Curacao prepares for tougher gambling regime

Curacao, one of the world’s premier gambling licensing jurisdictions, is going to undergo some changes, reports the Curacao Chronicle, a media outlet that has been following the proposed regulatory changes over the past months.

The new laws should be enacted starting on September 1, and they are expected to lead to much stricter gambling standards that are internationally recognized. This was confirmed during an appearance of the Minister of Finance for Curacao, Javier Silvania, who attended the iGaming NEXT Valletta 23 industry summit in Malta last week.

Silvania noted that the National Gambling Ordinance is due to soon took effect. This is the official name of the proposed gambling framework that will overhaul existing laws and supposedly boost Curacao’s reputation as a trusted jurisdiction when it comes to handling its own gambling company licenses.

The new framework focuses on several particular areas that it wants to strengthen in order to project strength. Curacao will make a determined step forward by introducing fraud prevention standards, boosting player protection, and adopting better anti-money laundering measures.

Despite the sweeping changes promised, the transition should be made simple. The Curacao Gaming Authority, a new regulator, will be established on time to give the jurisdiction a dependable custodian that will both monitor for illegal operations and also shut them down, and in the cases where it can – act preventively.

"We insist that operators comply with legislation that aligns with reputable jurisdictions and meets the minimum requirements of international laws and guidelines concerning money laundering," Silvania said at the conference cited by the Curacao Chronicle.

Another point of emphasis will be how Curacao interacts with global jurisdictions. Silvania expects to see the jurisdiction strengthen its collaboration with other parties across the world, and particularly governments and gambling regulators. To ensure that the transition goes without any major difficulty, a new dedicated portal will be launched to streamline the license application process.

Silvania has spoken confidently that any changes introduced would not come at a particular difficulty to operators, providing they comply with the new licensure processes and expectations. Global cooperation has been one of the keys to Curacao’s success, and the jurisdiction is now determined to keep on this path.

Curacao has already received requests from the Australian Media and Communication Authority (ACMA) to step in cases where websites licensed in the jurisdiction are targeting Australian customers without any license to do so.

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