What is the LOK?
The LOK — the Landsverordening op de Kansspelen, or National Ordinance on Games of Chance — is the law that now governs gambling in Curaçao, including online gaming. Curaçao’s Parliament approved it on 17 December 2024 by a vote of 13 to 6, and it entered into force on 24 December 2024. It is the biggest overhaul of the island’s gaming framework in over twenty years.
The old model: master licenses and sub-licenses
For decades, Curaçao’s online gaming sector ran on a master-license system. A small number of master licensees held the actual licenses and, in turn, issued sub-licenses to the thousands of operators that traded on “a Curaçao license.” In practice this meant the government did not deal with most operators directly — the master licensors sat in between.
That structure was cheap and fast, which is why so many casinos chose it. It was also the source of Curaçao’s reputation problem: oversight was thin, accountability was diffuse, and a sub-license said little about who was really behind a site.
What changed: direct licensing under one authority
The central idea of the reform is simple. The master / sub-license model is gone. A single government body is now the sole issuer of Curaçao gaming licenses, and every operator holds its license directly from that authority rather than through an intermediary.
The regulator that issues and supervises these licenses is the Curaçao Gaming Authority (CGA) — the body that grew out of the former Gaming Control Board (GCB). (We cover that rename in detail in GCB → CGA.) Under the LOK the authority evaluates each applicant directly, first on integrity and financial stability, then against the wider regulatory requirements of the new law.
In one line: instead of buying a sub-license from a private master licensee, an operator now applies for and holds a license issued directly by the Curaçao Gaming Authority.
The timeline
- 15 November 2023 — the authority begins issuing online gaming licenses directly under a new policy, ahead of the law itself. These early direct licenses are the bridge to the new regime.
- 17 December 2024 — Parliament approves the LOK (13 votes to 6).
- 24 December 2024 — the LOK enters into force.
- Transition — direct licenses already granted are carried over and hold provisional status under the LOK until the full LOK license is in place.
What it means for operators
Operators now deal with the authority directly, and the bar is higher. Alongside the structural change, the authority introduced a new anti-money-laundering (AML) policy, updated requirements for Money Laundering Reporting Officers (MLROs), and put a new responsible-gambling policy out for consultation. Licenses are issued for an indefinite duration but remain subject to ongoing compliance, supervision, and the possibility of suspension or revocation.
There are now two main commercial license categories — B2C for player-facing operators and B2B for suppliers — each with its own annual fee. We break those down in license types & fees.
What it means for players
For players the practical upshot is that a Curaçao license now points to a single, identifiable regulator you can check with. A license number issued under the new policy follows the format OGL/YYYY/NNN/NNNN — you can break one down with our license-number decoder, and, more importantly, confirm its current status on the authority’s own register. See how to verify a license for the step-by-step.
A licensing regime is only as good as the enforcement behind it. The reform makes the structure cleaner on paper; players should still verify each operator’s license status directly rather than relying on a badge.
Frequently asked
Is a Curaçao license issued before the LOK still valid?
Direct licenses granted under the November 2023 policy are carried into the new regime as provisional licenses until the full LOK license is issued. Old-style sub-licenses are what the reform is designed to phase out.
Who issues Curaçao licenses now?
The Curaçao Gaming Authority (CGA) — the successor to the Gaming Control Board — as the single issuer. No more private master licensors.
Does the LOK make Curaçao casinos “safe”?
It raises the regulatory floor — direct oversight, AML requirements, defined statuses you can check. It does not replace your own due diligence. Always verify the license before you trust a site.