🇬🇮Gibraltar Gambling Licence: Requirements, Costs and Tax

Gibraltar’s fees were reset by the Gambling (Duties and Licence Fees) Regulations 2026 (LN.2026/065), made under the Gambling Act 2025 and in force from 1 April 2026. The licensing year runs from 1 April, annual fees are due by 30 April and are apportioned by quarter for licences granted mid-year.

• B2C application fees: £30,000 for a new betting operator licence and £30,000 for a new gaming operator licence, £20,000 for a lottery operator, £15,000 for a betting intermediary or agent. Non-refundable.
• B2C annual fees: per licence, by annual gross yield: £50,000 under £20 million, £100,000 from £20 million to £300 million, £200,000 above £300 million. An operator holding both betting and gaming licences pays the sum of the two.
• B2B fees: gaming aggregator and platform supplier £20,000 application and £85,000 a year for one vertical (£15,000 per additional vertical), direct integration £10,000 application and £20,000 to £85,000 a year by tier, contracted-out fraud, compliance or ID services £8,000 application and £50,000 a year.
• Support services: marketing and affiliate services from Gibraltar £8,000 application and £50,000 a year (£25,000 where sales are under £200,000).

Sources (checked 20 September 2026): Gambling (Duties and Licence Fees) Regulations 2026, LN.2026/065 · Gambling Division: getting licensed

From 1 April 2026 Gibraltar charges general gaming duty and general betting duty at 0.15 per cent of gross gaming profit or gross betting profit (stakes less winnings), with the first £100,000 of profit exempt each licensing year. Betting intermediaries pay 0.15 per cent of gross commission with no exemption. Duty is paid in quarterly instalments on 1 April, 1 July, 1 October and 1 January. Bonuses and free bets cannot be deducted from the base. Gibraltar corporation tax applies to profits separately and there is no VAT.

Live dealer studios and B2B suppliers. Since 1 April 2026 platform suppliers and gaming aggregators hold B2B operator licences (fees above), and content providers supplying games through an aggregation platform need Licensing Authority approval. Duty applies to B2C licence holders only.

Sources (checked 20 September 2026): Gambling (Duties and Licence Fees) Regulations 2026, Schedule 1 · Gambling Act 2025

The Gambling Division publishes no target decision time. Gibraltar remains selective: applications are assessed on the applicant’s track record, ownership, financial standing and the substance it will establish in Gibraltar, and the Licensing Authority engages with applicants before a formal filing. Operators licensed under the Gambling Act 2005 are deemed licensed under the 2025 Act, with a six-month transition from 1 April 2026 to meet the new requirements.

Sources (checked 20 September 2026): Gambling Division: getting licensed

The Gambling Act 2025, in force from 1 April 2026, keeps Gibraltar selective. The Licensing Authority must be satisfied that an applicant meets the threshold conditions for every regulated activity and has, and will keep, a sufficient substantive presence in Gibraltar (sections 39 and 40).

• Substantive presence is judged on the remote gambling equipment located in Gibraltar, the number and nature of jobs created there, the tax revenue accruing to the Government and any other factor the Authority considers relevant. A holding company with a registered office will not pass.
• Who is caught: B2C operators, B2B suppliers (aggregators, platforms, managed trading, fraud, compliance and ID services that process customer data), gambling support services such as marketing from Gibraltar or holding customer funds, and Gibraltar entities owning more than 25 per cent of a gambling company licensed elsewhere.
• Fit and proper: owners, directors and senior management are assessed for integrity, competence and financial standing, with disclosure obligations that continue after grant.
• Process: pre-licensing engagement on a draft application and an assessment exercise lead to an in-principle decision before the formal application and fee (£30,000 for a B2C betting or gaming operator).
• Regulated individuals (Part 5): once commenced, the CEO and managing director, and where present the CFO, heads of compliance, AML, safer gambling, marketing and IT, must be personally approved by the Gambling Commissioner.

Sources (checked 20 September 2026): Gambling Act 2025 · Gambling Division: getting licensed · Gambling (Duties and Licence Fees) Regulations 2026

Gibraltar licences are continuing relationships with the Gambling Commissioner rather than annual renewals. Substantive presence is a continuing condition: scaling down the local operation can trigger variation or cancellation.

• Technical: remote gambling equipment secured in Gibraltar, integrity certificates for gambling equipment from an approved testing body at the intervals the Commissioner sets, and the technical operating standards for remote gambling.
• Anti-money laundering: the Commissioner’s AML Code of Practice for remote gambling (revised January 2026) applies as a minimum standard to all customers wherever they are: enhanced due diligence on a risk basis for depositing customers, a board-level AML director, an annual MLRO report, a documented business risk assessment and an independent AML audit, with suspicious activity reports to the Gibraltar FIU and 24-hour notification of investigations to the Commissioner.
• Duty and fees: quarterly duty instalments on 1 April, 1 July, 1 October and 1 January, annual licence fees by 30 April.
• Notifications: changes of beneficial ownership (with a change-of-control fee), directors and senior management, regulatory findings elsewhere and material changes in financial position.
• Website disclosures: licence holder name and address, the Gibraltar licensing statement and the minimum-age statement on the home page.

Sources (checked 20 September 2026): Gambling Act 2025 · Gambling (Duties and Licence Fees) Regulations 2026 (payment dates) · Gambling Division

A Gibraltar licence needs a Gibraltar company with a real operation: management, staff and remote gambling equipment on the Rock. Companies are incorporated under the Companies Act 2014 through Companies House Gibraltar, usually with a licensed corporate service provider, and the Licensing Authority expects the licence application to be preceded by a discussion of the substance plan.

• Corporate tax: 15 per cent on taxable profits since 1 July 2024 (12.5 per cent before, 10 per cent until 2021). No VAT and no capital gains tax.
• Gaming duty: 0.15 per cent of gross profit above the first £100,000, so the fiscal contribution the Authority weighs under section 40 comes mainly from corporate tax and payroll.
• Timeline: incorporation is quick, but recruiting the local team, siting equipment and passing pre-licensing engagement determine when a formal application can be filed.

Sources (checked 20 September 2026): Gibraltar Income Tax Office: corporate tax rates · Gambling Act 2025, sections 39–40 (substantive presence)

• 1 April 2026 — The Gambling Act 2025 replaced the Gambling Act 2005, extending licensing to B2B suppliers, key individuals, marketing from Gibraltar and shareholders above 25 per cent. Existing licensees are deemed licensed with a six-month transition.
• 1 April 2026 — New duties and fees under LN.2026/065: 0.15 per cent duty with a £100,000 exemption, £30,000 B2C application fee, annual fees from £50,000 to £200,000 per vertical. The 2018 fee regulations were revoked.