The Curaçao Gaming Licence Explained

For roughly 25 years, Curaçao's online gambling was licensed through four master licence holders appointed by the government: Curaçao eGaming (licence 1668/JAZ), Gaming Curaçao (365/JAZ), Curaçao Interactive Licensing (5536/JAZ) and Antillephone (8048/JAZ). Each master licensee could issue an unlimited number of sub-licences to operators, often bundled with hosting, corporate and accounting services.

In practice, this meant the body issuing and supervising a casino's licence was a private company earning fees from that casino. Sub-licensees typically displayed the master licence number, which is why thousands of different sites showed the same number, such as 1668/JAZ or 8048/JAZ. There was no single public register of who held what, and players had little formal recourse.

Curaçao's parliament approved the LOK in December 2024 and it came into force on 24 December 2024. The law abolished the master licence model and created the Curaçao Gaming Authority as the single regulator, taking over from the Gaming Control Board (GCB). Operators now need their own licence directly from the regulator.

The transition had started earlier. Existing sub-licensees had to register on the regulator's portal and apply for a direct licence, with a key application deadline of 31 March 2024. Successful applicants could receive a provisional licence while they completed requirements such as audited policies and procedures. The CGA publishes its licence register as a PDF and operates a licence portal at portal.gamingcontrolcuracao.org.

Licences under the new regime use the prefix OGL followed by a year and two numeric identifiers, for example OGL/2024/1451/0918. The year reflects the licensing round rather than the licence's current validity, so an OGL/2024 number can belong to a licence that has since expired or been revoked. The number tells you where to look, not whether the licence is in force.

A genuine seal links to a certificate on cert.cga.cw (older seals may use cert.gcb.cw). The certificate should show the same company, licence number and website domain as the casino footer. Then look up the licence in the register.

• OGL/2024/... number: new-regime licence; check its status and expiry in the register.
• .../JAZ number (for example 1668/JAZ or 8048/JAZ): an old master licence number; on its own it is not evidence of a current licence.
• No number at all: ask why, and check the register for the operating company.

Several statuses appear in the CGA register. 'Indefinite' means no fixed end date is listed for that licence. A dated licence with a future expiry date is in force. 'Expired' means the term has ended.

'Assessment in progress' is the status that confuses players most. In the register editions we reviewed, it appears next to licences whose expiry date has already passed while the regulator reviews a renewal. It is not a confirmation of renewal, and it is not a revocation. It means the outcome is open. Some licences have carried this status for months: both of MyStake's Curaçao licences had a term ending 24 December 2025 and were still shown as 'Assessment in progress' nine months later. In our licence tracker we label this state 'Renewal pending'.

Certificates do not always match the register. In our audit on 14 September 2026, Cloudbet, BetFury, Duelbits and Thunderpick all had certificates reading 'Active' while the register showed their terms had ended and renewal under assessment. Stake's licence OGL/2024/1451/0918 had a term ending 9 June 2026 and was also listed as 'Assessment in progress'.

Rollbit's footer claimed licence OGL/2024/1260/0494 for Bull Gaming N.V. The certificate linked from that footer read 'Revoked'. In register editions from 26 June to 3 September 2026, the licence was listed as 'Assessment in progress'; in the 10 September 2026 edition it was 'Expired'. Anyone who checked only in August would have seen a pending renewal, and anyone relying only on the footer would have seen a licence claim with no warning at all. This is why dated, repeated checks matter.

The new regime is a genuine improvement on the master licence era. The regulator now issues and supervises licences directly, maintains a public register, and requires operators to have their own licence rather than sheltering under someone else's number. Applicants go through due diligence on owners and management and must provide policies on areas such as anti-money-laundering and responsible gambling.

For players, the most practical benefit is traceability: a named legal entity, a published licence number and a regulator you can identify. Some operators left Curaçao rather than meet the new requirements. BC.Game, for example, gave up its Curaçao licence on 5 December 2024, after a bankruptcy ruling against its former Curaçao operating companies, and moved to an Anjouan licence.

A Curaçao licence is not equivalent to a UK Gambling Commission or Malta Gaming Authority licence. In our methodology, a verified Curaçao CGA licence scores 60 out of 100 for licence quality, against 100 for UKGC or MGA, and an old-style Curaçao legacy licence scores 30.

• No guaranteed independent dispute resolution comparable to the approved ADR schemes required in stronger jurisdictions.
• No requirement, visible to players, for segregation of customer funds or published proof of reserves.
• No connection to national self-exclusion schemes such as GamStop (UK) or CRUKS (Netherlands).
• No protection if you play from a country the operator's terms exclude; accounts can be closed and balances withheld under those terms.
• No guarantee that the licence shown today will still be in force next month.

Gambling is for adults aged 18+ or the legal age where you live. If you have self-excluded through a national scheme, remember that Curaçao-licensed sites are outside it. BeGambleAware, GamCare and Gambling Therapy offer free, confidential help.