Tobique Gaming Licence Cost: The Year-One Budget
The true Tobique gaming licence cost in 2026: €36,000 first-year fee, an ≈€19,875 annual renewal broken down line by line, and the full year-one all-in.
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If you have priced a Tobique gaming licence, you have probably seen the €36,000 first-year figure and assumed that is the cost of the regime. That figure covers year one only. The number that actually defines Tobique as a low-cost jurisdiction is the annual renewal, roughly €19,875, and the two are deliberately different. Budget them as two separate numbers from day one.
This guide breaks the Tobique cost down: why the first-year fee is €36,000, what sits inside the ≈€19,875 renewal, the year-one lines that live outside the regulator’s fee (the Costa Rica applicant company, the compliance build and RNG certification) and how the whole thing stacks up against Anjouan. Every figure is itemised so you can read any provider’s quote against it.
- The Tobique first-year licence fee is €36,000; it front-loads issuance and is a one-time entry cost.
- From year two the all-in renewal is ≈€19,875 — licence + €7,000 compliance fee + €7,000 DLAG subscription (up to 5 domains).
- Gaming tax is 0%, so you pay fixed fees and no share of gross gaming revenue.
- Year-one all-in also carries the Costa Rica applicant company, compliance build and RNG certification — priced separately, never inside the government fee.
The first-year fee: €36,000, and why it is higher
The Tobique Gaming Commission (TGC), the regulator created under the Tobique Gaming Act 2023, issues a single B2C licence for a first-year fee of €36,000. That one authorisation covers casino, sports betting, poker, eSports, lotteries and bingo. You do not license each vertical separately, and there is no gaming tax bolted on top.
The reason the first year costs more than the renewal is simple: it front-loads issuance. Year one pays for the one-time work of standing up a licensed operator — vetting the company, running key-person and UBO due diligence, reviewing the technical and AML file, and admitting you to the register. That work only happens once. Once you hold the licence, the issuance cost is spent, so from year two you switch to the recurring renewal. It is the standard offshore pattern of a heavier gate fee and a lighter annual carry, and it is why quoting the €36,000 as if it recurs overstates your long-run cost. For the full legitimacy and framework picture, see our flagship Tobique gaming licence guide.
The way to price Tobique is as a pair: €36,000 to get licensed, then ≈€19,875 every year after. Any quote that folds them into a single figure is either overstating the recurring cost or hiding the year-one extras. Want your model priced line by line? Talk to our Tobique team.
Inside the ≈€19,875 annual renewal
From year two, the all-in Tobique renewal is roughly €19,875, and it is built from three distinct lines. Reading them separately matters, because the DLAG line in particular scales with how many domains you run.
| Renewal line | Cost | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Recurring licence fee | ≈ €5,875 | Keeps the B2C licence live across all six verticals |
| Compliance fee | €7,000 | The TGC’s ongoing supervision and annual review |
| DLAG subscription | €7,000 | Domain licensing for up to 5 domains on the record |
| All-in annual renewal | ≈ €19,875 | The recurring cost from year two onward |
The DLAG subscription is the line most operators misread. It bundles up to five domains into the €7,000 — generous for a single-brand operator, but if you run a portfolio of casino URLs and blow past five, the subscription grows. Count your domains before the renewal date, because the €7,000 covers only five and the DLAG line grows with each one above that. The compliance fee, by contrast, is flat: it pays for the TGC actually supervising the licence (the annual review, the reporting relationship, the ongoing right to hold a live permit). Neither line carries any gaming tax, because Tobique charges 0% on gaming revenue.
Year-one all-in: what sits outside the fee
The €36,000 first-year fee buys the licence for a business that does not exist yet. To reach issuance, and to operate lawfully once you hold the permit, you need an incorporated applicant company, a compliance stack the TGC will accept, and certified games. None of that is inside the government fee, and none of it is optional. Three lines drive the year-one total.
The applicant company sits in Costa Rica. Tobique requires no local office, resident director or on-island staff, so you do not incorporate on the reserve. The applicant company is set up in Costa Rica, filed remotely with no travel — the standard structure for Tobique operators and a big part of why the regime stays lean. It keeps incorporation modest compared with jurisdictions that force a local entity and resident director onto your balance sheet.
The compliance build is real work. The TGC wants a business plan, AML/KYC and responsible-gaming policies drafted to standard, and key-person due diligence on directors, shareholders and UBOs. That documentation is what gets the €36,000 issuance over the line, and it is where a serious provider’s service fee actually goes. For the full document and eligibility checklist, see the Tobique gaming licence requirements.
RNG certification depends on your content. If you license only third-party games from studios that already hold their own RNG certificates, this cost is small. If you run proprietary games or an in-house RNG, independent-lab testing is unavoidable and can run into five figures. Decide your game mix early — it is the single biggest swing in the year-one figure.
| Year-one line item | Typical cost | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| First-year licence fee | €36,000 | Paid to the TGC; covers all six verticals, front-loads issuance |
| Applicant company (Costa Rica) | €3,000–€6,000 | Incorporation + registered agent; no local Tobique entity |
| Compliance build & application | ≈ €4,400 | Business plan, AML/KYC, responsible-gaming policies, TGC liaison |
| Game & RNG certification | €3,000–€10,000+ | Independent-lab testing for proprietary games/RNG |
| EMI / neobank + Cyprus payment agent | €8,000–€18,000 | High-risk account setup; optional Cyprus payment-agent company |
On payments, note the same rule that governs every offshore gaming file: gambling is a high-risk category, so you do not use a mainstream processor. The right setup is an EMI or neobank account, often paired with a payment-agent company incorporated in Cyprus to hold PSP relationships and handle settlement — never Wise, Stripe or PayPal, all of which prohibit gambling. Start the EMI and payment-agent onboarding before you file, because an operator with a valid Tobique licence and no working rail still cannot take a deposit. The Tobique launch checklist sets the order of operations.
Tobique vs Anjouan on cost
Anjouan is the jurisdiction operators most often price Tobique against, and on the headline number Anjouan wins — a single €17,828 fee that also renews at €17,828. But the comparison is more interesting than one number. Tobique’s year one is genuinely higher because of the €36,000 gate fee; its year-two renewal (≈€19,875) lands much closer to Anjouan’s, and it names bingo and lotteries explicitly under a newer 2023 statute.
| Cost dimension | Tobique | Anjouan |
|---|---|---|
| First-year fee | €36,000 | €17,828 |
| Annual renewal | ≈ €19,875 | €17,828 |
| Gaming tax | 0% | 0% GGR |
| Local presence | Not required | Not required |
| Applicant company | Costa Rica | Costa Rica |
| Framework | 2023 Act | 2005 Act (established) |
Read it this way: if your only metric is the lowest possible entry fee, Anjouan is cheaper on paper. If you value a modern 2023 regime, explicit bingo and lottery coverage, and a renewal that is competitive from year two, Tobique earns its slightly higher first year. Both are crypto-friendly and both use the same Costa Rica applicant structure and Cyprus payment layer, so the fee rarely decides it and product mix and banking usually do. We map that trade-off in the full Tobique vs Anjouan comparison.
Budgeting Tobique right the first time
Budget Tobique as €36,000 to get licensed, ≈€19,875 to renew each year, and a year-one all-in that adds the Costa Rica company, the compliance build, RNG certification and a compliant payment stack on top. A quote that shows only the €36,000 leaves out the launch costs, and one that folds the extras into “government fees” is hiding the provider’s margin.
We run the full Tobique file end to end, itemised and transparent, from the Costa Rica incorporation through TGC issuance to a working EMI-and-Cyprus payment layer. Want a real quote for your model rather than a headline figure? Book a free consultation or explore the Tobique gaming licence service.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a Tobique gaming licence cost?
The first-year licence fee is €36,000. From year two the all-in annual renewal is roughly €19,875, covering the licence, a €7,000 compliance fee and the €7,000 DLAG domain subscription for up to five domains. Gaming revenue is taxed at 0%. Those are the regulator-side numbers — the full year-one budget also includes the Costa Rica applicant company, compliance build and RNG certification.
Why is the first-year fee higher than the renewal?
Because the €36,000 first-year fee front-loads issuance — the one-time work of vetting the company, key people and technical file, and bringing you onto the register. Once you are licensed, that issuance cost is behind you, so from year two you pay the recurring ≈€19,875 renewal instead. It is the same pattern as most offshore regimes: a heavier entry fee, a lighter annual carry.
What is inside the ≈€19,875 annual renewal?
Three lines. A recurring licence fee of roughly €5,875, a €7,000 compliance fee for the TGC's ongoing supervision, and the €7,000 DLAG subscription that covers up to five domains on the licence. Add more than five domains and the DLAG line grows. There is no gaming tax layered on top — Tobique charges 0% on gaming revenue.
Is there any tax on Tobique gaming revenue?
No. The Tobique Gaming Commission charges 0% gaming tax; you pay licence and renewal fees and no share of gross gaming revenue. That is a defining feature of the regime and one reason it competes on total cost with Anjouan and Curaçao. Where you and your holding structure are taxed is a separate residency question you should structure deliberately.
How does the Tobique cost compare to Anjouan?
Anjouan has the lower headline number: a single €17,828 annual fee that also renews at €17,828. Tobique's first year (€36,000) is higher, but its year-two renewal (≈€19,875) sits much closer to Anjouan's. Both are 0%-gaming-tax, no-local-presence permits. Tobique is the newer 2023 regime that names bingo and lotteries explicitly; the right pick depends on your product and banking — see our Tobique vs Anjouan comparison.
Do I need a company in Tobique to apply?
No local Tobique office or resident director is required. The applicant company is set up in Costa Rica, filed remotely, and used to hold the licence. That keeps incorporation cost modest and is the standard structure we use for Tobique operators — no travel, no on-island substance.
Sources
This article is for general informational purposes only and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional before acting.
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