Hi, so first off, I'm new to this forum and have a question regarding how I should go about forming my incorporation in Costa Rica. I currently live in USA and the banks and merchant accounts here have given me hell to put it nicely. I originally incorporated my company in Wyoming due to the very friendly business laws, no state income tax, clear legislation regarding my industry, etc. The problem has been the banks and merchant accounts. Me and my business partner who lives in the UK have an online skill gaming platform where users can play against each other for cash prizes. The banks here don't want to touch this industry for several reasons. They don't know how to differentiate between skill gaming and gambling and therefore say my industry is operating illegally or they think my industry is too high risk with chargebacks, fraud etc. So I've spent the last 2 weeks to no avail calling 100's of banks, credit unions, and merchant accounts only to get denied by every single one. I'm now planning to dissolve the Wyoming Corporation and go the offshore route.
From my research, Costa Rica seems to be the best bet, no pun intended. Costa Rica, as you all know is like many tax havens for offshore companies and offer a zero personal tax and zero corporate tax for all foreign income earned. They also have the least costs for getting and maintaining an 'online gambling' license, which is actually just a data processing license. Of course, our business won't be engaging in 'gambling' since it is skill gaming wagering, but we do eventually want to get into the 'gambling' side of things, so a license wouldn't hurt.
To make a long story short, has anyone on this forum used any incorporation services for forming a corporation in Costa Rica that are reliable and not a scam. I've been having trouble finding any reviews on google surrounding any of these incorporation companies. Also what has been your experience in getting a bank account for an online gambling business? I'm aware Costa Rica doesn't allow you to open a bank account for an online gambling business in its country. Will it be hard to secure a bank account somewhere else? Will a passport, articles of incorporation, and a license from my home country be sufficient to open an offshore bank account? What about a payment gateway/merchant account? Please someone help as I've been completely stressed for the past 2 weeks just trying to get this sorted. I want to just focus on my company and begin to grow it.
Look forward to any help anyone can give me. Thanks in advance.
From my research, Costa Rica seems to be the best bet, no pun intended. Costa Rica, as you all know is like many tax havens for offshore companies and offer a zero personal tax and zero corporate tax for all foreign income earned. They also have the least costs for getting and maintaining an 'online gambling' license, which is actually just a data processing license. Of course, our business won't be engaging in 'gambling' since it is skill gaming wagering, but we do eventually want to get into the 'gambling' side of things, so a license wouldn't hurt.
To make a long story short, has anyone on this forum used any incorporation services for forming a corporation in Costa Rica that are reliable and not a scam. I've been having trouble finding any reviews on google surrounding any of these incorporation companies. Also what has been your experience in getting a bank account for an online gambling business? I'm aware Costa Rica doesn't allow you to open a bank account for an online gambling business in its country. Will it be hard to secure a bank account somewhere else? Will a passport, articles of incorporation, and a license from my home country be sufficient to open an offshore bank account? What about a payment gateway/merchant account? Please someone help as I've been completely stressed for the past 2 weeks just trying to get this sorted. I want to just focus on my company and begin to grow it.
Look forward to any help anyone can give me. Thanks in advance.
