Online Gambling Regulations
Authority · REG-CGA

Curaçao Gaming Authority

For thirty years "a Curaçao licence" meant a sub-licence rented from one of four private master licence holders — cheap, instant and supervised by almost no one. The LOK reform retired that system and rebuilt the regulator around direct state licensing.

The master-licence era and its end

From 1996, four master licensees sub-licensed thousands of operators with minimal vetting; the state saw little revenue and exercised less oversight, while "Curaçao-licensed" became shorthand for the industry’s bottom shelf. Reform arrived as a condition of Dutch COVID-era financial support: the Landsverordening op de kansspelen (LOK) passed parliament on December 17, 2024 and took force a week later, abolishing sub-licensing outright.

The Gaming Control Board — rebranded the Curaçao Gaming Authority — now issues B2C and B2B licences directly. Legacy operators were converted to provisional licences and made to re-apply with real documentation: identified beneficial owners, AML programmes, player-protection policies and local representation.

What the new licence buys

The economics remain the jurisdiction’s pitch: roughly €4,600 to apply and about €47,000 a year all-in, with applications targeted at eight weeks — still a fraction of any European licence. What changed is accountability: a public register, supervision fees funding actual supervision, and a regulator that can revoke what it directly issued.

The constraint is unchanged — a Curaçao licence opens no regulated market. It is the operating credential for the grey map: jurisdictions without local frameworks. Operators serving Britain or Sweden need those licences regardless; what the CGA offers is a legal home base and banking-grade paperwork for everywhere else.

The open question

Reform on paper is not yet reform in practice: the register is young and enforcement history thin. Whether the CGA polices its licensees with the rigour the LOK promises — or whether the bottom shelf simply migrates to Anjouan and its peers — is the question the next few years will answer. The tracker logs each milestone as it lands.

At a glance

Frequently asked questions

What does the CGA regulate?
The Curaçao Gaming Authority licenses and supervises casino, betting, poker, bingo. Founded as the Gaming Control Board and rebranded the Curaçao Gaming Authority under the LOK, it is now the direct licensing authority: the master/sub-licence system is abolished and all B2C/B2B licences are issued by the state.
When was the CGA established and where is it based?
It was established in 1999 and sits in Willemstad, Curaçao. Reform: LOK in force December 24, 2024 — master licences abolished.
What law gives the CGA its powers?
Its enabling law is the Landsverordening op de kansspelen (LOK), in force December 24, 2024. The profile above covers the mandate that statute defines and how the authority enforces it.
Which market does the CGA supervise?
The CGA is a point-of-supply licensing authority: it licenses operators that serve international markets rather than a single domestic one. Its official register is at www.cga.cw.
Is the CGA's licence register public?
Yes — the CGA publishes licensee information on its official site (www.cga.cw). Cross-checking an operator's licence claim against the issuer's own register is the most reliable verification step there is, and the references below link the primary sources this profile is built from.
References
  1. Landsverordening op de kansspelen (LOK) — Curaçao — Curaçao Gaming Authority, www.cga.cw
  2. Curaçao Gaming Authority (former Gaming Control Board) — cga.cw, www.cga.cw