Lifecycle · Provisional & fast-track
Provisional Gaming Licence
A provisional licence lets you trade while the regulator finishes checking you. Two regimes we run offer one — and in several others a full licence lands faster than a provisional would elsewhere.
overview
What a provisional licence is
A provisional licence is a time-limited permission to operate while the regulator completes its full assessment. It is not a lighter licence and not a loophole — you are supervised, your obligations are live, and the permission expires if the full file does not land.
Two of the regimes we run offer one properly. Kahnawake issues a six-month provisional Client Provider Authorization after an initial review of roughly three weeks, letting you operate while the Commission finishes its compliance assessment. Curaçao, under the LOK framework, can issue a provisional six-month licence during Phase 2 of its two-phase review, extendable by a further six months where the applicant is demonstrably progressing.
The honest complication is that provisional is not always the fastest route. A full Tobique licence lands in four to six weeks and an Anjouan one in four to eight — quicker than waiting on a provisional somewhere slower, and without a second deadline hanging over you. And if the requirement is genuinely days rather than weeks, the only real answer is acquiring a company that already holds a live licence.
your options
Three ways to be live before a full licence lands
Kahnawake after a ≈3-week initial review, or Curaçao during Phase 2 for six months extendable by six. You trade while the full assessment runs — and you carry the full obligations plus a deadline.
Tobique in four to six weeks, Anjouan in four to eight. No second deadline, no provisional-to-full transition risk, and usually a simpler conversation with payment providers.
When live means days, not weeks. We broker vetted ready-made licensed companies, verify the licence against the official register and handle the change-of-control filing so the permission survives the sale.
head to head
Provisional vs. fast full vs. acquisition
| Provisional licence | Fast full licence | Buy a licensed company | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time to live | ≈3 weeks (Kahnawake) | 4–8 weeks | Days |
| Second deadline | Yes — the full file | No | No |
| Compliance load | Full, from day one | Full | Full, plus inherited history |
| Banking reception | Regime-dependent | Standard for the regime | May transfer with the target |
| Main risk | Assessment not completing in time | None beyond a normal file | Undisclosed liabilities in the target |
| Where it exists | Kahnawake · Curaçao | Tobique · Anjouan | Any regime with transferable control |
requirements
What a provisional licence still requires
step by step
How to get live fastest
- Decide the route We compare a provisional, a fast full licence and an acquisition against your actual launch date, markets and payment plan. Usually one of the three is obviously right. Day 1
- Build the full file anyway Provisional review reads the real application. There is no shortened version, so the file gets built properly either way. Week 1–3
- Provisional grant and launch Kahnawake's ≈3-week initial review, or Curaçao's Phase 2. You go live with banking lined up around the permission you actually hold. From week 3
- Convert to full We run the remaining assessment to grant — treating the provisional expiry as a hard date, not a renewable one. Within the provisional term
Want a provisional licence taken off your desk?
Tell us your product, target markets and payment mix — we'll confirm the route that gets you live fastest at the lowest all-in cost, with the number itemised.
costs
What the fast routes cost
A provisional licence is not separately priced in either regime that offers one — you pay the regime's normal fees and the provisional is a stage within the process, so the comparison that matters is total time-to-live against total cost. Regulator figures are published schedules and mirror our jurisdiction pages.
go deeper
Where provisional licences exist
Provisional gaming licence FAQ
What is a provisional gaming licence?
A time-limited permission to operate while the regulator completes its full assessment. It carries the full obligations of a licence — AML, responsible gaming, reporting — and expires if the full file does not land in time. It is a stage in the process, not a lighter class of licence.
Which jurisdictions issue provisional licences?
Of the regimes we run, two. Kahnawake issues a six-month provisional Client Provider Authorization after an initial review of roughly three weeks. Curaçao, under the LOK framework, can grant a provisional six-month licence during Phase 2 of its two-phase review, extendable by a further six months where the applicant is progressing.
Is a provisional licence faster than a normal one?
Not always, and this is the part most operators get wrong. A provisional CPA in about three weeks is genuinely fast — but a full Tobique licence takes four to six weeks and a full Anjouan licence four to eight, with no second deadline to manage. Compare total time-to-live, not the headline on the first stage.
Will payment providers accept a provisional licence?
Some will, some will not. Acquirers underwrite the permission you actually hold, and a provisional one with an expiry date reads as more risk than a full licence. Get it confirmed in writing before you build a launch plan on it — a licence you cannot bank is not a launch.
What happens when a provisional licence expires?
You stop operating unless the full licence has been granted or the term extended. Curaçao's provisional is extendable by up to a further six months where progress is demonstrable; Kahnawake's runs six months while the assessment completes. Plan the full file on the assumption no extension arrives.
What is the fastest way to go live legally?
Acquiring a company that already holds a live licence — days rather than weeks, because the permission already exists and the work is diligence plus a change-of-control filing. That is what our Licence M&A desk does. The trade is that you inherit the target's history, so the diligence is the whole job.
other products
Licences by product
Reviewed by the Vantegris licensing team. This page is general information, not legal advice. Fee schedules and timelines mirror our jurisdiction pages and change when regulators change them.
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