Curacao is a tiny island in the Caribbean that is largely known for being a legendary gambling hub. Although located thousands of miles from Europe, Curacao is considered a European territory. Curacao eGaming is a reliable gambling regulator and one of the most popular gambling jurisdictions for legal Australian casinos.

curacao egaming license for high quality casinos

A Curacao eGaming license is a synonym of safety and integrity. If a casino holds a CEG license, it’s a sure sign that it’s a responsible operator has gone through a series of thorough checks by CEG, adheres to the highest industry standards, and runs business in a fair and transparent way. All CEG licensees are required to comply with rigid regulations. CEG is committed to fighting money laundering and raising awareness of responsible gambling.

Why high quality Australian casinos choose CEG

Curacao eGaming has a myriad of advantages that make it a coveted license for any online gambling business.

  • Established in 1998, Curacao eGaming has been providing licensing and regulatory services for almost 25 years now. It’s one of the oldest and well-respected e-gaming regulatory bodies in the world. With such an enormous experience on its hands, the Curacao regulator is fully capable of offering high quality services at affordable prices. The agency continues to go from strength to strength. For a casino, having a CEG license is a surefire way to boost player confidence and build up reputation.
  • CEG offers a wide selection of gambling licenses that fit the needs of any gambling operator, including Business to Consumer (B2C) and Business to Business (B2B) licenses. For example, with B2B accreditation, you’ll be authorized to provide 14 essential e-gaming services to gambling businesses.
  • Gambling operators appreciate Curacao eGaming for its simple and clear rules. Regardless of the e-gaming services that you provide, you only need one single license to cover them all. Top Australian casinos, sportsbooks, and other gambling businesses all need one and the same type of license.
  • Another heavy advantage of CEG has to do with a quick and low-cost licensing procedure. Thousands of high quality Australian casinos choose Curacao as their home because it offers a reliable license without putting up too many barriers for potential candidates. In other words, getting a CEG license is a doable task. It’s easier than becoming, say, a licensee of the UK Gambling Control Commission.
  • Curacao-licensed casinos have access to premium anti-fraud tools, as well as a wide selection of hosting services, such as cloud storage, GEO IP services, dedicated servers, and so on.
  • The Curacao gambling jurisdiction has a lenient taxation system in place. Gambling operators are only charged 2% on their net profits. Gross incoming wagers are not taxed.
  • Curacao supports cryptocurrency businesses. Crypto casinos are welcome to apply for a Curacao license alongside regular fiat-based operators.

How to apply for a CEG license

To be eligible for a Curacao gambling license, a gambling operator needs to have a CEG sublicense. To obtain one, you can contact one of the Corporate Service Professionals approved by CEG. At the same time, you’re free to work with a CSP of your choice.

  • A gambling operator needs to submit an application by completing a questionnaire on the official CEG website. If Curacao eGaming finds the application lacking in substance, it will be rejected.
  • Curacao eGaming manager will get in touch with the applicant and outline the licensing solutions available to them.
  • The gambling operator is charged a €750 pre-application fee. This amount serves to cover the costs of reviewing the application. Plus, this is also a way of confirming that the applicant’s intentions to obtain a CEG license are serious.
  • Upon receiving the fee, the licensing agency will start the review process. Curacao eGaming will ask the applicant to submit their business plan, KYC (Know Your Customer) policy, agreements with software providers, documents confirming the use of RNG algorithms, and so on.
  • As a final step, Curacao eGaming will schedule an interview with the applicant.
  • If Curacao eGaming approves the license, the new licensee will be allowed to place a CEG seal on any of its gambling websites.

If an applicant has taken care of their documents beforehand, the application process will take one week, at most. This is very fast compared to other regulatory bodies that require up to 3-4 months to consider an application from a potential licensee.

A Curacao license provides access to global gambling markets. The markets that don’t accept a Curacao license are very few. These are countries that demand a local gambling license and countries where online gambling is banned, e.g. Japan, some US states.

Fees

Holders of a master gambling license have to pay a setup fee of ca. 34,000 US dollars. On top of that, there’s a monthly fee of ca. 6,000 US dollars during the first two years. As for the fees in subsequent years, the gambling operator will have to discuss their size with government of Curacao.

CEG license: Cons

The fact that a Curacao gambling license is easier to obtain than other licenses means that any casino that can pay the setup fee can become a CEG licensee without too much effort. As a result, it’s not uncommon that Curacao-licensed casinos violate the rules and steal players’ money. Of course, there’s a myriad of safe and reliable casinos that proudly display the Curacao logo, but this doesn’t solve the problem of rogue gambling sites operating under the same license.

Considering that Curacao eGaming is not very effective in resolving disputes between casinos and players, the latter often find themselves in tricky situations. So if you choose to play for real money at a Curacao-licensed casino, be sure to scrutinize player testimonials on trusted gambling forums.