iGaming, Licensing, Compliance, Market Entry, B2B Suppliers
By Cyntheion Research
2026-10-31 · Guide · 7 minutes
Short answer: Choose your role first: operator, supplier, affiliate or service provider. The role decides your licence, your customer and how you get paid. Most technology companies enter as B2B suppliers or with a play-money product, then add real money one regulated market at a time.
- Suppliers need licences too, in Great Britain, Malta, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Ontario.
- A British remote gambling software licence starts at £7,212 to apply and £7,394 a year (fees from 1 October 2026).[2]
- Malta's B2B licence costs €5,000 to apply and €25,000 to €35,000 a year.[4]
- In Ontario, operator registration alone takes two months or more.[9]
Last updated: 31 October 2026 · Cyntheion Research
In this article
- Which of the four entry routes suits you?
- Do B2B suppliers need a licence?
- Which platform route gets you live?
- What must be in place before real money?
- Can you start with play money?
- What does the first year look like?
- Frequently asked questions
- How PokerEnginePro fits
Which of the four entry routes suits you?
iGaming is gambling offered online: sports betting, casino, poker, bingo, lottery, plus social games played for virtual currency. There are four ways in, and they differ sharply in licensing and capital.
| Route | Your customer | How you earn | Licensing burden |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator (B2C) | Players | Gross gaming revenue: stakes minus winnings | Highest: operator licence per market, full compliance programme |
| Supplier (B2B) | Licensed operators | Licence fees, setup fees, revenue share | Medium: supplier licence per market, product certification |
| Affiliate | Operators (you refer players) | Revenue share, cost per acquisition or flat fee | Low to medium, depending on market and payment model |
| Service provider | Operators and suppliers | Project or retainer fees | Often low; payments, identity and geolocation vendors may need registration |
For most tech firms, supplier is the natural start. You sell what you already build, to customers who already hold licences. Operating carries the largest upside, and the most regulation, capital and marketing risk: a British remote casino licence alone costs £8,185 to £165,069 to apply for, depending on yield,[1] and Malta charges B2C operators €25,000 a year plus 5% gaming tax.[3]
Do B2B suppliers need a licence?
Yes, in almost every regulated market. If your software decides outcomes, holds player funds or records bets, regulators license the company that supplies it.
| Market | Regulator | What suppliers need | Published fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Great Britain | Gambling Commission | Remote gambling software operating licence[2] | £7,212 to apply and £7,394 a year in the lowest band; up to £99,446 and £191,880[2] |
| Malta | Malta Gaming Authority | B2B critical gaming supply licence[4] | €5,000 to apply; €25,000, €30,000 or €35,000 a year by revenue[4] |
| New Jersey | Division of Gaming Enforcement | Casino service industry enterprise licensure; a transactional waiver can allow business during review[5] | Not listed on the regulator's internet gaming page |
| Pennsylvania | Gaming Control Board | Interactive gaming supplier licence; manufacturers are licensed separately[6] | Set by the Board's fee schedule |
| Ontario | AGCO | Gaming-related supplier registration[7] | C$15,000 a year (manufacturer) or C$3,000 (other supplier)[8] |
The licence is not the finish line. Ontario expects games, random number generators and relevant system components to be certified by a registered independent testing laboratory.[7] In Pennsylvania, a supplier licensee may not also hold a manufacturer licence, so pick the right one early.[6] Per-market detail is in this summary of what regulators ask of a poker platform.
Which platform route gets you live?
Choose by whose licence you will run under and how much control you need. Speed and control trade off directly.
- White label: a provider runs a finished site under your brand, usually on its licence. Fastest; one poker vendor advertises go-live in about four weeks.[15] Least control.
- Turnkey: a vendor runs a platform for you under your own licence. You own the players; the contract decides data access and exit.
- Self-hosted: you license the software and run it on your own cloud or hardware. You control data residency and release timing.
- Build: you own everything, including certification, security and every regulatory change. Slowest and costliest.
Poker teams can compare the first three in white label vs turnkey vs self-hosted, and check payment, identity and geolocation coverage in a platform integration directory.
What must be in place before real money?
Five controls appear in nearly every licence. Design them in from the first sprint; retrofits delay launches and fail audits.
- Identity and age (KYC): in Great Britain, age must be verified before a customer deposits, gambles or plays free demo versions of gambling games.[10]
- Anti-money laundering: the UK casino due-diligence threshold moved from €2,000 to £2,000, provisionally from 30 June 2026.[11]
- Responsible gambling: limits, time-outs and self-exclusion. The Commission has suspended licences for failing to join the GAMSTOP self-exclusion scheme.[12]
- Geolocation: Pennsylvania requires a check at login or first wager, then every 20 minutes, or every 5 minutes within a mile of the border.[13]
- Data protection: GDPR or UK GDPR in Europe, state privacy laws in the US, and in-market hosting where the regulator requires it.
Responsible gambling works best when harm signals reach marketing, so a player at risk stops receiving offers.
Cyntheion covers that design in responsible gaming as a product discipline.
Hire for what regulators will ask about first: a compliance lead and money laundering reporting officer (MLRO), a payments and risk lead, a CRM lead and trained player support. Good CRM grows lifetime value inside responsible-gambling limits, as Cyntheion's iGaming CRM overhaul case study shows. Engineering and product delivery can be outsourced to a consultancy such as Cyntheion while permanent hires go to regulated roles.
Can you start with play money?
Yes, and many companies do. A play-money product builds an audience and proves retention, usually without a gambling licence, provided chips cannot be cashed out or traded. The Gambling Commission said in 2016 that tradeable credits would draw its interest.[14]
Keep sweepstakes separate. Dual-currency sweepstakes, where one currency is redeemable for prizes, are now banned or restricted in a growing list of US states. California's AB 831 took effect on 1 January 2026, and six more states legislated in 2026.[16][17]
Then add real money one market at a time, with play money continuing elsewhere. See how social poker works as a business and where real-money poker is regulated.
What does the first year look like?
One market live and a second in application is a realistic 12-month goal on an existing platform. The slowest dependency, usually the licence or the laboratory, sets the date.
- Days 1–30: choose role and vertical; shortlist markets; appoint a compliance lead.
- Days 31–60: pick the first market and platform route; name the MLRO; draft AML and responsible-gambling policies.
- Days 61–90: submit the licence or supplier application; start payment onboarding; launch play money where suitable.
- Months 4–6: regulator review; laboratory certification; penetration test; geolocation integration.
- Months 7–9: licence decision; banking and payments live; staff compliance training.
- Months 10–12: real-money launch in market one; apply in market two.
Poker founders will find extra steps on liquidity and game integrity in how to start an online poker site.
Frequently asked questions
Do software suppliers need a gambling licence?
In most regulated markets, yes. Great Britain, Malta, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Ontario all license or register companies that supply gambling software or gaming-related services to operators.
How much does an iGaming supplier licence cost?
In Great Britain, a remote gambling software licence starts at £7,212 to apply and £7,394 a year. Malta charges €5,000 to apply and €25,000 to €35,000 a year. Ontario charges C$15,000 a year for a manufacturer registration.
What is the fastest way into iGaming?
A white label is the fastest route to a real-money brand, often in weeks, because it runs on the provider's licence. A play-money product is the fastest way to build an audience where local law allows it.
Are sweepstakes casinos legal in the US?
It depends on the state, and the list of bans is growing. California's ban took effect on 1 January 2026, and several more states legislated in 2026. Take state-specific advice.
How long does it take to launch real money in a new market?
Plan in months. In Ontario, operator registration alone takes two months or more after a complete application, and laboratory certification adds time.
How PokerEnginePro fits
PokerEnginePro is a poker platform that Cyntheion builds and licenses to operators and technology companies. It runs on any major cloud or your own hardware, under your licence.
- Play money and real money, kept apart: a social mode with daily chips, and real money only in markets you enable.
- Every chip accounted for: balances reconciled every night; every hand replayable for disputes.
- Built to stay up: every table runs independently, so one problem never stops the room. In a measured load run it held 50,000 concurrent players across 10,000 tables with zero chip errors.
- Ready for certification: RNG built for GLI-19, with a certification kit ready.
Pricing is by conversation; start at the PokerEnginePro site.
Disclosure: Cyntheion builds and licenses PokerEnginePro. This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice.
Sources
- "Remote casino operating licence", Gambling Commission. gamblingcommission.gov.uk, accessed 31 October 2026.
- "Remote gambling software licence", Gambling Commission. gamblingcommission.gov.uk, accessed 31 October 2026.
- "Remote gaming services (B2C)", Malta Gaming Authority. mga.org.mt, accessed 31 October 2026.
- "Game providers and back office (B2B critical gaming supply)", Malta Gaming Authority. mga.org.mt, accessed 31 October 2026.
- "Internet gaming information", New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement. njoag.gov, accessed 31 October 2026.
- "58 Pa. Code § 806a.1: Interactive gaming supplier license requirements", Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. law.cornell.edu, accessed 31 October 2026.
- "iGaming suppliers", Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario. agco.ca, accessed 31 October 2026.
- "Gaming registration fees", Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario. agco.ca, accessed 31 October 2026.
- "Steps to joining the Ontario market", Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario. agco.ca, accessed 31 October 2026.
- "LCCP 3.2.11: Remote social responsibility code, age verification", Gambling Commission. gamblingcommission.gov.uk, accessed 31 October 2026.
- "Upcoming changes to the Money Laundering Regulations 2017" (9 June 2026), Gambling Commission. gamblingcommission.gov.uk, accessed 31 October 2026.
- "Two operators' licences suspended for failure to participate in GAMSTOP", Gambling Commission. gamblingcommission.gov.uk, accessed 31 October 2026.
- "Technical standards, section 809b.7: geolocation", Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. pgcb.pa.gov, accessed 31 October 2026.
- "Gambling Commission shines light on virtual currencies, eSports and social gaming", Gambling Commission. gamblingcommission.gov.uk, accessed 31 October 2026.
- "White label poker software", Creatiosoft. creatiosoft.com, accessed 31 October 2026.
- "California governor signs sweepstakes gambling ban into law" (12 October 2025), Covers. covers.com, accessed 31 October 2026.
- "Sweepstakes casino laws in 2026: new bans, proposed legislation, and regulatory trends" (27 July 2026), InfoLawGroup. infolawgroup.com, accessed 31 October 2026.
