UKGC v Curacao Gambling Licenses
It’s hard to over-state the importance of only betting with licensed bookmakers and online casinos.
If you are tempted to use an unlicensed gambling site, or ‘black market’ operator as they are sometimes known, you could be putting yourself in danger of a heap of different problems.
There’s the risk of your personal data being hacked, for starters, and there’s even the possibility that the operator could disappear overnight with your money… and you’ll have no recourse for getting it back.
So, only betting with a licensed brand is essential. But which licence should they have? There are three main providers of licensing to gambling operators:
- UK Gambling Commission (UKGC)
- Malta Gaming Authority (MGA)
- Curacao Gaming Control Board
And, as we’ll learn in the rest of this article, the level of security and protection that you, the customer, will get varies wildly from one licence to the next.
The Beginner’s Guide to Gambling Licences
To legally offer anything that can be described as gambling in the UK – sports betting, online casinos, poker, bingo, lottery etc, an operator has to have a licence.
Generally speaking, the bigger brands will apply for a UK licence from the Gambling Commission. They fill in their application, which is then considered by the regulator – if approved, they will be allowed to offer their services to players in the United Kingdom.
If you choose to frequent an overseas betting site, it should still be licensed. The Malta Gaming Authority is considered to be the best and most stringent regulator of European brands, so you can generally register with confidence when a firm has that MGA approval.
But when it comes to the Curacao Gaming Control Board, well, all bets are off…
What is a Curacao Gambling Licence?
For the uninitiated, Curacao is a small island in the Caribbean Sea, located not far from Venezuela. It is owned by the Netherlands… hence why the towns there are called things like Willemstad and Jan Donker.
It’s a fairly unremarkable place, but offers numerous perks for operators: it is considered a gambling industry tax haven, while also requiring applicants to meet the most relaxed of licensing requirements.
A number of betting brands are registered on Curacao, using their licence to offer their platforms in many ‘grey’ markets; that is, where gambling is neither specifically legal or illegal in some parts of Africa and Asia – players can then access these sites via a VPN.
However, just because you can doesn’t mean you should. It is considered far easier to secure a Curacao licence than one from the UKGC and MGA, which potentially opens the door to incompetent and, in some cases, nefarious online gambling operators from offering dodgy – not to mention illegal – gambling services in the UK.
It cannot be stressed enough: if you register with a brand that ONLY has a Curacao operating licence, you do so at your peril.
Why Does a Curacao Licence Appeal to Operators?
Quite simply, there are fewer barriers for operators when they have a Curacao licence, as opposed to applying for UKGC or MGA accreditation.
- High Approval Rate
The requirements for a Curacao licence are much more lenient. Operators don’t need to have certain security and banking protocol in place; but they do to get the green light from the UK Gambling Commission.
- Low Cost
It costs far less to apply for a Curacao licence, while the annual fees are much lower than those charged by the UKGC and MGA. That makes it more accessible for anyone and everyone to be able to afford a Curacao licence.
- Less Stringent Compliance
It’s fair to say that the compliance rules, as set out by the Curacao Gaming Control Board, are far more agreeable for operators than the high standards required by the UK Gambling Commission.
When you consider these three points, you can see why operators are keen on applying for a Curacao licence. But from the player’s perspective, can you really trust these brands to deliver a high quality and secure user experience?
UKGC vs Curacao: Pros & Cons for Players
We can compare a UK licence with Curacao certification side by side to see why operators that have been approved by the Gambling Commission provide generally favourable conditions for players.
Here are the pros and cons for each licence:
Pros
Cons
UKGC Licence: The Gold Standard
You can, perhaps, see some of the reasons why an operator would opt for a Curacao licence. But, more often than not, those reasons – ease of approval, low cost, minimal rules to abide by – are also bad news for players.
The Curacao licence allows for ‘bad actors’ to offer gambling services to well-meaning players. But what happens when they don’t pay out? When they won’t let you withdraw your winnings? And when they disappear overnight with your deposit?
It’s the strict regulatory policies of the UK Gambling Commission that make their licensed firms so much easier to trust. All of the key gambling brands that operate on these shores have a UK licence… and for good reason: they know that it’s a nod to the integrity of their business.
We only promote UKGC licensed brands, so any operator you see recommended on these pages has been verified by us and also by the toughest licensing body on the planet.
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