Curaçao casinos: what the licence means if you live in Sweden

A Curaçao casino is an online casino licensed by the Curaçao Gaming Authority (CGA), and if you live in Sweden it sits outside the Swedish player protection system. Spelpaus, Sweden’s self-exclusion register, does not apply, and winnings from a site like this are generally taxed at 30% of your net win per operator per year. Playing is not illegal for you, according to Spelinspektionen, the Swedish gambling regulator, but Swedish rules give you no protection if something goes wrong.

18+. Gambling for money can lead to addiction. Stödlinjen, the Swedish gambling helpline, answers on 020‑81 91 00, free and anonymous.

Details on this page were checked in October 2026. We do not point to individual sites.

Curaçao licence or Swedish licence: what changes for you

Anjouan, a licence from the Comoros that many sites have moved to, works much the same way for a player in Sweden, so it shares a column here.

Who issues Curaçao licences now

Curaçao is a Caribbean island and a self-governing country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Its new gambling law, the Landsverordening op de kansspelen (LOK), came into force on 24 December 2024. On the same date the Gaming Control Board became the Curaçao Gaming Authority.

The reform removed the old model, in which a few private companies held master licences and handed out sub-licences to hundreds of sites. Every operator now needs its own licence directly from the CGA, with requirements on governance, anti-money-laundering controls and responsible gambling tools. That gives you a named company with a licence the regulator can withdraw.

Footers that mention a master licence or the Gaming Control Board describe the previous system, so check the register.

The CGA portal incident in autumn 2026

On 17 September 2026 the CGA reported unauthorised access to its online gaming portal, and on 7 October 2026 it said the portal would not return to service. Existing licences remain valid, but the digital seal is affected and is to be replaced by another way of showing that a domain is licensed. The licence register is still published as a separate PDF on the CGA website, so use that if a seal does not work.

How to check a Curaçao licence

1. Read the footer. Note the company name, registration number and licence number. The same details should appear in the terms and conditions.
2. Open the seal. A valid seal leads to a page at the licensing body, not to an image or a page on the site’s own domain.
3. Search the licence register. Find it under ”License register” on cga.cw. The version of 2 October 2026 has 666 rows showing licence number, company, type (B2C or B2B), registration number, dates and status.
4. Read the status field. The table below shows what each entry means.
5. Check the enforcement register. This separate CGA list of revoked and suspended licences was last updated on 14 September 2026. If the company appears there, do not deposit.
6. Compare the company name. The register and the site’s terms should name the same company. A mismatch is a warning sign.

Licence numbers from the first phase of the reform start with OGL and a year, and later ones with CGA and a year. A number such as 8048/JAZ belongs to the old sub-licence system. Be wary of a site that claims to be ”licensed in the EU” while showing only a Curaçao licence.

Where a complaint goes

The CGA does not mediate or rule on disputes between players and operators, and it cannot order a site to pay you. CGA guidelines, due to be in place at licensees by 31 July 2025 according to Curaçao Chronicle, set out this route:

1. Complain to the casino. Ask for the matter to be logged as a formal complaint, and keep screenshots, transaction IDs and chat logs. You have up to six months after the event.
2. Watch the deadlines. Responsible gambling complaints should be resolved within five working days and others within four weeks, with a possible four-week extension if you are told.
3. Go to ADR. If the site does not resolve it, turn to a dispute body certified by the CGA. This is free for the player, and the operator pays.
4. Tell the CGA. Send a copy to its complaints address, especially if several players have the same problem.

The CGA’s list of 31 August 2026 names seven ADR bodies. Ask the site which one it uses. Expect to be weaker here than with a Swedish-licensed casino: ADR bodies generally start from the site’s own terms, and Swedish bodies such as Allmänna reklamationsnämnden (the National Board for Consumer Disputes) and Konsumentverket (the Swedish Consumer Agency) cannot help with sites that have no Swedish licence.

A seal from Curaçao eGaming needs extra care. Its licence was not extended after 1 October 2024, and the company behind it, Cyberluck Curaçao N.V., went bankrupt on 21 October 2024. Complain to the site, then search for the company in the CGA register. If it is not listed, treat that as a warning sign and put in no more money.

Tax on winnings if you live in Sweden

Skatteverket, the Swedish Tax Agency, looks at which gaming market a game is aimed at. Winnings are taxable if the game targets Sweden without a Swedish licence, or if an online game does not specifically target any gaming market within the EEA. Curaçao casinos that accept players from Sweden generally fall into this group.

• Your net win, meaning the difference between winnings and stakes at the same operator during the year, is taxed at 30% as capital income.
• Winnings of no more than SEK 100 are tax free.
• A loss at one operator cannot be set against a win at another (HFD 2015 ref. 26).
• You report the amount in box 7.2 of your income tax return. These winnings are not pre-filled, so reporting them is your responsibility.
• The return is due by 2 May, or the next weekday if that falls on a weekend.

Two examples with invented figures. You win SEK 40,000 at one site and stake SEK 25,000 there during the year: the net win is SEK 15,000 and the tax SEK 4,500. A net win of SEK 12,000 at one operator and a loss of SEK 8,000 at another still means you report SEK 12,000 and pay SEK 3,600.

Accounts are usually held in euro or crypto, so you need to convert to kronor, note the rate you used and download your transaction history each year. Using crypto as a stake also counts as a disposal for tax purposes, on top of the tax on the winnings. Late filing costs SEK 1,250, and omitted winnings can bring a 40% tax surcharge, though not if you correct the return yourself before Skatteverket acts. The worked details are in our guide to tax on casino winnings.

The 22% Swedish gaming tax in place since 1 July 2024 is paid by licensed operators, not by players, so it has no bearing on your winnings.

Other licences you may meet

Anjouan, Tobique and Kahnawake are also outside the EEA, so the tax rule and the Spelpaus gap are the same as for Curaçao. Sites with EEA licences are covered in our page on MGA casinos and in the wider look at foreign casinos.

Payments, withdrawals and identity checks

Do not expect the Swedish services you use every day. BankID login is not available, and Swish is not used for this kind of gambling. Trustly is generally not available to players in Sweden at these sites, a point we cover in our page on Trustly and casinos without a Swedish licence. Our guides to payment methods and casinos without BankID go further.

Swedish banks can refuse card payments to gambling companies without a Swedish licence, so a deposit may work one day and fail the next. Never gamble on a credit card. Because the account is in euro, your bank’s currency mark-up, often 1 to 3%, applies to deposits and again to withdrawals.

Withdrawal terms are where sites differ most. In our October 2026 review of sites licensed outside the EEA that accept players from Sweden, handling times of 24 to 72 hours were common, usually counted from when the account is verified, along with caps of a few thousand euros a day. Complete ID and address checks early, so a withdrawal does not stall later.

Risks, and where to get help

Spelpaus covered just under 138,000 people after the second quarter of 2026, but those exclusions only bind companies with a Swedish licence. If you have excluded yourself, treat that as a strong reason to stay away from sites like these. Self-exclusion at a Curaçao site usually applies only to that one site, not its sister sites.

Spelinspektionen can also ban a company from offering gambling in Sweden, and a ban can close a site to Swedish players at short notice. Withdraw regularly instead of letting a balance grow. Our page on responsible gambling sets out blocking tools, treatment and debt advice, and Stödlinjen answers on 020‑81 91 00.

Frequently asked questions about Curaçao casinos

Is it illegal to play at Curaçao casinos from Sweden?

No, not for the player, according to Spelinspektionen. The law targets companies that offer gambling in Sweden without a licence and those who promote it. As a player you still stand outside Spelpaus and Swedish consumer protection.

Do I pay tax on winnings from a Curaçao casino?

Generally yes. Your net win, meaning winnings minus stakes at the same operator during the calendar year, is taxed at 30% and reported in box 7.2 of your income tax return. Winnings of no more than SEK 100 are tax free, and a loss at one operator cannot be set against a win at another.

How do I check a Curaçao licence?

Search for the company name or licence number in the CGA licence register on cga.cw. Do not rely on the footer seal alone, because the CGA said on 7 October 2026 that the digital seal is affected by the closure of its old portal. The company and number should match the site’s terms, and the status should not read Expired or Revoked.

Can the Curaçao Gaming Authority get my money back?

No. The CGA does not resolve individual disputes and cannot order a site to pay. Complain to the site first, then go to one of the seven CGA-certified ADR bodies, which is free for the player, and send a copy to the CGA.

Are there Curaçao casinos with a Swedish licence?

A company registered in Curaçao can apply to Spelinspektionen for a Swedish licence. Swedish rules, Spelpaus and tax-free winnings then apply to Swedish customers. The licence the game is offered under decides this, not where the company is based.