CONDITIONS TO CURACAO ONLINE GAMING LICENSE [1]
Article 1 Definitions
The following definitions apply:
a. applications software: the collection of all software, including but not limited to databases, that are used to process and store player data, financial transactions, game transactions, game content and other content, such as website content, related to the gaming operation;
b. gambling interface: the whole of electronic communication with which the licensee offers the licensed games of chance;
c. game equipment: all active equipment that is used in the operation to process and store critical data, including but not limited to player data, financial transactions and game transactions;
d. games of chance by means of distance communication: a game of chance that is organized remotely on the basis of the license;
e. GCB: Stichting Gaming Control Board;
f. key person: a person responsible for the policies or the daily management of the operations of the licensee and the compliance officer;
g. NOOGH: the National Ordinance on Offshore Games of Hazard (Landsverordening buitengaatse hazardspelen, PB 1993, no. 63);
h. licensee: the holder of a license grated pursuant to the NOOGH;
i. NOIS: the National Ordinance Identification for Services (Landsverordening identificatie bij dienstverlening, PB 2017, no. 92, GT);
j. NORUT: the National Ordinance Reporting Unusual Transactions (Landsverordening melding ongebruikelijke transacties, PB 2017, no. 99, GT);
k. player: the person who is registered as a player with the licensee;
l. player account: the account held by the licensee in the name of a player with the playing balance of that player, which is used exclusively for the purpose of participating in the licensed games of chance and which can be traced back to the player;
m. player interface: the part of the gambling interface accessible to the player after registration;
n. SNO: the Sanctions National Ordinance (Sanctielandsverordening, PB 2014, no. 55, GT);
o. qualifying shareholder: a direct or indirect interest of at least ten percent of the issued share capital or a comparable interest, or the ability to directly or indirectly exercise at least ten percent of the voting rights or comparable control;
p. ultimate beneficial owner: a natural person who ultimately owns or controls the company of the licensee, by directly or indirectly holding at least ten percent of the shares, voting rights or ownership interest in the company;
q. winnings: prizes in the form of money or monetary value obtained with participation in a licensed game of chance.
Article 2 The License
1. A license to operate games of chance by means of distance communication as referred to in Article 1 of the NOOGH is granted to a company established under the laws of Curacao and has its registered office in Curacao, under the conditions set out in the following articles.
2. The license is granted for a maximum number of domains to be stipulated by the GCB, for a term of one year, but can be terminated either by revocation or due to future change in legislation.
3. The license is granted for offering remote games of chance.
4. The licensee does not offer any goods or services other than the licensed games of chance.
5. The licensee complies with all policies, procedures, regulations, guidelines and directives that may be set by the GCB with regard to the licensed games of chance, and the way in which these should be organized, including policies, procedures, regulations, guidelines and directives pursuant to the NORUT and NOIS.
Article 3 Non-transferability of license and outsourcing
1. It is prohibited to transfer the license or to conclude an agreement on the basis of which the license is used by any person other than the licensee.
2. In carrying out the organization of the licensed games of chance, the licensee shall ensure the regulations laid down by or pursuant to the LBH, the NORUT, the NOIS and the SNO are sufficiently guaranteed at all times.
3. In case where the licensee outsources activities to third parties, the licensee shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that the regulations referred to in the second paragraph are complied with.
Article 4 General prohibitions
1. The licensee is prohibited from admitting persons from participating in games of chance if they are:
a. residents of Curacao;
b. under the age of 18;
c. an employee or any key person of the company;
d. players who have excluded themselves from participation as long as the self-exclusion period is in place.
2. The licensee is prohibited from granting credit to players directly or indirectly, whether or not via intermediary.
3. The licensee does not allow a negative balance on the player s player account.
4. The licensee does not allow a player to participate in a game of chance if the balance on the player account is insufficient to cover the wager. The licensee may deviate from the previous sentence with the prior approval of the GCB.
5. Intended change or addition of new domains, UBO s, qualifying shareholders, directors or key persons are not allowed without prior approval of the GCB.
Article 5 License fee
1. The license fee owed by the licensee amounts to ANG 120.000,- per year, subject to future adjustments, including, but not limited to, the possibility to charge a fee for the approval of future changes or additions, such as of domains or UBO's.
2. The payment of the license fee will be as follows:
a. ANG 36.000,- on granting of the license, as further stipulated by the GCB;
b. ANG 7.000,- per month, as of the first month, as further stipulated by the GCB.
Article 6 Safe and secure environment
1. The licensee shall ensure that the players at all times are playing in a safe and secure environment.
2. The games offered shall be available to players at all times in a safe and secure manner without an interruption of service.
3. The licensee shall ensure that all players personal data and transactions are processed and stored in a safe and secure manner.
4. The licensee shall ensure that its entire operation is conducted by persons of clean conduct.
5. The licensee shall ensure that it always has sufficient funds to pay out the prize money.
Article 7 Equipment and application software
1. The licensee implements equipment and application software that has been tested for information security by an independent qualified entity approved by the GCB.
2. The licensee is responsible for a regular maintenance of the equipment and application software and replaces or expands it as necessary to ascertain the integrity of the operation.
3. The licensee has an up-to-date inventory of the equipment, whether this is physical or virtual, the application software and the games offered in the operation. The GCB may request the licensee to provide an updated inventory from time to time.
4. The licensee maintains a detailed manual of the application software used in the operation.
Article 8 Player registration
1. A player must register for a player account and must log into the account before playing games, provided that the games offered are not for demonstration or promotional purposes, except where the licensee uses intermediaries for player transactions with the approval of the GCB.
2. In case the licensee uses intermediaries for player transactions, the intermediaries must be registered, verified and all transactions must be recorded in an identifiable account. The GCB may ask for the agreement between the licensee and its intermediaries.
3. Players must be given the opportunity for self-exclusion and to indicate the limits of their gambling behavior in terms of:
a. the maximum amount of time per day, week or month a player must be allowed access to the player interface;
b. the maximum daily, weekly or monthly amounts of money to be deposited into the player account; and
c. the maximum daily, weekly or monthly amounts of money to spend through the player account.
Article 9 Payment transactions
1. All payment transactions between the licensee and the player are carried out exclusively through the player account.
2. The licensee must hold a segregated account for player deposits and winnings.
3. Where the licensee uses intermediaries for player transactions, the transactions must be recorded in the intermediaries account.
4. Bets and or wagers are made in the currency announced by the licensee.
5. Real currencies used by the licensee must be tradeable on international markets.
6. Virtual currencies used by the licensee must be tradeable on internationally licensed virtual currency exchanges.
7. A licensee cannot exchange currencies in a player s account, provided that such exchange does not include instruments for tokenization.
8. The prize money is payable in the same currency that was used to play the game.
9. The licensee provides the player at all times with access to the necessary information relating to the player account and the changes to the player account. This information shall in any case include:
a. the current balance of the player account;
b. the opening balance of the player account at the most recent login;
c. the total stake since the most recent login;
d. the total profits and the total losses since the most recent login;
e. an overview of all transactions on the player account for a period of at least the last 90 days;
f. within how much time after the end of the game the prize money will be available; and
g. for how long the prize money remains available, provided that such period is not less than 30 months from the date it was awarded.
Article 10 Games
1. All games that belong to the licensee must be certified for soundness by an independent testing laboratory.
2. The licensee must ensure that any games offered by third party providers are certified by an independent testing laboratory.
3. Proof of certification as referred to in the first and second paragraph must be submitted to the GCB within 6 months of granting of the license in accordance with instructions of the GCB and thereafter upon the request of the GCB.
Article 11 General terms and conditions
1. The licensee must make available at all times its general terms and conditions of use to the player.
2. The terms and conditions shall be unambiguous and written in a clear and understandable manner.
3. The general terms and conditions in any case contain provisions that pertain to:
a. the amendment of the general terms and conditions;
b. name, business address and Chamber of Commerce number of the licensee;
c. the obligations of the subscriber before he can open a player account;
d. the conditions under which a player account is closed or access to it is suspended;
e. the conditions under which the distribution of player credits and winnings may be suspended or cancelled;
f. rules on the currency to be used for the bet and the prize money;
g. the retention of all communications related to participation in games for a period specified in the terms and conditions;
h. the ability to set playing and deposit limits;
i. the possibility of self-exclusion;
j. handling abandoned accounts and abandoned balances;
k. the applicability of the law of Curacao and the jurisdiction of the Curacao court with regard to disputes between the licensee and the player;
l. a complaints procedure.
4. Players must be given the opportunity to review changes to the terms and conditions in a sufficiently clear manner in order to determine whether they wish to continue to participate in the offered games of chance. It must be possible to consult these via the publicly accessible part of the licensee's game website. The player must be able to access this information from any page of the game website.
Article 12 Complaints handling
1. The licensee provides a transparent, simple and free procedure for handling complaints from players that can be reached at least electronically.
2. The procedure, referred to in the first paragraph, in any case provides that:
a. it is clearly indicated where and how the player can make a complaint;
b. the submission of the complaint is easily possible for the player;
c. receipt of the complaint is clearly acknowledged;
d. the complainant is informed in writing and duly substantiated of the findings following the complaint and of the conclusions attached thereto, and
e. the complaint is dealt with as soon as possible but no later than within eight weeks;
f. the complainant is informed in a clear and well-founded manner with supporting documents, of the findings of the complaint and the conclusions that are attached to it.
g. the communication can in any case take place in the English language.
3. The licensee will indicate on the part of the games of chance interface that is accessible to everyone and on the player interface how complaints about the licensed games of chance will be handled.
4. The GCB may set rules with regard to complaints that result in a dispute, including, but not limited to, the obligation for the operator to offer, at its expense, the possibility of alternative dispute resolution with a specialized provider of such services approved by GCB.
Article 13 Administrative obligations
1. The licensee keeps separate records with regard to the licensed games of chance.
2. The licensee keeps the records referred to in the first paragraph in such a way that its rights and obligations and the rights of the player are clear at all times and that it can comply within a reasonable period with requests from the GCB with regards to the necessary data for the purpose of supervising compliance with the provisions of and pursuant to the LBH.
3. At any time, the records must show, among other things:
a. the games of chance played;
b. the number of times each game has been played;
c. the players who participated in each game;
d. the transactions of all players, including the bets made and the winnings achieved.
4. The fiscal year is equal to the calendar year.
5. The licensee is obliged to submit its annual accounts to the GCB no later than June 30 of the following calendar year.
6. If, according to the GCB, there is reason to do so, the licensee is obliged to provide the GCB with interim (financial) reports.
7. The GCB may set further rules with regard to the administration. These may relate, among other things, to the data to be included therein and the periods during which that data must be kept.
8. The licensee shall ensure that all data as referred to in paragraph three are retained for a minimum period of five years and are readily available for inspection by the GCB in a readable format if requested.
Article 14 Publicly accessible information
1. The licensee provides access to correct and up-to-date information on the part of the games of chance on the player user interface that is publicly accessible to everyone, which will in any case include:
a. the name and trade name under which the licensee is registered with the Chamber of Commerce;
b. the registration number at the Chamber of Commerce;
c. the date on which the license was issued to the operator and its duration;
d. his geographical address, his contact details and customer service contact details;
e. a statement that the GCB is the licensing authority and supervisor;
f. a reference to the general terms and conditions used by him;
g. the prohibition of participation by minors;
h. the games of chance organized by him, including the rules of the game, the odds of winning, the method of determining the odds and, insofar as possible, the payout percentage;
i. the total costs associated with participation in the game of chance;
j. any specific costs for using the technology of remote games of chance;
k. information about gambling addiction and where players can go if they have or think they have an addiction;
l. the complaints procedure;
m. the period within which the prize money is made available after the end of the game;
n. the period during which the prize money remains available;
o. the currency in which the prize money is made payable;
p. the way in which players can limit their stakes or participation;
q. the way in which a player can exclude himself from participation, registration and receipt of marketing material.
2. The licensee shall provide the information referred to in the first paragraph in any event in the English language and in a manner that is appropriate, comprehensible and accessible to the player.
3. The licensee will inform the player in a timely manner about changes to the data referred to in the first paragraph.
4. The licensees pursue a policy to prevent minors and actual and potential problem gamblers from participating in the exploitation and take visible measures to this end by, among other things, clearly indicating where players can go if they have or think they have an addiction.
5. The licensee ensures that marketing and advertising activities:
- not make the chance of winning seem greater than it actually is;
- are not aimed at young people under the age of 18 or problem gamblers;
- not give the impression that participating in games of chance offers a solution to financial or other personal problems;
- not suggest that gambling can be an alternative to work, a way to build financial security or be a financial investment.
15 Reports
1. The licensee shall submit all information and reports to the GCB which, according to the GCB, are necessary for the supervision of compliance with the provisions of or pursuant to the LBH.
2. The reports consist in any case of a change report and an incident report.
3. In the change report the licensee reports on all critical changes over the past month, including changes in relations to the games offered, the general terms and conditions, and policies and procedures. The change report is submitted to the GCB no later than the tenth of each month.
4. In the incident report, the licensee reports on at least the following topics:
a. breach of the security of the offer of games of chance as a result of which personal information of players or game data has (possibly) been jeopardized, as well as the measures taken as a result;
b. failure, loss or damage to part or all of the equipment or software as a result of which the offer for remote games of chance has (possibly) been lost in whole or in part, as well as the measures taken as a result;
c. (attempted) fraud or other forms of criminal behavior of participants related to games of chance, as well as the measures taken in response thereto.
5. The incident report must be submitted to the GCB within 24 hours of an incident.
Article 16 Policies and procedures>
1. The licensee shall at all times have policies and procedures in place regarding:
a. customer identification and verification;
b. player account and fund management;
c. cash transactions;
d. responsible gaming;
e. information security;
f. AML/ CFT/ CPF;
g. player account suspension and closure;
h. information security;
or any other policies and procedures the GCB may demand in the interest of a safe, responsible, transparent, verifiable, and reliable offering of remote games of chance.
2. The GCB may at any time demand submission of the policies and procedures as referred to in the first paragraph. The licensee must in any event within six months of granting of the license submit to the GCB the policies and procedures as referred to in the first paragraph in accordance with regulations or guidelines as stipulated by the GCB.
Article 17 Suspension and revocation of license
1. The GCB can suspend the license on the basis of serious suspicions that there are grounds for withdrawing the license.
2. The GCB can revoke the license if:
a. a condition or restriction attached to the license has been violated;
b. the GCB suspects or has serious reason(s) to suspect that the licensee or any key person is suspected of a violation of a rule applicable by or pursuant to the LBH, or an offense made punishable under the Penal Code, including but not limited to money laundering, fraud, terrorism or any other game of chance related crime;
b. the licensee does not meet its financial obligations towards one or more players;
d. the gambling licensee does not inform the GCB in time and truthfully of changes that may affect the status of the license;
e. the games of chance licensee uses or has used credit balances of participants, including the winnings earned by participants, improperly;
f. circumstances arise or facts become known on the basis of which, if they had occurred or had been known before the time at which the gambling license was granted, the license would have been refused;
g. the requirements laid down by or pursuant to the NORUT, the NOIS, or the SNO have been violated;
h. the licensee so requests;
i. the licensee cannot sufficiently demonstrate that he has sufficient cash or security to be able to pay the prizes, which can reasonably be expected, directly to the participants;
j. the objectives of the relevant company of the licensee are no longer being pursued;
k. the licensee deliberately provides reports and other data and documents to the GCB that are untrue or misleading.
3. If the GCB believes that there are grounds for suspension or withdrawal, it will give the licensee the opportunity to be heard before deciding on suspension or withdrawal.
4. If the license is revoked, the licensee is obliged to immediately cease its activities under the
Article 18 Supervision
1. Supervisors designated by the GCB are responsible for supervising compliance with the provisions laid down by or pursuant to the LBH.
2. The supervisors referred to in the first paragraph shall, solely insofar it is reasonably necessary for the fulfillment of their task, have the authority:
a. to request all information;
b. to request access to all books, documents and other information media, such as electronic files, and to copy these or to thereto take these with them temporarily;
c. to submit assets to inclusion or investigation, to thereto take these with them temporarily, and to take samples of said assets;
d. to access all places, with the exception of residences without the express consent of the occupant, accompanied by persons appointed by them, and if necessary with the assistance of the police;
e. to investigate vessels, stationary vehicles and their cargo.
3. Everyone shall be obliged to cooperate fully with a supervisor, who may reasonably demand this in the exercise of his powers, within such reasonable time limit as he may specify.
[1] These conditions apply to licenses granted by the GCB directly to operators that offer games of chance by means of distance communication on the international market. In the event of any conflict or inconsistency with the conditions attached to the official license granted to a licensee, the conditions attached to the official license shall prevail.
