WILLEMSTAD, LONDON - It is game over for the five Curaçao master license holders in the field of online gaming. And for their number of sub-licensees unknown to the government, the game is also over.
Vixio Gambling-Compliance reports about it and quotes the Minister of Finance for this. The medium indicates that Minister Javier Silvania promises "seismic reforms" and that "implementation is only a few months away". The long-awaited legislation to rebuild Curaçao's decades-old licensing system for online gambling "will be passed before the end of the second quarter," said the keynote speaker at the ICE conference in London. That will be May or June 2023; in three to four months.
“The new system will end the current master licensing model, which has only five companies with full licensing authority and a huge number piggybacking on their privileges,” writes Vixio. It concerns Antillephone; Cyberluck Curaçao; CIL Curacao Interactive; Gaming Services Provider; and The Elite Turf Club. Even Curaçao officials do not know how many online gambling operators are located on the island.
The Treasury Department estimates that there are some 600 sub-licensees operating with around 8,000 different websites, said Mario Galea, formerly Malta's top regulator and described as a veteran of gambling law. Galea plays an important role in drafting the new law LOK (National Ordinance on Games of Chance) of Curaçao.
Holders of master licenses will no longer control the market after the new legislation comes into force, Silvania says, but will be free to apply for a license under the new system. Galea revealed, according to the article, that a soft launch of its online license application platform has already taken place.
Companies currently operating in Curaçao have three months from the date of implementation of the new law to apply for a permit, after which the newly established regulator will have three months to issue a temporary permit. This temporary approval lasts for twelve months, during which the operator must complete the remaining steps of the application.
In contrast to the existing 'opaque system', license holders will have to provide information about UBOs (ultimate beneficiaries) and comply with rules on safer gambling and dispute resolution. Silvania reiterates that he has no problem with hundreds of companies possibly leaving the jurisdiction of Curaçao, because they do not want to submit to the new licensing system.
“We will certainly not miss the rogue organizations,” he says. “Most of the current income from gambling activities with a license from Curaçao does not flow into the government treasury anyway. The new LOK legislation changes this in favor of public funds.”
The government has yet to announce rates for permits under the new regime, but Galea says he expects rates to be "slightly lower" than costs in Malta. Curaçao-affiliated operators currently account for nearly 40 percent of a number of European offshore gambling blocked lists. For example, Vixio publishes GamblingCompliance.
