Online Gambling in Curacao
Curacao is an island country that is located in the Caribbean Sea.
Around 155,000 people live on the island, which covers 171 square miles.
In 1993, the National Ordinance on Offshore Games of Hazard was formed.
This institution legalised online gambling, and in 1996 the authority started issuing licences.
In 1999, the Curacao Gaming Control Board became the regulatory body of gambling in the country.
These apply to all land-based casinos and online operations.
All licensed operations need to uphold the laws that create a safe gaming environment and honour players.
Gambling Licences
The Curacao Gaming Control Board can issue two types of online gaming licences.
These are the Master Licence and the Sub-Licence.
These are Cyberluck Curacao NV, Gaming Curacao, Curacao Interactive Licensing NV and Antillephone NV.
Operators who want to launch new sportsbooks or online casinos need to apply for a sub-licence.
Now, this is where it gets tricky.
Master Licence holders are allowed to issue sub-licences to operators.
With the sub-licences, these operators are allowed to run their businesses independently.
Each Master Licence holder has its own policies regarding certain issues such as handling disputes.
Sub-licence holders need to abide by the policies of the Master Licence holders.
Master Licences are valid for 5 years and can be renewed by the holders.
The Gaming Control Board reviews applications, a procedure that usually takes around 6 weeks.
Once everything is approved, the online casino or sportsbook can go live.
Great Coverage
The Curacao Gaming License is recognised by many countries.
This allows players from those countries to play at those casinos, sportsbooks, bingo rooms and so on.
Moreover, the licence is intended to serve offshore online casinos and sportsbooks.
The Curacao licence holders cannot offer their services to residents of Curacao.
Parent companies take advantage of this and may create several online casinos.
Quality Games
A lot of the top software providers are licensed with the Curacao Gaming Control Board.
As it is quite a popular licence amongst operators, plenty of software providers have jumped on the bandwagon.
This may hit you particularly if you are looking for niche games or betting markets.
However, the Control Board does not handle complaints.
This does not mean they are less safe than casinos or sportsbooks operating under other licences.
You will find lots of casinos and sportsbooks using the Curacao licence.
