The portal for B2B and B2C gaming firms to apply for Curaçao licensing is reopening for the first time since its previous closure on 30 April.
Upon the opening of the portal, Aideen Shortt, advisor to the Curaçao Gaming Control Board, previously emphasised that this process forms part of a new era for regulatory framework in the region.
Even amidst the reopening, applicants that put their case forward prior to the previous deadline on April 30 will be pushed to the front of the queue.
Providing an outlook on that deadline, Shortt revealed to CasinoBeats that ‘it means guaranteed continuity of business’.
She added: “All of the sub-licenses had the opportunity, and had this six month timeline in which they could make an application on the portal. And in doing so, they locked in the ability to get grandfathered through when the lock gets enacted.
“That closed on April 30 and with that, we had high expectations but we actually were completely surprised. We have 741 licence applications. So we were expecting a few hundred, we had hoped for a higher number and we got 741 – which is just absolutely fantastic.”
The new framework was also welcomed by 500.Casino COO Christoffer Andersson who stated: “It has been relatively smooth sailing for us, what Curacao is asking for their ‘2.0’ licence is something we have already been applying for a long time.
“At the end of the day, it is still a process to renew and fill in a load of paperwork.”
He added that he ‘believes it is good to keep the regulations on a decent level, but without restricting players or operators.’
As a result of the changes he stated his belief that Curaçao will benefit from ‘a better reputation because of these changes, and several bad apples will not continue to operate under a Curacao licence’.
A potential exodus of bad actors is something that is welcomed by Shortt: “If somebody wants to leave Curaçao now when the jurisdiction is tidying itself up, that speaks volumes.”
She added that the body will be holding every applicant to the same levels of due diligence, including areas such as information requirements. These requirements will be “standard” for licensee hopefuls, regardless of how or when an application arrives.
Furthermore, the current deadlines take on heightened importance as the current master licence will expire in the opening month of 2025, meaning that the framework takes on a whole new appearance.
