Curacao Licensing Changes – Increasing player protection and responsible gambling

Hilary Stewart-Jones Joins Curaçao Gaming Control Board as an Advisor to assist the regulatory authority in enhancing its reputation. (Photo by Gabrielle Henderson on Unsplash)

Curaçao’s growing gambling sector is going through major transformations to improve its reputation in the iGaming and sports betting licensing authority’s reputation on the world stage.

The latest turn of events to follow through with its mission is the appointment of legal expert Hilary Stewart-Jones. This comes from a newly revamped website and statements from the country’s financial minister, Javier Silvania, who stated he wants to see major changes to improve the country’s reputation and its gambling licensing authority’s trustworthiness.

Initial signs of change came when I reported back in January 2022 to the New Look for Curacao Licensed Live Casinos. Now, Hilary Stewart-Jones has joined the regulatory authority’s board as an advisor; we can see the country is moving forward with its mission to improve its reputation in the online gambling sphere.

Although officially her role is risk and compliance for the GCB to assist the board with  regulatory challenges, she will likely become involved in several areas. Her expertise in the legal and gaming fields will play a vital role in the country’s strategy to improve trustworthiness, AML, responsible gambling, and player protection.

She is the lone practitioner to have achieved an industry star during her 30 years of  experience in the gambling sector. This accomplishment cements her status as an industry titan. Serving presently as an independent consultant at Harris Hagan and as Chair and CEO of Skywind Group, her credentials are robust. Previous tenures at organisations like Ladbrokes and Paysafe Group underline her comprehensive know-how.

On top of this, she will also likely use her legal prowess to assist with due diligence processes for assessing whether gambling companies and the individuals involved are suitable to provide B2B or B2C online gambling services.

A COVID-19 Financial Aid Package Sparked Changes to the Curacao Licensing Authority

The first hint of changes to Curacao’s licensing framework came during COVID-19. It came soon after Caribbean Island Dutch ancillary required financial assistance from the government of the Netherlands. Part of the financial package deal from the Netherlands meant that Curacao had to accept specific terms laid out by the Netherlands. These terms heavily emphasised improving the Curacao interactive gaming licensing, a service that oversees thousands of online gambling websites.

The whole story covering the financial assistance and conditions by the Dutch government here on Livecasinocentral was back in November 2020. You can read it here – Curaçao Online Casino Licensing Revamp.

New Established Curacao Gaming Authority

Curacao has already begun implementing a new licensing authority called the National Gambling Ordinance (LOK). On top of this, the plan is to create a more efficient Gambling Control Board (GCB) application procedure via a bespoke portal that operators, software providers, and sports betting data companies can seamlessly access.

As Curaçao moves towards implementing the LOK, the Gaming Control Board (GCB) will relinquish its regulatory role to the newly formed Curaçao Gaming Authority. This move is part of a broader transition that includes a specialised organisational application portal.

The newly established Curaçao Gaming Authority will play a key role in enforcing and regulating the country’s gaming industry. As such, it will become the go-to authority responsible for issuing licences and ensuring compliance with regulations.

We first heard about LOK through financial minister Javier Silvania. Once again. The full news story, which includes his comments, was available here on Livecasinocentral and published in Jube 2023 – Curacao Licensing Authority to Strengthen its Framework.