Licensing and regulation: Can we get a licence?

The licensing framework rests on three statutes administered by one regulator. The Vanuatu Interactive Gaming Act [Cap 261] designates the Director of Customs and Inland Revenue as the Regulator under section 34(1), prohibits conduct of an interactive game in or from Vanuatu unless licensed and the specific game is approved under section 19, and requires the applicant to be a company locally incorporated under the Companies Act No.25 of 2012. The Regulator must grant or refuse an application within two months of receiving it and any requested information; a resulting licence can run for up to fifteen years and is non-transferable except through enforcement of a mortgage or charge, and operators already conducting an interactive game at commencement are taken to be licensees. The Casino Control Act [Cap 223] layers a further gate on top of this administrative process: an application is made to the DCIR Director, forwarded to the Council of Ministers for approval, and the Director grants the licence only once that approval is obtained and the prescribed fee is paid. DCIR's own legislations page confirms all three Acts — Cap 205, Cap 223 and Cap 261 — sit under its licensing remit.