Today’s story about wanting to prevent an expansion of offshore gaming services from Curaçao, Aruba and St. Maarten to the Netherlands is quite interesting. These are considered illegal in the European part of the kingdom.
As explained in answers to questions posed by members of the Second Chamber of Parliament in The Hague, the three Dutch Caribbean counties have their own gambling rules and regulations. Issuing permits for offshore hazard games, supervising these and enforcement of the applicable legislation is their autonomous affair.
The reply mentioned a role for the Prosecutor’s Offices in case of related criminal activities and used the arrest of casino boss Francesco Corallo to illustrate the point. It’s also important to note that things have changed a bit of late to where, for example, casinos and lotteries are monitored for unusual transactions by the Financial Intelligence Unit.
To be sure, of the three islands Curaçao is probably best known for its offshore gambling business. One of the factors could be the Gaming Control Board (GCB) that was introduced there many years ago to properly oversee the sector.
St. Maarten too has been talking about setting up such a body for more than two decades. Despite successive governments giving assurances that they were making progress on the issue, there is still no GCB.
It was suggested in the recent past that perhaps political influence from the local gambling world especially in terms of campaign contributions may have something to do with the lengthy delay. The suspicion had been that some might not fancy the added supervision.
Whatever the reasons, it’s high time this matter is finalised once and for all. The gaming industry needs to understand that regulation has benefits in terms of credibility and trustworthiness as well.
