Getting a gambling license gives you permission to operate. It doesn’t give you a functioning business. The permission slip is one thing. Setting up the corporate bank accounts, the monthly tax filings, the compliance reporting schedules, and the local office requirements is a separate, massive project.
Many licensing services stop at the permit. The partners listed here keep going. They help you build the actual machine that runs under that license.
How We Identified Operational Partners
We looked for firms that solve problems you face after the approval email. Key signals included:
- Service Bundling: We checked if they sell more than just the license. Do they also form the company, register it for taxes, and offer to run payroll? That’s a bundle.
- Financial Infrastructure: We looked for help with money movement. Does their pitch include opening the business bank account or hooking you up with a payment processor? That’s infrastructure.
- Ongoing Compliance Tools: We watched for tools. Do they provide software that spits out the reports you need, or monitors transactions automatically? That’s ongoing management.
- Local Presence: We noted physical offers. Can they get you a local office address or a resident director? That proves they build something real, not just digital.
The Operational Partners: What They Build For You
A brief look at the operational gap each firm fills.
| Partner | The License They Get | The Business They Help Build |
| Gofaizen & Sherle | Multi-jurisdiction licenses across a corporate group. | The centralized control room for global compliance, reporting, and regulator communication for the entire group. |
| CSB Group | Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) license. | A complete operational headquarters in Malta: company, office, staff, tax ID, and ongoing corporate admin. |
| GBO Licensing | Strategic licenses in key jurisdictions. | The crucial financial pipelines: corporate bank accounts and relationships with payment processors. |
| KIVON | Licenses requiring robust compliance proof. | The internal software engine that automates AML checks, reporting, and generates audit trails. |
| Manimama | Licenses in core jurisdictions like Malta, Curacao. | Your external, dedicated legal and compliance department for ongoing license maintenance. |
| A2CO | Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) license. | Deep, operational-level compliance with MGA rules, day-to-day regulatory adherence. |
Detailed Profiles of the Navigating Firms
Now let’s meet the guides. Here’s a closer look at what each firm does when they’re in the room with regulators.
1. Gofaizen & Sherle
Gofaizen & Sherle is a gambling license service provider that constructs operational infrastructure for scale. Their team of gambling lawyers and gambling licensing consultants doesn’t just secure individual permits.
They design the unified framework that manages reporting, compliance schedules, and financial governance for your entire group of licensed companies. For this legal consulting firm for gambling licensing, the license is the entry point to constructing your global regulatory command center. They act as the internal department you don’t have, managing the intricate work of operating across several regulated markets.
- Ideal For: Operators with multiple licensed entities or definitive cross-border plans. Choose this legal consulting firm for the gambling business when you must establish a professional regulatory operations function immediately.
- Operational Output: A centralized compliance management system and synchronized procedures for all your active jurisdictions.
- Pricing Insight: A custom strategic project fee for the initial design, followed by a monthly retainer for continuous operational management.
- Note: As a provider of legal consulting services for gambling, they build the corporate and compliance foundation. They do not develop gaming websites or process player deposits.
2. CSB Group
CSB Group is for building a physical business home in Malta. Their service turns a license application into a turnkey local company.
You get the MGA license, plus the Maltese corporate entity, the tax registration, the legal office address, and often help with hiring local staff. They build the tangible, compliant business that the MGA regulator expects to see and audit.
- Ideal For: Operators committing to Malta as their primary EU base. Essential if you need a real, staffed presence on the ground.
- Operational Output: A fully formed, compliant Maltese company ready to hire and operate.
- Pricing Insight: Packaged all-in-one price for Malta setup (license + company + key services).
3. GBO Licensing
GBO Licensing connects the license to your money flow. They understand that a license without banking is a dead end.
Their service often involves a strategic licensing plan followed by active assistance in opening the necessary corporate bank accounts and securing payment gateway agreements. They build the financial circulatory system for your licensed business.
- Ideal For: Startups and scale-ups who need the license and the practical ability to move money in and out reliably.
- Operational Output: Active corporate bank accounts and payment processing agreements.
- Pricing Insight: Consultancy fees for strategy, plus success-based or fixed fees for financial setup assistance.
4. KIVON
KIVON installs the software that does the compliance grunt work. They set up the systems that verify players, watch transactions, and create reports by themselves.
Their job converts tasks a person used to do into something a computer schedules and emails. This builds an operation that runs on data logs, not just promises.
- Ideal For: Operators who prefer software over spreadsheets. Good for teams that want their compliance proof to come from a system dashboard, not a stressed employee’s overtime.
- Operational Output: Live, integrated compliance software systems inside your business.
- Pricing Insight: Project-based fee for system implementation and integration, plus potential SaaS or support fees.
5. Manimama
Manimama becomes your permanent external legal team. They do the license application, then they stick around.
They file your annual renewals. They answer the regulator’s emails. They tweak your policies when new laws pass. They construct a lasting legal supervision service for your company.
- Ideal For: Operators who want legal continuity and dislike handing off from an application team to an unfamiliar compliance firm.
- Operational Output: A predictable, retained relationship with a legal team that knows your entire history.
- Pricing Insight: Clear fees for the application process, transitioning to an annual retainer for ongoing services.
6. A2CO
A2CO builds your specialized in-house expertise for Malta. Their entire practice is the MGA. They go beyond getting the license to ensuring your daily operations comply with the MGA’s specific, nuanced rules.
They help you build the internal knowledge and processes to live seamlessly within the Maltese regulatory environment long-term.
- Ideal For: Any operator where the MGA license is the core asset. They build your deep, institutional knowledge of Malta.
- What They Deliver: Day-to-day, detailed compliance with every Maltese rule. They get into the weeds of how the MGA really works.
- The Cost: You pay specialist lawyer rates. It’s either an hourly fee for their work or a set price for the whole Maltese licensing project.
How to Spot a Builder, Not a Broker
The sales call is easy. Everyone promises the license. Change the script. Give them this scenario: “Our license just came through this morning. What happens this afternoon, and what do you need from us?”
Listen closely. Do they start talking about activating your merchant account? Do they mention scheduling your first compliance training with your team? Maybe they bring up submitting your corporate details to the financial auditor.
Their instant reaction reveals their priorities.
A broker stumbles, talking about congratulations and next steps. A builder starts listing actionable tasks because they’ve already planned for that moment. For them, the approval email is the green light, not the checkered flag. Pick the company whose immediate reaction is to talk about what you need to do on Monday morning when you’re finally, officially, open for business.
Final Thoughts
The difference between a service and a partnership is what happens when the initial job is done. A service provider closes the file. A partner starts a new checklist.
The firms listed here signal, through their service models, a willingness to handle that next phase. One builds your global control room. Another constructs your physical headquarters. A third connects your license to a working bank account. Your selection depends on which post-license reality feels most critical to your survival and growth.
Ignore the sales pitch about timelines and fees for a moment. Instead, picture your company six months after launch. Who is filing the quarterly report? Who is answering the regulator’s casual email on a Tuesday? Who updates your policies when the law changes? The right name from this list should give you a clear, believable answer to those questions. That confidence is what you’re actually buying.