Online gambling in Anjouan (Comoros): regulation, licence and market guide

Is online gambling legal in Anjouan (Comoros)?

Anjouan is one of the three islands of the Union of the Comoros and matters to iGaming as a licensing jurisdiction, not a player market: the Comorian Penal Code prohibits games of chance, and the Anjouan licence itself lists the Comoros as a prohibited market. The Anjouan Offshore Finance Authority, through the Anjouan Gaming Board and its administrator Anjouan Licensing Services Inc., issues a one-year B2C internet gaming licence covering all verticals including crypto gaming, plus a B2B licence for suppliers, under the Computer Gaming Licensing Act 007 of 2005 as cited by the administrator, with no gaming tax and a published fee of roughly EUR 17,000 to 18,000 a year. On 10 December 2025 the Ministry of Finance published a Central Bank communique naming the authority among fictitious structures illegally issuing licences and referring them to prosecutors. The licence's legal validity is therefore contested between the island authority and the Union institutions, and relying on it is a risk each operator weighs with its own counsel.

Restricted: Online gambling is prohibited for operators or licensing is closed; enforcement varies.

Who regulates gambling in Anjouan (Comoros)?

• Anjouan Gaming (Anjouan Offshore Finance Authority / Anjouan Gaming Board), administered by Anjouan Licensing Services Inc. (AOFA / ALSI) — Issues, supervises and revokes internet gaming licences under Anjouan island law and keeps the public licence register
• Banque Centrale des Comores (BCC) — Union central bank; holds exclusive competence over financial licensing and in December 2025 declared the Anjouan offshore authority and its licensees illegal

Anjouan (Comoros) gambling licence: how it works

The Anjouan licence is an export licence: it authorizes an Anjouan-registered company to offer internet gaming to players outside the Comoros, never inside. One B2C licence covers all verticals and expressly accepts cryptocurrency; a B2B licence or recognition certificate has been mandatory for critical suppliers since July 2025. Applicants file corporate documents, KYC on owners and key persons, a business plan naming target markets, AML and responsible gaming policies, and RNG certification for proprietary games; the regulator quotes two to four weeks' processing. Licences run for one year with quarterly compliance reports and a registered local agent, no local office, and a prohibited-market list covering the United States, the United Kingdom, much of Western Europe, Australia and the Comoros itself. The Union government does not recognize the authority: the 10 December 2025 Central Bank communique called it fictitious and confirmed prosecutor referrals.

What an applicant needs

• Anjouan-registered company with a registered local agent; no local office or staff required
• KYC and clean criminal record for every beneficial owner, director and key person, plus a compliance officer
• Business plan with target markets, AML/KYC policy, responsible gaming policy and terms and conditions
• RNG certification for proprietary content; third-party content only from Anjouan B2B licensees or recognized suppliers
• Licence seal, verification link, complaint handling and responsible gaming resources on every site
• Quarterly compliance reports, annual renewal and adherence to the prohibited-market list

Gambling taxes in Anjouan (Comoros)

• Operators: 0% gaming tax and no corporate tax on offshore income under the Anjouan regime; operators are taxed where their holding, payment and management entities sit.
• Players: None imposed by Anjouan; player taxation follows the player's country of residence.
• Also: The zero-tax position rests on island legislation that the Union government and its central bank contest; Anjouan corporate documents are not apostilled, which complicates bank onboarding.

Advertising, player protection, KYC and payments

Advertising

Licensees may not market to residents of prohibited jurisdictions or to minors, must display the licence seal and responsible gaming information, and are barred from misleading promotion; regulators such as France's ANJ state that Anjouan-licensed casinos are illegal in their markets.

Responsible gaming

Licence conditions require an 18+ age gate, self-exclusion and deposit limit tools, responsible gaming resources on every site and a complaint mechanism; the authority publishes a dispute process but is not a player ombudsman.

Identity and age verification

Operators must run the AML and KYC programs they file at application, including customer verification, enhanced due diligence, transaction monitoring and suspicious activity reporting under the Money Laundering (Prevention) Act 008 of 2005 as cited by the administrator; failure is a stated ground for suspension.

Payments

Cryptocurrency deposits and payouts are expressly permitted, and most Anjouan-licensed brands rely on crypto gateways and electronic money institutions because tier-one banks routinely decline Anjouan-licensed entities, a risk that grew after the December 2025 communique. No payment rails exist for Comorian residents.

Notable restrictions

• Gambling is prohibited for the Comorian public; the Comoros, including Anjouan, is on the licence's prohibited-market list
• Prohibited markets also include the United States, the United Kingdom, much of Western Europe and Australia
• B2B suppliers must hold an Anjouan B2B licence or recognition certificate since July 2025
• The Central Bank of the Comoros declared the licensing authority fictitious in December 2025
• Documents are not apostilled and tier-one banking access is limited

Anjouan (Comoros) iGaming market: size, players and payments

No domestic market: gambling is prohibited for the Comorian public. Licensing agents and law firms reported roughly 1,400 companies on the Anjouan register by mid-2026.

As a jurisdiction, Anjouan competes with Curaçao, Kahnawake and Tobique for cost-sensitive and crypto-led operators; suppliers such as Relax Gaming took Anjouan B2B licences in late 2025.

Timeline: how Anjouan (Comoros) got here

1. 1995Comorian Penal Code prohibits games of chance and unauthorized gaming houses (articles 386 and 387)
2. 2001New Union constitution ends the Anjouan secession crisis and grants island autonomy
3. 2005Anjouan enacts offshore finance and gaming laws including the Computer Gaming Licensing Act 007 of 2005
4. 2023-05Central Bank of the Comoros warns the public about illegal offshore banking activity; ALSI portal launched
5. 2024-05Mutual evaluation report of the Comoros, published through the FATF network, records AML supervisory and beneficial-ownership gaps
6. 2025-07Mandatory B2B licensing or recognition for critical suppliers, with compliance required by 30 September 2025
7. 2025-12Ministry of Finance publishes Central Bank communique naming the Anjouan Offshore Finance Authority a fictitious structure, with prosecutor referrals
8. 2026-04Revised certificate verification framework takes effect with quarterly compliance reporting

Outlook

The Anjouan authority keeps tightening its regime with supplier licensing, RNG certification and verification frameworks, while the Union government's December 2025 communique and prosecutor referrals leave its legal standing in open dispute. Expect banks and payment institutions to screen Anjouan-licensed entities more strictly, European regulators to keep treating Anjouan-licensed sites as unlicensed, and the licence's validity to remain a question each operator answers with its own counsel, weighing low cost and speed against the risk of an abrupt change in the authority's status; monitor Comorian court and central bank notices through 2026.

Launching in Anjouan (Comoros) with GameBridge

Model decided with counsel. Operators that already hold an Anjouan licence run their international brands on GameBridge under the turnkey model with Comoros residents excluded by geo-controls. GameBridge does not hold or arrange Anjouan licences and treats jurisdiction choice as a counsel decision, because the Union government and central bank dispute the authority's standing, tier-one banks and many payment providers decline Anjouan-licensed businesses, and regulated markets do not recognize the licence.

GameBridge neither holds nor arranges an Anjouan licence and leaves the choice of jurisdiction to the operator's counsel. Where an operator already holds one, its crypto-ready and international brands run on GameBridge under the turnkey model: geo lists exclude the Comoros and the rest of the licence's prohibited-market schedule, the platform runs the KYC, AML and responsible gaming controls the operator filed with the regulator, crypto and EMI rails connect through the operator's own payment partners, and only supplier content with Anjouan B2B status is exposed. Three facts shape the counsel discussion: the Central Bank communique of 10 December 2025 named the authority as fictitious and the 2024 mutual evaluation of the Comoros published through the FATF network recorded AML supervisory gaps; tier-one banks and many payment providers decline Anjouan-licensed businesses; and no regulated market recognizes the licence as a basis for market access. GameBridge recommends evaluating a Curaçao Gaming Authority licence alongside Anjouan as the comparable route and guarantees acceptance by no bank, payment provider or regulator under either.

• Turnkey platform for brands that already hold an Anjouan licence
• Geo lists excluding the Comoros and the rest of the Anjouan prohibited-market schedule
• Crypto and EMI wallet rails through the operator's own payment partners
• KYC, AML and self-exclusion tooling mapped to the operator's filed policies
• Supplier filter limited to studios holding Anjouan B2B licences or recognition certificates
• Certification package with every GameBridge Studios and Originals release for RNG filings

No content is offered to Comorian players. For international brands that already hold an Anjouan licence, the aggregated catalog of {providersAvailable} game providers is filtered to suppliers with Anjouan B2B recognition and GameBridge Studios and Originals ship with the RNG certification the regulator requires; the same catalog serves brands licensed by the Curaçao Gaming Authority.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and review

Reviewed against the sources below on 11 September 2026. Regulation changes; confirm the current position with local counsel before launch.

• Anjouan Gaming – Internet Gaming Regulatory Authority — Anjouan Gaming / Anjouan Licensing Services Inc., accessed 2026-09-11
• Communiqué de la Banque Centrale des Comores sur l'exercice illégal d'activités bancaires offshores (10 décembre 2025) — Ministère des Finances, du Budget et du Secteur Bancaire, Union des Comores, accessed 2026-09-11
• Loi n° 95-012/AF portant Code pénal (articles 386–387, jeux de hasard) — WIPO Lex, accessed 2026-09-11
• Mutual Evaluation Report of the Union of the Comoros, 2024 (GIABA) — FATF / GIABA, accessed 2026-09-11
• The Complete Guide to Anjouan Gaming License — Rikk Law Firm, accessed 2026-09-11
• Anjouan Gaming License 2026: Cost, Process & Legitimacy — Legarithm, accessed 2026-09-11
• Anjouan Gaming License: Why We Recommend Against It — BankMyCapital, accessed 2026-09-11
• La face sombre de l'iGaming – Anjouan et la loterie française — GamblingClub.be, accessed 2026-09-11

Regulatory summaries are provided for orientation only and are not legal advice. Licensing requirements change; we validate them with you during scoping.