WILLEMSTAD – Buying lottery numbers, playing bingo or Bon Ku’Ne and visiting casinos may be familiar activities in Curaçao, but the Curaçao Gaming Authority (CGA) is warning that not every gambling operation residents encounter is legal.
In the first installment of its public information series “CGA Explains,” the regulator is seeking to increase awareness about the laws governing games of chance and its responsibility for overseeing the industry.
According to the CGA, gambling is deeply embedded in Curaçao's society and ranges from traditional number games and bingo to casinos and international online gambling.
The fact that an activity is common, however, does not automatically mean that it is authorized.
The CGA says Curaçao has both regulated gambling offered through licensing systems and an illegal or unregulated market.
The latter can include unauthorized number lotteries, lotto games, commercially organized bingo and Bon Ku’Ne, gaming machines operated outside casinos, foreign lotteries offered without authorization and other unlicensed lottery activities.
The authority also points to situations in which licensed operators make use of unlicensed door-to-door sellers, as well as snack bars and other establishments selling products connected to illegal lottery operators.
Different games require different authorization
The CGA says one of the challenges is that residents may not always be aware that different games of chance are governed by permits, legislation and procedures establishing what operators may and may not do.
That regulatory responsibility now rests with the Curaçao Gaming Authority, which describes itself as the independent authority overseeing the gambling sector.
Its responsibilities include licensing, supervision, regulation and enforcement.
The authority's role was significantly strengthened when the National Ordinance on Games of Chance (LOK) entered into force on December 24, 2024. The same legislation formally established the CGA as an independent public body.
The new structure followed years of concern about Curaçao's gambling regulatory framework, particularly its international online gambling industry.
Online gambling identified as high risk
The CGA says Curaçao's National Risk Assessment identified online gambling as presenting a high risk to the country in relation to money laundering and terrorist financing.
That concern was among the factors behind the push for stronger supervision.
Under the former online gambling structure, hundreds of operators could conduct activities through sublicenses connected to five master license holders. According to the CGA, the regulator at the time lacked complete insight into the operations of those individual remote operators.
The system also generated international criticism that affected Curaçao's reputation.
Rather than abandoning an industry considered economically valuable, Curaçao chose to reform it. The government sought a regulatory structure that would allow the island to continue developing the sector while strengthening oversight and meeting international standards.
Consumer protection becomes more important
The LOK is intended to provide a clearer legal foundation for safe, transparent and responsible gambling while improving Curaçao's standing as an international gambling jurisdiction.
Consumer protection and regulatory controls are among the central elements of the new framework.
The CGA's public information campaign comes as the authority assumes a much more prominent role in determining who may legally offer gambling services from Curaçao and under what conditions.
For consumers, the message is straightforward: the popularity or familiarity of a lottery, bingo game, gambling machine or other game of chance does not by itself establish that the activity is legal. Operators must have the authorization required for the specific gambling activity they provide.