WILLEMSTAD – Former Minister of Finance Javier Silvania has criticized statements made by current Minister of Finance Charles Cooper regarding the financing structure of Curaçao’s online gaming licensing system. According to Silvania, Cooper’s comments show a fundamental misunderstanding of how licensing payments are structured under the National Ordinance on Games of Chance (LOK).
In a public statement, Silvania explained that payments made by online gaming operators under the LOK are divided into two separate components: the government licensing fee and the supervision fee paid to the Curaçao Gaming Authority (CGA).
According to Silvania, every Business-to-Consumer (B2C) license requires an annual payment of €47,450 per license. Of that amount, €24,490 is invoiced directly and paid into an account of the Ministry of Finance. The remaining €22,960 is paid directly to the CGA as a supervision fee.
Silvania emphasized that the supervision payment does not form part of general government revenue. Instead, it is a legally established financing mechanism that allows the CGA to carry out its responsibilities under the LOK.
These responsibilities include processing license applications, regulatory supervision, monitoring compliance, conducting investigations, enforcing regulations, paying personnel and operating the licensing platform and supporting systems.
“The reason online gaming operators receive two separate invoices is precisely because these are two different payments with two different purposes,” Silvania stated.
His comments come after Minister Cooper announced that the government intends to investigate financial arrangements within the online gaming sector, including questions about payments made to private companies connected to gaming services.
Silvania argued that payments made by the CGA for professional or operational services should not be interpreted as money being taken from the government treasury.
“Whether the CGA chooses to employ permanent staff or hire external consultants has no impact on government income,” Silvania stated. According to him, such expenses are operational costs of the regulator and are financed through the supervision fees established under the LOK.
Silvania said that suggesting otherwise creates a false picture of how the licensing system was designed and financed.