Curacao is looking to overhaul its entire online gambling regime with a new regulatory body that will enforce stricter restrictions on licensing and regulation.
The Curacao Gaming Authority is known for its offshore licensing which allows for some liberal views on gambling restrictions, which is popular amongst casino operators. It offers players in countries that are in a country or state where gambling is illegal the chance to gamble with an offshore site, but without the strict rules in place that is the norm of other regulators, it’s considered risky.
The new regulations expected for Curacao should include licenses for both B2C operators and B2B suppliers previously issued by the Curacao Gaming Authority. Fees will be distributed with licenses since the government expects to maximize its direct revenue from the gambling sector. These fees could be an initial application fee of €4,000 and a per annum license fee of around €12,000, plus a €250 fee every month per URL.
Finance Minister Javier Silvania said there was advice taken from the Gibraltar Gaming Authority and the Dutch government.
“I made up the team that drafted the bill, but Dutch civil servants have been reading along and providing advice,” Silvania said. “This is the added value of being part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; it has more capacity and more expertise.”
“The Council of Ministers has now approved the bill which will be put before the advisory bodies, who can make adjustments, then put before Parliament and hopefully approved by the end of the year.”
He added that some gambling operators might have to exit the industry, but that he “has no issue” with that.
