Curaçao-licensed casino complaints: operator, ADR and the CGA

A Curaçao casino complaint goes to the operator first, and you have six months from the settlement of the bet or the incident to make one. Under the Curaçao Gaming Authority's (CGA) Player Complaints Policy Guidelines (version 1.1, 18 June 2025), the operator must acknowledge your complaint within one week and respond within four weeks, with one four-week extension if it tells you in writing first. If it is not resolved, you can escalate to an independent, CGA-certified ADR provider, free of charge. The CGA does not resolve or decide individual disputes (CGA guidance, checked October 2026).

Who regulates Curaçao-licensed sites?

The Curaçao Gaming Authority licenses and supervises online gaming in Curaçao under Curaçao's gaming law, referred to in its documents as the LOK. Start by searching the operator in the CGA's licence register; note that the register itself says its overviews may not reflect a licence's current validity and that no rights can be derived from them. Our guide to the Curaçao gaming licence explains how the system has changed.

The complaints policy applies to operators licensed under the LOK from the date of their licence, and to operators still under the older framework (NOOGH) once they hold a green or orange dynamic seal. Operators had to upload their complaints policy to the CGA portal by 31 July 2025.

Step 1: complain to the operator

The CGA's policy requires each operator to:

• reference its complaints policy in its terms and conditions;
• offer customer support by email or live chat first;
• provide an official complaint submission form in English and in the site's language, as a download or online form;
• ask only for documents that are reasonable for resolving the complaint; and
• always give you a final decision in writing, which must tell you that you can escalate to ADR if you are unhappy.

Only the registered player may complain, and claims cannot be sold or transferred. Responsible gambling complaints have shorter time limits, and communications about them should be handled by a person, not by AI.

Before you file, use our gambling complaint evidence checklist. If the dispute is about a withdrawal, read what to do when a casino won't pay out.

Step 2: escalate to a CGA-certified ADR provider

ADR, alternative dispute resolution, means an independent body that decides a dispute without going to court. Under the CGA's ADR guideline (version 1.0, 8 September 2025):

• Only ADR entities certified by the CGA may handle disputes for its B2C licensees. Operators must tell players which ADR entities are available to them.
• Escalation is free for the player; the operator bears all ADR costs.
• The CGA expects the ADR process to take no more than 90 days from the initial referral.
• ADR decisions must be well substantiated, and the CGA expects outcomes to bind the operator. The operator's ADR parameters may say whether outcomes also bind the player.

The CGA's complaints policy adds that once ADR is completed, neither side can restart it with a different ADR entity.

The CGA says a list of certified ADR entities will be published on its website. We do not name or rank providers here; use the one named in the operator's terms or final response, and check it against the CGA's list once it is available.

What ADR can refuse

The CGA's guideline lets an ADR provider refuse a case that has not been through the operator's internal complaints process, is evidently frivolous or vexatious, already before a court or another ADR provider, affected by a conflict of interest, or outside the ADR parameters the operator has set. Operators may set a minimum claim value for escalation, but the CGA says claims involving self-excluded players must be taken seriously whatever the amount.

What the CGA will and will not do

The CGA's policy is explicit (clause 3.3):

• It "will not resolve or make decisions on any player complaints regarding gambling-related transactions."
• It will not review or overturn decisions by the operator or ADR provider unless they were inadequately handled.
• It does not mediate individual disputes, but uses complaint information to support supervision and enforcement.
• Operators must not restrict your ability to contact the CGA directly.

The CGA's contact page lists a complaints email address and repeats that it does not handle individual disputes between players and operators.

What time limits apply?

For in-play bets, the policy warns that prompt action may be needed because data may not stay available.

What should your complaint include?

The CGA policy lists what the complaint form should capture: your name, address and place of residence, account number, the date of your complaint and of the disputed event, and a description of what happened. Add bet IDs, game round IDs, amounts and screenshots. Our guide on how to write a gambling complaint timeline shows the layout.

How do you keep track of reference numbers?

Keep the operator's acknowledgement, its written final decision and the ADR case reference together with your timeline. Operators must keep complaint records for five years or the period other laws require, whichever is shorter. What happens after a gambling complaint explains the waiting stages.

What if the site is not really Curaçao-licensed?

If the operator does not appear in the CGA register, the CGA's complaints policy and certified ADR route do not apply to it. Check the register before you deposit, not only the seal on the site's footer, and keep any complaint you send in writing.

Watch out for paid "recovery" services

Complaining to the operator and to a certified ADR provider costs you nothing. Be wary of anyone who asks for a fee to recover money, offers to buy your claim, or claims special influence with the CGA. Hub of Luck cannot recover funds or influence any operator, ADR provider or regulator. Our guide on why people who have lost money are often contacted again explains how these approaches work. If you have self-excluded elsewhere and are using offshore sites, our safer gambling page lists support and blocking tools.

In practice

1. Search the operator in the CGA licence register.
2. Complain using the operator's official complaint form within six months.
3. Expect acknowledgement within a week and a written decision within four weeks, or eight if extended.
4. If unresolved, find the certified ADR provider named in the operator's terms.
5. Submit your full evidence once; ADR cannot be restarted elsewhere.
6. Report suspected licence breaches to the CGA separately, knowing it will not decide your dispute.