The most popular online casino license has remained the Curacao license for many years. This jurisdiction was one of the first to authorize gambling services for different geographical markets at the same time. This happened in 1996 and continues to this day. In 2018, Curacao took on the task of licensing blockchain casinos and has since issued permits to more than a dozen online gambling clubs.
Why Curacao is so Popular
There are several reasons why this jurisdiction has remained the most popular among operators for many years:
- Fast turnaround time (only 2-3 weeks versus 3-6 months for other jurisdictions)
- The tax charge is 2% on profits rather than a fixed amount as in Malta and Gibraltar, for example. In addition, there is no corporate income tax
- One license allows operators to provide all types of gambling services, including Video Poker, Bingo, Live Casino
- A Curacao license is recognized in many countries around the world, which means that an operator licensed under the rules of that jurisdiction provides its services legally
- Opportunity to collaborate with iGaming leaders.
Types of Curacao Licenses
There are only two types of license available in the jurisdiction: the master license and the sub-license. The first is the responsibility of the Minister of Justice. It is held by only 4 companies: Curacao Antillephone N.V., Curacao E-Gaming, CIL Curacao and Gaming Curacao.
It is valid for 5 years after which it must be renewed. A master license allows these companies to issue a sub-license to operators who have completed the licensing procedure. Regarding its validity, it is issued indefinitely with one condition – as long as the master license is valid.
General Principles for Obtaining a Curacao License
The procedure for obtaining a permit takes place in several stages:
- Collecting a set of documents. This is probably the longest stage, as the operator needs to obtain a police permit, a reference from the bank and the company’s lawyer (accountant) that the owner of the future casino has an impeccable reputation, a detailed description of the games, the software of the gaming platform, its geography and other
- Pre-approval. The documents collected, together with the application, are submitted to the licensing authority. Their review takes only 24 hours
- The operator then submits an application for intellectual property registration. A fee of 1,000 EUR has to be paid along with it. Once the payment is received in the budget, the fourth stage begins
- It consists of providing the IP characteristics of the games and paying all other financial fees for the license
- The last step to obtain a license is to register the company in the Curacao e-commerce zone. The operator then submits the registration document to the regulator. If necessary, the final package of documents can be extended. If the licensee has fulfilled all the requirements, a license, an RNG verification certificate and a sub-license certificate are issued at the end of this step.
This procedure is the same for any of the companies that are authorized to issue sub-licenses.
