Who this is for
An operator, an affiliate moving into operating, or a supplier that has a specific market in mind and needs to know whether entering it is legal, licensable, bankable and marketable before money goes into a brand. The review covers one target market at a time and ends in a written verdict with the route, the blockers and the sequence.
The direct answer to "can we launch there" is sometimes no. Some markets prohibit online casino outright, some reserve it for a monopoly, and some license it only to companies with local owners. The review exists to find that out before a licence fee is paid, so the first output can be "do not enter", and when it is, that is the result you paid for.
Why "do not enter" is a real answer
Each of these is documented on our own licensing pages.
- Cyprus prohibits private online casino. Betting Law 37(I)/2019 makes slots, live casino, poker, betting exchanges and spread betting criminal offences for private operators, with penalties up to five years or €300,000. A Class B licence covers betting only, for players in Cyprus, on a .com.cy domain.
- Great Britain and the US states need their own licence. An offshore licence does not let you transact with or advertise to GB consumers; a US state requires that state's licence. None of the jurisdictions we file in reaches either market.
- Finland has no licensed private market until 1 July 2027. After that date it is residents only, with acquisition bonuses, affiliates and crypto deposits prohibited.
- Offshore does not mean everywhere. Every offshore licence carries a restricted list, and markets such as Ontario and Brazil now require their own licence.
The five questions, and what can stop each one
Each workstream can end the project on its own. The third column is the usual reason it does.
| Question | What we establish | What typically stops the project |
|---|---|---|
| May the product be offered? | Legal status of each vertical you plan: casino, live casino, sportsbook, poker, crypto, prediction markets | The vertical is prohibited, or reserved for a state operator |
| Under which licence? | Whether the market licenses its own operators, tolerates an offshore licence, or neither; and whether that licence is one you can realistically obtain | A national licence with capital, presence or ownership rules your group cannot meet |
| Can players pay you? | Which methods players use, which providers onboard licensees of that licence, and at what cost | Players pay by card and bank transfer, and the licence is one tier-one acquirers decline |
| Can you reach them? | Advertising and bonus rules, affiliate status, sponsorship and search advertising limits | An acquisition plan built on affiliates or welcome bonuses in a market that bans both |
| Who has to be local? | Required local company, directors, representatives, shareholders, servers and bank accounts | A local equity partner is required and no acceptable one exists |
What the five questions look like in practice
Payments decide more entries than law does. Gambling merchants sit under MCC 7995, which acquirers treat as high risk. Tier-one acquirers decline Anjouan licensees, whose processors charge in the region of 8% to 12% against 2% to 3% on a tier-one licence. Tobique brands have reported access to Interac, Trustly, Skrill, Neteller and several UK and EU electronic money institutions. If the market pays by card and your licence cannot get card acquiring, the margin is gone before the first campaign. The payment gateway page covers routing and dispute thresholds once the methods are known.
Advertising rules can remove whole channels. Finland prohibits affiliate, influencer and telephone marketing and allows only modest retention bonuses with wagering capped at 5×. A CRM and marketing stack built on welcome offers does not survive that change, and the review says so before you hire for it.
Local partners can mean equity. On the Isle of Man you need two locally resident individual directors and a Manx company. Curaçao needs a local director now, with local substance deferred to 1 April 2027. Finland requires an EEA representative for a non-EEA applicant. Brazil's authorisation rules (Portaria SPA/MF 827 of 21 May 2024) require a company incorporated in Brazil, exclude branches of foreign companies, and require a Brazilian to hold at least 20% of paid-up capital. That last requirement puts a Brazilian shareholder into your operating company.
Your suppliers have to qualify as well. Anjouan has required every supplier to hold a B2B licence or Recognition Certificate since 1 July 2025, and from 1 July 2028 a Finnish licensee may only use software from a holder of a Finnish software licence. A market can be open to you and closed to your studios.
What you receive
- Intake. Your products, verticals, target player base, payment methods, budget, existing licences and suppliers. A structure proposed before this is on the table is a guess.
- Legal-status check against primary sources: the statute, the regulator's own pages and published decisions. Where a point needs a legal opinion, we name the question for local counsel rather than answer it ourselves.
- Licence route. The national licence, a tolerated offshore licence, or none. Where the route is a licence we file for, the jurisdiction page and the application service pick it up from here.
- Payments feasibility. Methods by share of use where data exists, providers that onboard that licence, expected cost.
- Advertising and acquisition. What is allowed, what is banned, and what that does to the acquisition plan.
- Local partners and presence. Who must be local, in what capacity, and whether that person or company exists.
- Verdict. Enter, with the route, the line items and the sequence; enter later, with the date or condition that changes the answer; or do not enter, with the reason.
The operating model sits on top of the verdict: white label, turnkey on your own licence, or your own platform. That choice has its own page in casino launch models.
Who should not buy this
- You have chosen the market and the licence. Go straight to licence application support.
- You want a list of open countries. The review answers for a named market. A country list without your product, payments and ownership in it would be out of date and wrong for you at the same time.
- The market is Great Britain or a US state. The answer is already known: that market's own licence, which we do not file for.
- You need an adviser on a monthly cadence. That is gambling consulting, which covers structure and deal questions over time rather than one market in one report.
Where entries fail
- Choosing the licence before the market. The licence follows the players. A cheap offshore licence bought first can leave the target market's payments and advertising closed.
- Testing payments last. Merchant onboarding for MCC 7995 takes months and asks for processing history a new brand does not have.
- Treating a deferral as a removal. Curaçao's substance rule is postponed to 1 April 2027, not abolished. A three-year budget has to carry both versions.
- Missing a market opening. Filing for Finland in the fourth quarter of 2026 still leaves room for opening day; filing in 2027 probably does not.
Questions to ask any market-entry adviser, including us
- Did the answer arrive before you described the product, the players and the payment methods?
- Which statements come from the statute or the regulator, and which from agents or other advisers?
- What, specifically, would make the answer "do not enter", and have they ever given it?
- Who on your side owns each blocker after the report, and by when?
Frequently asked
Can you tell us which countries are open to online casino?
For a named market and your product, yes, as a reasoned verdict. We do not publish a generic list, because legality depends on the vertical, the licence you hold, who your owners are and how players pay.
Do you guarantee that we can operate legally after the review?
No. The review sets out the route, its conditions and its risks as they stand on the review date. Regulators change rules and refuse applications, and a legal opinion on your structure has to come from local counsel.
What do we get if the answer is do not enter?
The reason in writing, the evidence behind it, and what would have to change for the answer to change: a law, a licence you could obtain, a payment route, a partner.
Can the review cover a market where you do not file for licences?
Yes. The review covers the market whatever our filing list says. If the route turns out to be a licence we do not file in, such as Malta or the UK Gambling Commission, we say so and refer you on.
How does this differ from your consulting sessions?
Consulting runs on a monthly cadence and covers structure, deal terms and retention over time. The readiness review is a fixed piece of work on one market that ends in one verdict.