How to Obtain a Curaçao Gaming License In 3–6 Months

From its establishment in 1996, Curaçao has become one of the most favorable jurisdictions for clients seeking a reliable and time-tested license. It has an attractive tax system and works with diverse iGaming products which makes it possible to apply a single license for different business purposes.

In 2024, Curaçao released the National Ordinance for Games of Chance (LOK), which significantly changed the process of getting licensed. This new model replaced the previous “master license” system and imposed stricter enforcement conditions on operators, one of which all must comply with.

Our team is here to guide the way through these laws and let you know what is possible under the LOK system, so that your iGaming business can continue to be legal and successful.

In the following article, we’ll provide you with an overview of how to get a Curaçao gaming license and run you through the new LOK-regulations, from your first application right down to final launching. 

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Why Choose Curaçao?

Curaçao still remains one of the best licenses for iGaming operators who desire to scale their gambling businesses and go worldwide.

Regarding its high market entry, the Curaçao gambling license remains one of the truly global licenses that result in operational freedom and broad marketing coverage. 

Another attractive side of Curaçao is full coverage of a majority of iGaming products. This permission allows a diverse variety of gambling industries, which, in turn, allows to expand the business but still within one license. Most online gambling options such as sports betting, lotteries, casino games, virtual sports and Esports are offered by it.

It is also a crypto-friendly license that will be able to lead operators into the scaling crypto-literate market. The Curaçao license successfully balances between iGaming operations and crypto-currency services.

Furthermore, the Curaçao license is one of the trustworthy and most widely established international licenses. Its reputation is used as a mark of quality by both players and partners.

Nonetheless, there are shortcomings. The new LOK system requires compliance with regulations and emphasis on the protection of players. The Curaçao Gaming Authority (CGA) will now expect operators to comply well on anti-money laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) measures. This is also strengthened by the fact that it has a good alternative dispute resolution (ADR) scheme. Compare it to the old system where the regulators were not that involved.

The permit is granted nationwide, except in such countries as the U.S., France, Germany, the Netherlands, Australia, and the Caribbean island of Curaçao itself. We recommend operators always verify the most current list of any updates.

If you have no experience with the new system LOK, or if you have any doubt regarding the current list of excluded jurisdictions, we will assist you to comply with all the requirements of the new rules, and we will provide you with all the information that you require, so that the process will be very simple to you.

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Types of Curaçao Licensing

LOK identifies multi-tier licensing strategy divides the suppliers and operators and provides licensing options aimed at solving various high-risk business problems.

It is separated into two broad categories:

Business to Customers (B2C)

Gaming operators that receive deposits and offer the services to players apply to the B2C license. Now it is referred to as a Gaming License. With this type of license, the operators are required to establish a company as a legal entity in Curaçao, have a registered office on the island, and have a resident managing director or a representative on the ground. It also involves physical presence of at least one physical server in Curaçao, compliance to AML/KYC standards, fit and proper verification of Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBOs), disclosure of ownership and demonstration of financial soundness. The license enables the operators to go global and safeguard their players.

Business to Business (B2B)

The B2B type of license is designed for platforms, game studios, payment processors, and other service providers, which now is referred to as the Supplier license protocol under LOK. Other compliance requirements of this type of license include UBO disclosure, incorporation of a legal entity with its office in Curaçao, and local or managing representative.

Two new options are also provided by new LOK regulations:

1. Businesses planning to use gaming activities to raise funds to donate to charity can apply to be licensed a Nonprofit Game License. The license also has its special rules and application requirement to ensure that it complies with LOK.
2. The other type of new license is a Certificate of Service Providers. It was also offered to a business that offers critical gaming related services including affiliate marketing, hosting, or compliance software. There are certain documentation and annual renewal requirements of this category.

These regulations should be adhered to in order to prevent rejection or imposition by the regulator.

What You Need to Know Before Application

Before you find out the concrete guidance and necessary documents, use these recommendations to avoid a refusal.

Prepare the List of the Required Documents

Make an internal roadmap prior to your commencement and prepare the infrastructure, personnel, services by listing all the required paperwork, making sure that it is valid (not expired), and describing it. This will assist you in escaping serious problems in the licensing process.

Adjust a Service Provider

Then think of contracting a service provider on the setup phase. At MGL, we know the  requirements of CGA and consult on collecting the essential documents to avoid costly mistakes.

Secure KYC and AML Checks

The relevance of KYC and AML systems should not be overlooked. You need them in your business and you have to make all the compliance policies right.

Comply With the Actual List of Required Documents 

After thorough verification, your documents have to be complete and accurate. Whether you are not sure that you can do it, we can provide you with the whole process and make it clear and easy.

Calculate Your Budget

Consider the actual budget of your company with a margin. Depending on whether you are compliant or not, extra charges could be incurred, therefore, be prepared for this. At MGL we advise our clients on the current costs and licensing process passes with no hidden fees.

Provide Regulators With Physical Office and Local Representatives

Your business should be incorporated in Curaçao, and have a physical local office and address. You will have to have a local director in Curaçao. Lastly once you get the license, go ahead and make any adjustments necessary to run the business and keep following the rules so that you do not get fined or lose your license.

Step-by-Step Guide To Obtain A Curaçao License 

Choose the Licence Type

To begin with, define the kind of license. Does your company provide a service of B2C (the operator takes up the deposit of the player and deals directly with the players), or B2B (providing services like software, platform or other high-risk management services). Defining your business model affects the type of the license you need and the whole licensing process at all. 

Set up a Company 

Next, form a Curaçao based legal entity: incorporate the company, prepare the required business plan, and hire at least one resident director (or corporate executive that meets the requirements). Pay attention that now it is mandatory to have a real office or legal address in Curaçao.

Collect Required Documents

The third step will be to gather the essential paperwork and install the infrastructure. This contains both legal entity documents of the corporate structure.

Obtain all the company records, including

• Business plan,
• Shareholders and directors’ identities and involvement information,
• Memorandum and Articles of Association,
• Financial statements,
• Certificates of good standing,
• And a certificate of incumbency (that is not older than two months).

Next make sure you possess all the necessities of personal documents of directors, beneficiaries, and owners of the company. This involves documents that have been verified as:

• Passport copies,
• National id/driver’s license, or birth certificates,
• Clean criminal records,
• And address verification documents.

Key executives and compliance officers require a CV or resume, as do other important documents, such as a bank reference letter, a Certificate of Origin of Funds, and an ownership structure (UBO disclosure).

To prevent a refusal, gather the demonstrations of sources of funds and your compliance policies including AML/KYC and responsible gambling policies.

In case of technical infrastructure, purchase servers (at least one based in Curaçao) which will satisfy all the requirements, receive RNG certification, and provide security and data protection where needed.

At MGL we open a company from 1 day, and provide you with ongoing support, preparing part of the essential corporate documents.

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Apply an Application via Official Portal

Send your application to the official portal. It will require you to fill up all the three online forms, including the Online Gaming Application Form, the Business and Corporate Information Form, and the Personal History Disclosure Form.

Indicate what your company operates (betting, live sports, lottery, RNG-games, poker or something else) and attach all the necessary documents that you have gathered.

Then, submit the application fee (under the new LOK regulations, it is about €4600 in both B2C and B2B licenses). It can also include a due diligence fee (€140-€270).

‍Any alteration of UBOs is now subject to CGA and a charge of €150.

Once these steps are done, the CGA undertakes a comprehensive compliance review and due diligence examination and this may take up to 8 weeks. 

This stage is separated into two parts. The first step is the integrity review, covering the integrity, credibility of the business representatives, and financial stability of the company.  The second step is Full Compliance Review, which examines the compliance of the company to LOK standards and the integrity of its infrastructure, AML/KYC systems, and other Curaçao licensing policies.

After all the approval has been done, the operators pay the licensing fees and are given the license. 

It will take you 3-6 months, after completing documentation.

In order to minimise your efforts on this step, our experts prepare and submit all application forms via the regulatory portal themselves.

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Costs and Timeframes: 2025 Update

Costs have slightly risen because of the introduction of the new LOK system in 2025. However, the Curaçao license is still among the top-chosen jurisdictions in iGaming.

The B2C operators have a total annual license fee of €47,450 consisting of a €24,490 license fee paid to the National Treasury and the €22,960 supervisory fees paid to the CGA.

One-time fees are also charged per individual: €150 per second and above UBO and the same amount per Qualified Interest Holder. 

Before a license application is processed by the CGA, a non-refundable fee has to be paid.

B2B suppliers are required to make an annual supervisory fee of €24,490.

Also, both licenses have to pay License Application fee for €4,592 in addition with administrative fees such as:

• €250 per main domain added;
• €383 per application of the certificate;
• €2,551 per exchange listed UBO;
• €128 in order to add/change UBO or holder of qualifying interest

• €150 per UBO (2nd and above)

• €13 per new game added;
• €140-270 due diligence fee per individual (varying)

Concerning the annual fees, the LOK regulations provided a six-month billing model that was pro-rata. The applicants are issued with separate bills including the initial half-year bill and the other half-year bill, and then transitioned to a regular annual billing cycle.

The initial invoice has to be paid to grant a license, and the second invoice should be paid based on the final decision. One year later, the license holders are expected to pay the entire annual amount.

Invoicing and collection policies have been made more specific. The payment of invoices should be made within 14 days. Late payment during this period will lead to issuing of notices and reminders. Failure to make payment within 71 days will result in a revocation of the license.

It is estimated that it will take approximately 3-6 months, although the process might be postponed because of unfinished documentation or because the due diligence process is unfinished earlier than anticipated. The time of incorporation of a company is usually 3-4 weeks.

It is significant to your final approval to fill paperwork and enroll your company according to LOK regulations. Any lapses or errors may result in delays or may result in an adverse ruling on your application.

The process of final decision would require a maximum of 8 weeks, provided that all documents are filled properly.

New LOK Operator Requirements

The LOK system will be a significant transformation to all the stakeholders in the Curaçao licensing process.

An ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) system is one of the most crucial new demands to be incorporated into your business. This system enables players to settle matters with operators without necessarily taking them to court, which makes the settlement of disputes unfair and ineffective. 

According to recent modifications, the number of lawyers and industry specialists, without operator association, to be a part of ADR providers, should be at least three.

Moreover, the unresolved cases are submitted to ADR without fee and are checked within 90 days.

In addition, there has been an escalation in fees. From 2025, there will be no sub-licensing scheme and any past low-cost routes will cease as an entry point to the market. In the past, firms were allowed to work under a master licensee and this made things easier but without the close supervision. Currently, every operator has to seek a license with the Curaçao Gaming Authority (CGA).

Also, it is necessary to meet FATF (Financial Action Task Force) and Caribbean FATF (CFATF) standards under the new rules. This system also makes the CGA the only regulator in issuing licenses and compliance.

New player-centric protections are other details to be considered before starting up. They include preventing the provision of credit, offering self-exclusion, reporting the adverse impacts that addiction to gambling causes, and having more stricter rules regarding advertisements so that the promotion of the prohibited activities does not take place.

In order to secure a license in Curaçao and expand your business based on the best practice in the worldwide marketplace, LOK proposed a new Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures  and tighten Anti-Money Laundering (AML) rules, which you will necessarily comply with, to maintain responsible gambling business.

In order to do so, operators are required to enroll to the “goAML” platform to report suspicious financial activity. They also need to harmonize their KYC processes to eliminate fraud and track transactions to reduce unconfirmed payments. It is an obligation to make sure that the accounts of your customers are verified.

In the case of due diligence, UBOs (Ultimate Beneficial Owners) will have to reveal information and background checks.

The outcome of non-adherence to these rules can cause fines or a loss of the license.

Mistakes and How To Avoid Them

Operators typically face some obstacles when submitting a Curaçao license application. And if you are reading this, you will know how to prevent them.

Making an incomplete application is one of the greatest errors. This leads to delays, since the regulators can demand other information and documentation.

The other error is ignorance of the existing annual fee. Budget on the basis of the latest charges and do not fail to check.

There are operators who are unequipped to integrate banks and PSPs. You can face problems with payment systems even after getting a license, and this reputation and refusal of the service is enough to bring your business to the ground.

Explore the current restrictions before completing an application. The latest reform introduced a cancellation of the previous sub-licensing scheme in 2024. Now, your license shall be directly acquired at the CGA. Make sure that you fulfill the new LOK rules and that you apply to the new portal of CGA with the new rules.

Failure to comply with AML, KYC, and responsible gambling compliance,, and technical standards may lead to serious punishments, stuttering delays, fines, and even decline of application.

Lastly, the failure to realize how crucial the need to build a local presence is also a major obstacle that leads to refusals. It is a mandatory measure by the Curaçao Gaming Authority.

How Can You Get A Curaçao License Easier

Our licensing experts are here to assist in receiving one ready solution to get a license for your gambling company with no efforts and full-time support.

We actually know what documents you should get and sign.

We proofread essential paperwork and then submit them to the regulators in order to prevent refusals and audit every step. You can rely on the professionals who care about your business to be efficient.

We advise on the full licensing process starting from an initial consultation in 10 minutes after clicking the button, to scalable legal iGaming business with the guarantees of a trustworthy Curaçao jurisdiction.

To avoid any doubts, we make each stage of obtaining the license clear in order for you to receive a well-organized roadmap, real time frameworks and fixed fees with no hidden payments. Moreover, personal strategy allows you to reduce expenses and start running your business legally.

MGL team guarantees to keep your business compliant to the current requirements of Curaçao jurisdiction.

We check information every day to prevent any mistakes under new LOK stricter rules.