Anjouan vs Kahnawake Gaming License
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Compare Anjouan and Kahnawake by the approval your business needs, where its platform runs and the markets it plans to serve. Kahnawake issues separate approvals for operators, for the hosting facility and for software suppliers. Anjouan publishes B2C and B2B licence categories and keeps a separate register of recognised suppliers. Neither licence on its own gives you permission to serve players in every country.
Research checked: 30 September 2026. Kahnawake fees change on 1 January 2027, so budget by the date you will submit a complete application.
Which approval fits the business activity?
In both jurisdictions, a player-facing operator needs a different approval from a software supplier. In Kahnawake, operators apply for a Client Provider Authorization (CPA) and software suppliers for a Casino Software Provider Authorization (CSPA). In Anjouan, the same split runs through the B2C and B2B licence categories.
Activity | Anjouan starting point | Kahnawake starting point | Evidence needed |
|---|---|---|---|
Contract with players and operate online gaming | B2C licence and conditions | Client Provider Authorization (CPA) | Applying entity, products and operating duties |
Supply gaming software | B2B scope or separate supplier recognition | Casino Software Provider Authorization (CSPA), where applicable | What the software does and who the customers are |
Host the licensed operation | Technical set-up checked against licence conditions | Relationship with the Interactive Gaming Licence holder and required hosting arrangements | System diagram and the hosting provider's confirmation |
Hold a key person role | Review of the relevant individuals | Key Person Permit; the KGC permit-holders page calls it a Key Person Licence (KPL) | Who counts as a key person under current rules |
Run a live-dealer studio | Separate scope review | Live Dealer Studio Authorization (LDSA), where applicable | Studio and activity approval |
Sources: Anjouan licence types and KGC permit categories.
The KGC permit-holders page names Mohawk Internet Technologies as the holder of the Interactive Gaming Licence (IGL). That licence covers the hosting facility. An online casino does not buy it; it applies for a CPA. For Anjouan supplier questions, see the full B2B and recognition routes.
How can hosting change the decision?
Hosting can decide the choice on its own. KGC's interactive-gaming overview requires online operators to be hosted at Mohawk Internet Technologies within the Territory. Continent 8 manages the facility. Confirm how that rule applies to your whole system before you sign a platform contract.
Ask the platform and hosting teams to document:
Which components process player accounts, game events and payments.
Where each component and its backups will run.
Which third parties operate or administer those components.
Which arrangements require regulatory approval or confirmation.
What a migration would require if the existing architecture does not fit.
For Anjouan, check the architecture against the licence conditions and your own approval. Anjouan's summary pages carry no equivalent hosting statement, but that silence does not make every set-up acceptable.
If you are already tied to a hosting contract that does not fit, solve that first. Fees and launch dates come second.
Worked architecture decision
Say an operator runs its account platform in a cloud outside Kahnawake and plans to host only a landing page in the Territory. KGC's hosting statement does not say this set-up qualifies. Send the real gambling-system diagram to KGC and the hosting provider before you call it compliant.
Component in the proposed architecture | Question to settle |
|---|---|
Player account platform and transaction records | Where it must run and who may access it |
Remote game servers supplied by third parties | Whether the integration is allowed and needs a supplier or technical approval |
Public website, content delivery and backups | Which components may stay outside the core hosting environment |
Incident and recovery systems | Which continuity and access set-up KGC accepts |
This checklist does not mean every component must be hosted in one place. If the approved design needs a migration, add that work and the parallel-running cost to the comparison. Check Anjouan's technical acceptance separately.
How should the published fees be compared?
Line up each fee by approval type, period, currency and the date it takes effect. The figures below are published authority fees only.
Fee item | Anjouan | Kahnawake |
|---|---|---|
CPA or licence application | €17,828 licence issuance | USD 35,000 CPA application fee, first year included; USD 40,000 from 1 January 2027 |
Key Person Permit | No per-person fee in the published schedule | USD 5,000 per person, first year included; USD 6,000 from 1 January 2027. Every CPA application needs at least one |
Published charges shown in this comparison | €17,828 licence issuance only; confirm any other applicable charges on application | USD 40,000 (CPA application plus one Key Person Permit); USD 46,000 from 1 January 2027 |
Annual fee | €17,828 renewal | USD 20,000 for the CPA plus USD 1,000 per Key Person Permit, both unchanged in the notice |
Five-year renewal | No matching item in the Anjouan fee table | CPA: USD 5,000 now, excluding due diligence and the annual fee; USD 40,000 from 1 January 2027, annual fee included. Key Person Permit: USD 5,000 now, excluding the annual fee; USD 6,000 from 2027, annual fee included |
Other costs | Corporate, professional, technical and operating costs depend on scope | Hosting, professional, technical and other applicable costs depend on scope |
Sources: Anjouan fees and KGC fee notice dated 13 August 2026. The currencies and charging bases differ, so do not subtract one headline figure from the other.
The KGC notice applies the new schedule to complete applications submitted on or after 1 January 2027. Do not assume an enquiry or an incomplete file sent before that date locks in the old fees. Confirm with KGC how your application and later renewal will be charged.
Budget player liabilities, working capital and operating reserves apart from regulatory fees. For the cost breakdown and MGL packages, see the Anjouan gaming license cost breakdown and ask for a quote for your scope.
Does either licence settle target-market access?
Neither licence gives you access to every market. Check the law of each player country for each product you plan to offer.
A Kahnawake authorisation is not a national permission to offer gambling across Canada, and it does not permit serving the United States. Anjouan's published position on restricted territories under its own law does not override the law of the player's country either.
Use the Anjouan target-market decision framework to organise the questions: local permission, individual conditions, financial-crime controls, partner restrictions and technical enforcement. The same questions work for Kahnawake, but each answer depends on the country in question.
If Tobique, another First Nation regulator in Canada, is on your shortlist, read the Anjouan versus Tobique comparison. Tobique and Kahnawake run separate rules, so check each one on its own.
What evidence should replace reputation claims?
Ask for written evidence from the regulator and your partners instead of relying on reputation rankings. A licence's history does not prove that a given bank will accept your company or that an operator will pay its players.
Claim in a proposal | Evidence to request |
|---|---|
“This licence is accepted by our payment partners” | Written confirmation covering the exact entity, countries and transaction model |
“This provider is fully authorised” | Current approval record, issued document and permitted scope |
“The hosting is compliant” | Architecture review and applicable approvals |
“Launch will take a fixed number of weeks” | Document readiness, authority stages and outstanding dependencies |
“Players have recourse” | Applicable complaint/ADR procedure and the operator's contractual process |
KGC publishes a player complaints route. That proves the route exists, not that a player will get money back.
To check an Anjouan licence, run the licence number, company, domain and status checks. A clean result confirms those records and nothing more.
Which scenarios justify further assessment?
Kahnawake fits when your whole platform can meet its hosting rule. Anjouan fits when your B2C or B2B model matches its licence categories and conditions. Neither wins for every business.
An operator able to meet Kahnawake's hosting rules
Review CPA eligibility, the hosting set-up, Key Person Permits and the applicable fee schedule together. Get market and partner evidence before you make the final choice.
An operator evaluating Anjouan with an established platform
Check the B2C scope, approved domains, operating duties and the approval status of your platform and suppliers. A platform that already works elsewhere still needs its entities and market permissions checked.
A software supplier comparing access to customers
Map what your software does and which approvals your future customers will ask for. A CSPA, a full Anjouan B2B licence and Anjouan supplier recognition are different instruments, even though all three cover B2B work.
A business considering migration
List customer contracts, data, payments, hosting and open liabilities before you assume an approval can move with you. Treat the new route as a separate application and a separate technical project.
Discuss the operating model with MGL
Send your company structure, product scope, hosting diagram and target countries to discuss Anjouan and Kahnawake with MGL. Ask for a review of the requirements, dependencies and open questions for your case.
For Kahnawake specifically, see the Kahnawake Gaming License page.
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