Online Gambling Licences

Where an operator intends to establish in the Isle of Man and provide certain forms of online gambling, it must hold a licence under OGRA. To be eligible for an OGRA licence, an operator must satisfy the following criteria:

• it must establish an Isle of Man company;

• it must have at least two local directors, who must be individuals and not corporate entities;

• it must appoint at least one resident Designated Official or, where that Designated Official cannot reside in the Isle of Man, an Operations Manager;

• it must either register players on Isle of Man servers or they must operate under a network services licence, which obliges them to establish the network services in the Isle of Man (except in the case of software supply-only licences – see further below); and

• it must hold any player fund protection accounts in a bank in the Isle of Man, unless otherwise agreed.

Our quick and simple licence application process aims to provide you with a decision between 10 and 16 weeks from submission of the application and all required supporting documentation. There are a number of different licences under OGRA, including:

FULL LICENCE

This is the most popular licence and will allow you to perform B2C activities such as offering the game, striking the bet and registering players as well as well as B2B activities such as offering Software/Game Provision, Sub-Licences and White Labels to other operators. One licence covers all gaming verticals, poker, bingo, sportsbook, slots, casino, mah-jong, esports etc. as well as new ideas and unique games.

A Full Licence costs £36,750 p.a. plus a £5,250 application fee.

NETWORK LICENCE

The Network Licence carries the same privileges as the Full Licence but in addition, you may use the Network Licence to accept players from global operators (Network Partners) on to your gameplay and back office servers without registering them. This is useful for pooling liquidity as well as operating networks and progressive jackpots.

A Network Licence costs £52,500 p.a. plus a £5,250 application fee.

SUB-LICENCE

Sub-Licence holders must have an exclusive relationship with a Full Licence holder in which they only offer the products the Full Licensee they ‘sub’ under is licensed to offer. If a Sub-Licence holder wishes to offer further products from a different supplier they need to upgrade to a Full Licence. Therefore the Sub-Licence is more suited to smaller operators who have no requirement to use various sources of content.  

A Sub-Licence costs £5,250 p.a. plus a £5250 application fee.

SOFTWARE SUPPLIER LICENCE

Isle of Man legislation operates two regimes for software licensing:

• the basic regime (no licence required); and
• the licensed regime, which streamlines the process of deploying software.

In the basic regime, no licence is required before supplying software to an Isle of Man operator. However, before that Isle of Man operator can deploy the software, it must supply test house certification to the GSC and it remains responsible for that software.

In the licensed regime, the GSC maintains a register of software providers and their products. Isle of Man operators may use any product from this register immediately without notifying the GSC. In order to be named in this register and have its software products listed, it is necessary for a software supplier to obtain an Isle of Man relevant certification.

Once licensed, the software supplier provides the test house certification directly to the GSC and is responsible for the software. The application process for software suppliers checks the integrity and competence of owners and controllers and licensed software suppliers are permitted to use the licence as part of their diligence process with domestic and international business partners.

This licence has been issued in respect of the following types of software supply:

• RNG/casino games;
• back-office platforms;
• live-dealer casino;
• betting platforms; and
• operators who act as re-sellers for these products.

A Software Supplier Licence costs from £36,750 p.a. plus a £5,250 application fee.

TOKEN/BLOCKCHAIN-BASED SOFTWARE SUPPLIER LICENCE

This licence is for the supply of software products that involve cryptocurrency and/or blockchain products for the gaming sector. As with the Software Supplier Licence, this licence is elective, it is possible to offer these products to Isle of Man licensees without licensing them with the Gambling Supervision Commission.

A Token/Blockchain based software supplier licence costs £52,500 p.a. plus a £5,250 application fee.

In respect of an application to conduct online gambling activities, the application form, vetting forms, associated paperwork and application fee must be submitted to the Inspectorate. 

Once the application has been accepted, the general time period for a licence to be processed is typically 10 to 16 weeks.  The Inspectorate may request to meet with the Designated Officials and the Operations Manager (where appointed) to discuss the business model and gain an understanding of the key officials with regard to the business being proposed.

Assuming there is no delay in the application process, there will be a formal hearing after the application has been accepted with notification of the outcome be provided shortly after the hearing.  

Please find below the forms needed to make an application for an online gambling licence. Our guidance notes will also help you through the process. If you have any queries on making an application, please contact us by email on GSCApplications@gov.im 

Personal Declaration Form

Simplified Personal Declaration Form

Applicant Company Application Form

Ultimate Parent Company of the Applicant Company Application Form 

Guidance for Making an Online Gambling Licence Application

Guidance on Integrity Controls

Fees for an Online Gambling Licence

The following increase in fees was approved by Tynwald on 20 June 2023, and came into effect on the 6 July 2023.

A copy of the Online Gambling (Licence Fees) Regulations 2023 can be viewed online.