Curacao Board Opens Portal for Gaming License Registrations

Effective immediately, applicants and sub-license holders can now register their accounts via Curacao’s Gaming Control Board’s application portal.

Curacao’s license application portal opened on the 1st of September. The license portal contained all the necessary information to apply and application forms; however, applicants could not register via the portal.

The purposes of the license portal are processing new applications under Curacao’s Gaming Control Board (GCB) legislation and registering sublicenses that wish to continue operation after the National Ordinance for Games of Chance (LOK) has been approved. Upon approval, the establishment of the new Curacao Gaming Authority (CGA) will take effect.

The interesting thing is that the license portal now has five functionalities including gaming applications, sub-license registration, account registration, ticketing system, and license management. Accounts must be registered under the name of a Curacao company to be verified. In addition, applicants must use the company’s unique email address with a signed letter of authorization.

The letter must be signed by the owner of the company to indicate approval and this will be verified before the application is completed.

Applicants approved by the GCB will get a temporary Curacao license with a six-month window to submit other documents necessary.

Transitioning to a New Dawn

Curacao’s minister of finance, Dr Javier Silvania said November 1 is the start of a new dawn for the gambling market. He said, “November 1, 2023, will be marked a momentous day in the history of Curacao’s position as a gambling jurisdiction.” “This day will be the start of revolutionizing Curacao’s gambling landscape.”

Also, an update from the advisor to the minister of finance said applicants are eager to create accounts on the license portal. She said, “The team has anticipated the start of this day for a very long time.” “We’ve been like children waiting for Santa Claus and the wait was worth it – since the start of the day, we’ve opened several accounts and the traffic keeps increasing.”

This will mark the next phase of Curacao towards LOK implementation. The Curacao gambling market is experiencing a transition with steps to embrace the new regulatory regime. Its establishment will overtake its existing gaming regulations.

New changes in September show progress with LOK. The introduction of Gibraltar, a major gambling hub, to the Financial Action Task Force’s grey list and the appointment of Hilary Stewart-Jones as an adviser, indicate the presence of light at the end of the tunnel.