The Curaçao Gaming Authority (CGA) has issued crypto policy guidelines for holders of its business-to-consumer (B2C) online gambling licences, setting out requirements across the full cryptocurrency lifecycle — from deposits and wagering through to withdrawals and treasury management.
The guidelines, shared publicly by CGA marketing and PR advisor Aideen Shortt on LinkedIn, apply to all group entities involved in crypto transactions and take effect from June 2026. A phased implementation period runs to mid-2027, giving operators time to build the necessary infrastructure, though the CGA retains authority to demand faster compliance if significant risks emerge.
What the rules require
The policy defines a narrow role for licensees: they may accept crypto for gambling purposes only. Acting as exchanges, custodians, or virtual asset service providers (VASPs) is prohibited outright.
On the technical side, licensees must deploy blockchain analytics capabilities including wallet screening, risk-scoring, and transaction monitoring at both deposit and withdrawal. The CGA specifies asset preferences: fiat-backed stablecoins are acceptable; privacy coins, meme coins, and wrapped tokens of unclear origin require assessment or exclusion.
Wallet management is tightly prescribed. Player, operational, and treasury wallets must be kept separate, and personal wallets or wallets linked to ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs) are banned from use. Funds traced to mixers, tumblers, or sanctioned addresses are prohibited outright, with immediate effect — this is among the few requirements that carry no phase-in period.
The compliance timeline
Beyond the immediate prohibitions on sanctioned wallets and mixer-linked funds, the CGA sets three deadlines:
Within three months of June 2026, licensees must submit a compliant crypto policy to the CGA portal. Within six months, they must complete risk assessments, carry out due diligence on any VASPs they work with, and train staff on the new requirements. By June 2027 — the 12-month mark — full compliance is expected: segregated wallets in place, blockchain analytics deployed, transactions reconciled, and audit-ready records maintained.
Where this sits in the global picture
The CGA’s approach tracks closely with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards. The inclusion of the Travel Rule — which requires originator and beneficiary information to accompany virtual asset transfers — and enhanced transparency requirements reflect the same direction regulators in most major markets are moving.
Curaçao is not acting in isolation. The UK Gambling Commission has begun exploring cryptoasset payment frameworks for licensed operators, and several national regulators have tightened AML requirements on crypto use in recent years. The CGA’s guidelines represent that same pressure applied to one of the larger offshore licensing hubs, where many operators have long operated without rigorous chain analytics or wallet controls in place.
The practical burden on affected licensees is considerable. Blockchain analytics platforms, VASP due diligence processes, and reconciled crypto treasury management are standard in regulated European markets but less common among Curaçao-licensed offshore operators. For many, building this infrastructure from scratch within 12 months will require both technical investment and new compliance headcount.
The policy also positions the CGA closer to the compliance standards of the Malta Gaming Authority and the UK Gambling Commission, potentially affecting how correspondent banks and payment processors treat Curaçao-licensed entities. Operators that cannot meet the June 2027 deadline face an authority with explicit power to accelerate enforcement if it judges the risks warrant it.
For a broader view of how the industry has handled regulatory compliance shifts in recent years, the pattern is consistent: offshore jurisdictions face pressure to converge toward FATF-aligned standards or risk being treated as high-risk by the financial infrastructure operators depend on.
The 2025 compliance picture across European markets — including how regulators handled AML and crypto-adjacent issues — was documented in detail in the 2025 European iGaming Compliance Wrapped.
Source: Curaçao Gaming Authority
