A significant step towards the new gambling regulation in Curaçao has been taken. The bill for the gambling regulation is submitted to the authorities, and now the parliament is supposed to decide whether it will approve it or not.
Significant changes in the market
There are various changes for the currently licensed operators as well, so the Ministry of Finance issued a notice to inform them about the transition to the new system in order to ensure smooth operation.
The changes will be overseen by the National Ordinance for Games of Chance (LOK), a new regulation body that will be established soon.
There will be a variety of changes, but the most important are changing the license types and establishing new fees for operators.
The operators won’t be able to register for sub-license through the Curaçao Gaming Control Board (GCB) anymore after March 31, and all operators that aren’t registered won’t be able to operate.
The portal was opened on September 1, which greatly shortened the whole application process. The operators were able to apply for licenses from November 1, and it could process new applications and register the operators who had already received their licenses.
The applications in progress will continue after March 31, while licensees will continue operating under a provisional license.
If the operators haven’t applied for the direct license before March 31, they will be able to continue operating under a sub-license or wait for LOK to be enacted, when they are obligated to apply for the direct license.
According to the new law, all licenses were renewed.
Digital Seal regulation
All operators who got their licenses before January 1 will be able to show the Digital Seal they got from the GCB on their website. Also, the applicants who have already submitted their applications will be able to do the same. The policy related to showcasing the Digital Seal will be released in the future.
The first announcement of the new Curaçao regulations happened in July 2022, and work on the process started in January this year.
New legislation has great support among the country’s government and regulators. Sixiènne Jansen, legal advisor to Curaçao’s Ministry of Finance, said that the first potential date for releasing new updates was September 1. Javier Silvania, Curaçao’s minister of finance, also supported the LOK and the new regulations, saying back in September that it would prevent the grey-listing by the Financial Action Task Force in the country.
Source: “Curaçao gambling regulation bill enters parliament”, December 19, 2023.