Obtaining an online casino license in Costa Rica

Costa Rica is one of the most popular gaming jurisdiction. It is a unique country: there is no online casino control system, and gambling business develops successfully. Let’s get into the features and advantages of Costa Rica gambling solution. 

Costa Rica as gaming jurisdiction

The jurisdiction uniqueness lies in the legislation gaps: organization and management of gambling activity are not prohibited in Costa Rica, and there is no law to regulate licensing and online gambling. Since there is gaming legislation and regulator, iGaming projects operate on the basis of The Data Processing authorization issued by municipalities. This formal permit status enables operators to process internet betting.

In Costa Rica, there are no requirements for the local office or local employees, and servers with the site can be located in any place on the planet. However, there exist particular limitations:

• citizens of Costa Rica, sanctions countries, and countries where online casinos are prohibited (Japan, the USA, Canada) cannot obtain the license;
• operators are not allowed to process transactions in Costa Rica banks;
• the betting from Costa Rica residents is not allowed, therefore local IP addresses must be blocked when launching the site.

The jurisdiction is famous for its loyal attitude and the lack of control over gambling operators, but such business may face particular difficulties.  Costa Rica follows the AML rules, however not being the member of The Hague convention. It causes difficulties when legalizing corporate document and opening of company accounts (e.g. merchant account connection).

Costa Rica jurisdiction advantages

Costa Rica gaming license is a great solution for beginning iGaming projects planning to work in the legal fiend. It has the following advantages:

• enables the provision of gambling services outside Costa Rica and work with counterparts from EU and USA;
• permits payments and deposits in cryptocurrency;
• favorable tax regime (no taxes on the income obtained outside the country);
• can be used as a start for company development and other gaming licenses obtaining;
• provides for rapid registration process (from 3 to 4 weeks);
• requires minimal package of documents;
• project price in Costa Rica, its service, and renewal for the next year are lower than the cost of licensed gambling projects in other jurisdictions;
• license covers virtual poker rooms, online bingo, lotteries, bitcoin casino games, sports betting;
• absence of requirements for gaming software testing, business plan, minimal size of charter capital, provision of gains and losses plan;
• absence of audit, financial and accounting reports.

How to get gaming license for Costa Rica online casinos 

Documents required

When preparing the company to get registered in Costa Rica, you are to choose three name options in order of priority, describe organization structure, outline the size of charter capital and nominal value of shares. Also, a package of documents for individuals-shareholders, beneficiaries, and CEOs is required, including:

• a copy of international passport;
• confirm residential address (water and electricity accounts, stationary telephone or cable TV, bank statement or official correspondence);
• recommendation letters from bank, as well as from lawyer, accountant or banker;
• CV;
• passed ID verification;
• shareholders or beneficiaries must issue a declaration on the source of funds.

Documents issued within the last 3 months or their copies must be filed in English or with notarized translation. 

Legal entities–shareholders must have the following certified copies:

• certificate of registration of a legal entity;
• memorandum, charter, or another similar document;
• shareholders and CEOs’ registers over the last 3 months, signed by a CEO;
• Certificate of incumbency and Certificate of Good Standing (dated over last 3 months);
• all the documents for shareholders and CEO of a legal entity indicated above.

Costa Rica gaming licensing process:

• documents preparation and verification to file the application for registration;
• company registration with identification  of activity connected with online gambling;
• opening of a bank account;
• payment of the state fee;
• submission of an application and documents to the municipality;
• licensing and project launch.

Costa Rica gaming license price

The price of the Costa Rica online casino license depends on the services provided to the licensee: company registration and consulting connected with it, policy development for the site, Certificate of Incumbency, connection of payment solutions.

Obtain gaming license with SBSB

If you are interested in Costa Rica gambling license, the SBSB lawyers will help to register the company. We are ready to take up the licensing process, thus providing turnkey services. The SBSB specialists launch gambling projects worldwide with complete legal support before and after license obtaining.