Curaçao regulatory authority struggles with flood of applications for new gambling licenses
Interest in entering the gaming market of Curaçao has significantly increased. Since September 1, 2023, gaming providers can apply for the new license at the Gaming Control Board (GCB). The regulatory authority has announced that due to increased demand, there may be delays in the licensing process.
740 Applications for Curaçao Gaming Licenses in the First Half of 2024
According to an article from the gaming news portal iGB, GCB CEO Cedric Pietersz sees the need for improvement in the infrastructure of the regulatory authority to meet the eight-week licensing deadline according to the new regulatory framework.
Pietersz and the GCB have been facing an unexpectedly high number of applications for the new Curaçao gaming license since the start of the licensing process in November 2023. By the end of the first half of 2024, which ended in April, 740 applications from gaming companies had been received by the regulatory authority.
Pietersz expects a further 300 applications in the second licensing window (starting July 2024). The increased demand will pose significant challenges to the GCB and could lead to delays in processing. It is necessary to expand existing capacities to process more applications for the new gaming license weekly:
We need to expand our internal processes and resources to handle as many applications as possible. [...] We currently process about 10 applications per week, but we hope to increase our capacity to 20 or 30 applications per week.– Cedric Pietersz, CEO of the Gaming Control Board (GCB) in Curaçao, iGB**
New Licensing System and Updated Guidelines Increase Workload for GCB
Gaming providers applying for a new license in Curaçao must fill out and submit a nine-page document to the regulatory authority. The document includes the application form, a form for the personal history of the applicant, and another document in which the company and business information of the gaming provider must be entered. Additionally, a distinction is made between B2B, B2C, and B2B2C operators, which can lead to a greater workload in processing.
Pietersz also explained that many applications are incomplete, which prolongs the processing process:
Many applications are stopped at our clarification process because documents are missing. What we see is that we already have to send back many applications in the first step, which means that the processing will take even more time.– Cedric Pietersz, CEO of the Gaming Control Board (GCB) in Curaçao, iGB**
To speed up the process, the GCB is in constant exchange with gaming companies. This is important to clarify open questions quickly and complete the processing as soon as possible. The GCB is also available to gaming providers for questions and clarifications regarding the application process.
The History of Gaming in Curaçao
The Caribbean island of Curaçao looks back on a long history of gambling. As early as the 1960s, the first casinos opened their doors, leading to an increase in tourism on Curaçao. Roulette, Blackjack, and Poker were major tourist attractions in the land-based casinos.
The boom in online gambling in Curaçao followed in the 1990s when the first online gambling providers went live. Curaçao quickly recognized the potential of online casinos and online betting providers and decided to regulate gambling. The first official gambling licenses in Curaçao were issued in 1996, making it one of the first countries to have a state-regulated license for online gambling providers.
At that time, Curaçao issued two different types of licenses. Providers had to first apply for a master license, after which they could apply for additional sub-licenses for subsidiary companies. To this day, the license from Curaçao remains one of the most popular gambling concessions among operators due to its lower license fees compared to other licenses and favorable tax conditions in the country.
GCB hopes to improve its reputation as a license issuer with new guidelines
Due to the new enforcement function and stricter guidelines, the GCB also hopes to improve its reputation as a gambling regulatory authority. In recent years, Curaçao has often been seen as a haven for unregulated operators.
Pietersz also sees more room for maneuver for the regulatory authority and the possibility of penalizing gambling companies that do not comply with the guidelines. The GCB also wants to intensify communication with other regulatory authorities in the future to be able to react more quickly to complaints about gambling providers licensed in Curaçao:
It will require operators to make efforts to adapt, but on the part of the GCB, we are also setting up an enforcement function, not necessarily to punish operators, but we will do so if necessary. [...] We have very good contacts with foreign regulatory authorities. So if we receive a complaint from a regulatory authority, the GCB will approach them and expect them to take the necessary steps to correct the situation.– Cedric Pietersz, CEO of the Gaming Control Board (GCB) in Curaçao, **iGB
It remains to be seen whether the GCB can optimize its workflows to meet the processing deadline of eight weeks.
The high number of applications has prompted gaming news portal iGB to report on the need for the GCB to improve its infrastructure to meet the eight-week licensing deadline.The unprecedented surge in applications for the Curaçao gaming license has led to GCB CEO Cedric Pietersz expressing the need to expand their internal processes and resources to handle more applications weekly.
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