Casinos

Casinos

Casinos


The “brick and mortar” casino industry of Curaçao is regulated by the Curaçao Gaming Control Board (GCB). To that end the GCB is the designated supervisor and has been mandated the authority to issue, revoke and suspend casino licenses on Curaçao, as well as the accompanying personal licenses. The GCB also has the authority to issue license regulation and guidelines as well as license conditions and requirements.
 

Licensing

To apply for a casino license, download the Casino License Application Form and the accompanying Personal License Application Forms. After filling out and signing the forms, submit the forms together with all required documentation to the Gaming Control Board.

Download:
• Casino License Application Form
• Personal License Application Form

GCB Regulation

The casino license contains the requirements regarding the casino business. For clarity, certain subjects are regulated separately in GCB Regulation: these regulations are part of the casino license.

Currently available regulations issued by the GCB:

• Responsible Gaming | GCB-Guideline Responsible Gaming | July 2012
• Sports Betting | GCB-license regulation on Sports Betting | December 2013
• Live Bingo | Regulations for Live Bingo Operations | March 2016
• Card Games / Card Rooms | Regulations for Card Games | March 2016
• AML/CFT | Regulations for Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism | August 2016
• AML/CFT/ CFP I Regulations for the combating of Money Laundering, the Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation of                                      weapons of mass destruction I May 2024

GCB MICS

Minimum Internal Control Standards (MICS) are aimed at strengthening the internal control processes of the ”brick and mortar” casinos, and are part of the casino license.

The following MICS are currently available:
• All | Curaçao Minimum Internal Control Standards | October 2010
• Live Bingo | Minimum Internal Control Standards for Live Bingo Operations | March 2016
• Card Games/Card Rooms | Minimum Internal Control Standards for Card Games | March 2016
 

GCB Technical Standards

The GCB issues technical standards to ensure that only quality products enter the Curaçao gaming market. These standards are based on the open source technical standards issued by Gaming Laboratories International (GLI).

The following technical standards are currently in effect:
• Live Bingo | Technical Standards applicable for the Curaçao jurisdiction GCB-TS-15:Electronic Bingo and Keno Systems | March 2016

Casino license FAQs


Yes. Providing the opportunity for gambling in Curaçao without a valid license is a crime. A casino license is required to operate a “brick and mortar” casino in Curaçao.


Only legal entities, specifically limited liability companies (NV or BV) established under Curaçao law, can apply for a casino license. The entity can be either the owner of the hotel real estate to which the casino will be connected or the hotel operator.


The casino license holder must appoint one (1) casino operator, and no more, who shall operate the casino under the license and responsibility of the license holder.The casino operator must be a legal entity, specifically a limited liability company (NV or BV) established under Curaçao law. This legal entity is a special purpose vehicle with one single objective, which is to operate the casino. This policy is driven by AML/CFT oversight requirements. The actual casino operations should be in the hands of one or more qualified casino managers.


No. Stand-alone casinos are not allowed in Curaçao. Casinos are required to be an amenity of a hotel that is focused on the international market for tourism.


Yes. A casino must be connected to a hotel with a minimum of 150 hotel rooms. In principle, a casino should run primarily on the foreign tourists that are accommodated in the hotel to which the casino is connected.

The exception to the rule is formed by 6 specific hotels, that were operating licensed casinos at the time the minimum required amount of hotel rooms was raised from 45 to 150; a grandfather clause applies for these hotels. These 6 hotels are currently known as the Kura Hulanda Hotel, Hotel Otrobanda, Hotel San Marco, Trupial Inn Hotel, Airport Hotel and the Wave Hotel.


No, a stand-alone gambling hall with (only) slot machine is not allowed. The games played on slot machines are considered casino games, which may only be offered by a casino. A casino must offer both tables and slot machines. Legalization of casinos was partly driven by the employment opportunities that it would create. Table games require more employment than slot machines.


To operate a casino on Curaçao, a Casino License is required. All regulation and guidelines issued by the GCB form an integral part of the casino license. Furthermore, all financial stakeholders and stakeholders that (can) exercise material control, being natural or legal persons, up to the Ultimate Beneficial Ownership (UBO), are required to apply for a personal license that is explicitly tied to a specific casino license. The casino license cannot be granted if not all stakeholders are found eligible for their personal licenses


To obtain a personal license the applicant is required to submit a duly prepared and signed Personal License Application Form accompanied by all required documentation as well as a duly signed Privacy Waiver. Based on these documents, professional, financial and criminal background checks will be carried out by the GCB in cooperation with domestic and foreign authorities like Interpol, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Curaçao Police Corps etc., in order to determine if the applicant meets the “fit and proper” requirements for his or her position as a stakeholder.


There are no costs related to the casino license application, other than the costs incurred by the applicant for the preparation of the application and acquiring the required documentation.


The casino licensee must pay a monthly license fee. The license fee has a fixed and a variable component. The license fee is payable to the GCB on a monthly basis.
 

The fixed component of the casino license fee is an annual amount of NAf 100,000, which translates to approximately USD 55,555, payable in equal monthly installments.
 

The variable component of the license fee is calculated as follows:
 

Slot machines/gaming devices
Base License Fee Percentage Rate (LFPR): Gliding scale of 13.5% to 17.5%*   
Basis for calculation: Net win

The gliding scale:
• Number of hotel rooms: 45 - 74 • Base LFPR: 17.5%
• Number of hotel rooms: 75 - 149 • Base LFPR: 16.5%
• Number of hotel rooms: 150 - 224 • Base LFPR: 15.5%
• Number of hotel rooms: 225 - 299 • Base LFPR: 14.5%
• Number of hotel rooms: 300 or more • Base LFPR: 13.5%

The above mentioned percentages are applicable when the number of slot machines in the casino is no more than three times the number of rooms, offered by the hotel to which the casino is connected. If the casino offers more slot machines than that, an additional 1% for every batch of 30 slots or part thereof is added to the Base License Fee Percentage Rate.

Example:
A hotel has 200 hotel rooms and the connected casino offers 720 slot machines. The applicable Base License Fee Percentage Rate will then be increased by a percentage that is determined as follows:

S = number of slot machines
R = number of hotel rooms

[S - (3 x R)] / 30= 4.33

This results in an increase of 5 x 1%.
The total applicable License Fee Percentage Rate in the example is therefore 15.5 + 5 = 20.5% of the net win.
 

Table games    
Applicable License Fee Percentage Rate: 12.5%
Basis for calculation: Net win
 

Sportsbetting
Applicable License Fee Percentage Rate: 12.5%
Basis for calculation: Commissions earned
 

Bingo
Applicable License Fee Percentage Rate: 12.5%
Basis for calculation: Income from sale of participation instruments


Casinos in Curaçao are exempt from sales tax (“omzetbelasting”).

Instead, the player must pay a cash-out fee, consisting of a percentage of the amounts he cashes out at the casino. The licensee is legally required to withhold the cash-out fee and to transfer this to the GCB on a monthly basis.

The maximum term of a casino license is 3 years.


No. The rights and obligations, derived from a casino license cannot be sold, rented out, outsourced or be otherwise transferred.

This does not affect the obligation of the casino licensee to appoint a casino operator, who operates the casino under the license and responsibility of the casino licensee.


No. Curaçao casino legislation does not recognize renewal of casino licenses. Every 3 years a new casino license application must be submitted and processed.


Yes. The GCB has the authority to suspend or even revoke casino licenses and personal licenses.