TL;DR — Curaçao License Fees & 2027 Outlook
- Application fee: approximately €4,500–4,600 (ANG 9,000), non-refundable, plus due-diligence fees of roughly €130–260 per beneficial owner or key person.
- Annual B2C license fee: approximately €47,000, split between a National Treasury payment (~€24,500) and CGA supervisory fees (~€23,000).
- Annual B2B supplier license fee: approximately €24,000 — notably cheaper than B2C.
- First-year total budget: typically €30,000–60,000+ once incorporation, hosting, and compliance setup are included.
- The single most important 2027 date: April 1, 2027 — deadline for licensees to have at least one full-time local key person physically based in Curaçao. The CGA has not yet published exact role, salary, or staffing specifications, despite the deadline being fixed.
- Watch but don’t panic about: a possible future GGR tax and expanded B2B enforcement — both are flagged as “on the horizon” by multiple compliance advisories, but neither has a confirmed date or rate as of mid-2026.
Curaçao spent 2024 through 2026 rebuilding its licensing system from the ground up. The old master/sub-license model — four private companies reselling access to hundreds of operators — is gone entirely, replaced by direct licensing through the Curaçao Gaming Authority (CGA) under a new law called the LOK (Landsverordening op de Kansspelen). That transition is largely complete. What’s coming in 2027 is the next phase: enforcement deadlines the CGA delayed rather than dropped, and requirements that were announced in principle but still haven’t been fully specified.
If you’re budgeting for a new Curaçao license or already hold one, here’s what the fee structure looks like heading into 2027, and what regulatory changes are actually scheduled to land — as opposed to the changes that are still speculation.
How Curaçao’s Licensing Regime Got Here
The LOK took effect on December 24, 2024, ending the National Ordinance on Offshore Games of Hazard (NOOGH) that had governed Curaçao gambling since 1993. Under NOOGH, four master license holders sold sub-licenses to operators, creating a system with little central oversight and a reputation problem that followed the jurisdiction for years. The Dutch government pushed for reform as a condition tied to pandemic-era financial support, and the result was a full transfer of licensing authority to a single regulator, the CGA.
Every legacy sub-license expired by early 2025. Operators who wanted to keep operating had to apply fresh, directly with the CGA, under the new two-phase review process. A temporary transitional marker known as the Orange Seal covered operators mid-conversion; that system was retired on October 15, 2025, and every currently licensed operator should now be showing a Green Seal rather than Orange on the CGA’s public register.
Curaçao License Fees: Full 2026–2027 Breakdown
| Fee | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Application fee | ~€4,500–4,600 (ANG 9,000) | Non-refundable, paid at submission |
| Due diligence fee | ~€130–260 per person (ANG 250–500) | Charged per UBO, director, or key person |
| Annual B2C license fee | ~€47,000 | Split: ~€24,500 Treasury + ~€23,000 CGA supervisory |
| Annual B2B supplier license fee | ~€24,000 | Lower than B2C; enforcement still ramping up |
| Domain/registry fee | ~€260 per domain, per year | Coverage terms vary by provider interpretation — confirm with the CGA directly |
| New game/service addition | €13 per item | Applies when adding games or B2B services post-licensing |
| Corporate income tax | ~2% (effective rate) | Territorial tax system; E-Zone structuring commonly used |
| Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) tax | 0% currently | No confirmed change, but flagged as a possible future shift |
| Estimated first-year total | €30,000–60,000+ | Includes incorporation, hosting, and compliance setup |
Two things worth flagging in that table. First, the gap between B2C and B2B annual fees is real and significant — if your business model can legitimately operate as a B2B supplier rather than a direct-to-player B2C operator, the ongoing cost difference is close to €23,000 a year. Second, published figures for the domain fee and exactly what it covers vary between advisory firms, some describing it as per-domain and others as bundled coverage — that’s a detail worth confirming directly with your CGA-registered representative rather than relying on any single third-party summary, this one included.
What’s Actually Changing in 2027
1. Local Substance Requirements Become Mandatory (April 1, 2027)
This is the deadline every operator should already be planning around. The LOK always intended to require a genuine local presence rather than a brass-plate company, but the CGA delayed enforcement of specific staffing numbers after pushback from operators and compliance providers who argued too many new requirements were landing simultaneously. The revised deadline is April 1, 2027: by that date, B2C and B2B licensees must employ at least one full-time key person physically based in Curaçao — separate from the already-required local managing director. That headcount is set to scale up to three local key persons by an operator’s fifth year of licensing.
What remains genuinely unclear, even close to the deadline, is the detail: which roles qualify as “key persons,” whether there are salary minimums, and whether staff can be shared across multiple licensed entities under common ownership. None of that has been published by the CGA as of mid-2026. Curaçao’s local talent pool for specialized iGaming compliance and operations roles is limited, and operators who wait for the specifications before starting to recruit risk a scramble in early 2027.
2. B2B Supplier Enforcement Tightens
The B2B supplier license category — covering software developers, RNG providers, platform vendors, and payment facilitators whose services materially affect gaming outcomes — technically exists under the LOK already, but active enforcement has lagged behind the B2C side. Compliance advisories describe B2B enforcement as “on the horizon” rather than active, meaning the CGA is expected to start applying the same two-phase due-diligence review to B2B suppliers with the same rigor it now applies to operators. Companies supplying technology or services into Curaçao-licensed platforms — a category that includes a meaningful share of iGaming SaaS vendors — should treat this as a matter of when, not if.
3. Ongoing Terms & Conditions Compliance
All B2C licensees were required to update player-facing terms and conditions by October 8, 2026, covering account closures, dormant accounts, payout procedures, refunds, and crypto transaction handling. That deadline falls just before 2027 begins, but it’s relevant context: it signals the CGA’s approach going forward, issuing specific, hard compliance deadlines with real regulatory consequences rather than soft guidance. Operators should expect a similar pattern — a defined date, limited flexibility, and public register consequences for non-compliance — to continue through 2027 as further LOK provisions come into force.
4. A Possible Gross Gaming Revenue Tax
Curaçao has never taxed gross gaming revenue directly, relying instead on its 2% territorial corporate income tax structure. Several compliance and legal advisories now explicitly advise operators to “monitor upcoming changes in regulatory interpretation” on this point, though none point to a confirmed rate, date, or draft legislation. Treat this as a genuine watch-item rather than a certainty — if a GGR tax is introduced, it would represent the most significant structural change to Curaçao’s tax competitiveness in decades, but as of mid-2026 it remains speculative rather than scheduled.
5. Global Minimum Tax (Limited Relevance for Most Operators)
Curaçao implemented the OECD’s Pillar Two 15% global minimum corporate tax rule on January 1, 2025, but it applies only to multinational groups with consolidated annual revenue above €750 million. The overwhelming majority of Curaçao-licensed operators fall well under that threshold and continue paying the standard ~2% effective rate. This is worth knowing mainly to reassure smaller and mid-sized licensees that headlines about global minimum tax reform do not, in practice, change their Curaçao tax position.
How to Prepare Before April 2027
- Start local hiring conversations now, not in early 2027. Even without published role specifications, identifying candidates and understanding the Curaçao employment market takes time most operators underestimate.
- Confirm your Green Seal status on the CGA public register. The CGA removes non-paying operators from the register after 71 days of non-payment — automatically, without a warning letter.
- If you’re a B2B supplier, assess your licensing exposure now. Waiting until enforcement becomes active leaves little runway to restructure or apply.
- Budget for cost increases, not just compliance effort. Local staffing, office space, and ongoing supervisory fees have already made Curaçao meaningfully more expensive than the old sub-license era — that trend is expected to continue rather than reverse.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a Curaçao gaming license cost in 2027?
A new B2C application costs approximately €4,500–4,600 to file, plus roughly €130–260 per beneficial owner in due-diligence fees. Once approved, the annual B2C license fee is approximately €47,000, split between Treasury and CGA supervisory charges. B2B supplier licenses run closer to €24,000 annually. Most operators should budget €30,000–60,000+ for a complete first-year setup including incorporation and compliance infrastructure.
What is the local substance deadline for Curaçao licenses?
April 1, 2027 is the enforcement deadline for the requirement that licensees employ at least one full-time key person physically based in Curaçao, separate from the local managing director already required. This headcount scales to three local key persons by an operator’s fifth year of licensing. Exact role and salary specifications had not been published by the CGA as of mid-2026.
Will Curaçao introduce a gross gaming revenue tax?
There is no confirmed GGR tax as of mid-2026. Curaçao continues to rely on its 2% territorial corporate income tax structure with no direct tax on gaming revenue. Multiple compliance advisories flag a potential future change in “regulatory interpretation” as worth monitoring, but no legislation, rate, or effective date has been announced.
Final Thoughts
Curaçao in 2027 will still be one of the more cost-competitive credible licensing jurisdictions in iGaming — but “cost-competitive” now means budgeting closer to €50,000-plus a year rather than the sub-license-era figures many operators still associate with the jurisdiction. The regulatory direction is consistent: real local presence, real oversight, real enforcement consequences. Operators who treat the April 2027 staffing deadline as a planning problem to solve now, rather than a compliance task to react to later, will be the ones who avoid the scramble everyone else is heading toward.
Last updated: July 2026. The CGA has not published final specifications for several 2027 requirements discussed here — verify current status directly with the Curaçao Gaming Authority or a licensed compliance advisor before making application or budgeting decisions.
