Curacao gaming licence explained

The Curacao Gaming Authority (CGA) licenses, supervises and enforces online gaming in Curacao, a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It holds that role as an independent administrative authority from 24 December 2024, the day the National Ordinance on Games of Chance (LOK) entered into force. Before that, the Minister of Finance had mandated it in March 2020 to carry out the licensing and supervision of the online sector.

A Gambling Licence is the B2C operating licence for companies that run player-facing sites. A Supplier Licence is the B2B licence for platform or software companies.

The mission set for the CGA is to maintain a regulatory framework that safeguards the integrity and financial soundness of the gaming industry while promoting responsible, safe and fair gaming. A Board of Directors leads the CGA, under the supervision of a Supervisory Board.

From the old system to the LOK

The CGA, acting for the Minister of Finance, began a phased reform of the online gaming regime in November 2023 to prepare for the LOK.

The regulator itself began as the Gaming Control Board, a foundation established on 19 April 1999 to supervise the gaming industry operating in and from Curacao. When the LOK entered into force the board was designated the CGA and continues under that name. The CGA traces its origin to the second Mutual Evaluation Report of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force in 1998, and it has been the AML/CFT/CFP supervisor for all gambling in and from Curacao since 15 February 2019.

The former sublicence system ended when the Orange Seal (Certificate of Operations) expired on 15 October 2025. Since then a licence has to match what the company does. A B2B licence holder provides services to B2C operators, runs no player-facing domains and takes no part in player account management, meaning player data and payments. A company may hold one or several B2C licences, or one or several B2B licences, but not a mix of both. Until 24 December 2026 a B2B licence is not mandatory for entities serving Curacao-licensed B2C operators, and holding one is at the entity's discretion. An operator that does not complete the transition to the right licence type is in breach of Curacao law.

A B2C licence that is being wound down stays active until every player has been paid.

How the new licences are issued

An applicant pays a non-refundable fee before the CGA processes the application. Once approved, the company is invoiced, and a licence is not formally granted, nor a Green Seal issued, until the invoices are paid in full. In the first 12 months after the LOK, the first invoice covered only an initial six-month period instead of the full annual fee. First-year fees are pro-rata and fall due within 14 days of the CGA telling the company's local director of the grant.

Annual fees fall due in full by 15 January. An invoice alone does not confirm a continuation or extension of a licence; only written confirmation from the CGA does.

Non-payment has a fixed ladder. An approved applicant who has not paid by day 57 loses the approval and the application is rejected. For annual fees, day 57 brings a formal 21-day suspension and notice of intention to revoke. On day 71 the licence is revoked, removed from the public licence register and added to the public enforcement register.

Recent changes at the regulator

• Political responsibility for the CGA moved from the Minister of Finance to the Minister of Justice from 19 August 2025, as the government announced on 13 October 2025.
• The Supervisory Board resigned in mid-September and the government began appointing new members. The CGA's press release of 14 October 2025 states that all licensing and supervisory activities continue uninterrupted.
• On 7 October 2026 the CGA announced that its online gaming portal will not return to service and that it is moving to a new regulatory platform. Existing licences, operators' obligations and the CGA's supervisory duties are unaffected. The current digital seal is affected, and the CGA will introduce an alternative way for operators to show that a domain is licensed. The CGA also reports an unauthorised access incident and is working to contain the resulting data leak.
• The Minister of Justice granted a general extension of the Article 5.12 local substance requirement, announced on 23 January 2026. Operators do not have to meet it before 1 April 2027.
• In the second quarter of 2026 the CGA released Wind-Down Instructions for operators ending or changing their activities, and a Compliance and Enforcement Policy.

No official list of countries where licensed casinos may not take players appears in the regulator's pages, so this page publishes none.

Checks on owners

The CGA runs probity checks up to the ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs) to judge whether an applicant is fit and proper. A UBO is a person who ultimately owns or controls a company by holding more than ten percent of its shares, voting rights or ownership interests. The test also looks at the applicant's expertise, planning and sources of funding.

Player funds and payments

Anti-money laundering rules rest on the National Ordinance on identification when rendering services (LID) and the National Ordinance on the reporting of unusual transactions (LMOT), which cover casinos, lotteries and offshore games of hazard. Unusual transactions, executed or only proposed, go to the Curacao Financial Intelligence Unit. A transaction of NAf 5,000 or more, or its foreign currency equivalent, by any payment method, is an objective indicator that must be reported.

As a general rule, funds are returned only to the account they came from. A casino's terms must set out its withdrawal conditions, especially identity checks once cumulative deposits and withdrawals exceed XCG 4,000 (circa EUR 2,000). At account closure the operator may refresh KYC but should not ask for more than it asked at opening, so that legitimate withdrawals are not delayed. The terms must also say clearly when winnings may be confiscated or payouts limited or refused.

Each operator's operations manual has to describe its maximum payout and/or maximum withdrawal policy, including any caps per bet, per event or per period.

The CGA's crypto policy covers B2C licence holders:

• Crypto may be accepted for gambling only, and players must be told plainly that the operator is not responsible for any exchange used to buy or sell crypto.
• Operators must not act as an exchange, payment services provider or virtual asset service provider.
• The CGA treats crypto as high risk and prefers fiat-backed regulated stablecoins.
• Crypto linked to sanctioned mixers or tumblers is prohibited.
• By default, withdrawals go to the same wallet and in the same asset as the deposit.
• Wallets must be separated by purpose, and player funds are held in segregated wallets.

Wallet segregation, blockchain analytics, reconciliation, withdrawal whitelisting and audit-ready records must be fully in place within 12 months, by June 2027. Separately, the CGA is assessing options for action against foreign entities that manage player funds for online operators.

Game testing and suppliers

An independent test house must hold current accreditation under BS EN ISO/IEC 17025 from a body that signs the ILAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement or from another body such as the United Kingdom Accreditation Service. It must also sign a declaration that it works independently of gaming operators and software suppliers. Certified labs on the CGA's list include Gaming Laboratories International (GLI), eCOGRA Limited and BMM Spain Testlabs S.L.U. A listing is not an endorsement or guarantee by the CGA. It recognises that the lab meets baseline criteria.

The CGA has set no technical standards of its own. It accepts online gaming standards from New Jersey and Pennsylvania in the United States, Ontario and British Columbia in Canada, the United Kingdom and Malta.

B2C licensees keep a game supplier register and check all third-party game content against the official CGA supplier list. Registration of suppliers of critical services and goods under the LOK must be operational by 24 December 2026. Terms and conditions must state that all games are fair and use certified RNGs.

Advertising

Advertising must not mislead, encourage excessive gambling or target vulnerable people. Marketing must not target or appeal to self-excluded players, people with gambling problems, minors or financially vulnerable people. Operators must make sure that affiliates, influencers, VIP representatives and marketers follow the responsible gaming framework and the advertising rules.

Running the site

The footer of a licensed site must show a clear indication that under-age gambling is prohibited, the licence holder's name and registered address, and the official CGA licence number. It must also carry a statement that the CGA oversees the licensee's operations, the operator's CGA digital seal, and links to gambling support resources such as GamCare, Gamblers Anonymous and GambleAware, plus local services where available.

Terms and conditions must be reachable within one click from the homepage, the registration page and the player account area. Players must actively accept them at registration, for example by ticking a box, because "by using the site you accept" is not enough. The terms must show the licensee's legal name as registered with the Curacao Chamber of Commerce, the registered address, the Chamber of Commerce number, and the licence number, issue date and licensee name as registered with the CGA. The guideline is Version 1.0 of April 2026 and enters into force within six months of release, after which it applies to all B2C licensees. Sanctions for faulty terms are directives to correct them by a deadline, administrative fines, and suspension or revocation of the licence.

Every B2C licence holder must keep an up-to-date operations manual and make it available to the CGA within five working days of a first request. Among other things, the manual must describe the technical measures that stop banned persons, such as minors, from opening accounts and stop self-excluded players or those in a cooling-off period from accessing existing ones. It must also summarise how player disputes are settled under Article 5.3 of the LOK, with timeframes, escalation steps and the ADR providers used. The operator must identify the Tier-IV certified data centre registered in Curacao and the hosting provider used.

Enforcement

The CGA can impose penalty orders, administrative coercion orders and administrative fines, and can suspend, revoke or amend licences. Breaches of certain articles of the LOK, NORUT and NOIS are criminal offences that can go to the Public Prosecutor's Office. Enforcement runs in three phases: prevention and information, risk-based supervision, then corrective measures and sanctions. Minor breaches usually bring a warning or instruction, while serious or repeated breaches lead to administrative or criminal measures, and continued breach can end in permanent revocation.

The stated priorities are protecting minors and vulnerable people, combating illegal gambling, preventing fraud and money laundering, and compliance with advertising and responsible gaming rules. An operator that disagrees with a decision can lodge an objection with the CGA or appeal to the Court of First Instance of Curacao. Offering gaming without a valid licence in or from Curacao is a felony under the Criminal Code, punishable by up to two years in prison or a fine of NAf 25,000 and/or revocation of certain rights.

Complaints

A complaint starts with the casino. Its complaints policy must be included or referenced in its terms, and an official Complaint Submission Form must be available. A player may complain free of charge up to six months after the bet is settled or the incident happened. Only the registered player can complain, and Article 1.3 section c of the LOK forbids a player to sell, give away, rent out, lease or pledge claims against a licence holder.

The operator must answer within four weeks. It may extend that once by four weeks, with prior written notice to the player. Complaints about targeting of vulnerable players, or about self-exclusion and cooling-off, count as responsible gaming complaints, and operators must make best efforts to resolve them within five business days. The player always receives the final decision in writing. Listed complaint topics include deposit and withdrawal issues, bonus terms, account closures or restrictions, alleged unfairness in game outcomes, KYC and verification, and unfair terms.

A player who is unhappy with the result must be told they can escalate to an independent ADR entity. ADR is free for the player, and the operator bears all its costs. Operators must have an agreement with at least one CGA Certified ADR entity. Certified providers include Resolvo Curacao N.V., ADR Curacao B.V., Cadre BV and IBAS. ADR is mandatory for the operator to provide, but it may set conditions meant to prevent abuse: ADR before court action, a binding outcome, or a minimum claim value. Unless the player has agreed to specific ADR terms, the operator must not restrict the player's right to take legal action. Under Article 5.5 of the LOK the player agreement is governed by Curacao law, and disputes go to a competent court of Curacao.

Safer gambling tools

Players must not be able to deposit or bet until the operator is satisfied they are 18 or older, and age checks should at least include a valid government-issued ID. The operator must offer:

• Cooling-off periods of 24 hours, 7 days, 1 month or 3 months.
• Self-exclusion of 1 year, with options of 3 years, 5 years, 10 years and lifetime.
• Daily, weekly or monthly deposit limits. A lower limit takes effect at once, and a higher one only after a seven-day wait.

Self-exclusion must be possible fully online, without email or operator approval, in no more than 15 minutes. Once confirmed, the player cannot cancel it before it ends. The player is excluded from all of the operator's domains and should be encouraged to self-exclude from other gambling sites. Remaining funds, except any frozen under AML rules, go back to the original payment method within two business days. If a self-excluded person or a minor still gambled, the operator must refund all deposits within two business days, again except AML-frozen funds. Direct marketing, including emails, messages and bonuses, is prohibited during an active cooling-off or self-exclusion period.

Limits of the CGA's role

The CGA does not rule on individual player complaints about gambling on operator sites, and unless a complaint was handled inadequately it will not review or overturn decisions of the operator or the ADR provider. Operators must not stop a player contacting the CGA directly about malpractice, breaches of licence conditions or whistleblowing, and such concerns about an operator can go to complaints@cga.cw.

Players in the UK

A casino licensed abroad is never an alternative to a self-exclusion. The CGA tells foreign players harmed by gambling to contact a helpline or treatment service in their country of residence. UK help is on responsible gambling.

Each casino below is shown with the company named on its licence and its welcome offer:

• ZizoBet: Santeda International B.V., 550% up to €5300 plus up to 900 Free Spins
• Rolletto: Santeda International B.V., 150% Deposit Bonus
• Cosmobet: Santeda International B.V., up to 400% bonus + 1000 Free Spins
• TrustStake: Sefiarray B.V., €5,000 Bonus + 300 Free Spins
• BetMac: Sefiarray B.V., 100% up to €525 plus 100 Free Spins
• MyStake: GTW B.V., 300% up to 1,500€/$

The CGA's register page has sections for landbased casinos, online gaming licences, certificates and an enforcement register. The online gaming licence registry lists licences granted under the New Online Gaming Policy, effective 15 November 2023. Each entry shows the licence number, licensee, company type (B2C or B2B), company registration number, issue date, expiry date and status. Licence numbers appear in two formats, for example CGA/2025/2605/1320 and OGL/2024/219/0188. The CGA says no rights can be derived from the register overviews, because licensing status can change over time.

The licence details a site prints should match one registry entry. A mismatch looks like this:

• The licence number is not in the registry, or belongs to a different company name.
• The company registration number or the issue date differs from what the site prints.
• The entry is B2B, although the site takes deposits from players.
• The status shows Expired.
• The licence number appears on the enforcement register.

The status column needs close reading. Some entries print no status. Some show Assessment in progress, including entries whose expiry date has passed. Some show Expired, one of them with the note that it is being re-evaluated in an administrative appeal. Some show N/A as the expiry and the status Indefinite. A licence number can also repeat: OGL/2024/1397/0784 is printed against two different companies, so match the company name and registration number as well as the number.

The enforcement register lists only actions that change a licence's status, such as revoked, suspended or not extended, and not every measure the CGA takes. Its entries show licence number, licensee, company registration, effective date and status. For example, licence OGL/2024/1790/1174 of Novatech Solutions N.V. is shown as revoked effective 22 May 2026. The CGA warns that the register may not always be fully accurate or up to date. The public warnings page lists warning notices by name and date, for example BlackSands (17 July 2026). A seal image alone is not a check.

Our team tests casinos and checks every licence line on this page against the regulator's own pages and register. The method is set out in how we check casino licences. For the general steps, see how to check a casino licence. For cloned or false entries, see fake and cloned casino licences.

The regime pages for the UK, Malta and Anjouan sit alongside this one. The pairings that include Curacao are here:

• UKGC vs Curacao licence
• MGA vs Curacao licence
• Curacao vs Anjouan licence
• Non-UKGC casinos explained

A regulator can change a rule, and a fact on this page can be wrong. When either happens, the team reads the regulator's own page or register again and corrects this page. Send corrections to info@biglicence.co.uk.

• Big Licence team checks of the licences we cover
• cga.cw Used for the Curacao Gaming Authority's own pages and register.
• spin-cdn.com Used for account checks.