What is a gambling licence?

The same instrument as a gaming licence; 'gambling' and 'gaming' are used interchangeably across regimes. What matters is the issuing regulator, the verticals it authorises and the countries you may serve.

What is a crypto licence?

Authorisation to run a crypto business — exchange, custody, brokerage or wallet — under a specific regime. The name changes by jurisdiction (VASP, CASP, VATP, DPT, MSB), but all cover 'virtual asset services'.

Virtual Asset Service Provider — the FATF term for any firm that exchanges, transfers, custodies or issues crypto for others. Offshore and non-EU regimes usually license 'VASPs'.

What is the difference between a VASP and a CASP?

A VASP is the global (FATF) term used by offshore and non-EU regimes; a CASP is the EU's MiCA-licensed equivalent, which can passport across all 27 EU states. Same activity, different regulatory framework.

Reference

Glossary.

The gaming and crypto licensing terms operators actually run into — defined in plain English, with links to the full guides. If a consultant can't explain these clearly, that tells you something.

Gaming & gambling.

Gaming licence: A government authorisation that lets a company legally offer online gambling — casino, sportsbook, poker or lottery — to players. It is issued by a specific regulator and only covers the markets and products named in it. Full guide →
Gambling licence: The same instrument as a gaming licence; "gambling" and "gaming" are used interchangeably across regimes. What matters is the issuing regulator, the verticals it authorises and the countries you may serve. Full guide →
B2C licence: A business-to-consumer permit — it lets you take real-money bets from players directly. This is the licence most operators mean when they say "a gaming licence".
B2B / supplier licence: A business-to-business authorisation for firms that supply games, platforms or critical services to licensed operators rather than taking player bets themselves. Full guide →
GGR (Gross Gaming Revenue): Total player stakes minus winnings paid out — the core figure most gaming taxes and licence fees are calculated on. A "0% GGR" regime charges no tax on that revenue.
RTP (Return to Player): The long-run percentage of stakes a game pays back to players — e.g. 96% RTP. It is the flip side of the house edge and is checked during game certification.
House edge: The mathematical advantage the operator holds on a game, expressed as a percentage of each bet. It is what makes a casino profitable over volume.
Sportsbook: A betting product that takes wagers on sporting events at fixed or in-play odds. Most gaming licences cover sportsbook as a distinct vertical from casino.
Live dealer: Casino games streamed in real time with a human dealer. They carry extra studio, streaming and RNG-adjacent compliance requirements.
In-play (live) betting: Wagers placed after an event has started, with odds updating in real time. It is the highest-volume, most latency-sensitive part of a sportsbook.
Grey market: A country that neither licenses nor clearly bans online gambling. Operators may serve it under an offshore licence, but with legal and payment risk — it is not the same as a regulated market.
Geoblocking: Technically restricting access from countries a licence does not cover or that are prohibited. Every regulator expects operators to geoblock restricted jurisdictions.
Remote Gaming Duty (RGD): A tax on the gross profit of online gambling, charged by some onshore regimes (e.g. the UK). It is separate from the licence fee and can materially change unit economics.
Responsible gambling: Player-protection duties — deposit limits, self-exclusion, age and affordability checks — that every serious regulator requires an operator to build in.
Internal Control System (ICS): The documented operating and compliance procedures a regulator (e.g. Alderney) reviews at the heart of a gaming application — how the business actually runs. Full guide →
White-label casino: Launching under a licence and platform someone else holds — fastest to market, but you trade control and margin for speed. Full guide →
Sweepstakes model: A US route that offers casino-style play for virtual coins redeemable for prizes, sidestepping the need for a state gambling licence. It has its own strict legal design. Full guide →
RNG certification: Independent testing of a Random Number Generator to prove games are fair. Most regulators require it before a casino can go live.

Crypto & digital assets.

Crypto licence: Authorisation to run a crypto business — exchange, custody, brokerage or wallet — under a specific regime. The name changes by jurisdiction (VASP, CASP, VATP, DPT, MSB), but all cover "virtual asset services". Full guide →
VASP: Virtual Asset Service Provider — the FATF term for any firm that exchanges, transfers, custodies or issues crypto for others. Offshore and non-EU regimes usually license "VASPs". Full guide →
CASP: Crypto-Asset Service Provider — the EU's MiCA term for a licensed crypto firm. A CASP authorisation passports across all 27 EU states. Full guide →
MiCA: The EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation — the single rulebook that replaced national VASP regimes with the harmonised CASP licence and its capital classes. Full guide →
Passporting: Under MiCA (Article 65), a CASP licensed in one EU state can serve all 27 by notification — no separate licence per country. Full guide →
VATP: Virtual Asset Trading Platform — Hong Kong's SFC-run exchange licence, one of the most selective regimes in the world. Full guide →
DPT: Digital Payment Token service — how Singapore's MAS classifies crypto activity under the Payment Services Act (SPI vs MPI classes). Full guide →
MSB: Money Services Business — Canada's FINTRAC registration covering "dealing in virtual currency". It is AML-only; serving Canadians also triggers provincial securities rules. Full guide →
DFS licence: Digital Financial Services — Labuan's crypto licence framework (Labuan FSA), a low-tax Asian midshore route with exchange and money-broker classes. Full guide →
Stablecoin: A crypto-asset designed to hold a stable value against a currency or asset. Under MiCA these split into e-money tokens (EMTs) and asset-referenced tokens (ARTs), each with its own rules.
EMT (e-money token): A MiCA token that references a single fiat currency (e.g. a euro stablecoin). Issuing one requires EMI or credit-institution authorisation, not just a CASP licence.
ART (asset-referenced token): A MiCA token backed by a basket of currencies, assets or crypto. It carries the strictest issuer requirements of the three MiCA token types.
MiCA white paper: The mandatory disclosure document a token issuer must publish and notify to a regulator before offering a crypto-asset to the EU public.
On/off-ramp: The service that converts fiat to crypto (on-ramp) and back (off-ramp). Running one is a licensable activity and is where most banking friction sits. Full guide →
Custody: Holding clients' crypto and their private keys. Most regimes treat custody as a distinct, higher-capital licensed activity — sometimes only via a dedicated subsidiary.
Exchange vs broker: An exchange matches buyers and sellers on an order book; a broker deals with clients on its own account. Regimes often licence and capitalise them differently. Full guide →
DORA: The EU's Digital Operational Resilience Act — the ICT-risk and cyber-resilience framework every CASP must meet alongside MiCA.
Travel Rule: The FATF requirement to attach originator and beneficiary information to crypto transfers above a threshold — a core AML obligation for any VASP/CASP.

Regulators & authorities.

MGA: The Malta Gaming Authority — the EU's flagship tier-1 gaming regulator. An MGA licence carries blue-chip credibility and EU market standing. Full guide →
UKGC: The UK Gambling Commission — widely treated as the gold-standard gaming regulator, with the toughest scrutiny and the strongest player-trust signal. Full guide →
MFSA: The Malta Financial Services Authority — Malta's financial regulator, which authorises crypto CASPs under MiCA (distinct from the MGA, which handles gaming). Full guide →
CySEC: The Cyprus Securities & Exchange Commission — the regulator behind Cyprus's EU MiCA CASP authorisations. Full guide →
GRAI: The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland — Ireland's new gaming regulator; remote betting is live, with gaming to follow. Full guide →
VARA: Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority — the Gulf's dedicated crypto regulator, licensing by activity across seven categories. Full guide →
MAS: The Monetary Authority of Singapore — licenses crypto (DPT) firms under the Payment Services Act as Standard or Major Payment Institutions. Full guide →
SFC: Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission — runs the selective VATP regime for virtual-asset trading platforms. Full guide →
FINTRAC: Canada's financial-intelligence unit — administers MSB registration for crypto firms on the AML side. Full guide →
KNF: The Polish Financial Supervision Authority — will authorise domestic CASPs once Poland's national law is in force; until then, firms passport in. Full guide →
GFSC: The Gibraltar Financial Services Commission — runs the world-first DLT framework for crypto firms, a principles-based, non-MiCA regime. Full guide →
CNMV: Spain's securities regulator — the authority for EU MiCA CASP licensing in Spain (with the Bank of Spain keeping the AML registry). Full guide →
Labuan FSA: The Labuan Financial Services Authority — Malaysia's midshore regulator behind the low-tax Digital Financial Services crypto licence. Full guide →
SEGOB (DGJS): Mexico's Interior Ministry and its gaming directorate (DGJS) — issues the 25-year permits that govern Mexican gambling. Full guide →
SPA (Brazil): The Secretaria de Prêmios e Apostas — Brazil's federal betting authority issuing licences for its newly-regulated market. Full guide →
GSC (Isle of Man): The Gambling Supervision Commission — the Isle of Man's well-regarded, 0%-gaming-tax regulator. Full guide →
Kahnawake Gaming Commission: One of the longest-running online-gaming regulators in North America, based in the Mohawk territory of Kahnawake. Full guide →

Structure, tax & compliance.

KYC: Know Your Customer — verifying the identity of your users before they transact. The front line of every AML programme. Full guide →
AML / CFT: Anti-Money-Laundering and Counter-Financing of Terrorism — the policies, monitoring and reporting a licensed firm must run to detect and stop illicit funds.
MLRO: Money Laundering Reporting Officer — the named person accountable for a firm's AML programme and for filing suspicious-activity reports to the regulator.
FATF: The Financial Action Task Force — the global body whose standards (including the crypto Travel Rule and the "VASP" definition) most regimes implement.
PEP: Politically Exposed Person — a customer in, or close to, public office who requires enhanced due diligence because of higher corruption risk.
Sanctions screening: Checking customers and counterparties against sanctions lists in real time. A hard requirement — a single missed hit can cost a licence.
Source of funds / wealth: Evidence of where a customer's (or owner's) money comes from. Regulators expect it for high-value players and for every beneficial owner.
SAR / STR: Suspicious Activity / Transaction Report — the filing a firm's MLRO must submit to the authorities when it spots potential money laundering.
UBO: Ultimate Beneficial Owner — the real person who ultimately owns or controls a company. Regulators vet every UBO for fit-and-proper standing.
Fit-and-proper: The regulator's test of whether owners and key officers are honest, competent and financially sound enough to hold a licence.
Substance: Real local presence — office, staff, directors and decision-making in the licensing country. Modern regimes reject paper shells.
Economic substance: Statutory rules requiring a company to show genuine local activity to keep its tax status — the legal backbone behind "substance" expectations offshore.
IBC: International Business Company — a common offshore corporate vehicle used as the applicant entity in many low-tax licensing structures.
Registered agent: A licensed local firm that incorporates and maintains an offshore company and acts as its official point of contact with the registry.
Statutory deposit: A sum a regulator requires an operator to lock up (e.g. under SVG's VABA) as a solvency and consumer-protection buffer — capital, not a fee. Full guide →
PII: Professional Indemnity Insurance — cover some regimes require a licensed firm to hold against claims arising from its services.
Payment agent: A separately-structured entity (often in a reputable jurisdiction) that handles an operator's payments to satisfy acquirers and banking partners. Full guide →
EMI: Electronic Money Institution — a licensed non-bank that issues e-money and provides accounts; often the practical banking route for high-risk gaming and crypto firms. Full guide →

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