WILLEMSTAD – An extensive investigation by investigative platform Follow the Money, in collaboration with international media partners from Sweden, Austria, and Malta, has revealed Curaçao’s critical role in facilitating illegal online gambling operations. The findings spotlight how lax oversight and trust offices in Curaçao enable a shadowy network of gambling websites to target European gamblers, evade regulations, and rake in millions annually.
A Web of Deception and Exploitation
At the center of the revelations is a network of at least 30 online casinos, including names like Casinowinbig, 18Bet, and Zodiacbet. These sites are registered through shell companies in Curaçao and Malta, masking their true ownership. Despite operating illegally in countries such as Germany, Italy, Sweden, and Denmark, they have evaded regulators with impunity, leaving affected gamblers with little recourse.
One particularly harrowing case involves a Swedish man, Stefan, who lost over €12,000 in a single month in 2022. Despite being on Sweden’s self-exclusion list for gambling addicts, Stefan was repeatedly allowed to play on these unlicensed platforms, which rewarded him with "VIP status" and bonuses to encourage continued betting. “They drained me, and when I had nothing left, they discarded me,” he said during an interview with Swedish public radio.
Player reviews across platforms like Trustpilot read like accusations of systemic fraud. Gamblers allege stolen funds, refusal to process withdrawals, and targeted exploitation of vulnerable individuals. Yet, complaints to the customer service teams behind these sites often go unanswered or dismissed.
The Curaçao Connection
The investigation points to Curaçao as a crucial hub for these operations, where trust offices play a pivotal role in granting anonymity to owners of these illicit enterprises. Companies such as Bellona NV and NewEra BV—both tied to Israeli businessmen Avi and Ilan Shemesh—serve as facades for illegal activities. While the exact relationship between the two Shemesh men remains unclear, their enterprises dominate the online gambling space, profiting massively at the expense of vulnerable players.
Trust offices like Emoore and Allyant Group are instrumental in securing Curaçao gambling licenses for these firms. These licenses allow operators to establish contracts with essential payment processors and gaming service providers while concealing their true identities. When pressed, representatives of these offices decline to disclose client information, citing privacy policies, despite documented evidence of their involvement in markets where the casinos are illegal.
European Authorities Struggle to Act
European regulators have tried to clamp down on these operations, but their efforts have often hit dead ends. In 2023, Spain fined NewEra BV €5 million for illegal gambling activities targeting Spanish players, while Shark77, a company linked to 18Bet, faced a €900,000 fine in the Netherlands. Neither fine has been paid. In Germany, Denmark, and Sweden, warnings from gambling authorities have gone unheeded, with shell companies in Curaçao continuing operations undeterred.
Internal documents reveal the companies deliberately target EU markets. In a 2022 email, a Delasport employee, tied to the network, outlined plans to focus on countries such as Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands, despite the illegality of their activities there. Regulators’ letters often go unanswered, and warnings of jail time and financial penalties have little effect on the companies’ strategies.
Financial Exploitation on an Industrial Scale
Confidential financial records examined during the investigation show these casinos host tens of thousands of active players monthly, generating gross gaming revenues in the millions. Most of this money comes from European players, many of whom are gambling addicts lured by aggressive marketing and false promises of "responsible gambling" practices.
Regulatory and Ethical Failures
Curaçao’s gaming regulator, the Curaçao Gaming Control Board (GCB), has come under heavy criticism for failing to address widespread issues in the island's online gambling sector. Roel Bijkerk, a Dutch lawyer who represents defrauded gamblers through the foundation SBGOK, has described the GCB’s oversight as “grossly inadequate.” Despite multiple complaints and reports of fraud, the GCB recently issued a new license to Bellona NV, one of the most implicated entities in the report.
Even local trust offices seem to focus more on avoiding attention from powerful jurisdictions like the Netherlands and the United States than addressing systemic abuses. Internal emails reveal that when some gambling sites became accessible in the U.S. or Netherlands, Emoore quickly advised blocking access to these markets to prevent regulatory backlash.
Calls for Reform
The revelations highlight the urgent need for reform in Curaçao’s gambling regulations. Critics argue that the island’s reputation as a safe haven for illegal operators tarnishes the Kingdom of the Netherlands and undermines global efforts to regulate online gambling. German lawyer Marc Ellerbrock, who is preparing multiple lawsuits against Curaçao-based entities, summed up the situation: “The business model isn’t gambling—it’s addiction. Curaçao must act to end this exploitation.”
