Antigua and Barbuda are a small group of islands in the Caribbean; former
British colonies they are members of the British Commonwealth and have very
close ties to the United Kingdom but are completely independent and
self-governing.
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The islands are able to make their own laws and impose their own taxation and
Antigua is noteworthy for being the jurisdiction which took the United States to
the World Trade Organisation (WTO) for its behavior in establishing a unilateral
ban on online gaming with players from the United States and the ancillary
anti-competitive legislation enacted in connection with the processing of credit
card payments for remote gaming players situate in the US. This tiny
jurisdiction obtained a straight forward ruling that the United States was
acting in violation of the WTO agreements in place. After much diplomatic and
international litigation resulting in repeated judgments in favour of Antigua as
well as financial reparations laid against the United States, the dispute looks
like it is likely to be settled with the US instituting legislation to comply
with the trade agreements it has committed itself to.
The regulatory and licensing body responsible in Antigua and Barbuda is the
department established within the Financial Services Regulatory Commission (FSRC)
and is known as the Division of Gaming. The FSRC Gaming Division is
directly responsible for overseeing the issuance of two types of license - one
for interactive gaming, which includes online casinos and poker playing, and the
second if for interactive wagering which includes sports betting.
The applicant operator must pay an initial USD $10,000 deposit which is
non-refundable for due diligence and compliance background checks with an
additional USD $1,000 per key person on the application. In addition there are
annual license fees which vary depending on which license and key person is
involved. Interactive gaming licenses incur an annual USD $75,000 fee and
interactive wagering licenses incur a fee of USD $50,000 while key person
licenses incur a first year fee of USD $1,000 with a subsequent renewal fee of
USD $250 per person. In addition, online gaming and sports betting operators
incur an annual USD $5,000 which may be increased if investigative and
supervisory costs are in excess of that charge.
The jurisdiction of Antigua and Barbuda is also included on the UK Gambling
Commission's White List and after the relatively recent legislative changes,
Antigua was one of only three non-European Economic Association countries (Isle
of Man and Tasmania being the other two but others have since joined and
applications are pending) to continue being able to have its operators market
and promote their business in the United Kingdom to players here. The inclusion
on the UK's White List is a demonstration of the high standards of regulatory
enforcement and compliance and standards of consumer protection that operators
adhere to in the jurisdiction. The online gaming and gambling sector in the
jurisdiction forms a major part of the economy of this tiny island community and
the authorities are eager to protect their revenues by ensuring high standards.
