Netherlands Antilles

The Governor of the Netherlands Antilles may award interactive gaming licenses pursuant to the National Ordinance Offshore Games of Hazard.

Applicants must first register with the Netherlands Antilles Chamber of Commerce as a locally formed legal entity, either onshore or offshore, and must state the island territories from which they wish to operate. Once an application is completed, the Department of Justice will conduct an investigation. If at the end of six weeks the investigation has been completed and yielded no objections then the applicant can receive a provisional license, which will be subject to a number of conditions, including a ANG 60,000 guarantee deposit. The Curaçao E-Gaming Licensing Authority issues only one license covering online games of skill, chance, and sportsbetting. All gambling licenses last for a period of two years.

Online gaming operators may also obtain sublicenses to run Internet gambling operations from the Netherlands Antilles. Host businesses may subdivide their existing gambling licenses for use by partner companies, provided the arrangement complies with applicable fees ranging from USD $2,000 to USD $4,000.

License holders pay ANG 10,000 per month in license fees during the first two years. A new license fee can be determined after the first two years.

The island territory on which a license holder is located is entitled to demand a contribution of up to 2% of the license holder's net gains from interactive gaming.

The Netherlands Antilles, a country consisting of five islands (Bonaire, Curaçao, St. Maarten, St. Eustatius and Saba), formed part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. On October 10, 2010, Curaçao and St. Maarten became separate countries. The remaining islands have become overseas territories of the Netherlands. The islands, particularly Curaçao, are major centers for online gambling licensing and hosting. Legally, Netherlands residents are allowed to play on online government-licensed sites. The government has not issued gaming licenses to any operators of online gambling sites other than its own De Lotto, therefore creating a closed market to foreign operators. This law does not apply to these islands. They have been free to create their own gambling legislation and it is unlikely the change will affect online gambling sites licensed in Curaçao.