Curacao gaming licence: what changed under the 2024 law, how to check one, and what it means in Australia

Curacao gaming licence: the short answer

A Curacao gaming licence is permission from the government of Curaçao, in the Caribbean, to run online gambling from there. Since 24 December 2024 these licences have been issued by the Curaçao Gaming Authority (CGA) under the Landsverordening op de kansspelen, or National Ordinance on Games of Chance (LOK). It is the licence you will see most often in the footer of offshore casinos aimed at Australians. It tells you who regulates the operator; it does not make the site legal in Australia, and it gives you no Australian protection.

How the Curaçao system changed

For years, Curaçao online licences worked through a small number of master licence holders, who issued sub-licences to casino operators. That model is gone. The CGA describes the history this way:

The old law still matters for some operators, because transitional provisions in article 15.1 of the LOK keep the LBH relevant. The practical lesson: a casino footer that still cites a master licence from the old system, or shows a Gaming Curacao seal, is out of date. Gaming Curacao's own notice says any attempt to display active seals or claim an extension of its licences "will be considered fraudulent and illegal".

Licences issued under the new system use numbers in the form OGL/2024/ followed by digits, as seen in the terms of operators we have reviewed.

How to check a Curaçao licence

The only reliable place to check is the CGA's own website.

1. Find the licence details on the casino site. Look in the footer and the terms and conditions for the operating company's name, its Curaçao company number and a licence number.
2. Open the CGA licence register. Go to cga.cw and use the licence register, which has separate overviews for online gaming licences, certificates and an enforcement register.
3. Match all three details. The company name, licence number and domain should line up. A licence for one company does not cover a different company's website.
4. Check the warnings. The CGA publishes public warning notices about unlicensed operators; in 2026 it issued several.

Two cautions apply right now. First, the CGA says its register overviews "do not guarantee the current validity of the licenses" and that no rights can be derived from them. Second, the seal system is disrupted. On 17 September 2026 the CGA reported unauthorised access to its online gaming portal. On 7 October 2026 it announced that the portal would not return to service, that existing licences remain valid, and that because the availability of its digital seal was affected, it would introduce an alternative way for operators to show a domain is licensed. Until that arrives, a clickable seal may not prove anything either way. Our casino licence check guide covers what to look for across all regulators.

What the licence does, and does not, protect

Under the LOK, the CGA supervises licensees, including for anti-money laundering compliance, and can act against operators that break the law. What it will not do is take up your individual case. In its own words, the CGA "does not handle individual complaints against gaming providers", is "not a civil court" and "cannot order gaming operators to compensate players". It asks players to resolve disputes with the operator and use legal channels if needed. It does accept complaints by email, because a complaint or pattern of complaints may show a breach of the law, and it plans a standard claim form.

For Australians, the gap is wider still:

• No Australian licence. Online pokies and casino games cannot legally be offered to people in Australia, so a Curaçao-licensed casino serving Australians is acting outside Australian law.
• ACMA blocking. ACMA blocks illegal gambling websites, and warns that after a block you may lose access to your account.
• Overseas courts. The terms of Curaçao-licensed casinos we have reviewed commonly make Curaçao law apply and send disputes to Curaçao courts or arbitration.
• No BetStop. The national self-exclusion register does not cover offshore casinos.

If you already have a dispute, our guide on how to complain about an online casino sets out the realistic options. For withdrawal problems specifically, see casino withdrawal limits.

Curaçao compared with other offshore licences

Curaçao is one of four offshore licences common on sites seen by Australians. The Anjouan gaming licence also leaves disputes to the operator and an ADR body. The Malta Gaming Authority licence has a formal complaint channel run by the regulator, and the Kahnawake gaming licence comes with a regulator-run dispute process. None of them makes a casino legal in Australia. For the Australian law itself, see gambling laws in Australia.

Related reading

Guide Malta licence An MGA licence comes from a well-known European regulator, which is why fake MGA claims are common. Here is how to check one, what the MGA can do for players, and why it does not make a casino legal in Australia. Read more Guide Kahnawake licence The Kahnawake Gaming Commission has regulated online gambling from a Mohawk territory near Montreal since 1999 and publishes its complaint results. Here is how its licence works and what it means for Australians. Read more Guide Anjouan licence Anjouan, an island in the Comoros, licenses many offshore casinos, and its regulator says it does not handle player complaints. Here is what an Anjouan licence is, how to check one and what it means for Australians. Read more Guide ACMA blocking ACMA has had 1,822 illegal gambling and affiliate websites blocked since November 2019. Here is how the blocking works, where the official list is, and what a block means if you have an account with a site on it. Read more Guide Is it legal? Online pokies and casino games cannot legally be offered to people in Australia. Here is what the law says, who it targets, what is allowed and what it means for you. Read more Guide ACT The ACT charges bookmakers 25%, the highest betting tax we found in Australia, limits ATM cash in pokies venues to $250 a day, and has legislated a smaller machine cap. Here is how gambling in Canberra is regulated. Read more