Understanding Curacao Casinos: History, Regulations, and Standards
Curacao is a constituent country in the Kingdom of Netherlands and an attractive licensing hub for online gambling operators. Historically, the Caribbean island was one of the first jurisdictions to regulate iGaming operators:
- In 1993, the Governor of Curacao was authorised to issue online gaming licences under the National Ordinance on Offshore Games of Hazard (NOOGH).
- In 1996, the first Curacao licences were granted.
- Under the NOOGH, the Curacao licensing system was managed by four privately owned Master Licence holders (Antillephone N.V., Gaming Curacao, Curacao Interactive Licensing N.V., and the Curacao eGaming authority), each given the right to issue sub-licences to gambling operators, allowing them to operate under the Master Licence framework.
- In 2019, the Minister of Finance of Curacao was authorised by the Governor of Curacao to grant licences and oversee online casinos. The Minister transferred that authority to the Curacao Gaming Control Board in 2020.
- Due to criticism relating to regulatory oversight, the Government of Curacao decided to start a transformation process and move from the NOOGH to a new law – Landsverordening op de kansspelen (LOK), translated as the National Ordinance for Games of Chance (content in Dutch).
- In anticipation of the complete implementation of the new gambling law, the Government of Curacao created a transitional framework with operators allowed to obtain licences directly with the Gaming Control Board, as it was decided that the concessions of the four Master Licence holders would not be renewed.
Please note that these changes didn’t happen overnight. Authorities opted for incremental reforms, giving operators and existing sublicensees ample time to register under the new system, provided they diligently completed their applications.