The Curacao Gaming Control Board (GCB) is re-opening is online portal for gambling license applications on the 15th of July.
The application window in the jurisdiction closed on April 30th, which was the deadline for sublicenses after the initial March 31st deadline was extended to address application issues. Since then, a backlog of hundreds of applications had built up, as was mentioned by the country’s finance minister during a recent conference.
B2C, B2B2C, and B2B operators can still apply for an updated license, but applications submitted before April 30th will be prioritized. New applications will be processed only after current filings are completed.
The GCB noted that this latest application period coincided with the expiration of master licenses in August, which will not be renewed.
An updated regulatory framework, the Landsverordening op de Kansspelen (LOK), also known as the Curaçao National Ordinance on Games of Chance, has been in development since September 2023, when the GCB introduced its new licensing window process.
Master licenses set to expire in January 2025 will automatically expire once the new regulation takes effect, according to the GCB.
As the LOK is still being reviewed by parliament, applications will be processed under the current National Ordinance on Offshore Games of Hazard (NOOGH) and
In March, the GCB released a nine-page guideline document for applications, with minor updates for the new window, including the removal of the requirement for an authorization letter from the portal user.
Anyone holding a sub-license under a master license expiring on August 31st and who didn’t apply by March 31st can continue to operate at the moment. However, post-August 31st and without a new sub-license or a GCB license in place, these operators will now be acting outside of the law.
Finance Minister Javier Silvania has emphasized the LOK’s potential to act as a safeguard against grey market operators and improve Curacao’s reputation, which has been tarnished by money laundering concerns and weak regulatory oversight in the past.
The LOK is anticipated to be implemented later this year, with the Curacao Gaming Authority (CGA) taking over as the regulator to oversee license issuance.
