Licensing Finance Minister seems to confirm that single license fees will double.

[maxd]

In a

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to what local politicians have been saying the Curaçao Finance Minister Javier Silvania claims that licensing fees under the new Curaçao iGaming laws -- aka the "LOK" -- will remain the same, or decrease, from what the old Master License holders were charging. Unfortunately that's not at all what the numbers say:

Let me be clear: there is no drastic increase, there is no predatory pricing, there is no prohibitively expensive increase. To hint at anything other than that is nothing more than scaremongering. ... Gaming providers pay an annual license fee of ANG 45,000, an annual gaming contribution of ANG 48,000 plus ANG 500 per website domain.

That Game Provider total -- ANG 93,500 -- works out to roughly €50,000 which is close to double what Master License sub-licensees currently pay, €20,000-25,000. Of course there may have been additional fees for new sub-licensees under the old system -- we've never seen details on that -- but it would take a lot of "additional fees" to make up the difference.

If the Finance Minister wishes to put people's fears to rest -- and presumably prevent an exodus of licensees -- he'll have to be a lot clearer on the maths.

Mr. Silvania went on to say that the real issue is not the fees but the fact that the monies charged will now be going to the Curaçao government instead of into private hands, a change which he makes "no apologies" for.

 

[dunover]

The license is so intrinsically worthless that many have already hidden their number, not bothered with one at all or not displayed it and finally, possibly made up a false number.

As for the fees going to the government instead, presumably not being paid to the master license holders as now, well ultimately what difference does it make? Unless you can be sure ALL corruption has been removed then one will expect that the beneficiaries will still have some transference here.

It's a bit late now as the amount of scamming they've allowed to fester over the previous decade or so has meant rapidly diminishing importance of their licenses, so much so that the original 1668/JAZ scammers I doubt ever renew their sub-licenses as they worked out quite quickly it was better to not even bother pretending they had a Cure-a-cow license as many players wouldn't bother to differentiate between the decent numbers and the numbers used for fraud - just Curacao was bad enough.

So in allowing wholesale criminality, corruption and money laundering for so long they've devalued their service for the decent ones like the N1 Group etc. If I was them I'd tell Curacao to stuff their fees and spend marginally more on one with a better rep, i.e. Malta who have almost as low tax rates.

The Curacao turd has been stuck in the middle of the pavement so long now that most will have learned to walk around it.

 

[maxd]

FWIW I stumbled across

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today which seems to update significantly the cost structuring for Curaçao-licensed casinos, formerly known as "sub-licensees":

In the upcoming second quarter of 2024, Curacao is expected to implement the National Ordinance on Games of Chance (LOK), a move designed to modernise the regulatory framework governing the sector.

... the upcoming legislative changes will bring about adjustments in the licensing fee structure. Prospective B2C operators can anticipate an application fee of approximately €4,000. Upon approval, the annual license fee will be around €12,000.

Moreover, each operational URL associated with the licensed operator will be subject to a monthly regulatory fee of €250, reflecting the authority’s move towards a more detailed and regulated fee system.

... it’s the 0% tax on casino profits and only 2% corporate tax that are bound to keep Curacao attractive to operators.

... with stricter rules, it seems the entire jurisdiction will divert from its reputation as a go-to option for “grey” market operators.

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Before taxes I calculate that to be €20K for a newly licensed casino in the first year and €16K in subsequent years. Based on previous licensing fees that works out to be about a 36% reduction per annum for B2C operators. "The pie gets higher" as Dubya would say.

 

[justdoit]

still cheap then UKGC license, UKGC license can cost on millions, one mistake UKGC will send bailiffs ?