Who this guide is for
Founders and investors sizing a casino or sportsbook before they ask vendors for quotes, and operators checking whether a quote covers the business or only the software. Platform fee mechanics sit on the white label and turnkey pages and licence fees on the licensing pages; this page puts every line in one budget.
There is no single launch figure, because the licence sets most of it. Budget three kinds of money separately. Fees you pay once, percentages that grow with GGR, and capital that a regulator or an acquirer holds back. The third is the one plans forget, and it can exceed the first two together.
Every cost line, by kind
A one-off fee is a decision; a percentage is a margin; locked capital is cash you cannot spend on marketing.
| Line | Kind | Published figure |
|---|---|---|
| Licence application | One-off | €4,592 plus €150 per UBO in Curaçao; £5,250 on the Isle of Man; €29,000 non-refundable in Finland |
| Annual licence fee | Fixed, yearly | €17,828 on Anjouan; €47,450 in Curaçao; £36,750 on the Isle of Man; €19,875 renewal plus about €7,000 compliance on Tobique, as quoted by licensing agents |
| Company and key persons | Fixed, yearly | Market prices, not regulated: a local director in Curaçao, two resident directors and a Designated Official on the Isle of Man, a compliance officer or MLRO on most licences |
| Platform | One-off plus percentage | 2026 market ranges: white label USD 15,000–50,000 setup and up to 15% of GGR; turnkey USD 35,000–150,000+ and 2–5% of GGR |
| Games | Percentage of GGR | Studios' revenue share, a market range of 10–20% of the GGR their games generate |
| Odds feed (sportsbook) | Fixed, minimum term | Not published; independent of turnover |
| Payment processing | Percentage of deposits | 2.5–8% for gambling merchants against 1.5–3% for low-risk ones |
| Rolling reserve | Locked capital | 10–25% of card volume, held for months |
| Regulatory capital | Locked capital | €500,000 share capital and a €550,000 bank guarantee for Cyprus Class B |
| KYC checks | Per player | Sumsub's published list price, as one example: USD 1.35–1.85 per verification, with a monthly minimum of USD 149–299 |
| Gaming tax | Percentage of GGR | From 0% offshore, as reported by licensing firms, to 22% in Finland and 40% UK remote gaming duty |
| Marketing | Fixed before revenue, then per player | No reliable public benchmark; set by channel and by what the licence lets you buy |
Year one on the licence alone
Our licensing hub puts the regulator side of year one in bands: under €30,000 for Anjouan at €22,000 to €25,000 all in; €63,000 to €79,000 for Tobique; about €52,000 in Curaçao regulator fees alone, before the local director and the compliance officer; £42,000 in Isle of Man fees before the island presence. Cyprus is different in kind, with about €1.1 million locked in capital and guarantee before the first bet. The Curaçao cost page lists what the schedule leaves out.
Lines that grow with GGR, at €100,000 a month
The licence decides the largest percentage line, and it is usually the tax. Rates below are the published ones applied to one brand at €100,000 of monthly GGR. Payment fees are left out because they are charged on deposits, not on GGR.
| Line | Rate | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| Studios | 10–20% of the GGR their games generate | €10,000–20,000 |
| Platform, white label | Up to 15% | Up to €15,000 |
| Platform, turnkey | 2–5%, or a fixed fee | €2,000–5,000 |
| Tax, Anjouan | 0%, as reported by licensing firms | €0 |
| Duty, Isle of Man | 1.5% of gaming yield up to £20 million | About €1,500 |
| Tax, Cyprus betting | 10% of net betting revenue plus 3% | €13,000 |
| Tax, Finland from July 2027 | 22% of GGR, plus a supervision fee | €22,000 |
| UK remote gaming duty, from 1 April 2026 | 40% of profits | About €40,000 |
So a turnkey brand in Finland pays four to eleven times as much in tax as in platform fees, and in Britain the duty alone exceeds the studios' and the platform's shares combined, even at the top of both ranges. The licence choice moves the P&L more than any platform negotiation can.
Locked capital: the line plans forget
A rolling reserve is your money, held against chargebacks and released as the exposure ages out. The steady state is monthly card volume times the reserve rate times the months held. At €500,000 of monthly volume, a 10% reserve on a six-month hold keeps €300,000 back; at 25%, €750,000. It peaks while marketing spend is highest, and each month of growth raises what is withheld now while releases still reflect volume from months ago.
A sportsbook adds the liability on its biggest event of the season and the reserves some regulators require for winnings; Cyprus asks for proof of them. A crypto cashier removes the card reserve, because there are no chargebacks to reserve against, and closes the markets that ban crypto deposits.
People the licence obliges you to employ
A white label absorbs these; your own licence does not. The MLRO or compliance officer is a statutory role on most licences here, and Curaçao sets qualifications for it. The Isle of Man adds two resident directors and a resident Designated Official. A Curaçao licence needs a local director who receives every invoice. Price these as salaries or retainers before comparing a revenue share against a licence fee. We quote them per engagement because they are market prices set by other people.
Marketing: what the licence lets you buy
Paid search and paid social are licence-gated. Google Ads accepts gambling only from certified advertisers with a valid local licence for every country targeted; Meta requires authorisation backed by evidence of a licence. An offshore brand therefore buys players mostly through affiliates, on cost per player or a share of revenue, which turns part of marketing into another percentage line. Finland bans affiliate marketing outright. Budget the months of spend before the brand earns as well as the cost per player.
Where budgets break
- Fees owed for the whole period. In Curaçao a revoked licence still owes the full fee for its period, and the first pro-rata invoice falls due within 14 days of notification; nothing is granted until it is paid.
- Refusal costs. Cyprus keeps 25% of the licence fee if it refuses the application.
- A platform standing idle. Finland's application outlasts the build, so staff and hosting run before revenue.
- The feed's minimum term. It is a liability if the book underperforms or you change platform early.
- Dispute fees. Above Visa's 1.5% dispute ratio, after a grace period on a first breach, each disputed transaction costs $8 on top of the lost payment.
Questions to put to any provider, including us
- Which costs in your quote are percentages of GGR, which of deposits, and which are fixed?
- Do you pass through studio revenue share at cost, or add a margin?
- Who holds the rolling reserve, at what rate, and on what release schedule?
- Which compliance roles does your model cover, and which must we hire?
- What does the contract cost us if the licence is refused or delayed?
Frequently asked
How much does it cost to start an online casino?
On a white label, the 2026 market range starts at USD 15,000 setup plus a share of GGR, with marketing and any reserve on top. On your own licence, add the licence (€22,000 to €25,000 in year one on Anjouan, far more on the Isle of Man or in Curaçao), a turnkey setup from USD 35,000, the people the licence requires and the reserve.
How much does it cost to start a sportsbook?
The same lines plus a feed with a fixed minimum term and cash for liability. A Cyprus sportsbook locks up about €1.1 million in capital and guarantee before the first bet; an offshore one does not.
Is white label cheaper?
In year one, yes: lower setup, no application fee, no annual licence fee. The order reverses as GGR grows, because a revenue share scales with success and a licence is a fixed cost. The launch-models guide compares the two.
How much working capital do I need?
Enough for the reserve at your expected card volume, the licence fees for the full period, the compliance salaries and the marketing months before break-even, held at once. The reserve formula above is the line that surprises most founders.
Does a platform revenue-share quote include the licence?
No. On your own licence, the application, annual fees, duty and compliance staff are all on top of the platform's share. On a white label the licence is the holder's, which is part of what the higher share pays for.