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Licensing Hub

Kuwait

Kuwait enforces an "absolute prohibition" on virtual assets — crypto payments, investment, services/licensing and mining are banned by coordinated 17 July 2023 circulars from the Central Bank of Kuwait, the Capital Markets Authority, the Insurance Regulatory Unit and the Ministry of Commerce. Electronic payments and e-money are regulated by the Central Bank of Kuwait under Resolution No. 45/471/2023 (replacing the 2018 instructions), within Law No. 20 of 2014 on electronic transactions. Gambling is comprehensively prohibited under the Kuwaiti Penal Code (Law No. 31 of 1970) and Islamic Sharia law; there is no regulator or licence.

Available licences

Crypto / Virtual Assets — none (absolute prohibition)

No crypto or VASP licence exists or can be issued. Crypto payments, investment, services and mining are banned by the 17 July 2023 multi-regulator circulars; securities/instruments regulated by the CBK/CMA are excluded from the definition.

E-Payment Service Provider (EPSP) Licence — CBK (small / large)

Authorisation under CBK Resolution No. 45/471/2023 to provide e-payment services; small EPSP (JSC or LLC, min capital KWD 50,000) with scope limits; large EPSP without those scope limits.

E-Money Service Provider (EMSP) Licence — CBK

Authorisation to issue/store e-money; large EMSP must be a joint-stock company with min capital KWD 1,000,000; full scope of regulated activities.

E-Payment Systems Operator (EPSO) Licence — CBK

Authorisation to operate/manage retail payment systems; joint-stock company, min capital KWD 2,000,000 (e.g. KNET).

Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) Authorisation — CBK

First-time CBK framework (Resolution No. 45/471/2023) for BNPL postpaid services to Kuwaiti consumers.

Gambling — none (criminally prohibited)

No gambling licence exists or can be issued. All gambling (casino, betting, lottery, online) is criminalised under the Penal Code (Law No. 31 of 1970), consistent with Sharia.

Detailed overview

Kuwait at a glance

Kuwait (population approximately 4.9 million — figure not separately primary-verified) is a high-income GCC oil economy with an Islamic-law foundation, a CBK-modernised payments sector, and a hard prohibition on both crypto and gambling. FATF/AML compliance (Recommendation 15) drove the crypto ban; Sharia underpins the gambling prohibition.

Crypto regime — absolute prohibition:

  • 17 July 2023 coordinated circulars — CBK circular (to local banks, finance and exchange companies); CMA Circular No. (10) of 2023; Insurance Regulatory Unit Circular No. (6) of 2023; Ministerial Circular No. (1) of 2023 (Minister of Commerce and Industry and Minister of State for Youth Affairs)
  • Absolute prohibition on: using virtual assets for payments; virtual assets as investment; providing virtual-asset services; issuing/granting any licences for such services; all virtual-asset/crypto mining
  • Exclusions: securities regulated by the CBK and other securities/financial instruments regulated by the CMA; virtual assets do not include digital representations of fiat, securities or other financial assets
  • Legal basis/penalties: AML/CFT Law No. 106 of 2013 (Article 15 measures/penalties apply to violations, without prejudice to each regulator's own penalties); aligned to FATF Recommendation 15; preceded by a May 2021 CBK risk warning and a 2022 Ministry of Finance statement not recognising Bitcoin
  • Enforcement: April 2025 wide-ranging crackdown on illegal mining (power-grid protection); no publicised consultation or softening since

Payments and e-money regime (CBK):

  • Law No. 20 of 2014 on electronic transactions — gives the CBK oversight/regulation authority over electronic-payment activities
  • CBK Resolution No. 45/471/2023 (issued May 2023) — overhauled e-payment/e-money/e-payment-operations/BNPL regulation; repealed Resolution No. 44/430 of 2018; strengthened governance, risk, AML/CFT, cybersecurity, business continuity and consumer protection
  • Five licence types scaled to volume/nature: EPSP (small/large), EMSP, EPSO, plus BNPL; start-ups may now be licensed independently (the prior large-company-only restriction was removed)
  • Minimum capital: small EPSP KWD 50,000; large EMSP KWD 1,000,000; EPSO KWD 2,000,000 (joint-stock/LLC form by type); local banks exempt from the separate register
  • Infrastructure: KNET (Shared Electronic Banking Services Co., est. 1992; EPSO-registered); KECCS cheque clearing (2015); KASSIP; "Wamd" instant payments (KNET, 2024); GCC AFAQ RTGS; CBK regulatory sandbox (2018) and digital-banks framework
  • Currency: KWD (among the world's highest-value units); CBK-managed

Gambling regime — criminally prohibited:

  • Kuwaiti Penal Code (Law No. 31 of 1970) — all gambling prohibited; the gambling offence is commonly cited around Article 205 (imprisonment up to one year or a fine for convicted gamblers; lotteries treated as gambling); organising/facilitating/promoting also criminal
  • Islamic Sharia law — gambling (maisir) is haram; underpins the prohibition
  • No regulator, no licensing framework, no exceptions (no tourist/resort carve-out); online gambling banned and financial institutions barred from processing gambling transactions; periodic liberalisation debate but no change signalled

Last verified: May 2026. Reference rate: USD 1 = KWD 0.308 (1 KWD ≈ USD 3.25). The Kuwaiti dinar is among the world's highest-value currency units; it is managed by the CBK against an undisclosed currency basket.

Kuwait is a hard-prohibition jurisdiction for crypto (absolute multi-regulator ban, incl. mining) and gambling (criminally prohibited under the Penal Code and Sharia); the only positive licensing path is CBK-regulated payments/e-money under Resolution No. 45/471/2023.

Is there a crypto licence in Kuwait?

No. Kuwait enforces an "absolute prohibition" on virtual assets. Coordinated circulars issued on 17 July 2023 by the CBK, CMA, Insurance Regulatory Unit and Ministry of Commerce ban crypto payments, investment, services/licensing and all mining. No licences are or can be issued.

The legal foundation:

  • 17 July 2023 circulars — CBK circular; CMA Circular No. (10) of 2023; Insurance Regulatory Unit Circular No. (6) of 2023; Ministerial Circular No. (1) of 2023
  • AML/CFT Law No. 106 of 2013 — Article 15 penalties apply to violations; FATF Recommendation 15 alignment
  • Securities/financial instruments regulated by the CBK/CMA are excluded; digital representations of fiat/securities/financial assets are not "virtual assets"

Structure:

  • No VASP/exchange/custody/issuer licence exists; regulators are barred from issuing any virtual-asset-service licences
  • Crypto payments and investment prohibited; all crypto/virtual-asset mining prohibited (April 2025 enforcement crackdown)
  • No passporting; cross-border servicing of virtual-asset clients prohibited; no stablecoin/RWA framework

Operational reality:

  • A genuine, actively enforced absolute ban — not a viable jurisdiction for any licensed crypto activity
  • No regulatory consultation or softening signalled since 2023; stance is firm
  • Any engagement requires independent legal/AML and sanctions review; the prohibition is the binding constraint

Payments & E-money (Central Bank of Kuwait)

Best for payment, e-money and BNPL providers prepared to license with the CBK under the 2023 e-payment overhaul.

What it is: CBK authorisation/registration under Resolution No. 45/471/2023 (within Law No. 20 of 2014) as an EPSP (small/large), EMSP, EPSO, or BNPL provider.

Who it suits: Banks, e-payment/fintech firms, e-wallet providers, online retailers/e-commerce platforms (incl. BNPL) and payment-system operators building CBK-regulated rails in Kuwait.

Covers: E-payment, e-money issuance/storage, e-payment-system operation and BNPL; excludes certain conventional banking/transactional activities, cash transactions, single-issuer methods, securities-settlement and cheque-based payments.

Operational requirement: Joint-stock company (or LLC for small EPSP) with the prescribed minimum capital on an ongoing basis; CBK registration (local banks exempt from the separate register); governance, risk, AML/CFT (Law No. 106/2013), cybersecurity, business-continuity and consumer-protection compliance; CBK may suspend registration if the activity is not performed within six months.

Headline figures

  • Primary instruments: Law No. 20 of 2014 (electronic transactions); CBK Resolution No. 45/471/2023 (repealing Resolution No. 44/430 of 2018)
  • Licence types: EPSP (small/large), EMSP, EPSO, BNPL
  • Minimum capital: small EPSP KWD 50,000 (≈ USD 162,500); large EMSP KWD 1,000,000 (≈ USD 3,250,000); EPSO KWD 2,000,000 (≈ USD 6,500,000)
  • Infrastructure: KNET (EPSO; est. 1992); KECCS; KASSIP; "Wamd" instant payments (2024); GCC AFAQ RTGS; CBK sandbox/digital-banks framework
  • Currency: KWD (managed; among the world's highest-value units)

Is there a gambling licence in Kuwait?

No. All gambling is comprehensively prohibited in Kuwait under the Penal Code (Law No. 31 of 1970; the gambling offence is commonly cited around Article 205 — imprisonment up to one year or a fine), consistent with Islamic Sharia law. There is no regulator, statute permitting gambling, or licence.

The legal foundation:

  • Kuwaiti Penal Code (Law No. 31 of 1970) — all gambling prohibited; commonly cited Article 205 (imprisonment up to one year or fine); lotteries treated as gambling; organising/facilitating/promoting also criminal
  • Islamic Sharia law — gambling (maisir) is haram; underpins the prohibition
  • Financial institutions barred from processing gambling-related transactions

Structure:

  • No regulator, no licensing framework, no application process, no exceptions (no tourist/resort carve-out)
  • All forms — casino, sports betting, lottery, online — prohibited; advertising/promotion forbidden
  • Offshore online play is illegal and at users' legal risk; liberalisation periodically debated but not signalled

Gambling — not available (criminally prohibited)

Not applicable — there is no gambling licence in Kuwait and none can be issued.

What it is: There is no gambling authorisation in Kuwait; all gambling is a criminal offence.

Who it suits: No operator — market entry is not legally possible.

Covers: Nothing; all gambling (land-based and online) is prohibited.

Operational requirement: Not applicable; organising, participating in, facilitating or promoting gambling exposes individuals and operators to fines and imprisonment under the Penal Code.

Headline figures

  • Status: comprehensively prohibited (Penal Code Law No. 31 of 1970; Sharia)
  • Penalty (commonly cited, Art. 205): imprisonment up to one year or a fine
  • Regulator / licence / exceptions: none
  • Liberalisation outlook: none signalled (Sharia-grounded; strong religious-political opposition)

Costs and timelines at a glance

  • Crypto: absolute prohibition (17 July 2023 circulars: CBK; CMA Circular No. (10)/2023; IRU Circular No. (6)/2023; Ministerial Circular No. (1)/2023); payments, investment, services/licensing and mining banned; AML Law No. 106/2013 Art. 15 penalties; FATF R.15
  • Payments primary instruments: Law No. 20 of 2014; CBK Resolution No. 45/471/2023 (repealed Resolution No. 44/430 of 2018)
  • Payments licence types: EPSP (small/large), EMSP, EPSO, BNPL
  • Minimum capital: EPSP (small) KWD 50,000 (≈ USD 162,500); EMSP (large) KWD 1,000,000 (≈ USD 3,250,000); EPSO KWD 2,000,000 (≈ USD 6,500,000)
  • Infrastructure: KNET, KECCS, KASSIP, "Wamd" (2024), GCC AFAQ RTGS, CBK sandbox/digital banks
  • Gambling: comprehensively prohibited (Penal Code Law No. 31 of 1970, ~Art. 205; Sharia); no regulator/licence; ~up to 1 year imprisonment or fine
  • Currency: KWD (managed; among the world's highest-value units)
  • FX: USD 1 = KWD 0.308 (1 KWD ≈ USD 3.25)

Who Kuwait suits and who it does not

Suitable for

  • E-payment, e-money, e-payment-system-operator and BNPL providers prepared to license with the CBK under Resolution No. 45/471/2023 and meet the capital and governance thresholds
  • Fintech start-ups (now able to be independently licensed) and e-commerce/online-retail platforms offering BNPL within the CBK framework
  • Banks and payment-system operators integrating with KNET and CBK national-payment infrastructure, with strong AML/CFT (Law No. 106/2013) and FATF-aligned compliance
  • Groups with independent counsel able to verify CBK requirements directly and operate strictly within a hard-prohibition crypto/gambling environment

Not suitable for

  • Any crypto/virtual-asset business — Kuwait enforces an absolute, actively-enforced prohibition (payments, investment, services, licensing and mining), with no path to a licence
  • Any gambling operator — all gambling is a criminal offence under the Penal Code and Sharia; no regulator, licence or carve-out exists
  • Payment/fintech firms needing crypto on/off-ramps or expecting near-term crypto or gambling liberalisation (neither is signalled)
  • Operators unwilling or unable to meet CBK capital thresholds (up to KWD 2,000,000 ≈ USD 6,500,000 for EPSO) and full governance/AML/cyber requirements
  • Businesses sensitive to a strict Islamic-law framework, FATF-driven enforcement, or a managed high-value currency

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