St Kitts and Nevis Gives Nevis Online Gaming a Dedicated Regulator Before Global Review
BUSINESS · ST KITTS AND NEVIS
Key Facts
- —The country St Kitts and Nevis is a two-island federation in the eastern Caribbean. Nevis has its own island government and its own branch of the financial regulator.
- —What happened Phil Jones became dedicated Regulator, Online Gaming, after handing international banking to Marie-Grace Michel on 1 October 2026, the Nevis Island Administration said on 2 October.
- —Who is involved The Nevis branch of the Financial Services Regulatory Commission (FSRC) and the island’s Online Gaming Authority, created under an ordinance in force since 1 May 2025.
- —What it means for you Licensed and applicant gaming operators face one official focused mainly on their compliance. The announcement does not change the rules themselves.
- —Still open How many operators hold Nevis licences, and when the next international anti-money-laundering evaluation of the federation will take place.
Nevis online gaming now has a dedicated regulator. The island’s financial watchdog designated Phil Jones as Regulator, Online Gaming, the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) announced on 2 October.
Jones previously covered both international banking and gaming. He handed banking to Marie-Grace Michel on 1 October, so the young gaming sector becomes his primary portfolio.
What changed at the regulator
The change sits inside the Nevis branch of the Financial Services Regulatory Commission (FSRC), the body that supervises offshore banks, trusts and companies. The NIA release says the designation reflects the gaming sector’s “growing importance and continued expansion”.
Jones will oversee the supervisory framework set up under the island’s Online Gaming Ordinance. He will also work with the Online Gaming Authority, the separate body that handles licensing.
Michel, his successor in banking, brings experience in auditing, financial crime risk and anti-money-laundering compliance. She also holds an accounting qualification and an MBA, according to a second NIA release.
A young industry built for diversification
The Nevis Island Assembly passed the online gaming bill on 29 April 2025. The NIA says the ordinance took effect on 1 May 2025.
Premier Mark Brantley sold the law as a hedge against the island’s heavy reliance on tourism. The NIA said revenue would come from application fees, annual licence fees and penalties.
The law requires operators to incorporate on Nevis, run responsible gaming tools and offer dispute resolution. Brantley told AGB, a gaming trade outlet, in January that “only reputable entities need apply”.
The Curaçao Chronicle reported in July a flat annual licence fee of €28,000 (about US$31,500 at 0.889 euros per dollar, 2 October). That figure has not been independently confirmed.
The same paper described Nevis as new competition for Curaçao’s licensing business. For the wider regional picture, see Latin America’s Online Gaming Market: Brazil’s Regulated Market and What Comes Next.
The money-laundering review ahead
The NIA links the move to the federation’s coming fifth-round Mutual Evaluation. That is a peer review of anti-money-laundering controls by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF), part of the global FATF network.
The last full review had its on-site visit in March 2021, with the report published in February 2022. A 2025 follow-up report found 35 of the 40 FATF standards rated compliant or largely compliant.
Online gambling can move money quickly and across borders, so evaluators tend to ask how it is supervised. A dedicated regulator gives Nevis a clearer answer to that question.
What it means for the island
For Nevis online gaming operators, the practical effect is closer supervision and a single point of contact. For Nevis, it is a bet that tighter oversight attracts better licensees rather than scaring them away.
The open question is capacity, since the NIA has not said whether the gaming desk gains staff. Meanwhile the federation is also courting new industries, as in St Kitts and Nevis Geothermal Plant Gets EU Offer.
What Is Not Yet Known
The NIA has not said how many gaming licences Nevis has issued, nor how much revenue they have raised. Neither release gives a date for the CFATF on-site visit.
It is also unclear whether the regulator’s office will hire extra staff for gaming. Trade press has reported a different in-force date for the ordinance than the NIA.
More: Saint Kitts and Nevis Explained 2026, a country guide from The Rio Times.
Who regulates Nevis online gaming?
The island’s Online Gaming Authority handles licensing. Phil Jones, at the Nevis branch of the Financial Services Regulatory Commission, now serves as dedicated Regulator, Online Gaming.
Have the gaming rules changed?
No. The announcement leaves the Online Gaming Ordinance passed in 2025 as it is. What changed on 1 October 2026 is that its supervisor no longer also covers international banking.
What is the Mutual Evaluation?
A peer review of a country’s anti-money-laundering system by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force. Poor results can lead to closer international monitoring and higher costs for local banks.
Sources: Nevis Island Administration, gaming regulator release and banking regulator release, 2 October 2026; NIA, gaming bill passed, 30 April 2025, and ordinance in force, 25 July 2025; Nevis Pages, 3 October 2026; FATF, St Kitts and Nevis follow-up report, 2025; Curaçao Chronicle, 8 July 2026; AGB, 25 January 2026; SiGMA, 31 August 2025.
Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief · Editorial standards · Report an error