WILLEMSTAD - The Court must compel the Public Prosecution Service (OM) to prosecute Curaçao e-gaming licensees. Lawyer Roelof Bijkerk has started a so-called article 15 procedure on behalf of the Stichting Belangenbehartiging for Duped Online Gaming (SBGOK).
In April 2020, SBGOK filed a complaint against Cyberluck, Antillephone, Gaming Services Provider and Interactive Licensing. These companies trade in 'sublicences'. They are particularly popular with international criminal organizations. According to various investigations, these set up web casinos to launder their profits from drug, arms and human trafficking or to defraud players by putting the winnings in their pockets.
Free game
Although there have been indications for years (and hard evidence in cases examined by the Dutch Gaming Authority) that mala fide organizations in Curaçao have free rein, the Public Prosecution Service in Willemstad has never shown serious interest. The OM was also unable to do something with the complaint that was filed by the SBGOK in April last year. This is the reason why Bijkerk has now appealed to the Court on behalf of the foundation to still prosecute the licensees involved.
In its petition, SBGOK emphasizes that it was never the legislator's intention to create a (as lucrative as it is shadowy) trade in 'sublicences'. The fact that this is happening on a large scale (there are thousands of gambling sites with a turnover in the billions) is partly the result of the lack of supervision by the Curaçao government.
Complicit
SGBOK does acknowledge that Cyberluck, Antillephone, Gaming Services Provider and Interactive Licensing have the option to let third parties piggyback on their master license. But, Bijkerk argues, they cannot escape co-responsibility for the actions of their customers. This also applies to the trust offices that act as directors of web casinos, so that the actual operators remain out of the picture as much as possible.
The hook that SBGOK has found to demand prosecution is the finding that web casinos flout the legal duty to verify the identities of participants in their games. Violation can be punished with 4 years imprisonment. Some operators even advertise that players do not need to identify themselves. By failing to act against these dubious practices, the master licensees systematically make themselves complicit in criminal acts, and they do so deliberately, SBGOK said in the petition.
Misdeeds
The thumb-thick file handed over to the Public Prosecution Service more than a year ago contains a large number of documents and correspondence that substantiate the allegations of SBGOK. Because the Public Prosecution Service has so far not followed up on the complaint against Cyberluck, Antillephone, Gaming Services Provider and Interactive Licensing, Curaçao online casinos can continue their misdeeds undisturbed, according to Bijkerk.
The Stichting Belangenbehartigen Gedupeerde Online Kansspelen stands up for participants in online games of chance who are victims of mala fide providers who, for example, refuse to pay out prize money. It is also a thorn in the side of the foundation that operators do not create barriers for gambling addicts and minors. In May, SBGOK successfully seized assets of Antillephone for 1.3 million guilders on behalf of a duped player.