Gambling has been a controversial hobby, habit or profession for the last century or so. Before this it was part of everyday life, with games like craps, or rather its predecessor, originating from the Roman times and ancient armies. Suffice to say people have always gambled, but what they haven’t always had are gambling regulations, rules and laws. We all are also familiar with expressions like “I bet you can’t do that”, which should go a long way in explain the psychology of betting and how it came about in the first place, and how close the concept really is to us.

With the advent of internet came the possibility of online gambling, which exploded in two decades into an industry worth billions and billions of dollars. Most of the gambling regulations sprung up during the last decade, and some of these regulations are complex, confusing and bad for business. The matter is further complicated by the fact that there is no clear jurisdiction on the net, and by the complexity of different economical and political unions and treaties. That is not to say regulations are not needed: rather they should be simpler and aim to provide the players with the best options instead of simply seeking to fill the national treasure with yet more taxes.

Many countries offer legislation that is based on different categories. For example offering betting, pool betting, sports betting, casinos, online casinos, bingo, or lottery products might all require their own specific license. On top of this the license requirements might also depend on what kind of company is providing the services, who they are providing them for, and where they are providing them from. Most countries also require local ownership, data centers within the country or other similar requirements when setting up an online gambling operation.

One of the main advantages of operating under Curacao license is the fact that there is only one type of license, which suits all igaming products:

• Casino
• Poker
• Sports Book
• Lottery
• Bingo

The basic package includes 2 domain names that can operate under the license, with option to add more domains if needed – this is negotiated with master license holder. For the current iGaming world this is a perfect setup, which reduces overhead, operating, license, organization and other unnecessary costs. While a skeptic might argue that this means that rogue casinos will line their pockets with cash, what it really means is that thanks to natural and healthy competition customer will get better and better deals.

Online gambling has passed its infancy some years ago, and the field is now being consolidated. Big companies are already starting to form, and certain massive century old betting companies have woken up to conquer the internet as well. What really matters in the few years to come is the ability of companies to survive in the ever tightening competition for customers and this means cutting out the unnecessary flutter. Successful and pioneering companies will seek to seize every advantage they can in order to thrive in this environment, and Curacao seems to be one of the first jurisdictions to understand this as well.