Online casinos use the Curacao gaming license to offer gambling worldwide. On this page, we explain how Curacao casinos work, why this license lends legitimacy to operators, and how it compares with other major regulators.
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Amex, Bank Transfer, Bitcoin, Cheque, Mastercard, VisaCuracao first began offering online gaming licenses in 1996 under the jurisdiction of the country’s Gaming Licensing Authority. That system remained in place roughly unchanged for more than two decades, with four master license holders being able to issue a Curacao gaming license to individual online casino operators.
That model changed in 2024, when Curacao overhauled its online gaming licensing system. Under the new National Ordinance on Games of Chance, which took effect in December 2024, a new body known as the Curacao Gaming Authority was established to offer a direct licensing system for both online casinos and service providers.
A license from the Curacao Gaming Authority (CGA) allows an operator to legally offer online gambling services from Curacao. However, Curacao casinos are allowed to offer these games to players in countries around the world.
Licenses are not limited to online casinos, but rather give operators the ability to offer many different types of gambling, including online sports betting. While some countries with their own strong regulatory regimes won’t recognize a Curacao casino license as valid for operation in their country, these licenses do provide a general mark of legitimacy and offer access to many international markets.
Many players largely ignore casino licensing, but no online casino worth playing at doesn’t have at least one valid license from a trusted regulator. That’s why licenses issued by the Curacao Gaming Authority should matter to players. A few reasons why you might want to know a casino is licensed in Curacao include:
A license from Curacao means that you can trust the casino you are playing at meets basic standards of fairness, security, and responsible practices.
Players at Curacao online casinos can always contact the Curacao Gaming Authority in order to help resolve disputes they may be having with an operator. While this wasn’t always a strength of a license from Curacao, the new, streamlined approach to licensing has made oversight much stronger here.
Online casinos with a Curacao gaming license must implement player verification measures and take other steps to combat money laundering and the funding of terrorism.
All sites that have earned a Curacao license must have their software, games, and equipment tested by an approved independent laboratory to ensure games are fair and safe.
We’ve shown that Curacao licenses have become stronger over the years, but how do they compare to some of the most respected licenses in the industry? Let’s take a look at how a CGA license stacks up against those issued by the UK Gambling Commission and the Malta Gaming Authority
Like the CGA license, a casino license from Malta offers access to many international markets. However, the MGA license is also explicitly approved in many European Union nations.
An MGA license is more difficult and costlier to attain than a license from Curacao. In addition, the MGA requires separate licenses for different types of iGaming, while the CGA issues a single license to cover all forms of online gambling.
Because of the above factors, an MGA license is considered more prestigious than one from Curacao, though that gap has narrowed under the CGA. Overall, a license from Malta is considered nearly as strong as one from the UKGC, while CGA licenses don’t carry quite that level of respect.
While a license from Curacao allows casinos to operate in many jurisdictions around the world, a UKGC license is specifically designed for operators who want to offer online gaming in the United Kingdom.
While licenses issued by the CGA come with more taxes and fees than they did prior to the recent changes in the licensing process, they are still far cheaper for operators than a UKGC license.
The UKGC license is considered highly prestigious due to its strict requirements. That means sites carrying a UKGC license are seen as among the most trustworthy in the industry. The Curacao Gaming Authority license carries far less weight, though the reputations of Curacao casinos have improved dramatically since the CGA took over online gaming regulation in the country.
Do you want to know if your favorite casino has a valid license from the CGA? Here’s a look at the steps you can take in order to do a gaming Curacao license check for yourself.
Check the Casino Website: You should be able to see the details of a casino’s licensing on their website. Typically, this information is located at the bottom of each page in the footer, though you might also find it (or more details on those licenses) in another place, such as an “about us” page or with the terms and conditions of the site.
Look for Signs of Legitimacy: Even without taking further steps, there are some things you can look for that will give you some indication of whether a license is legitimate. You should be able to see a license number, a logo for the regulator, and often an official link to the regulator’s website.
Check the Registry: Once you have a license number, you can look it up on the Curacao Gaming Authority’s license register. There, you can see that a gaming license is current and valid, as well as see any enforcement actions the CGA has taken against that operator.
What to Look Out For: If something doesn’t add up with a site’s licensing claims, or you think that an operator is claiming to hold a CGA license without actually having one, you should not play at that online casino. In addition, you may wish to report the site to the CGA, as they may be able to take further action against operators claiming to be Curacao casinos with a license.
The most recent round of changes to the Curacao gaming license came in December 2024 with the establishment of the CGA as the new regulatory body that issues Curacao casino licenses. As an independent agency, the CGA now directly issues licenses rather than working through the master license holders.
Along with giving that responsibility to the CGA, the government of Curacao has also significantly strengthened the requirements on operators to obtain a license. Gaming firms must now prove they are financially stable, employ at least some staff members in Curacao, and implement stronger player protections, including adding a new dispute resolution process.
Most of these changes are already underway, though existing license holders were given a year to fully comply with the new regulations. However, that transition period ends on December 31, 2025, after which all Curacao gaming license holders must meet all the new regulations to keep those licenses.
What protections do players have under a Curacao license?
A Curacao casino license shows that a casino has met standards for financial stability, independent testing, and other player protections. In addition, the CGA license includes provisions requiring dispute resolution procedures to deal with player complaints that can’t directly be worked out with the operator.
Are players from all countries allowed to use a Curacao-licensed casino?
Yes, a Curacao license gives online casino operators the ability to offer gambling games to players in all international markets. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that regulators in countries with strict licensing requirements will consider it legal for those casinos to operate in their jurisdictions. But players in most countries are free to play at Curacao online casinos.
How can I check if a casino’s Curacao license is valid and up to date?
If you want to verify the validity of a Curacao license, you can visit the Curacao Gaming Authority’s licensing register. There, you can look up an operator by its license number or name and verify that the license was approved by the CGA, as well as see when the license was issued and when it is scheduled to expire.
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