So, as many readers will know, Curaçao is undergoing some major licensing changes. To replace the old licensing scheme where a small group of Master License holders issued sub-licenses to individual casinos or casino groups the new licensing scheme is being run by the Curaçao Gaming Control Board (GCB). The significance is that it's now the government of Curaçao issuing licenses as opposed to a small group of privately held companies doing it.
In our work with players through the Player Arbitration (PAB) service we offer here at Casinomeister we are now seeing some of the new licenses coming into use. The purpose of this post is to shown what those new licenses look like -- meaning how to spot one -- and how to tell it's the real thing as opposed to a fake licensing claim that rogue and pirate casinos have always been happy to make in an attempt to appear legitimate.
Hopefully every player now knows that you need to check a casino's license before you even consider giving them your money, not to mention all your personal details that could be sold off to any number of scammer groups who will do their evilness with your identity. Typically you would do this by scrolling to the footer of the casino's front page and see what the license footer says.
Here's what a new GCB license footer looks like:
The "Small House B.V." stuff here is just one particular casino parent company's name, that'll obviously change for different casinos. It's the "licensed and regulated by the Gaming Control Board" bit that we are interested in.
So, how do we know that this is a legit license and not some bogus claim? Anyone can say "licensed and regulated by" and Curaçao -- like every decent licensing body -- knows that you'll need to be able to verify that claim. That's where the green GCB badge comes in: it's a license verification link. Click it and you should see one of these:
The first key point to note here is where the license verification is coming from (as given in the address bar). The page URL must be "cert.gcb.cw/certificate". If it isn't the certificate is probably fake and then you're dealing with a rogue casino willing to lie in order to get their hands on your money.
The second item of note is the "current status" bit at the bottom of the text. It should say "good standing". If it says anything else then that's not good and you should probably not proceed with this casino until it does say "good standing".
And that's pretty much it. Check the footer, check the verification badge. All good? You're clear to proceed, assuming you're happy with playing at a legitimate Curaçao casino.
One last word regarding current, valid Curaçao licenses: the old Master License guys still exist even though they are no longer issuing new sub-licenses, so don't be freaked out if that's what you see in the casino's footer. It just means they've been around a while and still hold their old sub-license which Curaçao has extended the validity of until sometime in 2025 (or so, pending review).
Max Drayman
Head of Dispute Arbitration & Player Complaints (PABs)
In our work with players through the Player Arbitration (PAB) service we offer here at Casinomeister we are now seeing some of the new licenses coming into use. The purpose of this post is to shown what those new licenses look like -- meaning how to spot one -- and how to tell it's the real thing as opposed to a fake licensing claim that rogue and pirate casinos have always been happy to make in an attempt to appear legitimate.
Hopefully every player now knows that you need to check a casino's license before you even consider giving them your money, not to mention all your personal details that could be sold off to any number of scammer groups who will do their evilness with your identity. Typically you would do this by scrolling to the footer of the casino's front page and see what the license footer says.
Here's what a new GCB license footer looks like:
The "Small House B.V." stuff here is just one particular casino parent company's name, that'll obviously change for different casinos. It's the "licensed and regulated by the Gaming Control Board" bit that we are interested in.
So, how do we know that this is a legit license and not some bogus claim? Anyone can say "licensed and regulated by" and Curaçao -- like every decent licensing body -- knows that you'll need to be able to verify that claim. That's where the green GCB badge comes in: it's a license verification link. Click it and you should see one of these:
The first key point to note here is where the license verification is coming from (as given in the address bar). The page URL must be "cert.gcb.cw/certificate". If it isn't the certificate is probably fake and then you're dealing with a rogue casino willing to lie in order to get their hands on your money.
The second item of note is the "current status" bit at the bottom of the text. It should say "good standing". If it says anything else then that's not good and you should probably not proceed with this casino until it does say "good standing".
And that's pretty much it. Check the footer, check the verification badge. All good? You're clear to proceed, assuming you're happy with playing at a legitimate Curaçao casino.
One last word regarding current, valid Curaçao licenses: the old Master License guys still exist even though they are no longer issuing new sub-licenses, so don't be freaked out if that's what you see in the casino's footer. It just means they've been around a while and still hold their old sub-license which Curaçao has extended the validity of until sometime in 2025 (or so, pending review).
Max Drayman
Head of Dispute Arbitration & Player Complaints (PABs)
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