One of the popular destinations for online casinos to set up shop is a tiny tropical island off the northern coast of South America called Curacao or Dutch Antilles. It’s a Dutch owned and governed state that is known for its low taxes on gaming and has become home to some of the least reputable casinos online.

Since 1996, Curacao e-Gaming has been providing licenses and regulation for online casinos. However, not much good has come since this time. While any online casino can go bankrupt or outright steal players’ funds, regardless of licensing, it’s how that governing body responds that makes them competent.

In the past Curacao was known for not doing much in the way of actually governing. It was simply a place to call home for operators with low taxes, not to mention a beautiful place to live. More recently, with the many changes in laws surrounding online gaming, many countries have changed their stance on who can offer services to their citizens.

The main criterion for determining who can legally provide casino games is who their license is through. The U.K. gaming commission does not have Curacao on this so called “White List” of regulators. This is obviously not a sign of trust.

Having said all this, there does seem to be improvement in the way Curacao handles their business. In order to survive and remain as one of the leading hot spots for casinos, they must adapt their ways of being a lax regulator. They have been making a strong push to prove they are a legitimate governing body and results thus far have been up to par.

At this time you can find better options than Curacao-regulated online casinos. Until they fully get their act together and have showed they are committed to being what they claim, look elsewhere for an online casino.

We would give them a grade of D at this moment due to their past history and are just a step above Costa Rica. Costa Rica is famous for having no regulation and only offers a license with no reputation behind it. If you ever see an online casino that has a Costa Rican license, be warned that you’re likely headed for trouble.