Tuvalu vs Anjouan Gaming Licence (2026): Cheapest, Fastest

Operators hunting for the cheapest, fastest lawful way onto the market in 2026 keep landing on the same two names: Tuvalu, the newest offshore regime, and Anjouan, the established low-cost benchmark. On paper they look almost identical — roughly the same fee, 0% gaming tax, no local incorporation, crypto expressly allowed, live in weeks. That similarity is exactly what makes the choice confusing: when two licences cost the same and do the same job, the decision hides in the details.

In our practice we file both, and the honest truth is that many operators would be well served by either. The differences that actually matter are narrow but real: how fast you go live, which verticals the permit names explicitly, how new the framework is, and whether you want a public register behind your brand. This guide puts Tuvalu and Anjouan side by side on the factors that decide it — with the real numbers, not the marketing ones — so you can slot yourself into the right column.

Two of the cheapest permits in the market

Both licences exist for the same reason: to get a compliant product live fast, at a price a startup can absorb, without the substance burden of a tier-1 regime. Neither asks you to set foot on the island, neither taxes gaming revenue, and both treat crypto as a first-class payment method rather than an exception.

A Tuvalu gaming licence is issued by the Tuvalu Gaming Authority (TGA) under the Tuvalu Online Gaming Act 2023 — a purpose-built, digital-first framework created specifically to compete with names like Anjouan on cost and speed. A single authorisation covers online casino, betting, poker, lottery, bingo, B2B supply and crypto gaming, at 0% gaming tax, with a digital certificate at the end of the process.

An Anjouan gaming licence is granted by the Anjouan Betting & Gaming Board (ABGB) under the Computer Gaming Licensing Act — a regime running since 2005 that a July 2025 revision brought in line with the FATF Travel Rule for virtual assets. One permit spans casino, sportsbook, poker, eSports and crypto, at 0% on gross gaming revenue, and every licence is verifiable on a public register. When we last pulled that register it listed roughly 1,400 active holders — a credibility signal players and payment partners can check for themselves.

Tuvalu vs Anjouan at a glance

Here is the head-to-head on the factors operators actually weigh. Note how tight the gap is on the headline numbers — this is a genuine like-for-like comparison, not the usual cheap-versus-expensive story.

The rows tell the whole story. On fee, tax and local incorporation the two are effectively level. The daylight sits in four places: Tuvalu is a touch faster, Tuvalu names bingo and B2B in scope while Anjouan names eSports, Tuvalu is the newer framework, and Anjouan carries the longer track record with a public register. Everything below is a closer look at each of those.

Speed and framework: newest vs established

Tuvalu is the fastest of the two, and it is fast by design. Because the 2023 Act was written for a digital-first process, a clean file runs from pre-approval through TGA review to a digital certificate in roughly three to four weeks. There is no legacy paperwork to work around — the regime never had a paper era to modernise out of.

Anjouan runs four to eight weeks through its authorised-agent process, which includes background checks on every director, shareholder and UBO before the Board issues. That is still very quick by international standards, and the wider range reflects a more established, more scrutinised regime rather than a slower one. The July 2025 revision keeps it current on crypto without slowing the core process.

The framing matters when you choose. Tuvalu’s newness is its selling point — the newest formal offshore regime, digital-native, built to undercut everyone on turnaround. Anjouan’s age is its selling point — two decades of operation, thousands of licences issued and a name that PSPs and players already recognise. Newest versus most-established is a genuine trade-off, not a better-versus-worse.

Scope and crypto: what each permit names

Both are single-permit, all-vertical licences, so neither makes you license each product separately. The nuance is which verticals each regime spells out explicitly — and that can decide the choice for a product with a specific centre of gravity.

Tuvalu names the widest explicit list: casino, betting, poker, lottery, bingo, B2B supply and crypto, all under one authorisation. If bingo or B2B software supply is central to your model, Tuvalu puts it in writing rather than leaving it to interpretation. Anjouan’s single permit covers casino, sportsbook, poker, eSports and crypto directly, with B2B suppliers holding a separate Anjouan B2B licence or Recognition Certificate since July 2025 — so a pure B2B supplier files a distinct application there.

On crypto the two are closely matched. Anjouan’s July 2025 revision aligned it with the FATF Travel Rule for virtual assets, and Tuvalu’s 2023 framework was crypto-friendly from the outset. Either is a sound home for a crypto-first casino. What neither changes is the payment reality: mainstream consumer processors prohibit gambling, so under both regimes you run an EMI or neobank account and, for gambling flows, typically a payment agent incorporated in Cyprus.

Structure and banking: identical under the hood

This is where the two look most alike, and it is deliberate. Neither Tuvalu nor Anjouan requires incorporation on the island — both accept an applicant company from an eligible jurisdiction (excluding FATF-restricted and sanctioned ones). In practice we set that applicant company up in Costa Rica for both routes. Costa Rica gives a clean, low-substance base with no local-presence, resident-director or on-island-server obligation, which is a large part of why both permits are so quick and cheap to run.

Banking is the same picture in both columns: offshore-tier. You will not use a mainstream processor for either — they all prohibit gambling — so the stack is an EMI or neobank account plus, for gambling settlement, a payment agent company incorporated in Cyprus. The upside is that crypto rails slot in cleanly under both, given each regime expressly permits it.

Because a licence is authorisation to operate, not market access, operators on both permits geo-block regulated markets they are not separately licensed in — the US, the UK and EU-regulated territories — along with sanctioned and FATF-listed countries. That obligation is identical whichever of the two you choose.

Which should you pick?

Match the licence to your model and the answer usually names itself. On price and structure they are a tie, so decide on the three things that actually differ.

Choose Tuvalu if you want the fastest, cheapest and newest option, if your product leans on bingo or B2B supply, or if a slightly quicker three-to-four-week turnaround genuinely matters to your launch. It is the leanest crypto-friendly entry point in the market right now, and the digital-first process is built to get you live before almost anything else can. The Tuvalu licence guide walks the full process and document set.

Choose Anjouan if you value an established name and a verifiable public register — roughly 1,400 holders and two decades of recognition that players and payment partners can check independently — or if eSports is core to your product. That track record can smooth PSP and banking conversations that a brand-new regime is still building. The flagship Anjouan alternative-to-Curaçao guide covers cost, process and legitimacy in depth.

For many operators either would work, and the right call comes down to speed and explicit scope versus a proven name and a public register. Not sure which column you’re in? We file both, with government cost and our cost shown separately — no blended fees. Book a free consultation and we’ll map the right permit against the product you’re actually building.

This article is for general informational purposes only and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional before acting.