Canadian KGC licence
We handle Client Provider Authorization applications to the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, the regulator established by the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake in 1996 within the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake, Quebec, Canada. A single authorisation covers casino, betting, poker and lottery verticals with no separate filing for each vertical. We incorporate the company, prepare the due diligence file and AML and KYC policies, arrange server hosting at the MIT facility and manage the application through to the Commission decision.
We run the project end to end, from incorporation through to the Client Provider Authorization being granted. The exact quote depends on the number of domains, the verticals you plan to offer and your hosting configuration.
Covers the first-year official fees and full-service support. Mandatory server hosting at the MIT facility is billed separately at the operator rate. We prepare a quote after a short brief, with a same-day response.
Request a quoteWe prepare and submit the application, but the final decision rests with the Commission. Official KGC fees, MIT server hosting, incorporation and annual renewal are payable separately and are not included in our support fee.
Operators choose Kahnawake for zero GGR tax, a regulator the industry has known since 1996, and a single authorisation covering every vertical.
The Commission has licensed online operations since 1999 and is recognised by platforms, content providers and payment partners.
A single CPA covers casino, betting, poker, lottery and slot verticals, with no separate application needed for each product.
GGR tax is 0% and corporation tax in the jurisdiction is also 0%, so your budget is made up of fixed fees only.
The standard annual fee covers up to 6 licensed domains, with each additional domain charged separately.
What Canada's longest-running gambling jurisdiction offers, and what operators should weigh up before committing.
Established by the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake in 1996 and operating under the authority of the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake, this was one of the first jurisdictions in the world to authorise online gambling
GAM revenue is taxed at 0% and corporation tax is 0%, so operators pay nothing beyond the Commission's fixed fees
No physical staff presence or resident directors are required, just a suitable corporate structure and an appointed Key Person
Casino, betting, poker, lottery and slot all sit under a single CPA, with no separate filings by vertical
Game servers and player databases must sit at the Mohawk Internet Technologies facility within the Mohawk Territory. Alternative hosting is not permitted under the regulations, and it is a separate ongoing cost
The authorisation runs for one year, with renewal at US$20,000 annually. The Key Person licence is renewed separately
Once the Commission decides, a 6-month preliminary authorisation is issued. The permanent one follows an audit of the site and a review of your control systems
The US, a number of regulated markets and all sanctioned and FATF-listed countries are closed. We configure blocking before you go live
The KGC maintains a list of prohibited territories, blocked at GEO-IP level with no exceptions. For every other market, the duty to check legality falls on the operator. Here is where the lines are drawn and what to verify before launch.
The Commission maintains a list of territories that must be blocked at GEO-IP level, with no exemptions available:
Blocking extends to the FATF grey and black lists, all sanctioned jurisdictions and any territory the KGC designates as prohibited. The list is revised in line with FATF classifications, so settings need to be kept current.
Everything outside the Commission list. The KGC requires operators to verify legality themselves before targeting a market or accepting players:
The KGC places market verification squarely on the operator. Regulated markets need separate attention, since they require either a local licence or full blocking. Before launch we check your target GEO against current regulation and payment partner requirements.
The KGC maintains a list of prohibited territories that must be blocked, updated in line with FATF changes
For markets outside the list, the licensee must confirm legality before targeting or accepting players
KYC must establish where a player actually resides, not just the country they connect from
Geo-blocking is a condition of the authorisation, and any gap or workaround can lead to suspension by the KGC
Operators are accountable for affiliate traffic, and affiliate geo-targeting is scrutinised on the same terms as your own
Quebec and Ontario are on the list, other provinces operate their own regulation, and Canadian players are blocked
The KGC list closes some markets outright, and for the rest the risk stays with the operator. Before launch we map your target GEO, configure blocking and check the setup against payment partner requirements.
A licence gives you the right to trade, but it does not open a bank account. Kahnawake does not require you to bank in Canada or to incorporate in the jurisdiction itself, so the payment setup is built around the project. The Commission has been active since 1996 and is familiar to providers, though some apply closer scrutiny to First Nations licences. We build the route around your vertical, target markets and expected volumes.
There is no requirement to bank in Canada, so the bank or EMI is chosen freely. We incorporate in whichever jurisdiction suits the payment setup rather than where the authorisation sits, and shape the ownership structure around the requirements of the chosen bank.
Card acceptance runs through providers that specialise in this sector. The Commission has been on the market for nearly three decades and many PSPs work with its licensees, though terms and limits vary considerably by vertical. We match providers to your target GEO and prepare the file to meet their requirements.
Settlement in fiat and digital assets is workable provided the AML framework covers crypto risk and source of funds. Providers examine ownership structure, beneficial owners and target markets, so we build the file before submission rather than after a rejection.
We assess your verticals, target markets and provider requirements before the application starts. We do not guarantee that an account will be opened, since that decision rests with the bank or provider.
Around 6 months end to end. Stage by stage: incorporation 5-7 days, beneficial owner file 2-4 weeks, application review 4-8 weeks, then a 6-month preliminary authorisation before the permanent one. The real timeline depends on how quickly the file comes together and how the control systems are set up.
We look at your verticals, target GEO and ownership structure, then check those markets against the KGC list. If the project runs into prohibited territories, we say so upfront, before any payment.
The Commission vets every owner holding 10% or more, each director and the Key Person, covering source of wealth and source of funds. Timing here depends on you. We issue the document list straight away and point you to where each item comes from.
We incorporate in whichever jurisdiction suits the payment setup, as no local entity in Kahnawake is required. We prepare the Key Person for separate vetting. No office or resident directors are needed.
We file the CPA application together with the Control System Submission. The Commission reviews the business plan, site policies, AML procedures and technical documentation, and vets the Key Person in parallel. The clock starts once the complete package is accepted.
We arrange server hosting at the MIT facility, register up to six domains under the standard fee, complete RNG certification and configure geo-blocking. The Commission issues a preliminary authorisation, which becomes permanent for one year once the site audit is passed.
We need owner documents and domain access from you. Everything else is on us.
The same person runs the project throughout, so you never have to explain it twice
Usually within 30 minutes during working hours
We handle Commission correspondence and queries ourselves rather than forwarding them to you
Annual renewal, Key Person renewal, the data centre agreement and deadline tracking, so the site never goes offline
Timelines reflect Commission regulations and our own experience. We prepare and file the documents, but granting or refusing the authorisation is the decision of the Commission.
Kahnawake offers zero GGR tax and every vertical in one application, but entry is expensive, servers sit in a single data centre and the full cycle runs to about six months. Below are the honest limitations and the jurisdictions that address them.
The filing fee alone is US$40,000, followed by US$20,000 a year. On top of that come data centre hosting, incorporation and support. For testing a model on live traffic, that is a heavy outlay.
The KGC closes off the US, the home provinces of Canada, a number of regulated markets and the FATF lists. Geo-blocking is a condition of the authorisation. If your core traffic comes from those markets, this licence will not solve the problem.
The Commission decision lands in 4-8 weeks, but the permanent authorisation only follows a six-month preliminary period. If you need to be live within a month and test the model on real traffic, other jurisdictions move faster.
Game servers and player databases can only sit at the Mohawk Internet Technologies facility within the Mohawk Territory, and the regulations allow no alternative. If you run your own infrastructure or have latency requirements tied to specific regions, this is a hard constraint.
The fastest and cheapest route to licensed status. No GGR tax, no capital requirements and hosting is chosen freely. Operators take it at launch to test a model on live traffic.
A government-issued licence from a Caribbean jurisdiction. One application covers both operator and supplier at a single price, with no local office needed. Chosen when government-backed status matters but timelines are short.
There is no dedicated licence for this sector, so projects operate through a local company holding a commercial activity permit. The cheapest and quickest option when status is secondary and speed to market is what counts.
A direct regulator licence with solid market recognition and no capital requirements. Every vertical under one permit and hosting placed freely. A middle ground between offshore and Malta on both cost and standing.
Nevis does not answer every brief. Sometimes the honest call is to go straight for it, sometimes to start with a simpler regime.
Real cases from our practice. Client names and results are published with their consent.
Nevis An operator running a live casino on Curacao wanted to add betting and poker. Under the old permit each vertical meant a separate approval, with no guaranteed turnaround. We costed both routes, extending the existing permit or starting fresh. Extending came out slower and more expensive.
Solution: We went for a B2C licence in Nevis, where all three verticals sit in a single application with no product-by-product sign-off. We declared the main domain plus four sub-domains upfront to avoid paying to add them later. The Compliance Officer and Reporting Officer were in place within a week.
I was braced for another fight over poker, same as last time. Asked on the call when we file the second application. They said there is no second one. Did not believe it, asked them to show me where that is written down. They did. That was the end of it.
Nevis They came in asking for Malta because their content partner had ruled out working with an offshore permit. The project was built, the platform ready, funding in place. The problem was time: Malta means six months minimum, plus capital requirements and a local structure. Launch was slipping into the following year.
Решение: We put Nevis on the table: a government-issued licence granted by the island administration, not a private registrar. We sent the partner an extract from the regulator public register, they checked it and dropped the objection. We were upfront about the downside too: renewal costs the same as the initial grant, with no reduced rate.
What mattered to me first was what the partner would say. Sent him the register link, he looked and said fine, this is not what I meant by offshore. That settled it. They told me about the annual payment straight away, so I built it into the model.
Anjouan A team of three with their own esports betting product and modest traffic so far. They had looked at Nevis, but EUR 28,000 in fees against a model not yet proven at volume was steep for a first round. What they needed was operating status, enough to plug in payments and start reading real numbers.
Solution: We suggested Anjouan. Several times cheaper, no local office or resident director, comparable timeline. Payment providers do recognise it, not as a top-tier jurisdiction, but enough to get started. We agreed to revisit in a year once the volumes are in and decide whether a move makes sense.
We came in asking about Nevis and the first thing they asked was what our turnover looked like. There was not any yet. They said then it is too early, take something simpler. I liked that, to be honest. They could have sold me the expensive one and nobody would have checked.
If your question is not covered here, send us a request and we will look at your situation directly.
Book a consultationThe official CPA application fee is US$40,000. It covers the Commission due diligence and the first annual fee of US$20,000, which is refunded if the authorisation is not granted. From year two onwards the annual fee is US$20,000. The Key Person licence, MIT server hosting, incorporation and our support are billed separately. The standard fee covers up to six domains, with US$500 per year for each one beyond that.
Yes, and this is the defining feature of the jurisdiction. A CPA is not a standalone licence. It is appended to the Interactive Gaming Licence, held since 1999 by a single company, Mohawk Internet Technologies. As a result, all game servers and player databases sit at that facility within the Mohawk Territory. The regulations permit no alternative hosting, and it is a separate monthly cost.
The Commission decision comes 4-8 weeks after the complete package is accepted. A preliminary authorisation is then issued for six months, during which the site is audited and the control systems reviewed. After that the authorisation becomes permanent. End to end the process runs to around six months. In practice the timeline hinges less on the Commission and more on how quickly the beneficial owner file comes together.
No. There is no requirement to incorporate in Canada or in Kahnawake itself. We set the company up in whichever jurisdiction suits your payment setup and ownership structure, and the authorisation is issued to that entity. No office or resident directors are needed, and no physical staff presence is required within the Territory. The only mandatory local element is server hosting at the MIT facility.
Every director and every owner holding 10% or more goes through vetting. The Commission assesses character, honesty, integrity, criminal history, civil litigation history, credit background and professional references, along with personal and business associations. The Key Person, meaning the individual making decisions about the operation, is licensed separately. Source of wealth and source of funds must be evidenced for each person reviewed.
The Commission maintains a list of prohibited territories, blocked at GEO-IP level with no exemptions. It covers the US, the home provinces of Canada, several countries with strict online gambling regimes, the FATF grey and black lists and sanctioned jurisdictions. For all other markets the Commission places the legality check on the operator, and any regulated market requires either a local licence or full blocking. Geo-blocking is a condition of the authorisation, and circumventing it can lead to suspension.
A CPA covers casino, betting, poker, lottery, slot and bingo in one application, with no separate filing per vertical. Live dealer studios fall under a separate LDSA, which is submitted alongside the CPA. Platform and content suppliers hold their own CSPA, which operators do not need.
The authorisation runs for one year and renews at US$20,000 annually. The Key Person licence renews separately, as do any domains beyond the standard six. You must maintain the data centre agreement, keep the approved control system configuration in place, run AML and KYC procedures, provide a self-exclusion programme and a dispute resolution route, and update geo-blocking in line with FATF list changes. The Commission carries out periodic audits.
The Commission sets no fixed share capital figure. Instead it assesses financial standing. You need to evidence funds sufficient to launch and sustain the operation, present a business plan with projections and disclose the origin of the capital. In practice the Commission is looking at whether the operator can meet obligations to players and cover running costs, hosting and annual fees included.
There is no GGR tax and no gaming duty in the jurisdiction, and the corporation tax rate is 0%. The Commission funds its supervision through fixed fees alone. Tax obligations arise where the company is registered and where management is actually located, so the tax position follows the jurisdiction of incorporation rather than the place of authorisation. We work through this separately when structuring the setup.
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