WILLEMSTAD – Curaçao’s international online gambling industry is facing renewed scrutiny after investigations by Play the Game and Josimar raised questions about the global reach of Curaçao-licensed operators, the role of local trust offices and the effectiveness of the island’s recently reformed gambling regulations.
The investigations form part of a joint international series titled “Curaçao: The EU outpost driving the global offshore betting market,” which also involves Dutch newspaper Trouw. CasinoNieuws.nl reported on the findings Friday.
The investigation comes less than two years after Curaçao introduced the Landsverordening op de Kansspelen (LOK) in December 2024. The legislation replaced the former offshore licensing structure and gave the Curaçao Gaming Authority (CGA) a central role in licensing and supervising the industry. The reforms were intended, among other things, to make the sector safer and more transparent.
Despite the new system, Play the Game reports that gambling companies continue to make extensive use of Curaçao trust offices as local representatives. During visits to addresses registered to gambling companies, journalists said they encountered empty or apparently abandoned offices. At one abandoned residence, they reportedly found correspondence from Germany and Austria involving players complaining about unpaid winnings.
The investigation also focuses on Curaçao-licensed companies operating internationally. Play the Game alleges that some operators offer sports betting in countries where they do not hold local licenses. One example cited is LineBet, which the publication says targets markets including Iran, Somalia and Morocco.
According to Play the Game, more than 10,000 internet domains are now linked to Curaçao gambling licenses. The organization also raises concerns about sports integrity, reporting that license holders are not required to report suspicious betting activity, something it considers particularly relevant in detecting possible match-fixing.
Josimar separately examined the relationship between international bookmakers and Curaçao trust companies. Using information from the CGA and Curaçao’s Commercial Register, the publication linked at least six bookmakers to companies for which Odin Trust B.V. is the statutory director. Four additional gambling companies reportedly use Odin Trust’s address.
Josimar identifies Christie Geisler Hansen as managing director of Odin Trust and notes that he has also served as Denmark’s honorary consul in Curaçao since 2007. The publication said it sought a response from Hansen but had not received one.
The researchers argue that the use of trust companies can make it more difficult to establish who ultimately controls gambling businesses and where money generated by the companies flows. Play the Game cited Peter Comello, a former assistant public prosecutor and former financial intelligence official, in discussing the difficulties that corporate and trust structures can create when tracing ownership and financial flows.
The scale of Curaçao’s new licensing system is also highlighted. Information obtained by Play the Game from Random Consulting indicated that 617 licenses had been granted under the LOK by the end of July 2026. Those licenses were estimated to generate approximately US$34 million annually in licensing revenue, in addition to about US$3.5 million in application fees. Josimar, citing CGA data, reported that more than 600 licenses were active, pending or withdrawn in August.
The CGA responded in writing to the investigators. According to Josimar, the regulator said license holders are expected to operate responsibly and comply with applicable laws in Curaçao as well as in the countries where they conduct business. The CGA also said it assesses applicants’ corporate structures, ultimate beneficial owners and governance arrangements.
The regulator itself has publicly emphasized that Curaçao’s gambling industry must comply with anti-money laundering, terrorist-financing and international sanctions requirements, including maintaining appropriate customer due-diligence policies.
The new investigation is particularly significant for Curaçao because it shifts attention from simply counting licenses or examining individual gambling websites to the structures supporting the industry: trust offices, local representatives, corporate directors, beneficial owners and the international markets in which Curaçao-licensed operators are active.
The findings do not by themselves establish wrongdoing by every company or trust office identified. However, they add to an increasingly intense debate over whether the LOK and the expanded powers of the CGA are producing the greater transparency and accountability promised when Curaçao overhauled its gambling regime.
The international investigation is continuing, with Trouw expected to publish its own contribution to the joint series.
Source: CasinoNieuws.nl – investigation into Curaçao’s international gambling sector