Curaçao gaming licence after the LOK reform: what changed

Since 24 December 2024, Curaçao's National Ordinance on Games of Chance, known by its Dutch initials LOK (Landsverordening op de kansspelen), has governed online gambling licensed from Curaçao. It replaced a system in which a few master licence holders issued sub-licences to other operators. Operators now need a licence directly from the Curaçao Gaming Authority (CGA), the new name of the Gaming Control Board. A Curaçao licence does not let a site serve players in Great Britain, Ontario, Alberta or any US state, and the CGA says it does not resolve individual player disputes (CGA online gaming page, as of October 2026).

Who regulates Curaçao online gambling now?

The CGA is the regulator for online gaming under the LOK. It began as the Gaming Control Board, the regulator for land-based casinos, and in March 2020 the Minister of Finance mandated it to license and supervise the online sector; since 24 December 2024 it has been an independent administrative authority (CGA about us). According to European Gaming's report of a CGA statement (15 October 2025), ministerial responsibility moved from the Minister of Finance to the Minister of Justice on 19 August 2025, and the CGA's supervisory board resigned in mid-September 2025; the CGA said licensing and supervision continued without interruption.

How did Curaçao move from master licences to direct licences?

Sources: GCB portal information, CGA online gaming page, Gaming Curaçao notice. The old regime did not end for every operator on one date: the CGA's complaints policy, for example, still refers to operators from the older regime holding green or orange dynamic seals.

What does a Curaçao licence authorise?

Under the LOK there are separate routes for operators and suppliers: the CGA's licence portal takes applications to offer remote gaming in or from Curaçao, and separate applications from suppliers of critical services and goods. According to the Legal 500 Curaçao chapter, a law-firm guide, the categories are a B2C licence for gaming operations, a B2B licence for gaming software and critical services, and a certificate typically used by non-critical suppliers, with substance rules including local resident key roles, local servers and a registered office in Curaçao.

Where is a Curaçao licence valid, and where is it not?

A Curaçao licence makes the operator lawful under Curaçao law. It says nothing about the law where you are.

• Great Britain: not valid. Any business serving consumers in Great Britain needs a UK Gambling Commission licence (UKGC). See our UKGC licence explainer.
• Ontario: not valid. iGaming Ontario says an operator is authorised only once it has an AGCO registration and an operating agreement with iGO (iGaming Ontario). See how Ontario licenses online gambling.
• Alberta: not valid. According to Canadian Gaming Business, Alberta's regulated market opened on 13 July 2026, and operators must register with AGLC and sign a contract with the Alberta iGaming Corporation before going live.
• US states: not valid. States license operators themselves. Michigan's regulator says only operators it licenses are authorised to offer online gaming there (MGCB), and on 29 September 2025 it sent cease-and-desist letters to six more unlicensed online casinos as part of what it calls an ongoing crackdown (MGCB). See how US states license online gambling.

How do I check a Curaçao licence on the official register?

1. Type cga.cw into your browser yourself and open the licence register.
2. Open the list of online gaming licences (published as a PDF) and search it for the operator's legal entity name and licence number from the site's terms and conditions.
3. Check the enforcement register on the same page for action against that entity.
4. Confirm the domain you are using belongs to that entity. If you cannot match the domain from the register, ask the CGA before depositing.
5. Be wary of licence numbers ending /JAZ: those belong to the old sub-licence system.

The CGA itself says these overviews do not confirm that a licence is currently valid, that licensing status may vary over time and that "no rights can be derived from these overviews", so if anything is unclear, contact the CGA before you deposit.

What a licence seal in a footer does and does not prove

Curaçao-licensed sites display a dynamic seal; the CGA's complaints policy refers to green and orange dynamic seals issued to operators from the older regime. A seal does tell you which licence the site claims. It does not prove it: according to the Curaçao Chronicle (30 June 2026), the CGA warned that a site was falsely presenting itself as licensed and displaying the authority's name, logo and seal without permission. Gaming Curaçao also warned that showing an active seal from an expired sub-licence is fraudulent. In our view, a static image, or a seal that opens a page on the operator's own site rather than a CGA domain, is not evidence; check the register yourself. See our guide to fake casino and sportsbook clone sites.

What player protections and complaint routes come with a Curaçao licence?

According to the Legal 500 Curaçao chapter, the LOK framework prohibits participation by minors and other vulnerable persons and requires responsible gaming measures such as self-exclusion and deposit limits. Since mid-2025 the CGA has also set out a complaint route for licensees:

• Operator first. Under the CGA's Player Complaints Policy Guidelines (version 1.1, 18 June 2025), you can complain free of charge up to six months after the bet was settled or the incident happened. The operator must confirm receipt within one week (two days for responsible gaming complaints) and respond within four weeks, extendable once by four weeks with written notice. The policy covers LOK licensees from the date of their licence, and operators from the older regime once they were issued a green or orange dynamic seal.
• Then a certified ADR provider. Under the CGA's ADR guideline (version 1.0, 8 September 2025), only CGA-certified ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) bodies may handle disputes for B2C licensees. The operator pays all ADR costs, the process is expected to take no more than 90 days, and the CGA expects the outcome to bind the operator.
• The CGA's own role is limited. It "will not resolve or make decisions on any player complaints regarding gambling-related transactions" and does not mediate individual disputes. Its online gaming page adds that it "is not a civil court and cannot order gaming operators to compensate players". You can still report suspected breaches, which it uses for supervision and enforcement.

Our Curaçao complaints guide walks through each stage. Collect evidence early with our gambling complaint evidence checklist. Hub of Luck cannot make an operator pay.

What a Curaçao licence means for players in the UK, Canada and the US

• UK: a Curaçao-only site is not licensed to serve you, and you lose GAMSTOP, UK ADR and UKGC oversight. We never list such sites for UK readers. Use the UKGC register instead.
• Canada: in Ontario and Alberta, use the provincial list. The AGCO says it cannot help with disputes involving unregulated sites (AGCO). In British Columbia, BCLC says PlayNow "is the only legal option for online gambling" (BCLC service plan). Our Rest of Canada listings include some Curaçao-licensed sites, clearly labelled offshore; provincial protections and complaint routes do not apply to them.
• US: a Curaçao licence has no standing in any state.

In practice

• Find the legal entity and licence number in the site's terms, not just the footer.
• Treat any number ending /JAZ as out of date.
• Click the seal. If it does not lead to a CGA domain, treat that as a warning sign.
• Search the CGA register and enforcement register yourself.
• Read the withdrawal, KYC (identity checks) and dispute sections of the terms before depositing.
• Note the certified ADR provider named in the terms; the CGA will not decide your dispute itself.
• If you are in Great Britain, Ontario, Alberta or a US state, use a locally licensed site.
• For help with control or self-exclusion, see our safer gambling page.