Gibraltar Scraps One-Size-Fits-All B2B Licensing Model Under New Gambling Act

Gibraltar has officially scrapped its long-standing one-size-fits-all B2B licensing model for gambling suppliers, replacing it with a tiered framework under the territory’s new Gambling Act. The reform ends a system that required every business-to-business supplier to obtain the equivalent of a full license regardless of company size, a structure that industry critics had argued for years priced smaller suppliers out of one of the world’s most established online gambling hubs.

Under the new rules, suppliers can now apply for one of three tiers based on the scale of their operations, with fees and requirements calibrated to match. The change also formally ends Gibraltar’s “sheltering” system, which had allowed suppliers to operate under the licenses of already-approved business-to-consumer operators before securing their own permits.

How the Tiered System Breaks Down

The new Gambling Act creates distinct license categories for remote B2C operators, remote B2B suppliers, non-remote B2C operators, non-remote B2B suppliers, and gambling operator support services — a far more granular breakdown than the previous single-tier model. For direct software suppliers specifically, the framework splits into three tiers based on integration scale and gross sales to Gibraltar-licensed operators.

Tier 1 covers large suppliers with unrestricted direct integrations into Gibraltar-licensed operators, carrying an annual fee of £85,000. Tier 2 applies to suppliers with less than £550,000 in gross sales to Gibraltar-licensed B2C operators, or no more than three approved integrations, at an annual cost of £50,000. Tier 3, the entry point for smaller suppliers, covers those with less than £200,000 in gross sales or no more than two approved integrations, priced at £20,000 annually.

The Act also expands the list of business types that now require licensing, pulling in CRM providers, customer support operations, marketing services, trading and risk management providers, payment and fund management services, and managed service providers — categories that previously sat outside formal licensing requirements in many cases.

Why the Reform Matters for the Industry

Gibraltar has long positioned itself as one of the most established regulatory jurisdictions in online gambling, home to a dense cluster of sportsbook and casino operators alongside their B2B technology partners. But the flat licensing structure had increasingly drawn criticism from smaller platform providers, data suppliers, and niche vendors who faced the same regulatory burden and fee structure as major aggregators, regardless of revenue or integration footprint.

The old model effectively forced a startup betting-data provider or a niche fraud-prevention vendor to clear the same £85,000 annual bar as a major platform supplier running unrestricted integrations across dozens of Gibraltar-licensed operators. That flat fee structure made Gibraltar a tougher entry point for emerging suppliers compared to jurisdictions offering scaled or graduated licensing, even though the territory’s regulatory reputation remained strong. Separately, gaming aggregators and betting data providers will retain their own distinct license categories under the new Act, each carrying its own fee structure rather than being folded into the software-supplier tiers.

By tying license tier to actual business scale, Gibraltar is signaling an effort to keep smaller, innovative suppliers within its regulated ecosystem rather than pushing them toward jurisdictions with lighter licensing burdens. The move also formalizes existing regulatory practice, giving the Gibraltar Gambling Commissioner clearer authority over categories of service providers — such as compliance and anti-fraud vendors — that previously operated in a grayer regulatory zone.

The Act officially came into operation on April 1, though some provisions have been deferred pending later implementation. Suppliers and operators have been given a six-month transition period to adjust to the new framework before the tiered system is fully enforced across the board.

What Comes Next

For operators and suppliers already active in the market, the transition period gives time to determine which tier best fits their current integration footprint and sales volume before the old sheltering arrangements disappear entirely. Companies that previously relied on operating under a licensed partner’s umbrella will need to secure standalone licenses of their own once the phase-out is complete.

The reform lands at a moment when regulators across multiple jurisdictions are re-evaluating how gambling supply chains — not just consumer-facing operators — get licensed and taxed, a trend that’s likely to keep shaping how sportsbooks and their technology vendors structure international operations going forward.