Curacao Gaming Commision

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Most players using online casinos today have heard of Curacao. The island is home to Curacao eGaming, the regulatory body that’s often the go-to place for many online casinos.

A lot of online gambling sites today have licences from this famous regulatory body. It’s typically easier to get than the most notable ones like Malta Gaming Authority and UK Gambling Commission. What’s more, Curacao charges a relatively low tax, and the annual fees for the licences are also lower than in many other online gambling hubs.

But what do we actually know about Curacao, its gambling regulations, and how the official regulators work? With this piece, we aim to find the answers to all of these questions. So, let’s jump right in!

People have enjoyed gambling in Curacao since 1909. However, the activity’s legality always depended on the will of the island’s colonisers — the Netherlands.

Things changed in 2010 when Curacao officially became a nation, or in other words, a constituent country within the Kingdom of Netherlands. As a result, Curacao gained the ability to write its own gambling laws. That’s why most gambling laws in Curacao have been passed since 2010.

As for online gambling, it was made legal much earlier, in 1993, while the first licences were issued in 1996.

The Curacao Gaming Control Board (GCB) was founded in 1999 to issue licences to gambling operations in the offline sector, while the Curacao eGaming Licence Authority was established to issue online gambling licences.

This system has lasted for a long time, in which countless online casinos have obtained the famous Curacao eGaming licence.

However, things began to change in 2021. Namely, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the island country’s bailout by the Netherlands, Curacao has started a complete overhaul of its gambling laws and regulations.

The notable Curacao Gaming Control Board has gained a new responsibility — issuing licences to online operations and ensuring that Curacao online gambling laws are respected.

This effectively means that the renowned Curacao eGaming License Authority is shutting down and handing its operations over to the Control Board. At the moment, it’s still unknown how this change will affect Curacao online casinos and their international player bodies, but it’s highly doubtful that the change will affect either negatively.

The most likely outcomes are stricter licence application rules and more extensive oversight. It’s also very likely that the licence holders will no longer be able to accept players from any country, only selected ones. We’ll see once this significant transformation is complete, but for now, we don’t know when that will happen.

Yes, online gambling, just like most other forms of gambling, is entirely legal in Curacao. The legal gambling age is 18 years.

Both casino gambling and sports betting, including poker, bingo, and the lottery, are legal. This goes for both offline and online versions of these activities.

However, they all require licensing, which is now the responsibility of the Curacao Gaming Control Board.

Like we previously stated, there are several laws and regulations that govern the gambling industry in Curacao. Here are the main pieces of legislation you need to know about:

There’s also the older legislation piece that is still important for gambling on the island:

Besides these, there are a few less significant laws and regulations that govern the gambling industry, most of which are old and do not have much of an effect on online gambling.

Until recently, there were two foremost gambling authorities in Curacao:

However, due to the ongoing massive overhaul of the entire Curacao gambling sector, the eGaming Authority has been shut down, and all of its duties have been taken over by the Gaming Control Board.

If nothing changes, the GCB will continue to issue the same licences that various organisations have obtained in the past.

All in all, there are two types of licences a gambling operator can get in Curacao:

The master licence is effectively impossible to get as it's the responsibility of the Minister of Justice. At the moment, there are only four master licence holders, all VIP companies with massive revenues.

Almost all online casinos apply for sub-licences, and the good thing is that both the master and the sub-licence allow the holder to conduct all legal forms of gambling. They don’t need to get a separate licence for each specific gambling activity, like the operators who seek other licences typically need.

The only significant difference between the two types of licences is that the master licence holder can issue sub-licences.

Gambling has always been a fun but slightly dangerous activity. It can easily lead to problem gambling and gambling addiction if you are not careful.

Every player needs to ensure they are gambling safely and responsibly while only spending money they can afford to lose.

If you ever notice you are having problems with gambling, you should immediately seek help. Friends and family can help, of course, but you still need to reach out to designated organisations that deal with problem gambling and offer support to players. Here are the ones to contact in Curacao: