What it is
Anjouan is one of the islands of the Union of the Comoros, in the Indian Ocean. Licenses for online gaming are issued there under the laws of the Autonomous Island of Anjouan, by the body that calls itself Anjouan Gaming, described on its own site as the designated regulatory authority for internet gaming licensing. Licensing has been administered by Anjouan Licensing Services Inc. since May 2023, under the broader Anjouan Offshore Finance Authority.
One license covers online casino, live casino, sportsbook and virtual games together, for both B2C and B2B, with no separate permission per vertical. Crypto operations are explicitly permitted. There are no sub-licenses: each license is issued directly to the holder, which is the main structural difference from the old Curacao model and the reason Anjouan absorbed so much of that traffic after 2024.
What it costs
These are the authority's own published figures, read from the Anjouan Gaming fee schedule on 11 October 2026. They are quoted here rather than paraphrased because the agent market around this license quotes wildly different numbers.
| Fee | Applies to | Amount | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| License issuance | B2C and B2B | EUR 17,828 | One-time |
| Annual renewal | B2C and B2B | EUR 17,828 | Annual |
| Additional domain or URL | B2C | EUR 500 each | Per licensing cycle |
The authority also refers to a non-refundable application fee that must accompany submission without stating the amount, and to administrative fees for domain changes, license amendments and replacement certificates, communicated at the time of request. It states that fee schedules are reviewed periodically.
What agents quote, and why it differs. Published guides put the realistic first-year all-in figure at roughly EUR 20,000 to EUR 25,000 once company formation, document preparation and compliance setup are included. That is consistent with the regulator's EUR 17,828 plus the work around it. One widely circulated vendor guide quotes USD 25,000 to 50,000 and a three to four month timeline, which is far outside both the official schedule and every other source we checked. Older guides also quote a lower renewal of about EUR 13,300, which the authority's current schedule does not support. If you have been quoted a number, check it against the authority's own fee page before you accept it.
The taxes. Nil on gross gaming revenue, nil corporate income tax, no VAT. That is the attraction, and it is real.
What the application asks for
For each owner, director and ultimate beneficial owner: a certified passport copy, a recent utility bill, a police clearance certificate, a curriculum vitae, an original banker's reference from a relationship older than two years, and a professional reference from an accountant or lawyer, also older than two years. Source of funds and source of wealth.
For the business: an International Business Company registered on Anjouan with a local legal address, detailed descriptions of the gaming content with agreements or third-party RNG certificates, proof of domain ownership, and terms and conditions covering underage gambling, responsible gaming and player KYC. Written AML, KYC and responsible-gaming policies.
Everything in English or certified translation, dated within the last ninety days.
No minimum share capital is specified, and no physical office or local staff is required. Applicants must be over eighteen, without relevant criminal convictions in the last three years. B2B suppliers working with Anjouan-licensed operators need either their own Anjouan B2B license or an approved B2B License Recognition Certificate.
One requirement that is easy to miss and expensive to discover late: published guidance states that the regulator requires servers and the player database to be located and hosted in Anjouan. Confirm how your platform provider handles this before signing anything.
How long it takes
Two to eight weeks is the range the credible sources give, with company formation taking about ten to fifteen business days once paperwork is clean and the license review running three to four weeks on top. Guides that say "as little as two weeks" and guides that say "three to four months" are both in circulation. The honest answer is that the clock starts when your documents are complete, and that the documents are what take the time.
Which countries are excluded
You are required to geo-block, and the commonly published list is: Australia, Austria, the Comoros Islands themselves, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States, plus all FATF blacklisted countries and anything else the authority adds.
Read that list again before you choose this route, because it removes most of Western Europe and all of the United States. If the markets on your plan are in that list, the license fee is irrelevant: this is the wrong route and no amount of structuring changes it.
The test that actually decides this for you
A license is only worth what the companies around it will accept. Before you spend anything on an application, put the same question to three payment providers and two game suppliers, in writing: will you accept an Anjouan-licensed operator for these specific markets? Name the markets. Do not ask in general terms, because the answer changes by market.
If the answer from your payment provider is no, nothing else about this license matters and no amount of saving on the fee will recover it. If the answer is yes, the published fees above are what you will actually pay, and this is one of the least expensive routes available.
The whole exercise takes about a week, and it is the cheapest week you will spend on the project. It is also the step that first-time operators skip most often, usually because the license felt like the decision and the processors felt like a detail. It is the other way round.
Frequently asked questions
How much does an Anjouan gaming license cost?
The authority's published schedule is EUR 17,828 to issue and EUR 17,828 to renew annually, plus EUR 500 for each additional domain. Realistic first-year cost including company formation and document preparation is commonly put at EUR 20,000 to EUR 25,000. Tax on gross gaming revenue is nil.
How long does an Anjouan license take?
Two to eight weeks is the usual range once documents are complete. Company formation is about ten to fifteen business days; the license review is commonly three to four weeks.
Which countries does an Anjouan license exclude?
Australia, Austria, the Comoros, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States, plus FATF blacklisted countries.
Does an Anjouan license cover crypto?
Yes. Crypto operation is explicitly permitted, and one license covers casino, live casino, sportsbook and virtual games together.
Can I check whether an Anjouan license is real?
The authority operates a public register with a verification page. Check the number there rather than trusting a seal in a website footer, and note that at least one published audit in 2024 reported verification links returning errors, so confirm directly with the authority if the register does not resolve.
Anjouan or Curacao?
Anjouan is roughly a third of the annual cost, issues in weeks rather than months, has no local substance requirement, and taxes gross gaming revenue at nil. Curacao is a government-run regime inside the Kingdom of the Netherlands with a supervisory authority and a public register, which is a materially easier conversation with some banks and payment providers, and it will require staff and premises on the island from April 2027.