The most convincing of the new offshore regimes. Nevis wrote an ordinance in 2025, stood up a real authority with a public register, and priced the licence at roughly a third of Curaçao while asking for no office and no resident director. The trade is that it is new, and newness costs you something at the payment provider.
| Regulator | Nevis Online Gaming Authority (NOGA), appointed by the Nevis Island Administration |
|---|---|
| Law | Nevis Online Gaming Ordinance, in force since 1 May 2025 |
| Licence types | B2C for operators, B2B for platforms, aggregators and studios |
| What one licence covers | Casino, sports betting, poker, lottery and crypto wagering |
| Company | A Nevis company in good standing with a registered agent |
| People | Key employees registered with the authority; no resident director required |
| Tax | No tax on revenue from players outside the federation |
| Reporting | Annual financial statements within three months of the year end |
| Public register | Yes — NOGA publishes its licensees |
A short history, which is both the appeal and the caveat.
Licensees reach year two, where the €28,000 fee repeats. This is the year that shows how many of the 2025 entrants were building rather than shopping.
NOGA begins issuing B2C and B2B licences under a published framework, with defined eligibility and a public register of licensees.
The administration frames online gaming as economic diversification and gives the island its own regulator inside a FATF-compliant federation.
The Nevis Online Gaming Authority was created by the Nevis Island Administration, which holds enough legislative autonomy inside the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis to run its own gaming regime. NOGA is the sole body issuing, renewing and enforcing licences on the island.
What separates it from the other 2023–2025 arrivals is the paperwork around it: defined eligibility, a transparent application route, a published register and AML standards that sit inside a federation banks already deal with. That does not make it Malta, but it means an acquirer’s compliance team can look something up instead of taking your word.
One B2C licence covers the player-facing products; suppliers take the cheaper B2B licence and carry no player money.
Straightforward, which after Curaçao and Malta is worth saying out loud.
| Application fee | US$2,500–3,000 non-refundable |
|---|---|
| Annual licence fee | €28,000 covers the first year too |
| Key employee registration | ≈US$500 per person |
| Government registration | ≈US$450 |
| Registered agent | US$500–1,200 a year |
| Tax on foreign revenue | 0% |
| Reporting | Annual financial statements within three months of the fiscal year end |
| Regulator | Presence | Compliance | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year one | ≈€31,000 | €4,000 | €9,000 | ≈€44,000 |
| Renewal | €28,000 | €3,000 | €6,000 | ≈€37,000 |
The honest comparison is with Curaçao at roughly €77,000 a year to keep, and with Anjouan at €13,300. Nevis sits between them and buys you a register that Anjouan cannot offer.
Eight to twelve weeks, and the file is smaller than anything Malta or Curaçao will accept.
A Nevis company with a registered agent. No office and no resident director are required.
Identity, address, police certificates and source-of-funds evidence for each beneficial owner, plus a business plan.
The people running the operation are registered with the authority at about US$500 each.
AML, KYC, responsible gambling and data protection, plus RNG and platform certificates.
Application fee paid, then NOGA’s review and its questions.
Listed on the public register, with domains recorded against the licence.
Nevis publishes what it expects you to block, which is more than most of its neighbours do.
The pattern is the usual one: markets that license their own operators are closed to you unless you hold their licence, the United States is closed at state level, and the federation protects its own residents. Geo-block on IP and payment method, and keep the list under review rather than in a founder’s head.
Nevis lands better with payment providers than its age suggests, for one reason: the register. An acquirer can verify the licence, the company and the domains without asking you for a PDF. Sitting inside a FATF-compliant federation helps with the AML questionnaire too.
What it does not do is remove the reserve. Expect gaming-specialist acquirers and EMIs, a rolling reserve in the usual range, and a provider who asks how the 2026 renewal cycle went before extending terms.
Level with Curaçao and Kahnawake, and clearly ahead of Anjouan and Tuvalu.
NOGA publishes a register, so the check is the same one you would run on Malta.
Take the licence number and company name from the operator’s footer.
Open the NOGA register directly rather than through a link on the site you are checking.
Match the company name and confirm whether the licence is B2C or B2B — a B2B licensee running a casino is not licensed for it.
Check the domain is recorded against the licence and the status is active.
| Nevis | Curaçao | Anjouan | Tobique | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year one | ≈€44,000 | ≈€97,000 | €17,000–22,000 | €43,000–60,000 |
| Renewal | ≈€37,000 | ≈€77,000 | €13,300 | ≈€19,900 |
| Time | 8–12 weeks | 6–8 months | 4–6 weeks | 4–6 weeks |
| Public register | Yes | Yes | Disputed | Yes |
| Local presence | Registered agent | Director, office, staff | None | None |
| Regulator since | 2025 | 1993, rebuilt 2024 | 2005 | 2023 |
Against Anjouan you are paying roughly double for a register and a federation banks recognise. Against Curaçao you are saving about €40,000 a year and giving up a supplier market and two decades of familiarity. Against Tobique the money is similar and the difference is which new regulator you believe in.
The licence renews annually at €28,000, against good standing: annual financial statements filed within three months of the fiscal year end, fees paid, key employees current. There is no discount for a quiet year.
Licences are suspended or revoked for unpaid fees, for AML failures, for serving blocked markets and for letting the corporate filings lapse. Because the register is public, the first people to notice will be your payment providers.
€28,000 a year, which also covers the first year, plus a non-refundable application fee of US$2,500–3,000. Key employee registration is about US$500 per person, and the registered agent runs US$500–1,200 a year.
Eight to twelve weeks from a complete submission, or sixty to ninety days as the authority puts it. Incomplete files take longer, as everywhere.
None on revenue from players outside the federation. The attraction of Nevis is a zero-tax position inside a jurisdiction that is FATF-compliant rather than blacklisted.
The Nevis Online Gaming Authority, established by the Nevis Island Administration under the Online Gaming Ordinance that came into force on 1 May 2025.
Real, and unusually for a new regime it publishes a register of licensees. That register is the single biggest practical difference between Nevis and Anjouan.
Yes. Nevis issues both B2C licences for operators and B2B licences for platforms, aggregators and game studios.
No local office or resident director is required. You need a registered agent, registered key employees and a company in good standing.
Markets that license their own operators — the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Austria and Australia among them — plus the United States, Saint Kitts and Nevis itself, and FATF-sanctioned territories.
Twice the running cost, a deeper supplier market and twenty years of familiarity.
≈€97,000 · 6–8 monthsHalf the price and a month to approval, with a disputed regulator.
€17,000–22,000 · 4–6 weeksAn older regulator that vets people rather than requiring presence.
≈US$70,000 · 3–6 months