How to Get a Gambling License in Nevis: Complete Overview

On June 23 of this year a law was published that regulates the procedure, process and requirements for obtaining an offshore gambling license in Nevis. The regulation of gambling activities is transparent, as the legislator implemented the best international practices of iGaming business equipment, while making the process of obtaining a license clear, efficient and, compared to other offshore licenses, inexpensive.

The Nevis Parliament provided the procedure for obtaining a license with the possibility of appealing the decisions of the regulator, which is not part of the regulatory structure (unlike Curacao), as well as transparent requirements for Responsible gaming, AML and CTF. Given the clarity of regulation, very soon the Nevis offshore gambling license will become a direct competitor to Curacao.

B2B and B2C licenses

The law established two types of licenses for operating gambling activities: B2B and B2C gambling licenses. That is, the legislator establishes the need to obtain two different licenses for different types of activities: B2B — for service providers for B2C operators, and B2C — for online gambling operators.

License process

The license process is quite transparent, offers various options for registering a company, establishes the procedure for applying for a license, license fees, staff requirements and prohibited territories for operation.

Company registration

First of all, an operator who has expressed an intention to obtain a Nevis offshore gambling license must register a company in Nevis or have a company registered in another jurisdiction, but at the same time registered as a foreign company in accordance with the laws of the country. That is, the law allows gambling providers to operate both through a foreign company and through company registration in the territory of the state.

When choosing the option of registering a local company, the operator has a choice of two forms: Nevis LLC and Nevis IBC.

Nevis LLC

Documentation and composition of participants

Creation is carried out by submitting to the Registrar the Articles of Organization. The document must specify the name of the company, its duration (indefinite or limited), purpose, name of the licensed registered agent and address of the registered office, as well as details of the organizers. There are no requirements for minimum authorized capital; participants (“members”) and managers (“managers”) can be residents of any jurisdiction. The member and manager can be the same person.

Registered office and substance

The LLC is required to maintain a licensed registered agent with a physical address in Nevis, which is also the company’s registered office. If the company opens an actual administrative office (for storing documents, personnel, etc.), a separate license from the Ministry of Finance is required; operating without such a license is punishable by a fine of up to EC$30,000 (~USD11,000) and deregistration.

Taxation

As long as the LLC does not conduct business in the federation, it is fully exempt from taxes.

Annual reporting

• The annual registration fee is remitted through an agent;
• Regardless of whether there is profit, all LLCs file a simplified CIT-101 declaration.

Nevis Business Corporation / IBC

Documentation and governing bodies

Articles of Incorporation are filed with the registrar, which indicate the name, purpose, registered agent details, share capital structure, and (if necessary) the initial board of directors. There is no minimum authorized capital. One director is sufficient, who may be a non-resident individual or legal entity.

Registered office and substance

The corporation must have a licensed registered agent with a physical office in Nevis. A separate license is required for the location of the administrative office; the basic application fee is EC$5,400 (~USD2,000).

Taxation

If the corporation does not conduct business within the federation, it is exempt from all local taxes, including income tax.

Annual reporting

• Payment of the annual registration fee through an agent;
• Filing of the CIT-101 declaration for all corporations, even without business activities, with a typical deadline of April 15 of the following year.

The registration process for both a Nevis LLC and a Nevis IBC is one of the fastest in the Caribbean and takes an average of 5 business days. The average cost of registering a Nevis LLC and IBC is $3,600.

When choosing the option of obtaining the status of “foreign company” In Nevis, a mandatory requirement for the successful registration of such a company is the presence of an office in Nevis, the appointment of a representative a company officer who is a citizen of Saint Kitts and Nevis, responsible for receiving correspondence, including letters from the regulator and court notices if the company is a party to a legal case, as well as providing other documentation specified by law.

In addition, if the operator wants to change the address of the company’s office — license holder, it must notify the regulator 30 days before such changes come into effect.

Application process

After fulfilling the requirements for company registration, the operator must pay a fee and apply for a gaming license in Nevis. The application is submitted on the regulator’s portal, documents are attached to it, depending on the type of activity, confirming the intention to conduct gambling activities, including: Source of wealth, Proof of domains, Responsible gaming, KYC, AML, Underage policies, etc. — for B2C providers; KYB policy, B2B draft agreement, Source of wealth and others — for B2B providers.

In addition, the law establishes requirements for the applicant, including: relevant experience in the field, proper business reputation, financial stability (applies when registering a company in Nevis). The applicant must not have a criminal record and must not participate in the activities of companies engaged in illegal activities (for example, fraud).

License fees and license term

The license is issued for a period of one year with the possibility of extension for the same period. The established price for a B2B license — 28,000 EUR/year, the same price is set for a B2C license.

After obtaining a license, the operator can operate on two domains.

For adding new domains, the operator will have to pay 750 EUR for each new domain.

For adding mirror links, the operator must pay 35 EUR for each. If the operator adds more than 50 mirror links, the rate is reduced to 15 EUR for each.

Personnel requirements

The operator who intends to obtain a license undertakes to appoint Compliance and Reporting officers. This requirement is established to regulate the company’s financial activities and combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

Persons appointed to these positions must meet “fit and proper” standards and undergo an approval procedure by submitting an application in the form prescribed by law. Requirements include: 2 years of experience in similar positions; specialized education applicable to the position (e.g., anti-money laundering courses, etc.); in-depth understanding of the laws of Saint Kitts and Nevis; high level of English proficiency.

Compliance and Reporting officers may be outsourced, subject to appropriate review by the regulatory authority and approval. There are no residency requirements for such persons.

The law provides for the possibility of holding these positions simultaneously by one person, subject to the relevant procedure.

Prohibited territories

The operator-holder of the Nevis gambling license is prohibited from operating in the following countries:

• USA;
• Great Britain;
• France;
• Germany;
• Netherlands;
• Spain;
• Australia;
• Austria;
• Saint Kitts and Nevis;
• as well as countries that are included in the FATF blacklist.

Obligations and responsibilities of the operator

The legislation establishes obligations to store information about financial transactions, conduct audits, and establish and comply with KYC, Fair play and Responsible gaming procedures.

Financial reporting

The operator of a Nevis license is obliged to store information about financial transactions. At any time, upon request of the regulator, it must provide the latter with detailed information about transactions with the possibility of checking for violations of the law.

The information must be stored at the registered office in Nevis for 5 years.

Audit

The operator must, upon request of the regulator, conduct an audit of the company’s financial activities. The law does not establish a mandatory annual audit, unlike other licensing jurisdictions.

Three months before the end of the financial year, the operator must provide documents confirming: the proper financial position of the company, income, cash flow of the company and owners.

The regulator has the right to clarify the details of financial transactions provided by the operator.

Fair play, KYC and Responsible gaming

The operator must establish and maintain KYC, Fair play and Responsible gaming procedures that meet legislative requirements. These requirements meet international standards for iGaming business equipment and are transparent and understandable for potential Nevis license holders.

In addition, the operator must provide the possibility of self-exclusion of the player for a period of 3 months, as well as the possibility of setting the maximum amount of bets by the player.

Compliance

The regulator maintains constant (as far as operationally possible) verification of licensee operators. Upon request, the provider must provide access to documents, invoices, securities and other documents specified in the request. The regulator also has the right to contact managers responsible for maintaining such information to clarify the necessary data.

Sanctions for violation of the law

The law establishes liability for violation of the rules of gambling, misleading the player, which is financially liable and possible imprisonment.

• Operating without a license — a fine of $5,000 or imprisonment for 6 months.
• Misleading the player — if the information on the site may mislead about the company’s activities, liability — $50,000 or 2 years in prison.
• Transferring shares to third parties without notifying the regulator — a fine of $15,000 and an additional $1,000 for each day of violation.
• Violation of financial reporting rules — a fine of $15,000 and $1,000 per day until the violation is eliminated.
• Violation of audit rules — a fine of $500 for each day of delay in submitting documents.
• Violation of compliance rules — a fine of $10,000 for failure to provide financial and administrative documentation upon request by the regulator.
• Violation of responsible gaming rules — fine of up to $50,000 for admitting to play persons under 18 years of age, listed on sanctions lists, convicted of money laundering, or other high-risk persons.
• Responsibility for admitting to play persons who have self-excluded (self-exclusion), — fine of $8,000.

Conclusion

The Nevis license offers a clear application process, a basic package with two domains, a competitive one-time fee and moderate annual fees. Capital and staff requirements remain flexible: the functions of Compliance Officer and Reporting Officer can be combined, as well as outsourced. Foreign companies only need a local process agent and a «principal office» address, while Nevis companies — license holders — must have a registered office, director and secretary. Clear but not burdensome AML/KYC and responsible gaming regulations give operators the space to scale and use modern payment solutions, making Nevis a practical alternative to Curacao for new iGaming projects.