On December 17, 2024 the Curacao Parliament approved the long-awaited National Ordinance on Games of Chance (abbreviated as “LOK” from Dutch “Landsverordening op de Kansspelen”) with a majority of 13 votes in favor and only 6 against. The regulation officially entered into force on December 24, 2024. Curacao underwent a long process of changes before this major event and now a new era of Gaming regulation has begun. For your overview we provide a brief timeline of the historical regulation of the Curaçao gaming license and some recent developments at the end of this article.
Key idea behind these changes is a transition from the sub-licensing system previously controlled by four master license holders, to a new regime in which a single governmental authority is the sole issuer of Curacao gaming licenses.
There are several factors that led to this, among other:
- Economic reasons. The Curacao’s state budget consistently received less income, as the license price was low and most of the funds were allocated at the level of Master Licensors, each of whom paid for a single license while distributing it between hundreds of operators, thereby multiplying their profits.
- Political reasons (partially economic as well). Curacao was dissolved from the Netherlands in 2010. However, the Netherlands continues to have a significant political influence on Curacao. The Curacao gambling regulation reforms were one of the conditions of the financial support provided by the Dutch Government to Curacao during COVID-19 pandemic. Upon the adoption of LOK, the Netherlands Gambling Authority and new Curaçao Gaming Authority agreed on further close cooperation to development gambling regulation in Curacao, combining best practices and expertise.
- Legal and Compliance reasons. The legitimacy of master licensors was questioned multiple times, and the licensing process was significantly influenced by private commercial interests. The licensing system was considered corrupt and lacking oversight. Additionally, Anti-money laundering measures and responsible gambling practices required improvement as they were far from meeting international standards.
Below we provide a brief summary of the major changes introduced under the newly implemented LOK framework:
Licensing authority: The Curacao Gaming Control Board, which previously replaced the four Master licensors, has transitioned into Curacao Gaming Authority and will remain responsible for issuing of gaming licenses.
Licensing process: The new licensing process will consist of two phases. The first stage will focus on assessing and verifying the Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO) and Key persons, including their financial standing. The second phase will focus on verifying compliance with other requirements. Each phase will have a duration of 8 weeks with the possibility of an extension for an additional 4 weeks.
License fees: Fees are now differentiated for B2C and B2B providers and have been reduced compared to those previously announced by Gaming Control Board for the provisional license.
- For B2C operators the costs of Curacao gaming license include:
- license application of EUR 4592,
- supervisory fees of EUR 22960
- fee to the National Treasury of EUR 24490
- For B2B providers, only license application of EUR 4592 and supervisory fees of EUR 24490 are required.
Liquidity assets requirements: In addition to verifying the source of wealth of Ultimate Beneficial Owner, the applicants are now required to demonstrate sufficient and clearly identifiable liquidity assets to cover potential future claims from the players.
Substance requirements: Under the new rules license holders in Curacao must establish an office space in Curacao to conduct gambling activity. Additionally:
- within four years, license holders must employ or engage at least one key person in Curacao in addition to the managing director;
- within five years license holders must employ or engage at least three key persons in Curacao in addition to the managing director.
Certain exemptions may apply. We await further clarifications regarding these requirements and the available exemptions as well as initiate the requests to Curacao Gaming Authority for further details.
In addition, the Curacao Gaming Authority has already introduced a new anti-money laundering policy, updated requirements to MLRO (Money Laundering Reporting Officers) for Curacao licensed operators and recently released new responsible gambling policy for public discussion. The GGA will further provide KYC (Know Your Customer), ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) / Complaints, Training and Qualification rules, Local hardware requirements, Records and Reporting and Technical Standards requirements.
How will these changes affect the currently licensed operators and new applicants?
The new Curacao gaming regulation establishes a transition period for operators holding licenses issued under the old regime of National Ordinance on the Games of Hazard (NOOGH). NOOGH license will remain valid till 24 June 2025 with an option for 6 months extension.
The Curacao Gaming Authority will continue processing applications that are already “in progress”. As for new licenses the application process is expected to reopen in mid-March 2025 for B2C operators and in May-June 2025 for B2B providers. Until then, starting from December 24, 2024 the Gaming portal for license applications will remain close.
The tightening of Curacao gaming license requirements in 2025 is expected to enhance the jurisdiction’s global reputation providing benefits for current license holders, increasing trust and recognition. At the same time, it may also reduce its attractiveness in the eyes of startups, that might shift their focus to newly emerging alternatives, such as Tobique gaming license or even Anjouan gaming license. More likely, Curacao as a solution will survive only for mid-size operators.
Our company will closely monitor all the new developments and keep you updated. We would be glad to answer any questions regarding new Curacao Gaming License or explore alternative licensing options for your business.
