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Curaçao’s gambling regulator is hopeful that the long-awaited National Ordinance on Gambling (LOK) will be passed before the end of the year, as it is now just one step away from being presented to parliament for a final time.
According to Aideen Shortt, Curaçao Gaming Control Board (GCB) advisor, the LOK was sent to the Core Committee for the third and final time on November 11.
Shortt told Vixio GamblingCompliance that the GCB is anticipating the LOK will be in front of parliament before the end of the year.
In the third and final Core Committee meeting, more recommendations for changes to the law could be introduced.
However, the bulk of the LOK will not change, and once it is presented to parliament Shortt said “the likelihood of it not passing is negligible”, as the current coalition government has a majority.
The complete draft of the LOK is still not publicly available, but once it is presented to lawmakers again, it will be published in full, which will happen “probably in the next two weeks”, according to Shortt.
The LOK was first introduced to parliament in December 2023 and was first promised back in February 2023.
Existing master licensees and the old regime of licensing are already ending with some having already expired, with Shortt saying Curaçao has reached a “point of no return”, regarding the evolution of the jurisdiction into the new regime of direct licenses.
Of the old master-licence holders, only Antillephone NV and C.I.L. Curaçao Interactive Licensing NV are still active and their authorisations expire on November 28 and January 31, respectively.
Once LOK is passed, a range of policies that the GCB has already been working on will be able to be published, including policies covering anti-money laundering (AML) and alternative dispute resolution (ADR).
In recent months, the GCB has also introduced a system of digital seals, which indicates that a gambling company is engaging with the new interim licence system.
Operators can display an orange seal if they are existing sub-licensees, have submitted an application, but have not yet been approved, or a green seal if they have been granted an interim licence by the GCB.
A total of 173 licences have already been granted and a further 59 have been approved and are in the process of receiving a green seal.
