Stake
8.8 Trust Index
Sports BettingCasinoSlotsfootballcrickettennisbasketballEsportsoddsbonusesLicence OGL/2024/1451/0918 · Status: active
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Curaçao
Curaçao Gaming Authority
Offshore license
Home to a huge share of the world’s online casinos by volume — and, as of late 2024, a jurisdiction mid-way through the biggest regulatory overhaul in its history.
Official regulator site →9
Operators we track here
Offshore license
Regulatory tier
Curaçao
Jurisdiction
October 2026
Page last reviewed
Operators Licensed by Curaçao Gaming Authority
Every brand below has an active licence from Curaçao Gaming Authority confirmed in our own records — sorted by AskBigBonus Trust Index.
1xBet
7.1 Trust Index
Sports BettingCasinoSlotsfootballcrickettennisbasketballEsportsoddsbonusesLicence OGL/2024/1262/0493 · Status: active
Megapari
6.9 Trust Index
Sports BettingCasinoSlotscrickettennisEsportsoddsbonusesfootballbasketballLicence 8048/JAZ · Status: active
Linebet
6.5 Trust Index
Sports BettingCasinoSlotsEsportsfootballcrickettennisbasketballoddsbonusesLicence OGL/2024/565/0553 · Status: active
1Win
5.7 Trust Index
Sports BettingCasinoSlotsfootballcrickettennisbasketballEsportsoddsbonusesLicence OGL/2024/587/0621 · Status: active
What Is Curaçao Gaming Authority?
For three decades, "Curaçao-licensed" meant an operator held a sub-licence issued under one of four master licences, a structure that let sub-licensees launch quickly but gave the actual regulator, then called the Gaming Control Board (GCB), limited direct oversight of who was operating under its name. That changed on 24 December 2024, when the National Ordinance on Games of Chance (LOK) came into force and replaced the entire 1993 framework.
The master/sub-licence system has been fully abolished — every sub-licence issued under the old regime expired by 31 January 2025. In its place, Curaçao now issues direct B2C licences (operators serving players) and B2B licences (platform and software suppliers) from a single reconstituted regulator, publicly referred to as the Curaçao Gaming Authority (CGA) in recent industry reporting following the GCB’s change in mandate.
History & Background
Curaçao began issuing offshore gambling licences in 1993 under the Landsverordening op de Kansspelen, decades before most jurisdictions had any online-gambling framework at all — which is why it became, by sheer volume, one of the most widely used licences in the industry despite comparatively light historical oversight of individual sub-licensees.
Licence Types
B2C licence
For operators offering games of chance directly to players — the licence type most online casinos and betting sites hold.
B2B licence
For suppliers of gaming platforms, software, and related services to B2C licensees, rather than operators facing players directly.
Licensing Requirements
- Since the LOK came into force, every operator must hold a licence issued directly by the regulator rather than a sub-licence under someone else’s master licence — as of mid-2025, the regulator has been explicit that companies operating games of chance from Curaçao must hold that direct authorisation.
- Reported annual licence fees under the new regime are materially higher than the old sub-licence model — in the range of tens of thousands of euros per year for a B2C licence — reflecting a shift toward direct, resourced supervision rather than a one-off approval.
- Operators are subject to restricted-territory rules: a Curaçao licence does not authorise offering services into a defined list of countries that require their own local licence or prohibit the activity outright.
Player Protections
- The reform’s stated goal is to bring Curaçao’s oversight closer to direct-licensing jurisdictions like Malta or the UK, replacing indirect sub-licensee supervision with direct regulatory accountability — the practical player-protection detail (dispute handling, fund segregation) is still being finalised under the new regime and is worth checking against the regulator’s current published rules before relying on it as fixed.
- Because the reform is recent, we treat Curaçao’s player-protection framework as a jurisdiction in transition rather than a mature, settled one — real progress on paper, with the actual enforcement track record still building.
How to Verify a Licence from Curaçao Gaming Authority
- 01Confirm an operator’s licence was issued directly under the post-2024 regime, not inherited from an expired sub-licence — every old sub-licence expired by 31 January 2025, so a currently valid Curaçao authorisation should be a direct one.
- 02Check the licence number against the regulator’s current public information, since the transition has also changed which body publishes that register.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Curaçao stop issuing gambling licences?
No — Curaçao still issues licences, but the system changed completely. The old master-licence/sub-licence model was abolished, with every sub-licence expiring by 31 January 2025. Operators now hold a direct B2C or B2B licence from the reconstituted regulator instead.
Is a Curaçao licence as strong as a Malta or UK licence?
Not yet, on track record. The December 2024 reform moved Curaçao toward direct licensing and tighter oversight, which is a real improvement, but it’s a new regime without decades of enforcement history behind it. We class it as offshore rather than top-tier for that reason — a genuine but still-maturing framework, not a settled one.
What happened to my casino’s old Curaçao sub-licence?
If it was issued under one of the four old master licences, it expired on 31 January 2025 along with every other sub-licence in that system. A currently operating Curaçao-licensed brand should now hold a direct licence issued under the National Ordinance on Games of Chance (LOK) that took effect in December 2024.
Keep Reading
Licensing status can change. AskBigBonus uses the operator information available in its database and recommends checking the current regulatory record on Curaçao Gaming Authority’s own public register before making decisions. This page is informational only, and inclusion of a brand does not constitute an endorsement.