Dutch MP urges Curacao crackdown

The government in the Caribbean island of Curacao, a constituent country of the Netherlands, is preparing new legislation to regulate the supervision of online gaming.

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he move comes after Stef Blok, the Netherlands’ Acting Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, replied to questions submitted by other MPs regarding Curacao-licensed operators serving Dutch gamblers in July.

The Daily Herald quoted Blok saying that he and State Secretary of Security and Justice, Klass Dijkhoff, were “serious” about preventing Curacao licensees from offering unauthorised gambling within Dutch borders.

Curacao is home to a significant number of Netherlands-facing online operators. Currently, these offshore operators face relatively little oversight – a situation the Dutch government is seeking to remedy.

According to Blok, a national ordinance is being prepared by the Curacao government to regulate the supervision on online gambling. The minister emphasised, however, that the proper supervision of gambling activities from the island was the responsibility of the Curacao government and not the Dutch Gaming Authority (Kansspelautoriteit).

The news came just days after the Dutch Lower House passed a domestic bill to regulate online gaming in the country for the first time. The legislation imposes a 29 per cent tax on both online and land-based gambling revenue, plus a further 1.5 per cent to fund the activities of the Kansspelautoriteit and another 0.5 per cent to fund problem gambling programmes.