Antigua and Barbuda's regulator lists 4 active online licence holders, and 3 of their licence dates had run out by 5 November 2026.[1]
The regulator is the Financial Services Regulatory Commission, through its Division of Gaming. The country began licensing online casinos and sportsbooks in 1994, mostly for players abroad[10].
Here is the answer by product:
- Online casino — licensed, under an interactive gaming licence[8].
- Poker — licensed. The same licence covers games against another player, peer to peer[8].
- Sports betting — licensed online, under an interactive wagering licence. Only 1 of the 4 listed companies holds one[1].
- Land-based casinos and gaming machines — licensed, and taxed under the Gambling Act[5].
- Lottery — run by commercial lottery licensees, and taxed on sales under the same Act[5].
Map status
Scored on online casino, and Antigua and Barbuda licenses it.
The Financial Services Regulatory Commission grants an interactive gaming licence for casino games, including poker between players[8]. A separate interactive wagering licence covers sports betting. Only a company incorporated in Antigua and Barbuda can hold either[11].
The answer depends on who is asking:
- For a company based there and serving players abroad, this is the licence the system was built for. The Commission calls it the offshore gaming industry[10]. Company law has counted interactive gaming as international trade since 2007[9]. The licence says nothing about the law where a player lives.
- For a player in Antigua and Barbuda, the Gambling Act of 2016 prohibits all gambling it does not authorise[5]. Since 30 September 2019 the online rules count as regulations under that Act[7]. We found no rule that lets a licence holder take bets from people on the islands, and none that forbids it.
Land-based casinos, gaming machines and the commercial lottery are licensed, and taxed under the same Act. We found no notice bringing the Act's licensing chapters into force[6]. Those answers rest on its tax schedule and on regulations made since.
The detail, section by section
The Commission's licensee page has one list, headed Active Licenses, with 4 company names[1]. Each opens a page with the licence type and a valid-until date.
On 5 November 2026, 3 of those 4 dates were in the past. The oldest, 1 January 2026, belongs to the only company licensed for sports betting. Only 1 date runs into 2027.
Each page still calls the seal valid. Only 2 of them give a web address.
The page also describes a second list, of companies falsely claiming an Antiguan licence[1]. No such list appears on it.
We found one enforcement notice on the Commission's site. In June 2016 it said a company was no longer licensed, because it had not complied[3]. The Commission's news page carries no gaming notices at all.
A licensed site should show the Antigua Gaming Preferential Seal. Clicking it should open a page on the Commission's site saying the seal is valid[2]. A fake seal should lead to a page saying it is invalid.
According to the Commission, the seal also means the company has its headquarters and main server in Antigua and Barbuda[2].
The page a seal opens is one of the licensee pages above, with the same lapsed dates.
The Gambling Act, 2016 has 456 sections in 20 chapters[5]. Its starting point is plain: all gambling is prohibited and illegal unless the Act authorises it.
Only 8 of the 20 chapters are in force. A notice brought in 7 of them from 1 April 2017[6]. They cover the new authority, the ban, responsible gambling, penalties, taxes, offences and regulations.
Chapter 20 followed on 30 September 2019[7]. It moved the online rules under the Act and repealed the old Betting and Gaming Act.
We found no notice for the chapters that license resort casinos, local gambling providers, betting shops or commercial lotteries. Regulations for lotteries were made in 2020 all the same.
The Act also set up a Gambling Authority of Antigua and Barbuda to regulate all gambling, online included[5]. The government's own list of statutory bodies does not include it. The Commission still issues and lists the online licences, and its gaming page does not mention the 2016 Act[10].
Promoting gambling from inside Antigua and Barbuda can be a crime. A person in the country may not publish material offering bets or betting advice[5]. The rule covers sporting events, betting odds and unlawful games, by any means of communication.
A second rule bans sending any letter, email or notice that invites a person to place a bet[5]. Licensed operators, and anyone the Authority approves in writing, are exempt.
Breaking either rule can cost a fine of up to 100,000 dollars or 2 years in prison. A repeat of the publishing offence can be tried on indictment, with up to 500,000 dollars or 5 years[5].
The publishing rule names a person in Antigua and Barbuda, so it does not reach a publisher abroad. The email rule names no place, and nothing in the Act stretches it beyond the country. We found no prosecution under either.
Licence holders have rules of their own. They may advertise only the games they are licensed for, and their adverts may not mislead or target minors[8].
Promoting an unlicensed operator is an offence
Section 386: on summary conviction a fine of up to one hundred thousand dollars or 2 years in prison, or both. A repeat of the section 417 offence may be tried on indictment: up to five hundred thousand dollars or 5 years.
Licensing states nearby differ mostly in how far their advertising rules reach:
- Curaçao licenses online casino, sports betting, poker, lottery and land-based gambling. Its advertising rules are a licence matter that does not reach operators abroad.
- Dominican Republic licenses all 5 of those products. Promoting gambling there is an offence that does not reach operators abroad, the same reading as ours.
- Panama licenses online casino, poker, sports betting and land-based gambling, and keeps the lottery a state monopoly. Its promotion offence does reach operators abroad.
- Click the seal on the site. It should open a page on the Commission's own site, fsrc.gov.ag[2].
- Read the licence type and valid-until date there. If the date is in the past, ask the Commission whether the licence was renewed.
- Check the company name against the Active Licenses list[1].
- To stop playing at a site, ask it to exclude you. You cannot be reinstated for 6 months[8].
- For a casino or gaming venue on the islands, you can bar yourself for up to 6 months at a time[4].
- If something goes wrong, complain to the operator first. You can also write or email to the Commission, which must look into it or refer it to the operator[8]. Its telephone number is 268-481-3300[10].
Financial Services Regulatory Commission - the statutory regulator of Antigua and Barbuda's financial services. Its Division of Gaming, which calls itself the Directorate of Offshore Gaming, licenses and supervises interactive gaming and interactive wagering companies. The Gambling Act, 2016 creates a separate Gambling Authority of Antigua and Barbuda for all gambling, and the chapter setting it up has been in force since 1 April 2017. We found no published sign that the Authority has been set up in practice, and the Commission still issues and lists the online licences.
- [1]Licensee register Licensees - the Financial Services Regulatory Commission's list of online gaming licence holders ↗
The Commission's public list of interactive gaming and interactive wagering licence holders. On 5 November 2026 it named 4 companies under Active Licenses. Each name opens a page with the company's address, licence type and a date the licence is valid until. It does not cover land-based casinos, gaming machines or the lottery, and it holds no list of sites falsely claiming a licence, although its introduction promises one.
An ordinary page on the Commission's website, with no login. The list is 4 links in a box headed Active Licenses, with no search, no licence numbers and no date showing when it was last updated. The text above it points to a menu on the left with a second list, and no such menu or list appears.
- [2]Check a domain Official Seal - how to check the Antigua Gaming Preferential Seal on a website ↗
What the Antigua Gaming Preferential Seal certifies and how to check it. It is meant to show that a company's main shareholders met due diligence requirements, that its game software meets fairness standards, and that its headquarters and main server are in Antigua and Barbuda. Clicking a valid seal should open a confirmation page on the Commission's site. The page does not list which sites carry a seal.
A short text page with no login and no search box. The check works only from the seal on the site itself. The confirmation pages it leads to are the same 4 licensee pages, each showing a company, a licence type and a date. Only 2 of those pages name a web address.
- [3]Penalties and sanctions Regulatory Notice – Gaming Ventures Ltd - a 2016 notice from the Commission's Division of Gaming ↗
A one-page notice telling the public that a company and its 2 sites were no longer licensed for interactive gaming and wagering from 16 June 2016, because of non-compliance. It also warns players against sites that do not display a licence. It is the only gaming enforcement notice we found on the Commission's site, and no register of sanctions exists beside it.
A one-page PDF with a text layer, linked as read more from the Commission's home page rather than from its gaming pages. There is no list of enforcement actions and no archive of notices. The Commission's news page lists banking, insurance and digital asset notices, and none about gaming.
- [4]Self-exclusion scheme DOMESTIC GAMING DOWNLOADS - the Commission's library of documents for land-based gambling, with the exclusion guidelines and form ↗ open the document ↗
11 documents for gambling on the islands: the Gambling Act as a scan, its 2017 amendment, slides from a 2017 sector meeting, draft regulations for gaming machines, resort casinos, monitoring and lotteries, a code of conduct, the fee schedule, and the exclusion guidelines and form. The guidelines let a person bar themselves from one venue or all licensed venues for up to 6 months. They do not cover websites.
A plain list of PDF links with no dates beside them. The regulations posted there are drafts: 2 carry a blank 2017 statutory instrument number, and the resort casino fees sit in square brackets. The exclusion guidelines name the Antigua and Barbuda Gambling Authority, at the Commission's own address, as the body to contact.
- [5]The law Gambling Act, 2016 - No. 22 of 2016, the Act that governs all gambling in Antigua and Barbuda ↗
The whole Act: 456 sections in 20 chapters. It sets up the Gambling Authority of Antigua and Barbuda, prohibits all gambling it does not authorise, licenses resort casinos, local gambling providers, betting providers and commercial lotteries, and creates offences of unlawful gambling, promoting it and publishing betting information. Chapter 20 moves the online regulations under the Act. It does not say which chapters are in force.
A 268-page PDF of the printed Act with a text layer, so it can be searched. It is free on the Ministry of Legal Affairs' laws website, listed under G. Commencement is set by separate ministerial notices on the same site. The copy on the Commission's site is a 268-page scan with no text layer.
- [6]The law Notice by the Minister Under Section 2 of the Gambling Act, 2016 - Statutory Instrument 2018 No. 7, the main commencement notice ↗
The notice, made on 27 February 2018, that brought sections 1 to 3 and Chapters 1, 2, 14, 16, 17, 18 and 19 of the Gambling Act into force from 1 April 2017. It replaced a December 2017 notice, revoked the same day, which had also named the chapters licensing resort casinos, local gambling providers, betting providers and commercial lotteries. Those chapters are not in this one.
A 3-page PDF with a text layer, in the statutory instruments section of the laws website, where the year is picked from a drop-down menu. The revoking regulations sit beside it as Statutory Instrument 2018 No. 6, and the revoked notice under 2017 as No. 86.
- [7]The law Notice by the Minister Under Section 2 of the Gambling Act, 2016 - Statutory Instrument 2019 No. 50, bringing Chapter 20 into force ↗
The notice that brought Chapter 20 of the Gambling Act into force on 30 September 2019. That chapter repeals the Betting and Gaming Act, makes the Interactive Gaming and Interactive Wagering Regulations 2007 count as regulations under the Gambling Act, and carries earlier licences and decisions over. It names no other chapter.
A 3-page PDF with a text layer, under 2019 in the statutory instruments section of the laws website. It is the last gambling commencement notice we found there. The lists for 2020 to 2026 hold none, only the 2020 regulations on lotteries, trade lotteries and community gaming.
- [8]The law Gaming Lesiglation - the Commission's library of online gaming rules, with the Interactive Gaming and Interactive Wagering Regulations ↗ open the document ↗
The Commission's library for online licence holders: the Interactive Gaming and Interactive Wagering Regulations, guidelines on control systems and accounting, 2006 directives, anti-money-laundering texts and reporting forms. The Regulations define interactive gaming and wagering and set the licence process, player checks, self-exclusion, advertising and complaints rules. We found nothing in them about players in Antigua and Barbuda.
The page heading is misspelt as shown. The Regulations open as a 140-page PDF with a text layer: the 2007 text as made, with a consultant's name in every page header. The gazetted version and 2 of its 3 amendments, on the laws website, are scans with no text layer, so we quote the Commission's copy.
- [9]The law International Business Corporations (Amendment) Act, 2007 No. 10 Of 2007, The - the amendment that made interactive gaming an international business ↗
The 2007 amendment to the International Business Corporations Act. Its section 2 makes any business related to interactive gaming or interactive wagering an international trading activity under the Act, and its explanatory note says so in plain words. It also brings the Director of Gaming into the Act. It does not say whether a licence holder may serve players in Antigua and Barbuda.
A 17-page PDF with a text layer, on the laws website under I. The principal Act it amends is posted there as an older scanned revision whose text layer has recognition errors, so we quote only the amendment.
- [10]The regulator Directorate of Offshore Gaming - the gaming page of the Financial Services Regulatory Commission ↗
The Commission's own description of its Division of Gaming, which oversees what it calls the offshore gaming industry. It says the country began licensing interactive gaming and wagering companies in 1994, names the company law and the online regulations as the framework, and links the licensee list, the seal, the rules and the domestic gaming files. It does not mention the Gambling Act, 2016.
A plain page with no login, and the hub for most of the sources here. Contact is by post or telephone on 268-481-3300. The email addresses for the Director and for complaints are hidden by a script and show only as a notice that JavaScript is needed.
- [11]The regulator Licensing Application - how the Commission licenses interactive gaming and wagering companies ↗ open the document ↗
The application route for an interactive gaming or interactive wagering licence: 5 application schedules and the Licensing Guidelines. The guidelines require the applicant to be a company incorporated in Antigua and Barbuda and set the fees: US$15,000 for due diligence, US$100,000 a year for a gaming licence and US$75,000 a year for a wagering licence. They do not say who holds a licence.
The guidelines are an 8-page PDF with a text layer and no date on their face. They still give the Commission's address at an older building and a website that no longer answers. A consultant's name appears in the page headers. The 5 schedules are separate PDF forms.
Each statement below is what the official source says, with the date we last opened it.
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The Commission's list of online licence holders named 4 companies under Active Licenses when we read it on 5 November 2026. The page defines them as companies licensed for interactive gaming, interactive wagering or both that are still active and operating under the jurisdiction.
Licensees - Financial Services Regulatory Commission ↗ (English) checked Nov 5, 2026
Active Licensees refer to companies that have been issued licenses by the Division of Gaming to perform interactive wagering, interactive gaming or both and that are still active and currently operating under the jurisdiction of Antigua and Barbuda.
Licensees - Financial Services Regulatory Commission · English -
The same page says its listing has 2 categories, and describes the second as companies falsely claiming to be licensed in Antigua and Barbuda. No such list appears on the page, and no menu on it leads to one.
Licensees - Financial Services Regulatory Commission ↗ (English) checked Nov 5, 2026
Non-Licensees refer to companies who are not currently licensed by the jurisdiction of Antigua and Barbuda to perfom interactive wagering, interactive gaming or both, but have been fruadulently purporting to be licensed by the jurisdiction.
Licensees - Financial Services Regulatory Commission · English -
The only listed company licensed for interactive wagering, which covers sports betting, is shown as licensed until 1 January 2026. On 5 November 2026, 3 of the 4 licensee pages showed a date already in the past, and only 1 ran into 2027.
Licensees - Financial Services Regulatory Commission ↗ (English) checked Nov 5, 2026
License Type Interactive Gaming & Interactive Wagering License Valid Until Wednesday, 1st January, 2026
Licensees - Financial Services Regulatory Commission · English -
The Commission's check for a website is the Antigua Gaming Preferential Seal. Clicking a valid seal on a licensed site should open a page on the Commission's site confirming it, and an invalid seal should open a page saying so, with contact details to report it.
Official Seal - Financial Services Regulatory Commission ↗ (English) checked Nov 5, 2026
Any site displaying the "Preferential Seal" can be validated by clicking on the image of the seal that is found the site. Clicking on a valid seal will take you to a webpage that states the seal is valid and displays basic information about the company whose seal was clicked. Clicking on an invalid seal will take you to a page stating the seal is invalid and will provide you with contact information so that you may report this offence.
Official Seal - Financial Services Regulatory Commission · English -
The seal is meant to certify more than a licence. According to the Commission, a site carrying it belongs to a company whose corporate headquarters and main server are in Antigua and Barbuda.
Official Seal - Financial Services Regulatory Commission ↗ (English) checked Nov 5, 2026
The Company has its physical corporate headquarters and primary server in Antigua and Barbuda.
Official Seal - Financial Services Regulatory Commission · English -
The one gaming enforcement notice we found on the Commission's site dates from 2016. It announced that a company was no longer licensed for interactive gaming and wagering from 16 June 2016, because it had not complied.
Regulatory Notice – Gaming Ventures Ltd ↗ (English) checked Nov 5, 2026
is no longer licenced to conduct interactive gaming and interactive wagering within the jurisdiction of Antigua and Barbuda effective June 16th, 2016 due to non-compliance.
Regulatory Notice – Gaming Ventures Ltd · English -
The same notice warns the public not to bet with gaming sites that do not display a licence from their licensing authority.
Regulatory Notice – Gaming Ventures Ltd ↗ (English) checked Nov 5, 2026
The Commission further advises the internet community against placing wagers with gaming sites which do not display their licence from their licensing authority.
Regulatory Notice – Gaming Ventures Ltd · English -
A self-exclusion notice for gambling venues on the islands lasts up to 6 months. After that it can be renewed with a new notice, or the agreement not to gamble can end.
Exclusion Guidelines ↗ (English) checked Nov 5, 2026
Each Exclusion Notice can last for a period of up to six months. After that it can either be renewed by completing another Exclusion Notice, or the agreement not to gamble can be ended.
Exclusion Guidelines · English -
The Gambling Act, 2016 starts from a ban. Section 41 makes all gambling prohibited and illegal unless the Act authorises it and it complies with the Act, the regulations and any licence, game rules and standards.
The Gambling Act, 2016, section 41 ↗ (English) checked Nov 5, 2026
All gambling is prohibited and illegal unless it is authorised by or under this Act and complies with this Act, the regulations, and any relevant licence, game rules, and standards.
The Gambling Act, 2016, section 41 · English -
Section 417 bars a person in Antigua and Barbuda from publishing betting information or advice, on events, odds or an unlawful game, that holds anyone out as ready to take bets or give tips. The rule is drawn around people in the country.
The Gambling Act, 2016, section 417 ↗ (English) checked Nov 5, 2026
A person in Antigua and Barbuda must not publish or disseminate, or cause to be published or disseminated, any information or advice in any form or by any method of communication— (a) as to betting on an intended racing, sporting or other event, whether conducted in Antigua and Barbuda or elsewhere; (b) as to betting odds in connection with any such racing, sporting or other event; or (c) as to an unlawful game;
The Gambling Act, 2016, section 417 · English -
Only part of the Gambling Act is in force. A ministerial notice made in February 2018 brought sections 1 to 3 and Chapters 1, 2, 14, 16, 17, 18 and 19 into force from 1 April 2017. The chapters that license casinos, betting and lotteries are not among them.
Notice by the Minister under section 2 of the Gambling Act, 2016 - Statutory Instrument 2018, No. 7 ↗ (English) checked Nov 5, 2026
hereby appoint the 1st day of April, 2017 as the date on which sections 1, 2 and 3 and Chapters 1, 2, 14, 16, 17, 18 and 19 of the Gambling Act were brought into force.
Notice by the Minister under section 2 of the Gambling Act, 2016 - Statutory Instrument 2018, No. 7 · English -
Chapter 20 of the Gambling Act came into force on 30 September 2019. It is the chapter that repeals the Betting and Gaming Act and makes the online regulations count as regulations under the Gambling Act.
Notice by the Minister under section 2 of the Gambling Act, 2016 - Statutory Instrument 2019, No. 50 ↗ (English) checked Nov 5, 2026
hereby appoint the 30th day of September, 2019 as the date on which Chapter 20 of the Gambling Act, 2016 comes into force
Notice by the Minister under section 2 of the Gambling Act, 2016 - Statutory Instrument 2019, No. 50 · English -
The interactive gaming licence covers games played against the licence holder as the bank, and games played against another player, peer to peer. Poker between players therefore falls under the same licence as casino games.
Interactive Gaming and Interactive Wagering Regulations 2007, regulation 2 ↗ (English) checked Nov 5, 2026
an agreement, scheme or arrangement where a player usually plays against the interactive gaming or interactive wagering licence holder acting as a bank or against another player such as peer to peer;
Interactive Gaming and Interactive Wagering Regulations 2007, regulation 2 · English -
Licence holders may advertise only the games they are licensed to offer. The online regulations make them responsible for that advertising and bar adverts that are indecent, false, misleading or aimed at minors.
Interactive Gaming and Interactive Wagering Regulations 2007, regulation 209 ↗ (English) checked Nov 5, 2026
A licence holder must not advertise an interactive game, or authorize the advertising of an interactive game, unless the game is an authorized game.
Interactive Gaming and Interactive Wagering Regulations 2007, regulation 209 · English -
Since 2007 the International Business Corporations Act has treated interactive gaming and wagering as international trade. The amending Act's own explanatory note says it adds them to the services that make up international trade.
The International Business Corporations (Amendment) Act, 2007 - objects and reasons ↗ (English) checked Nov 5, 2026
Clause 2 would expand the services that constitute international trade by adding to the services interactive gaming and interactive wagering activity as well as business providing services to persons participating in such activities.
The International Business Corporations (Amendment) Act, 2007 - objects and reasons · English -
The Commission's Division of Gaming describes itself as the body overseeing all aspects of what it calls the offshore gaming industry. It says Antigua and Barbuda was one of the first places to license interactive gaming and wagering companies, in 1994.
Directorate of Offshore Gaming - Financial Services Regulatory Commission ↗ (English) checked Nov 5, 2026
The Division of Gaming is the regulatory body under the Financial Services Regulatory Commission (FSRC) responsible for the oversight of all aspects of the Offshore Gaming industry in the jurisdiction of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Barbuda was one of the first jurisdictions to license interactive gaming and wagering companies in 1994.
Directorate of Offshore Gaming - Financial Services Regulatory Commission · English -
The Commission's gaming page names the International Business Corporations Act and the online regulations as the legal framework. It does not mention the Gambling Act, 2016, under which those regulations have counted since 30 September 2019.
Directorate of Offshore Gaming - Financial Services Regulatory Commission ↗ (English) checked Nov 5, 2026
The regulatory framework for these companies has been provided in the International Business Corporations (IBC) Act and the Interactive Gaming and Interactive Wagering Regulations (IGIWR).
Directorate of Offshore Gaming - Financial Services Regulatory Commission · English -
An interactive gaming licence costs US$100,000 a year under the Commission's licensing guidelines, and an interactive wagering licence US$75,000. Every applicant first pays US$15,000, not refundable, for due diligence.
Licensing Guidelines - Financial Services Regulatory Commission, Directorate of Offshore Gaming ↗ (English) checked Nov 5, 2026
Due Diligence (as stipulated above in section 4.1) $15,000.00 US dollars (non-refundable) Interactive Gaming Licence Fee $100,000.00US dollars (per annum) Interactive Wagering Licence Fee Annual Renewal fee for each Licence $75,000.00US dollars (per annum) $5,000.00US dollars (non-refundable)
Licensing Guidelines - Financial Services Regulatory Commission, Directorate of Offshore Gaming · English -
The government's list of statutory bodies includes the Financial Services Regulatory Commission. It does not include the Gambling Authority of Antigua and Barbuda, which the Gambling Act set up in a chapter in force since 1 April 2017.
List of Statutory Bodies - Government of Antigua and Barbuda ↗ (English) checked Nov 5, 2026
Financial Services Regualtory Commission (FSRC)
List of Statutory Bodies - Government of Antigua and Barbuda · English -
The Gambling Act taxes gaming machines at 8% of player loss, paid monthly, under the tax schedule substituted in 2017. The same schedule sets 8% for gaming tables and for betting providers' gross revenue.
The Gambling (Amendment) Act, 2017, Schedule 1 ↗ (English) checked Nov 5, 2026
Gaming Machine Tax 8% of player loss, payable per calendar month and due within 7 days following the end of each calendar month.
The Gambling (Amendment) Act, 2017, Schedule 1 · English -
Regulations made in 2020 govern commercial lottery licensees, who must make rules for each lottery product their licence authorises. They were made under the lottery chapter of the Act, for which we found no commencement notice.
The Gambling Act (Lotteries, Trade Lotteries and Community Gaming) Regulations, 2020, regulation 5 ↗ (English) checked Nov 5, 2026
(1) A commercial lottery licensee shall make rules for or with respect to the conduct of each commercial lottery product authorised by the commercial lottery licence.
The Gambling Act (Lotteries, Trade Lotteries and Community Gaming) Regulations, 2020, regulation 5 · English
Oldest source check on this page: Nov 5, 2026