Curaçao eGaming: Regulating Entertainment
Curacao has been offering online gambling licenses for more than twenty years now, which makes it one of the pioneers in regulating this sphere of entertainment with its Online Gaming laws created in 1993. Online gambling companies usually choose Curacao because of the simple procedure and a quick turnaround, as well as because of a very attractive taxes policy requiring only 2% of the profit (not the turnover).
And talking about the simplicity of the licensing procedure and the gambling laws themselves we must admit that there is only one actual type of license you can obtain, which you can not only open a casino but also consider opening sports betting site or maybe organize a lottery.
To obtain a license, you need to meet several conditions. Specifically:
- Provide legal copies of passports, bank account references, etc. all of which require to be no older than three months;
- Describe all the activities you are going to offer to your customers;
- Report your geographical target market;
- Host at least a backup database of customers and transactions on the territory of Curacao physically.
If you wish to find out more about Curaçao or contact you can do so via:
Curacao eGaming, Pletterijweg Oost
Ara Hilltop Building, Curacao
Telephone: +5999 465 1134
Fax: +5999 465 1136
E-mail: info@curacao-egaming.com
Website: www.curacao-egaming.com
The procedure of licensing usually takes 2-4 weeks, which highly depends on the quality of the documents provided by the applicant. Once all the documents are completed, they can be sent by email so that the licensing procedure can be started.
Curacao eGaming personnel will be assisting you with every step of the licensing and post-licensing periods which includes regular compliance audits to prevent unnecessary penalties from your side, finance operating assistance by partner offshore organizations, and software maintenance assistance by partner companies also.
Other Types of Licenses
There are not only usual (“master”) licenses but also sub-licensee which can be issued by the holder of the “master” license to third-party organizations. Notice that the holder of the “master” license takes responsibility for the actions of the sublicensees granted licenses by him.
Holders of the sublicensee get the same except for the ability to grant the sublicensee (which could end up being called “sub sublicenses”). The sublicense is valid while the “master” license is valid and the “master” license expires five years after the moment of an issue and can be then renewed.
Fees & Payment
The setup fee for a general license is about $34,000, and you also need to pay $5,600 per month for the next two years. After that period passes, the actual size of the fees is a subject of negotiation with the government of Curacao.
The players are not going to be affected by the taxes while playing (neither while just placing bets nor winning) but the owner of the gambling service will be. But you can be charged a fee for currency exchange while withdrawing money because gambling sites under Curacao license usually provide only one currency to remove (which is often US Dollars).
You can also notice that lots of Curacao licensed gambling sites usually offer Western Union payments which are made so because if you try to use your bank account card to deposit money to such a site, the issuer of the card might block the transaction. So, using the Western Union doesn’t sound so bad after all. But you need to keep in mind that there are additional fees for sending money using the Western Union so don’t be surprised when you receive less of your winnings than expected,
It is also needed to mention that there is an evident and typical restriction for underage people. The adherence to it can be reached through any identification documents verification which you need to pass to get access to any Curacao licensed gambling site.
Some Disappointments
Unfortunately, there have been tons of issues when people were trying to complain about the violation of the licenser's rules by the licensee with no response, which is certainly a con.
There is something in winnings withdrawals interesting enough to discuss. It turns out that you can wait for your money for a long time as the time taken for the procedure is not regulated at all. There have been cases where some sites licensed by Curacao were just shut down at some moment, and nobody has ever heard about the owners or the players’ money since then.
Conclusion
Overall, Curacao is a considerable option for new players on the market with its relatively low financial barriers for the entrance, an opportunity to get a sublicense from a high-experienced company that might somehow help you in the beginning, technical help from the Curacao eGaming and simple licensing procedure and gambling laws of Curacao itself.
However, you must always remember that Curacao license won’t make players trust your casino immediately. It doesn’t work like this in this case. It doesn’t mean that Curacao is a bad place to have your casino established but what it means is that you should also remember to gain a reputation in an old-fashioned way.
