Detailed overview
Bermuda at a glance
Bermuda is a tax-neutral insurance and digital-asset centre regulated by the BMA, with gambling under the Bermuda Gaming Commission. Crypto runs under the DABA (a world-first comprehensive framework): tiered Class T/M/F licences (Circle, Coinbase, Kraken hold Class F), covering exchanges, custody, issuance, brokerage, payments and lending, including tokenised securities, with 2025 Custody Rules and 2024 stablecoin (SCPS) guidance. Payments run under the Money Services Business Act 2016, with a new Payment Services Act being consulted on (from April 2025); digital-asset payments are already licensable under DABA. Gambling runs under the Casino Gaming Act 2014 and Betting Act 2021 — up to three casinos are authorised but none has opened, and Bermuda does not license offshore online gambling.
Crypto regime — the comprehensive, insurance-grade framework:
- DABA 2018 — one of the world's first sector-specific digital-asset frameworks, administered by the BMA (also one of the world's leading insurance/reinsurance regulators), giving over seven years of legal and regulatory certainty
- Tiered licensing — Class T (test/sandbox), Class M (modified/restricted), Class F (full); Class F licensees include Circle, Coinbase and Kraken; a Class PG (professional-grade) tier is proposed under the payments reform
- Broad licensable activities — exchanges, custodial wallets, issuance (including stablecoins and tokenised securities), selling/redeeming digital assets, brokers, market-makers, derivative exchanges, payment services using digital assets, lending/rehypothecation, and vault/trustee services
- No fixed minimum capital — the BMA sets capital and insurance proportionately to nature, scale, complexity and client exposure; licence fee broadly 0.00075 of estimated client receipts (caps/minimums)
- Client-asset protection — surety bond, trust account or indemnity insurance, segregation and qualified custodians; the Digital Asset Business (Custody of Client Assets) Rules 2025 (in force February 2025) sharpen these requirements
- Stablecoins — the 2024 SCPS Guidance sets a prudential regime (full HQLA reserves, independent monthly attestation, operational resilience, redemption rights, wind-down plans); Bermuda hosts several stablecoin issuers
- Substance — a genuine Bermuda head office ("mind and management"), with the BMA looking through outsourcing
- Innovation and speed — embedded-supervision DeFi pilots, an Operational Resilience and Outsourcing Code (compliance by 31 March 2028), a dedicated BMA fintech team, and fast, credible decision-making
- Tax — no income, capital-gains or withholding tax; a 15% corporate income tax applies from 2025 to in-scope large multinational groups (broadly €750m+ revenue), leaving most digital asset businesses unaffected
Payments and e-money regime (modernising):
- Money Services Business Act 2016 — the BMA currently licenses money transmission, currency exchange and cheque cashing
- Proposed Payment Services Act — a BMA Discussion Paper (15 April 2025) proposes a unified, risk-based PSA to replace the Money Services Business Act, with a tiered structure mirroring DABA (Class F/M/T plus a professional-grade class) and regulated activities covering digital wallet, payment handling and payment technology providers
- Digital-asset payments — "operating as a payment service provider" using digital assets is already a DABA-licensable activity (with stablecoin payment use cases emerging); hybrid stablecoin-wallet/payments models may face dual DABA/PSA regulation, which the BMA intends to handle pragmatically
- No EU-style e-money passport — Bermuda is outside the EU/UK single markets; there is no EMI passport
- Banking — the Banks and Deposit Companies Act 1999; a small number of BMA-licensed banks
- Currency: the Bermuda dollar (BMD), pegged 1:1 to the US dollar
Gambling regime — authorised but largely dormant; not an online hub:
- Bermuda Gaming Commission — created in 2015 under the Casino Gaming Act 2014; its remit expanded in August 2021 (Gaming Transfer of Functions Act 2021) to cover all legal gambling
- Casino Gaming Act 2014 — authorises up to three integrated-resort casinos, available only to owners of approved designated sites (hotels) or approved nominees, with rigorous probity, controls, fairness and player-protection standards — but, despite the Act, no casino has yet opened in Bermuda
- Betting Act 2021 — a modern betting regime (with Betting and Betting Fees Regulations 2021) licensing betting operators, with AML and responsible-gambling obligations; lotteries, raffles, Crown and Anchor and cruise-ship casinos are also regulated
- Not an offshore online-gambling jurisdiction — Bermuda does not operate a remote-gambling operator licensing regime for serving foreign markets; gambling is permitted only at licensed, designated venues
- AML — the Proceeds of Crime Act 1997 and AML/ATF regulations; MOUs pursued with the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement and the UK Gambling Commission
Last verified: May 2026. Reference rate: USD 1 = BMD 1.00. The Bermuda dollar is pegged at par to the US dollar (USD is widely accepted on the island); Bermuda operates exchange controls on the Bermuda dollar.
Bermuda is a tax-neutral, BMA-regulated centre best known for insurance and a comprehensive, blue-chip digital-asset regime (DABA's tiered Class T/M/F licensing, plus strong custody and stablecoin rules), with payments modernising toward a new Payment Services Act — while gambling, though authorised for up to three integrated-resort casinos, has produced none, and Bermuda does not license offshore online gambling.
Is there a crypto licence in Bermuda?
Yes — one of the most established. Under the Digital Asset Business Act 2018, the BMA grants tiered licences (Class T test, Class M modified, Class F full) covering the full range of digital-asset activities, including issuance, custody, exchange, payments and tokenised securities. Class F licensees include Circle, Coinbase and Kraken. Stablecoins face a dedicated prudential regime.
The legal foundation:
- DABA 2018 — tiered licensing (Class T/M/F) and broad licensable activities
- Custody of Client Assets Rules 2025 — client-asset protection and segregation
- SCPS Guidance (2024) — single-currency-pegged stablecoin prudential regime
- Codes of Practice / cyber and conduct rules — governance, operational resilience, disclosures
Structure:
- A Bermuda entity with genuine head-office substance ("mind and management"), a Class T/M/F licence matched to scale, and capital/insurance set proportionately by the BMA (no fixed minimum)
- Client-asset protection (surety/trust/insurance, segregation, qualified custody); stablecoin issuers add full reserves, monthly attestation and wind-down plans
- The "digital asset" definition includes security tokens, so tokenised-securities businesses are licensable under DABA
Operational reality:
- Bermuda offers a comprehensive, credible, insurance-grade regime with fast, sophisticated BMA decision-making (often months, not years) — attractive to institutional and blue-chip operators
- It is substance-first and prudential, not a light-touch flag; the BMA looks through outsourcing
- Bermuda authorisations do not passport into the EU (a MiCA CASP authorisation is separate); independent Bermuda legal and tax counsel and early BMA engagement are essential
Payments & E-money (BMA — Money Services Business Act 2016; proposed Payment Services Act)
Best for money-transmission and (via DABA) digital-asset payment operators prepared to obtain a BMA licence; Bermuda is modernising its payments regime and does not offer an EU-style e-money passport.
What it is: A BMA licensing regime — currently the Money Services Business Act 2016, with a proposed Payment Services Act to introduce a tiered (Class F/M/T plus professional-grade) framework — complemented by DABA for digital-asset payment services and the Banks and Deposit Companies Act for banking.
Who it suits: Money-transmission and currency-exchange businesses, digital-asset and stablecoin payment providers (via DABA), wallet and payment-technology firms (under the proposed PSA), and banks.
Covers: Money transmission, currency exchange and cheque cashing (today); digital wallet, payment handling and payment technology providers (proposed PSA); digital-asset payment services (DABA); deposit-taking (banking).
Operational requirement: A Bermuda entity; a BMA Money Services Business licence (or DABA authorisation for digital-asset payments); safeguarding, AML/CFT and governance requirements; genuine local substance; BMA supervision.
Headline figures
- Primary instruments: Money Services Business Act 2016 (and proposed Payment Services Act); Digital Asset Business Act 2018; Banks and Deposit Companies Act 1999
- Regulators: BMA (money services, digital-asset payments, banking); FIA (financial intelligence)
- Authorisation: money services licence today; tiered PSA classes proposed; DABA PSP for digital-asset payments
- Market access: no EU/UK e-money passport
- Tax: no income/capital-gains/withholding tax; 15% corporate income tax for in-scope large multinationals (from 2025)
- Currency: BMD, pegged 1:1 to USD
Is there a gambling licence in Bermuda?
Yes in law, but not in practice for casinos. The Casino Gaming Act 2014 authorises up to three integrated-resort casinos, yet none has opened. Betting operators are licensed under the Betting Act 2021, and lotteries and similar activities are regulated. Bermuda does not license offshore online gambling.
The legal foundation:
- Casino Gaming Act 2014 — up to three integrated-resort casinos at approved designated sites; Bermuda Gaming Commission oversight
- Betting Act 2021 (and 2021 Regulations) — modern betting-operator licensing
- Lotteries, raffles, Crown and Anchor, cruise-ship casinos — separately regulated
- Proceeds of Crime Act 1997 — AML/CFT for the sector
Structure:
- Casinos — authorised but none operational; licences tied to approved hotel/designated sites and approved nominees
- Betting — licensed operators under the Betting Act 2021
- Other — lotteries, raffles, Crown and Anchor, cruise-ship casinos
- No offshore online licensing — Bermuda does not license remote-gambling operators to serve foreign markets
Gambling — Casino & Betting Licences (Bermuda Gaming Commission)
Best for integrated-resort developers and local betting operators; not for offshore online-gambling operators, who cannot be licensed in Bermuda.
What it is: A Bermuda Gaming Commission casino licence under the Casino Gaming Act 2014 (tied to an approved designated site) or a betting-operator licence under the Betting Act 2021, with probity, control, fairness and player-protection requirements.
Who it suits: Integrated-resort/hotel developers and local betting operators; not offshore online-gambling operators.
Covers: Land-based casino gaming (once operational), betting, lotteries, raffles, Crown and Anchor and cruise-ship casinos; not offshore online gambling.
Operational requirement: For casinos, an approved designated site and rigorous suitability vetting of owners, financiers and key persons; sound operational and financial controls; fair, secure games; AML/CFT; player-protection (self-exclusion, limits); fee and tax compliance.
Headline figures
- Primary instruments: Casino Gaming Act 2014; Betting Act 2021; Proceeds of Crime Act 1997
- Regulators: Bermuda Gaming Commission (all legal gambling); FIA (financial intelligence)
- Market access: up to three integrated-resort casinos (none yet operational); betting under the Betting Act 2021; no offshore online-gambling licensing
- Tax: casino taxes/fees set by regulation
- Player protection: probity vetting, fairness standards, self-exclusion and limits, AML
Costs and timelines at a glance
- Crypto: DABA Class F/M/T licensing (BMA; no fixed minimum capital — risk-based; fee ~0.00075 of client receipts; ~4-week initial decision); client-asset protection (Custody Rules 2025); stablecoins under SCPS Guidance (full reserves, monthly attestation, wind-down); tokenised securities included; head-office substance required; no income/CGT (15% CIT for large MNEs from 2025)
- Payments primary instruments: Money Services Business Act 2016 (and proposed Payment Services Act); Digital Asset Business Act 2018; Banks and Deposit Companies Act 1999
- Payments regulators: BMA (money services, digital-asset payments, banking); FIA (FIU)
- Reform pipeline: new Payment Services Act (tiered classes; digital wallet/handling/technology providers); DABA operational-resilience code (compliance by 31 March 2028); DeFi embedded-supervision pilots
- Gambling: Casino Gaming Act 2014 (up to three casinos, none operational); Betting Act 2021 (betting operators); lotteries/raffles/cruise casinos; no offshore online-gambling licensing
- Currency: BMD, pegged 1:1 to USD; exchange controls on the Bermuda dollar
- FX: USD 1 = BMD 1.00
Who Bermuda suits and who it does not
Suitable for
- Institutional and blue-chip digital-asset businesses — exchanges, custodians, issuers, brokers, market-makers, RWA-tokenisation and payment platforms — that value a comprehensive, credible, insurance-grade DABA regime and fast BMA decision-making
- Stablecoin issuers able to meet the SCPS prudential regime (full reserves, attestation, redemption, wind-down) in a recognised jurisdiction
- Tokenised-securities and tokenised-fund sponsors leveraging DABA's broad activity scope and Bermuda's funds and insurance ecosystem
- Money-transmission and digital-asset payment operators prepared to license with the BMA and adapt to the incoming Payment Services Act
- Groups seeking a tax-neutral, stable, common-law jurisdiction with a single, sophisticated financial regulator and strong client-asset-protection structures
Not suitable for
- Firms wanting a light-touch or brass-plate base — DABA is substance-first and prudential, with genuine "mind and management" required in Bermuda
- Crypto or payment businesses needing EU passporting — Bermuda authorisations do not passport (a MiCA CASP authorisation is separate)
- Payment or e-money firms expecting an EU-style EMI passport — Bermuda offers a money services (and, in future, payment services) licence instead
- Offshore online-gambling operators — Bermuda does not license remote gambling to serve foreign markets, and even its land-based casino regime has yet to produce an operational casino
- Operators seeking a low-cost, high-volume gambling-licensing factory or immediate casino market access