Gaming Legislation

Regulated gaming in Curaçao

CURRENT LEGISLATION

Currently the following games of chance are regulated in Curacao:

Land based casinos (National Ordinance Curaçao Casino Sector (AB 1999, no. 97));
Wega di Number (Lottery Ordinance 1909, AB 1965, no. 85, z.g.);
Goods Lottery (Lottery Ordinance 1909);
Bingo (National Ordinance Games of Hazard II 1988)
Bon ku Né (National Ordinance Games of Hazard II 1988)
National Lottery (National Ordinance on the National Lottery 1949, PB 1965, no. 122, z.g.)
Online Gaming National Ordinance on Offshore Games of Hazard (Landsverordening buitengaatse hazardspelen, P.B. 1993, no. 63)

Casinos

A casino license is required to operate a landbased casino in Curaçao. Casinos are required to be an amenity of a hotel that is focused on tourism. Stand-alone casinos are not allowed in Curaçao. In principle, a casino should run primarily on the foreign tourists that are accommodated in the hotel to which the casino is connected. The casino license holder can be either the owner of the hotel or the hotel operator.

Numbers Lottery

‘Wega di Number’, literally translated ‘Game of Numbers’, is a numbers lottery where the participant wagers a cash amount on one or more 2, 3 or 4-number combinations in order to win a monetary prize.

Lottery of goods

A lottery of goods is a lottery whereby the prizes do not consist of money or monetary paper. The proceeds of the game may only be used to realize a charitable objective, or for the promotion of culture, the sciences, the arts, or other general interests.

Charitable bingo and Bon ku né

Charitable bon ku né is a very popular local game of chance. The rules are as follows. A maximum of 13 players form a game or table. The players make use of a sheet depicting 3 playing cards with each different picture. The game leader randomly selects and calls out playing card. The players then cover the pictures called and depicted on their sheet with playing cards with identical pictures, and the players attempt to win the game by being the first to cover all three pictures on their sheet.

National Lottery

Curaçao’s National Lottery, the Landsloterij, has a rich history. In 1922 the idea of a national lottery was launched as a countermeasure to the significant offering of illegal gambling and to keep a check on the foreign exchange leaving the islands as a result thereof. However, the national lottery initiative could not count on immediate support. With the signing into law of the National Ordinance on the National Lottery 1949, the Landsloterij finally started operations in their current format.

Online Gaming

Based on the National Ordinance on Offshore Games of Hazard (Landsverordening buitengaatse hazardspelen, P.B. 1993, no. 63) online gaming licenses are issued by or on behalf of the Governor of Curaçao.

National Ordinace on Offshore Games of Hazards

NEW LEGISLATION

The Future of the Online Gaming Industry

The legislation is very outdated, the oldest ordinance dated 1909. Since then, a lot has changed, and the current laws need to be upgraded to meet modern international standards.

The Government of Curacao is in the process of modernizing its gambling legislation to bring it in line with international standards and to adopt a responsible and comprehensive gaming policy that incorporates all gaming activities that are and will be licensed within the jurisdiction of Curacao.

Consequently, the Landsverordening op de Kansspelen (LoK) is being drafted.

The LoK serves as a framework for the regulation of all games of chance. This means that the LoK introduces general provisions that apply to all games of chance that are offered in or from Curaçao. The LoK contains, among other things, general provisions relating to prohibited gambling activities, the issuance, suspension and withdrawal of (provisional) licenses, ensures responsible gambling, the establishment of a new games of chance authority and most importantly, the enforcement and supervision of these regulations.

The main objectives of the LoK are:

preventing and combating criminal activities;
the protection of participants;
preventing and combating gambling addiction and the protection of vulnerable persons, including minors;
safeguarding Curacao's international reputation, especially as an i-gaming industry. The LoK introduces an independent administrative body, the Curaçao Gaming Authority (“CGA”), which will be responsible for license granting, the swift enforcement of law and neutral supervisionof the enactment of these regulations. This, with regard to all games of chance.