WILLEMSTAD - There is no uncertainty whatsoever about the renewal of the existing master licenses of the online gambling sector. This is according to Minister Javier Silvania of Finance.
He thus responds to a letter from thirteen trust offices that represent almost all online gaming companies located in Curaçao. They say they are concerned about the master licenses that will expire in the short term, while the new legislation to reform the gambling sector has not yet been adopted.
A storm in a teacup, according to the minister's response. In the letter of 28 November 2022, he said he had already stated that there are no objections from the Ministry of Finance to extending the existing permits by one year or to the introduction of the new law.
The Ministry of Finance has emphasized that the current legal framework must be observed when renewing the license of master license holders.
Legal framework
It is remarkable that the legal framework has been determined by six rulings in the past year that the system of master and sub-licenses has no legal basis and may be illegal.
In a recent judgment this month, the judge said once again that the permit holders themselves let the situation get out of their hands.
'The fact that a handful of licensees issue many sub-licenses, with very many game websites worldwide and an enormous turnover, without the licensees themselves being able to supervise properly, without the Country of Curaçao earning anything from it, seems difficult to reconcile with any legitimate purpose of the current national ordinance.'
The court added that Cyberluck, as one of the master licensees, should already know that it, with the many sublicenses that cannot be controlled, is on thin ice.