The cheapest and nearly the fastest licence in the industry, and the one with the biggest asterisk. Under €20,000 and a month gets you live; what it does not get you is a regulator that banks and tier-1 partners treat as real. Worth knowing exactly what you are buying before you buy it.
| Regulator | Anjouan Offshore Finance Authority, with licences administered by ALSI since May 2023 |
|---|---|
| Legal basis | Anjouan’s own offshore legislation — contested at Comorian union level, where gambling is prohibited under the penal code |
| Licence types | B2C for operators, B2B for suppliers; since July 2025 suppliers need a full B2B licence or a recognition certificate at €9,500 a year |
| What one licence covers | Casino, sports betting, poker, lottery, esports and crypto wagering |
| Company | An Anjouan company, arranged by the licensing agent |
| People | A compliance officer authorised at €2,000 a year; UBO disclosure with source of funds |
| Tax | No tax on gaming revenue |
| Domains | Two included, €500 for each additional domain |
| Term | One year, renewed annually |
The uncomfortable part of this jurisdiction is documented, and an honest page has to say so.
Every B2B provider working with an Anjouan licensee now needs its own licence or a recognition certificate at €9,500 a year.
Comoros mutual evaluation materials note that gambling is prohibited under the Comorian penal code at union level, so there has been no national AML assessment of the sector.
Day-to-day licensing moves to ALSI, and the volume of licences issued climbs sharply.
Comorian banking laws strip the offshore authority of its recognised status after reunification. The central bank has since described the bodies issuing these licences as having no legal existence.
Anjouan is an island of the Comoros with its own offshore legislation, under which the Anjouan Offshore Finance Authority issues gaming licences, administered since 2023 by ALSI. Thousands of sites carry the seal, the register is maintained, and renewals happen on time.
What you should also know is the other half. The Central Bank of the Comoros has publicly described the issuing entities as fictitious, with no legal existence; the reunified state stripped the authority of recognition in banking law a decade ago; and at union level the penal code prohibits gambling outright. None of that stops the licence from functioning commercially — it is why payment providers price it the way they do.
One licence, all verticals, no product fees. Suppliers now need their own B2B licence or recognition certificate.
The cheapest entry in the industry, and the arithmetic is short.
| Year one | €17,000–22,000 licence plus company formation |
|---|---|
| Annual renewal | €13,300 |
| Compliance officer authorisation | €2,000 a year |
| Extra domain | €500 beyond the two included |
| B2B recognition certificate | €9,500 a year, for suppliers |
| Tax on gaming revenue | 0% |
| Regulator | Presence | Compliance | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year one | €17,000 | €2,000 | €3,000 | ≈€22,000 |
| Renewal | €13,300 | €2,000 | €2,000 | ≈€17,300 |
Compare that with Curaçao at roughly €77,000 a year to keep and Nevis at €37,000. The saving is real; so is what you give up, and most of it shows up in your payment costs rather than in the licence.
Four to six weeks, and the file is the smallest of any jurisdiction here.
Everything runs through a licensing agent; the Anjouan company is part of the package.
Identification, proof of address, reference letter and a short CV for each director and shareholder, plus UBO disclosure and source of funds.
AML and CFT, KYC, responsible gaming, and player terms and conditions ready for implementation.
Proof of domain ownership and an authorised compliance officer.
Review is fast; questions are usually about the owner file rather than the product.
The blocked list is short by offshore standards, and the schedules vary between agents — check yours.
Some schedules extend the list to Belize, Curaçao, Statia and St Martin. Because the terms differ between agents, validate every target market against your own licence schedule rather than against a blog post, and geo-block on IP and payment method.
This is where the licence costs you back what it saved. Tier-1 banks do not treat Anjouan as a regulated credential, and neither do most European acquirers. What works is EMIs, crypto rails and gaming-specialist providers who price the risk in: larger rolling reserves, higher rates, and a longer onboarding conversation.
Operators who plan properly treat it as a first licence — launch on Anjouan, prove the numbers, then apply for Curaçao or Nevis with a trading history that makes the second application easier.
The lowest band here. Curaçao, Nevis and Kahnawake sit two steps right; Malta and the Isle of Man four.
There is a register, and it is worth checking — with the caveat that what it proves is limited.
Take the licence number and company name from the site’s footer.
Check the licensing authority’s own register rather than a seal image.
Match the company name and confirm the domain is listed — domains beyond the included two are often unregistered in practice.
Remember what the check does and does not prove: that a licence was issued, not that a recognised regulator stands behind it.
| Anjouan | Tuvalu | Nevis | Curaçao | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year one | €17,000–22,000 | from €21,900 | ≈€44,000 | ≈€97,000 |
| Renewal | ≈€17,300 | ≈US$15,850 | ≈€37,000 | ≈€77,000 |
| Time | 4–6 weeks | 3–4 weeks | 8–12 weeks | 6–8 months |
| Tax | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Public register | Disputed | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Payment acceptance | Specialist only | Specialist only | Workable | Workable |
Against Tuvalu you are choosing between two young or contested regimes at a similar price; Tuvalu is newer but uncontested, Anjouan is older but disputed. Against Nevis you are saving about €20,000 a year and giving up a register nobody argues about.
The licence runs a year and renews on payment of the annual fee and continued compliance. Renewal is lighter than the original application — the agent handles it, and the questions are about fees and domains rather than about you.
What ends a licence here is non-payment, an unregistered domain caught in use, or a serious AML failure surfaced by a payment provider rather than by the regulator. Enforcement is thin, which cuts both ways: little scrutiny of you, and little protection for you.
Around €17,000 to €22,000 for the first year including company formation, then €13,300 to renew. A compliance officer authorisation runs €2,000 a year, and domains beyond the first two cost €500 each.
Four to six weeks from a complete submission, and some applications clear in two to four. It is the fastest route to a licence after Tuvalu.
It is issued, it is renewed and thousands of sites carry it — but the Central Bank of the Comoros describes the issuing bodies as having no legal existence, and gambling is prohibited under the Comorian penal code at union level. Treat it as a commercial credential that works with specialist providers, not as a regulator banks recognise.
None on gaming revenue. The fees are the cost.
The United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Austria, Australia, the Comoros themselves and FATF-blacklisted states, with some schedules adding Belize, Curaçao and parts of the Caribbean.
Since July 2025 every B2B provider working with an Anjouan-licensed operator needs either a full B2B licence or a B2B recognition certificate at €9,500 a year.
A tier-1 bank will not. Plan on EMIs and gaming-specialist acquirers, with higher reserves than Curaçao or Nevis would attract.
Operators testing a market, crypto-first projects and anyone who needs to be live next month with the smallest possible outlay — as a first licence, not a last one.
Twice the price for an uncontested register and a FATF-compliant federation.
≈€44,000 · 8–12 weeksFour times the cost, and payment acceptance this licence cannot buy.
≈€97,000 · 6–8 monthsAn older regulator that vets people and answers player complaints.
≈US$70,000 · 3–6 months