Controversial Discourse Erupts Over Gambling Law Processing in Curacao
The Netherlands and Curacao are working together to reform gambling legislation, with a focus on enhancing anti-money laundering measures, technical standards, and consumer protection. However, the recent developments and current status of these reforms are not explicitly detailed in available search results.
Alexandra van Huffelen, the Dutch State Secretary for Kingdom Relations and Digitalisation, has criticized Curacao's government for procedural irregularities in the submission of the National Ordinance on Game of Chance (LOK) to its parliament. During her recent official visit to the island, she emphasized the importance of aligning the legislation with the original agreement.
Despite the criticism, it's clear that both nations are committed to structural reforms. One such initiative is the BMKB-ACS business loan guarantee scheme, jointly developed to support local entrepreneurship in Curacao. This scheme, guaranteed largely by the Dutch government, aims to improve access to SME financing but emphasizes that such financial aid must be combined with deeper structural reforms addressing bureaucratic efficiency, financial literacy, and market development.
Curacao's government is also making efforts to address anti-money laundering (AML) and regulatory standards, which are crucial for gaming regulation. Curacao is not listed on FATF black or grey lists for AML deficiencies and participates in the OECD Common Reporting Standard, suggesting ongoing attention to AML frameworks.
The proposed gambling regulations were introduced to parliament by Curacao's Ministry of Finance in December 2023. Since then, considerations have been made regarding supplementary regulations to enhance AML measures, technical standards, and consumer protection. In response to these concerns, Curacao's Prime Minister Pisas asked for more legislative capacity support from the Temporary Work Organisation (TWO), a Dutch government body overseeing structural reforms in Curacao.
Alexandra van Huffelen agreed to comply with the request for more legislative capacity support from Curacao. She also shared her concerns about the underutilization of the support the TWO can offer with Prime Minister Pisas. The Dutch government has outlined a roadmap for the implementation of the reformed gambling legislation, with expectations for it to be signed into law by June 30, 2024.
However, specific updates on the LOK, including consumer protection or technical standards modifications, are not present in these sources. The collaborative atmosphere between the Netherlands and Curacao on economic and regulatory reforms likely extends to gaming regulation, given the significance of the gaming sector and AML compliance in Curacao’s economy.
Curacao's government is facing pressure to demonstrate effective governance and utilise available support mechanisms to accelerate reform efforts. During her visit, Alexandra van Huffelen urged the government to demonstrate decisiveness and effective leadership, particularly in advancing reform processes such as social security and education.
In conclusion, while there is active cooperation and structural reform engagement between the Netherlands and Curacao—including in financial and regulatory areas critical to gaming—there are no direct recent publicly available documents or news specifically detailing reform progress or resolutions concerning the LOK, AML measures, technical standards, or consumer protection tied explicitly to gaming legislation as of mid-2025. For comprehensive details on those topics, specialized government publications or policy documents from relevant Curacao ministries or Dutch oversight bodies would be required.
The ongoing collaboration between the Netherlands and Curacao in gambling legislation reform, particularly focusing on anti-money laundering measures, technical standards, and consumer protection, seems to be extends beyond gaming regulation into broader political and economic negotiations. The recent criticism from Dutch State Secretary Alexandra van Huffelen about procedural irregularities in Curacao's parliamentary submission of the National Ordinance on Game of Chance aligns with this political discourse, emphasizing the importance of adherence to agreements in the casino-and-gambling sector and general news.
