Dutch Gaming Authority expresses concern over Curacao licensed operators

The online gambling licensing jurisdiction Curacao in the former Dutch colonial Netherlands Antilles is causing the mother country concerns over standards and regulation, according to an article Friday in the Curacao Chronicle which quotes from the Dutch Gaming Authority’s latest annual report.

In the report the DGA voices serious concerns regarding the conduct of operators from Curacao who are targeting the Dutch online gambling market, claiming that the illegal activities of these operators are also the subject of complaints from national regulators in Europe and Australia.

The DGA has been at pains to point out to these complainants that it has no powers over the Curacao authorities in this regard.

The report notes: “The Dutch Gaming Authority is not the supervisor of Curaçao, although this is often thought [to be the case] in foreign countries,”

The report highlights the need for cooperation, observing: “International cooperation between supervisors is necessary to be able to effectively monitor the Dutch gaming market and to fight against illegal gambling. In 2017 the illegal gambling games from Curaçao in the Netherlands was noticed.”

Attempts to reach a stricter supervisory agreement with the Curacao government have in the past not been successful, the report advises.

What the Dutch Gaming Authority can do is impose fines on offenders, and it has done so to a total of Euro 2.6 million in 17 cases. Only Euro 530,000 of this was paid, because “the owners usually hide behind a trust office and a network of companies in different countries, they don’t care much about being fined.”

The player community has long ceased to expect the Curacao licensing authority to help when disputes with Curacao operators have arisen; the authorities there appear to struggle with communication and response obligations.

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