WILLEMSTAD - As Parliament prepares to discuss the draft legislation on online gaming in a public session on Monday, December 16, Curaçao is facing international scrutiny, being portrayed as a country that facilitates criminal practices in the sector. MAN Party leader Giselle Mc William has called for Finance Minister Javier Silvania to address these allegations and provide answers.
Mc William highlighted a front-page article published on December 2 in the Times of Malta, which alleged potential misconduct involving provisional licenses issued by the Gaming Control Board (GCB) to online gambling companies seeking to operate in Curaçao. “This unfortunate situation will negatively impact a sector that should be boosting our economy, generating additional state revenue, and creating jobs for the people of Curaçao,” she stated.
The MAN leader emphasized that the original goal of the legislation introduced by former Minister Kenneth Gijsbertha was to channel at least 200 million guilders directly into the state treasury and the regulatory body overseeing the sector. “This contrasts with the current legislation from Minister Silvania, which will generate only 40 million guilders, not for the state treasury, but for the GCB—a platform managed by a foreign entity,” she added.
Bankruptcies
Concerns over the online gambling sector have intensified following the November 12, 2024, bankruptcy ruling by the Court of Curaçao against BC.Game and several other companies. Additionally, the investigative platform FinTelegram reported on September 2, 2024, that Rabidi, a gambling company recently granted a provisional license by the GCB, had also gone bankrupt.
The bankruptcies reportedly stemmed from the companies’ inability to meet financial obligations to gamblers. Mc William warned that this could expose the GCB to multimillion-dollar lawsuits, as it appears the board failed to conduct the necessary due diligence before granting provisional licenses to these companies.
To address these issues, Mc William has submitted a series of questions to Minister Silvania. She inquired whether he was aware of investigative reports indicating that Rabidi's assets were transferred to a company called Adonia, leaving gamblers owed millions of dollars. These assets were then reportedly moved to another company based in the Marshall Islands.
Links to IGA Trust
Mc William also questioned whether Silvania was aware that these companies were managed by IGA Trust, formerly known as Wyze Trust, which was led by consultants affiliated with his ministry. She further asked whether the same scheme was used in the case of BC.Game, where assets were transferred to Blockdance and later to Small House, another company with a GCB license.
“Is the minister aware that Small House was also managed by IGA Trust? Does he know of a possible link between BC.Game, Rabidi, IGA Trust, and Mario Galea, who is responsible for the new online gaming law (LOK) and the implementation of the GCB licensing platform on behalf of the minister and the GCB?”
Assurance Sought
Finally, Mc William demanded assurance from Silvania that Curaçao will not face potential claims from gamblers affected by Rabidi and BC.Game. She also asked him to clarify who bears responsibility for the actions that harmed the gamblers: Mario Galea (responsible for the GCB platform), IGA Trust, or the GCB itself.
The parliamentary debate on this critical issue is expected to shed light on these pressing concerns.