Liechtenstein gambling licence: no online licence

The Act has six B2C routes, and they sit with two bodies: the AVW issues the casino licence and the per-game lottery and betting licences, and the Government issues the online concession and the organiser licence for large lotteries and betting.

• There is no legal right to a concession or to an organiser licence (Art. 60(2), 42(1) GSG).
• The Government may cap online concessions by ordinance, but no ordinance does; the decision of December 2023 is what stops them.
• Online games may be played only in the private sphere or inside licensed casinos, so a restaurant or pub cannot obtain an online licence (Art. 63(1) GSG).
• Slot machines outside licensed casinos are prohibited (Art. 4 GSG), and commercial brokering of lottery and betting stakes is prohibited (Art. 54 GSG).
• Licensed casinos may not run online casinos (Government answer, 5 September 2025).

Laws that apply

• Geldspielgesetz (GSG), LGBl. 2010 Nr. 235, LR 935.51, consolidated 1 January 2026
• Spielbankenverordnung (SPBV), LGBl. 2010 Nr. 439, consolidated 1 June 2026
• Verordnung über Online-Geldspiele (OGV), LGBl. 2011 Nr. 221, consolidated 1 January 2024
• Verordnung über die Lotterien und Wetten (LWV), LGBl. 2010 Nr. 440
• Verordnung über die Erhebung von Aufsichtsabgaben und Gebühren nach dem GSG (GSG-AGV), LGBl. 2016 Nr. 309
• Sorgfaltspflichtgesetz (SPG), LGBl. 2009 Nr. 47 (due diligence and anti-money laundering)

The Geldspielregister, kept by the AVW, lists four licensed casinos and five cancelled permits, and no online concession holder, no organiser licence and no supplier. The register page was last updated on 26 February 2026.

• All four offer land-based table games and slot machines in their own casino only. The AVW annual report 2025 counts 730 slot machines and 51 tables across the market in December 2025.
• Five licences are cancelled, all closures by the operators: Casino Admiral Aktiengesellschaft (operation ended 30 September 2025), LV Investments AG, BestWin AG, MCL-Resorts AG and LIE2 AG. The register prints no withdrawal by the AVW.
• The register prints no brands and no domains: one operating site per casino.

A casino licence is granted only if every condition of Art. 9 to 12 GSG is met. It has no term and runs until it lapses or is withdrawn.

• Documents are filed on the AVW forms in German, on paper and electronically. Register and criminal-record extracts must not be older than three months (Art. 14 SPBV).
• At filing: proof of formation, own funds and their origin, good repute, a quality-management system, security, due-diligence and social concepts, a business plan and the measures securing proper levy assessment (Art. 15(1) SPBV).
• The business plan covers the business model, a planned balance sheet and income statement for the first three years, and the financing (Art. 12 SPBV).
• The AVW sends the due-diligence concept to the FMA for review (Art. 13(3) GSG).
• Before opening, the electronic accounting and control system must be tested and certified by a recognised body, and each slot machine and jackpot system needs a certificate of conformity (Art. 25-27, 72 SPBV).
• The AVW recognises four testing bodies on its list dated 3 August 2026: BMM Testlabs, GLI Europe B.V., GLI Austria GmbH and GLI Gaming Laboratory Ltd.
• A licence is withdrawn if operation does not start within two years (Art. 17(1)(b) GSG).

No fixed application window exists, and no statutory decision deadline. The AVW publishes no typical timeline.

• The AVW may assure the grant of a casino licence (Zusicherung) once the filing-time proofs are shown. The assurance lasts at most twelve months and does not entitle the holder to open (Art. 16 SPBV).
• If an applicant does not supply documents the AVW asks for, the AVW may decide on the file after a written warning (Art. 17(1) SPBV).
• A refusal can be appealed to the Government within 14 days of service, and a Government decision to the Verwaltungsgerichtshof within 14 days (Art. 87 GSG). An appeal has no suspensive effect unless the chair orders it.
• Applications pending when the 2022 stop entered into force continued to be processed (Art. 3 LGBl. 2022 Nr. 397).

There is no annual licence fee as such. The recurring charges are the AVW supervision levy and the Geldspielabgabe on gross gaming revenue.

• The statutory band for the Geldspielabgabe is 17.5% to 40% for casinos (progressive), 10% to 20% for lotteries and betting and 5% to 12.5% for online games (Art. 73(2) GSG). Large lottery organisers pay 20% and betting 10%.
• No bank guarantee or deposit is required. The nearest fixed figure is the CHF 5,000,000 paid-in share capital.
• Gambling turnover that bears the levy is excluded from VAT, so input VAT on costs used for it cannot be deducted. The standard rate of 8.1% applies to non-gambling supplies such as a casino hotel or restaurant.
• There is no advertising or sponsorship tax.
• The AVW charged casinos CHF 1,011,074 in supervision levies for 2025 (CHF 1,300,285 for 2024).
• A consultation report of 2 June 2026 drops the earlier plan to raise the levy; no increase is law.

There is no licence for game suppliers, aggregators or platform providers. A supplier reaches a casino through the casino’s own filings.

• The Government may introduce supplier licences (Art. 21(2) GSG), but no ordinance uses that power, so land-based suppliers need no licence of their own.
• Each game and each game change needs a conformity declaration from the casino, and slot machines and jackpot systems need a test report and certificate from a recognised body (Art. 72 SPBV).
• A casino needs the AVW’s approval before it hands game-relevant functions to a third party (Art. 21(1) GSG), and the AVW may ask for a list of all its suppliers (Art. 5(3) SPBV).
• Online, the OGV provides special Government licences for server hosting, affiliate and skin providers, and marketing and promotion, but only for a provider working for a licensed online operator (Art. 20 OGV). The applicant must be a legal person seated in Liechtenstein, Switzerland or an EEA state. Because no online concession exists, none can be issued as of 7 November 2026.
• Procuring gaming equipment or software for a game that lacks the required licence is an offence (Art. 88(1)(a) GSG).
• No register of approved suppliers or certified games exists. A foreign supplier licence is not recognised, because there is no supplier licence to recognise; foreign test reports from an equivalently accredited body are.
• Supplier revenue is taxed under the ordinary rules, with no gambling levy and no withholding on royalties to foreign suppliers.

Offering a game without the licence it needs is an offence, but the instruments give no power to block sites or payments, and the AVW publishes no blacklist.

• Where there are breaches the AVW orders the measures needed to restore the proper state, and during an investigation it may suspend licences, close premises and take other measures to prevent gambling (Art. 84 GSG).
• The AVW withdraws a casino licence for lost conditions, false information, no start within two years, a long stop in operation, or serious or repeated breaches (Art. 17 GSG).
• The AVW reports one complaint of suspected illegal gambling in 2025 and none in 2023 and 2024.
• No provision penalises a player. A claim from a game that lacks the competent authority’s licence is not actionable like a licensed game (Art. 95(2) GSG).
• Directors and employees can be personally liable where an offence is committed in the business of a legal person (Art. 93 GSG).
• In practice offshore sites reach Liechtenstein residents. An offshore casino opened from a Swiss connection on 7 November 2026 printed a Seychelles address and no licence number.

The FMA supervises due diligence under the Sorgfaltspflichtgesetz; the AVW supervises everything else, including the social and security concepts.

• The minimum gambling age is 18 (Art. 22(1) GSG). Identity is checked at the casino entrance (Art. 25 GSG).
• Casinos must run a social concept, offer self-exclusion and share bans with all other casinos and online organisers without delay (Art. 12, 22(4) GSG). Bans are exchanged with Swiss operators under the agreement in force since 7 January 2025.
• Licence holders must report changes to licence conditions within four weeks and report in advance any share transfer that puts more than 5% in one hand (Art. 16 GSG).
• Each casino is audited every year by an independent audit firm at its own cost (Art. 37, 41 GSG).
• Pending, not law: a consultation report adopted on 2 June 2026 and published on 9 June 2026 amends the GSG to implement the Magglingen Convention. The consultation period ended on 28 August 2026, and as of 7 November 2026 no bill has been published. The Government states that it sees no reason for further restrictive measures.

This is the only route open to apply for. There is no online route to walk until the Government reopens it after 2028.

1. 01

   Choose the company and the seat

   Before filing

   Form an Aktiengesellschaft or European company seated in Liechtenstein or another EEA state, or plan an EEA branch if you hold a comparable casino licence at home. Plan the suitable domestic operating site.

2. 02

   Pay in the share capital

   CHF 5,000,000

   The capital must be fully paid in when you file, free for domestic gaming operations, not reduced by losses, with its lawful origin shown.

3. 03

   Prepare the dossiers and concepts

   Extracts under three months old

   A dossier for the applicant, board, management, auditor, beneficial owners and key business partners, plus the quality-management system, the security, due-diligence and social concepts, and the business plan with three years of projections.

4. 04

   File with the AVW and pay the licence fee

   CHF 20,000 in advance

   File on the AVW forms in German. Half of the fee is refunded if the application is rejected or withdrawn. The AVW sends the due-diligence concept to the FMA.

5. 05

   Answer requests and, if needed, take an assurance

   Assurance valid at most twelve months

   The AVW may require further documents. If the filing-time proofs are shown, it may assure the grant without letting you open.

6. 06

   Certify the systems and open

   Within two years of the grant

   Have the accounting and control system and each slot machine and jackpot system tested by a recognised body, file the conformity declarations, and start operation before the two-year limit.

Tier-ordered: official government first, then practitioner, then trade media. Every primary figure was read from the in-force text on 7 Nov 2026.