The Curaçao Gaming Control Board has hit back at criticisms of its regulatory regime which have arisen alongside the controversy surrounding operator BC.Game.
The crux of the concerns about the regulator is that it does not have the authority to award licences under the National Ordinance on Hazard Games (NOOGH).
A report filed by politician Luigi Faneyte also claimed that the Curacao Gaming Control Board had allowed misconduct, fraud and money laundering under its watch.
The criticisms come amid regulatory overhaul in Curacao and the expected implementation of the National Ordinance for Games of Chance (LOK) – which will come into force later than hoped.
In a statement responding to the allegations, the regulator restated the legal process which led to the body being allowed to “grant, amend, suspend temporarily, revoke, or deny licenses, as well as attach terms and conditions to licenses.”
Licence applications “undergo completeness checks for the required documents, due diligence on decision-makers including sanction screening, review of the business plan and initial evaluation of the websites,” the regulator added.
The Curacao Gaming Control Board insisted there is “no scope for mismanagement” regarding operator fee payment, after the report made embezzlement claims.
It said invoices are issued by the GCB and that operators pay fees into a government bank account, not via the online gaming portal.
The report from the politician came alongside the controversy around operator BC.Game.
Curaçao’s Court of First Instance heard that the reported operator of the brand had been declared bankrupt.
BC.Game said it “strongly disagrees” with the ruling and insisted it “remains fully operational and is continuing its international activities as usual.”
However, on Friday, it emerged that BC.Game has closed its UK-facing platform, with a message to customers explaining that the brand will “no longer be available to both new and existing players.”
BC.Game said it disabled any new registrations from November 14 and informed all existing players that they should settle any open bets.
“Any outstanding balances have been withdrawn back to the last deposit method used,” BC.Game said.
The UK exit of BC.Game pulls the operator’s front-of-shirt sponsorship deal with Premier League football club Leicester City into question.
Jordan Lea, founder and chief executive of dealmeout, a problem gambling support, prevention and education body, said the partnership with Leicester “must now be terminated to prevent access to the black market.”
“Any sponsorship within football must be reserved for responsible, regulated operators,” he added.
“What's more, I am gravely concerned UK-based affiliates and content creators are still defending BC.Game and promoting referral links to their global black market website.
“Content creators must act responsibly for the good of their viewers.”
