What's next for Curacao Casinos?

Online gambling has been regulated in Germany since July 2021. In order to be allowed to offer virtual slot games, providers need a license from the Joint Gambling Authority of the Federal States. Despite the now clear legal situation, Curacao casinos continue to enjoy great popularity. But what about the future of these casinos? The Minister of Finance of Curacao plans to rehabilitate online gambling.

Over the past few years, we at GambleJoe have reported on the online gambling industry on the Caribbean island of Curacao. For example, at the end of November 2020, we reported that the Netherlands was going to push through a gambling reform in Curacao. In the two years that followed, however, not much changed. No wonder, then, that an article published in January this year once again mentioned that the reorganisation of gambling in Curacao would be delayed. Now, however, the Caribbean island's finance minister is looking to put the pedal to the metal and restore the reputation of Curacao's online gambling industry.

Curacao: First details of new gambling law published

Curacao's Minister of Finance, Javier Silvania, together with a representative of the local gaming authority, the Gaming Control Board (GCB), released the first details of the planned gaming law less than two weeks ago. A key aim is to introduce stricter conditions for obtaining a licence. For example, licensees will have to prove that they have a physical presence in Curacao. This could spell the end of the Caribbean island's many shell companies.

How many Curacao casinos are there currently?

Currently, no one on the Caribbean island knows how many online casinos with a Curacao licence actually exist. This is due to the fact that licensees were previously able to issue additional white label licences to other operators - a licensee acting as an additional licensor. However, it is estimated that there are currently around 12,000 online casinos with a Curacao licence. This is the assumption of the Dutch platform Follow The Money.

In addition, the Netherlands is said to have requested that Curacao casinos respect the laws of other countries. Accordingly, online casinos licensed in Curacao would only be allowed to accept players residing in Curacao. Considering that the current population of Curacao is only around 150,000, the target market for online casinos is likely to collapse. Currently, Curacao licensed online casinos account for an estimated 40% of the global gambling black market.

Tip: We have summarised the most important casino licences on GambleJoe. In addition to the "Curacao licence", we also present licences from Germany, Malta, Costa Rica, Denmark, Spain and other countries.

Can Curacao still save its image?

Curacao's Minister of Finance has taken it upon himself to clean up the Caribbean island's image. Until now, Curacao has had a bad reputation in the iGaming industry, as it is home to a number of reputable online casinos as well as numerous black sheep. As early as September this year, Curacao will host the "Minister of Finance in association with SiGMA" event. SiGMA is a world-renowned gambling exhibition.

Since the new State Treaty on Gaming (GlüStV) came into force, players from Germany are only allowed to play in online gaming rooms with a licence from the Joint Gaming Authority of the Federal States (GGL). The GGL's official whitelist shows which gaming operators and platforms have a German licence for sports betting, virtual slot games or online poker.

Online gaming arcades with German license at a glance

However, network blocks initiated by the Gaming Authority were recently declared illegal by the Higher Administrative Court of Rheinland-Pfalz.

Image source: https://pixabay.com/de/photos/karibik-curacao-strand-tropisch-906167/