Nowadays, almost any commercial activity sooner or later passes into the electronic format, and the betting business is no exception. With the development of the World Wide Web, organisers of sports betting got an opportunity to expand their audience and provide services regardless of territorial boundaries. The only limitation is the legal rules adopted in different countries. And the main way to avoid the unwanted attention of public authorities is the acquisition of a license for sportsbook activities.
The Bett-Market team of specialists will tell you who grants licenses, what is their price in different countries, and what are the requirements for license applicants.
The presence of a special permit is a mandatory norm for any enterprise. The bookmakers business is not an exception, and moreover, it is subject to even more “strict censorship” and must match the legal criteria approved by appropriate authorities.
The license for a betting business gives operators the following benefits:
- Ability to work absolutely legally without attracting the unwanted attention of public authorities and being prosecuted by them.
- The presence of a permitting document significantly increases the level of loyalty and trust of the audience.
- Licensing allows you to strengthen your positions against the background of competitors.
- Trust relations with potential partners and high chances of entering the international arena.
- The possibility of concluding agreements with the best banking institutions, payment services, and software vendors.
The license for the provision of sports betting services is a specific document that opens up completely new possibilities for entrepreneurs. It is worth noting that there are no general criteria and legal rules referring to the legalisation of several types of activities in the world. For example, in Curacao, there is a single license for all types of gambling projects: from traditional online casinos to lotteries and bets on artificial events (below, you will be able to find more information on foreign jurisdictions).
Nevertheless, it is possible to classify licensing documents in accordance with the format of the future enterprise:
- an offline business;
- a virtual segment;
- joint companies that provide services both on the Internet and in the land-based sector.
Bookmaking in the Russian Federation.
Betting shops and organisers of sweepstakes are the only segment of the Russian gambling market, the activity of which is spread throughout the country without the connection to certain gambling zones. Besides, since 2014, the country has allowed domestic companies to organise the acceptance of bets on the Internet.
Today, about eighty legal brands are officially registered in the country, and their joint income over the past year has reached about 1.15 trillion rubles. The vast majority of the industry’s revenue is provided by bets on traditional sports events: football, hockey, volleyball, and tennis. Bets on political and cultural events are not so popular with the Russian-speaking audience.
Another feature of bookmaking in the Russian Federation is fairly simple mathematics of the events with three possible types of the outcome (win, lose or push). The higher are chances of winning of one team, the lower is the coefficient for the expected result.
The main requirements for license applicants in Russia:
- The presence of the authorised capital of not less than 100 million rubles (a certificate from a banking institution and information on the source of investment are mandatory).
- The size of the net assets of the enterprise must be not less than 1 billion rubles (this sum should remain inviolable throughout the period of existence of the bookmaker’s office).
- A bank guarantee in the size of at least 500 million rubles (the validity period of a guarantee obligation must be at least five years).
- Ensuring all labour conditions and security for the personnel of the gambling establishment.
- Provision of the controlling body with the complete information on the hired personnel (the attachment of copies of passports and employment books is mandatory).
Within thirty days, those operators who have received permits must join the self-regulatory organisation. The size of the membership fee is determined at the country level and is at least 30 million rubles. Entrepreneurs can choose from two self-regulatory organisations:
- the first self-regulatory organisation of bookmakers;
- association of bookmaker’s offices.
Sportsbook licenses in CIS countries.
The situation with betting shops in CIS countries is as follows:
| Sports betting in CIS countries in 2019 |
| Jurisdiction | Brief description |
| Ukraine | In the country’s territory, any kinds of gambling and acceptance of bets on sports events are officially prohibited. At the moment, public authorities are discussing the need to legalise the gambling sector. It is expected that the betting segment and land-based casinos will be legalised by the end of 2019. The estimated cost of a permit for the organisation of bookmaker’s offices will be about 1.1 million dollars |
| Belarus | According to statistics of 2019, thirty-six gambling establishments were registered in the country. Holders of the state license are required to withhold tax of 4% from any winnings (and other fees as well). Currently, the local regulator is taking a number of measures, the aim of which is to make it impossible for illegal suppliers to work in the online segment. Only those operators who have been working in the offline segment for two months can start operating on the virtual market. The base cost of a gambling license in Belarus is approximately 5300 euros |
| Qazaqstan | To legalise their activities, operators of bookmaker’s offices are obliged to provide the local regulator with a certificate from a banking institution, which confirms that they have a reserve fund of at least 20 thousand monthly calculation indexes established by law for the current financial year. The annual license fee for bookmakers is 640 monthly calculation indexes per year |
| Armenia | The legalisation of the gambling market has been allowed in the country since 2004. The license is granted to the applicant no later than 23 workdays from the day of filing an application and is unlimited. A fee on a gambling establishment is 25 million Armenian drams, and the tax for the organisation of online games is 100 million drams. It is worth noting that the local license can be obtained only by Armenian operators. It makes no sense for foreign entrepreneurs to register their companies in this country since all foreign services are not blocked here |
The United States is a country that has long won the title of “the capital of the gambling world”. However, until 2018, betting here was an officially banned type of activity, available only in those four states where sportsbook and casinos came into being:
- Nevada;
- Oregon;
- Montana;
- Delaware.
An interesting fact is that four major sports leagues in North America and the National University Sports Association spoke against the ban on sports betting. As a result of lobbying, a decision was made to open the local market to foreign suppliers, to allow the development of the virtual sector, and to grant the right to regulate the industry for the benefit of each state.
Among the most popular jurisdictions for obtaining a bookmakers license, we would like to name the following ones:
- Antigua and Barbuda. On the territory of the islands, it is possible to obtain permits of two formats: a license for organising casino games (by interactive companies) and for the organisation of business by commercial agencies. As a rule, the application processing takes sixty days. The price of the service varies from ten thousand dollars for filing an application to twenty-five thousand dollars for annual maintenance.
- Curacao. The process of registering an enterprise takes only six weeks. Applicants can obtain both a basic license and a sublicense. As we have already mentioned above, the jurisdiction issues a single document for the organisation of any format of gambling activities. The registration fee is only two thousand dollars. Also, it is necessary to pay 1.5 thousand dollars for monthly maintenance. An additional advantage is that there is no taxation system for foreign companies.
- Malta. The tax rate varies depending on the class of the received license. In most cases, it is 4,660 euros per month (during the first half of the year) and 7,000 euros after six months of the operation in the market’s online sector. The minimum authorised capital is 100 thousand euros. The document is valid for five years.
- The Isle Of Man. Acquisition of a license takes from ten to twelve weeks. Applicants can choose between three formats of documents: a full license, a sublicense, and a permit for the organisation of virtual entertainment. The registration fee is from 5 thousand pounds, and the annual maintenance is about 35 thousand pounds.
The legalisation of the bookmaking activity is a rather lengthy process that requires many preparations. As an alternative to an independent launch, you can use the franchise service provided by well-known companies. But for those who want to become the owner of a completely independent business, this option is unacceptable.
Leave an application to managers of Bett-Market, and we will tell you about the price of licenses in the best jurisdictions of the world, the nuances of taxation and paperwork that you should pay special attention to, and about the ways of saving both time and money while searching for the best option.
A perfect choice is to order a comprehensive set of services on a turnkey basis. You can always buy or rent a betting project with all necessary registration documents and a full range of thematic software. You just have to tell us about your wishes related to exclusive design and start earning money.
Launch your own exclusive project with the Bett-Market team right now! Contact us:
