costs EUR 1,500. The Act also makes the applicant or licensee responsible for investigation costs where applicable and for audits, systems, company, banking, compliance, and other operating expenses. There is no fixed all-in incorporation or launch price. A Vanuatu company, capital and source-of-funds evidence, local financial-institution account, approved systems, annual audit, and any business or foreign-investment requirements remain separate from the headline fees.
- Process timing
- The Act requires the Regulator to grant or refuse an application within two months after receiving the application and all additional information or documents requested under section 4. If the application is granted, the license must be issued within seven days; a refusal notice is also due within seven days. This is the statutory decision clock after the requested evidence is in, not a two-to-three-week launch promise. Company setup, ownership and source-of-funds work, criminal and regulatory checks, game and software approval, control-system approval, equipment approval, banking, AML registration, and remediation can sit outside that simple clock.
- Tax / revenue model
- Order 110 of 2024 sets interactive gaming tax at 0 percent of gross turnover and 1 percent of gross gaming revenue on all wagering activity. Under the Act, gross profit for non-fixed-odds operations is amount played minus winnings, while fixed-odds turnover has a separate statutory definition; the current order should therefore be applied with the Regulator's reporting form rather than paraphrased as 1 percent of every amount wagered. Tax information and payment are due by the last working day of the following month. Vanuatu has no corporate income tax, withholding tax, or capital-gains tax, but gaming tax, VAT, business-license charges, and other indirect or entity-specific obligations remain separate.
- Applicant / local requirements
- The applicant must be a local company registered under Vanuatu's Companies Act. The file must identify key people, ownership and control, relevant regulatory interests, capital funding, and source of funds, and the Regulator must be satisfied about fitness, financial and technical resources, structure, and management experience. The Act requires an operating account at a Vanuatu financial institution licensed under the Financial Institutions Act. Gambling records must be kept at a Regulator-approved place in Vanuatu for five years unless a regulation creates an exemption. Each game, software package, control system, and relevant equipment needs written approval. Annual accounts must be audited by a qualified auditor approved by the Regulator, normally within three months after year end. The Act does not publish a fixed local staff count or universal resident-director rule, so neither should be invented from agent packages.
- Term / continuation
- The Act says a license period cannot exceed fifteen years; the actual period belongs in the issued license. The annual EUR 10,000 fee for the first domain remains payable on every anniversary, with EUR 1,500 for each additional wagering domain. A renewal application must be filed at least twenty-eight days before expiry. The Regulator may refuse renewal only on a statutory suspension or revocation ground and must give notice and an opportunity to respond. A fifteen-year maximum is not proof that every applicant automatically receives the full term.
The operative statute is the Vanuatu Interactive Gaming Act, not a new 2024 replacement act. The current consolidation incorporates earlier amendments, including the local-company, beneficial-owner, source-of-funds, supervision, and fifteen-year maximum-term rules. Effective July 1, 2024, Orders 108 and 109 repealed the old 2003 tax and fee regulations, and Order 110 introduced the current EUR 5,000 application fee, EUR 10,000 annual first-domain fee, EUR 1,500 additional-domain fee, 0 percent gross-turnover rate, and 1 percent GGR rate. The current online portal is operated by VGA Limited, while the statutory regulator remains the Director of Customs and Inland Revenue.
Licensing decision matrix
The statutory license can cover multiple interactive-gaming forms on an approved domain, but every game, software package, control system, and relevant equipment item still needs written approval.
Definedfixed by the route or ruleScope-specificchanges with the entity, product, or approvalUnresolvedno dependable rule or figure yet
- Applicant route Defined
- The Director of Customs and Inland Revenue issues the operator license. It can cover approved games and betting on one domain; no general B2B supplier license exists.
- Applicant entity Defined
- The applicant must be a local company registered under the Vanuatu Companies Act.
- Local presence Defined
- The operator needs a Vanuatu financial-institution account and keeps gambling records at a regulator-approved place in Vanuatu. The framework sets no fixed local headcount.
- Key people Defined
- The application identifies key people, ownership, controllers, relevant regulatory interests, funding, and management experience for fitness review.
- Technical approval Defined
- Each game, software package, control system, and relevant equipment item requires written regulator approval before use.
- Tax or revenue base Defined
- The current order sets gaming tax at 0% of gross turnover and 1% of GGR. VAT, business-license, and other entity obligations remain separate.
- Ongoing duties Defined
- Monthly gaming-tax information and payment, five-year records, approved systems, and annual audited accounts due normally within three months of year end continue after grant.
- Approval timing Defined
- The regulator has two months after receiving the application and all additionally requested evidence, then seven days to issue the license or refusal notice.
- Fees and cost Defined
- The application fee is EUR 5,000. The annual license costs EUR 10,000 for one domain and EUR 1,500 for each additional wagering domain.
Continue the decision
Move from the jurisdiction record to the next operator task. These routes do not change or extend the permission described above.
Use the gambling-license application framework
Map the applicant, permission scope, evidence, conditions, changes, and exit before relying on a jurisdiction route.
Open resourceContinue to the casino launch plan
Connect the permission route to the platform, games, payments, controls, acceptance tests, and exit plan.
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This page covers the jurisdiction and regulator. A separate directory compares licensing advisors, law firms, compliance consultancies, and corporate-service groups. Inclusion is not a legal endorsement, and the directory does not replace local counsel.
Compare licensing service providersFAQ
What are the official Vanuatu interactive gaming fees?+
The non-refundable application fee is EUR 5,000. The license fee is EUR 10,000 on grant and on each anniversary for all approved forms of interactive gaming on one domain. Each additional wagering domain costs EUR 1,500. Company, banking, investigation, audit, game and system approval, AML, advisors, and operations remain separate costs.
How long does the statutory application review take?+
The Regulator must grant or refuse within two months after receiving the application and all additional information or documents requested under section 4. A grant or refusal notice then has a seven-day issuance requirement. This does not include every preparation, company, banking, AML, product-approval, system-approval, or remediation step, so a two-to-three-week sales estimate is not an official service level.
Who is the Vanuatu interactive gaming regulator?+
The Director of Customs and Inland Revenue is the statutory Regulator. VGA Limited handles the application portal as the Department's administrative agent. Before payment, confirm the agent appointment, application route, and resulting license directly with Customs and Inland Revenue. Vanuatu does not maintain a government-hosted public licensee register.
What products can the license cover?+
The Act covers paid interactive games decided wholly or partly by chance or skill and betting on races, sports, or other events through a telecommunications device. The 2024 fee order prices all forms on one domain, but each game, software package, ruleset, control system, and relevant equipment still needs written approval. There is no generic B2B supplier license or automatic approval for crypto payments.
What local company, bank, and records are required?+
The applicant must be a local company registered under the Companies Act. The operating account must be with a Vanuatu financial institution licensed under the Financial Institutions Act. Gambling records must be kept for five years at a place in Vanuatu approved by the Regulator unless a regulation provides an exemption. No universal resident-director or fixed staff-count rule applies under the Act.
What tax applies to the licensed operation?+
The 2024 order applies 0 percent to gross turnover and 1 percent to GGR on wagering activity. Tax and the calculation information are due by the last working day of the next month. Vanuatu has no corporate income tax, withholding tax, or capital-gains tax, but gaming tax and applicable indirect, business-license, and transaction obligations remain separate.
Does every Vanuatu license last fifteen years?+
No automatic fifteen-year grant is written into the Act. The statute says the period cannot exceed fifteen years, and the actual term must appear on the issued license. The annual license fee continues during the term, and a renewal application is due at least twenty-eight days before expiry.
Does a Vanuatu license authorize other countries?+
No. It authorizes the approved Vanuatu-licensed operation under Vanuatu law. Every player market can impose its own operator license, product, advertising, payment, tax, and blocking rules. Verify those rules and confirm acceptance with banks, payment providers, game suppliers, auditors, and counterparties before treating Vanuatu as an operating base.