EU Removes Curaçao From Grey List After Reforms
The European Union has announced that it has officially removed Curaçao from its grey list for tax jurisdictions. According to the EU, the country has implemented sufficient reforms in its tax policy to no longer warrant enhanced monitoring.
Last Wednesday, the Curaçao-based website Curaçao.nu announced that the Caribbean country now meets the EU’s tax standards. As a result, the EU has decided to remove Curaçao from the grey list. Curaçao currently faces a gambling law reform adopting stricter rules in different segments such as fair gaming, taxes and AML standards.
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Annex II
Curaçao has been removed from the European Union’s grey list — officially known as Annex II — following significant reforms to its tax system. The list includes jurisdictions that have committed to aligning with EU tax standards but have yet to fully comply.
The decision confirms that Curaçao now meets international tax requirements and is no longer subject to enhanced monitoring. Meanwhile, several countries remain on Annex II, including Turkey, Costa Rica, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands, and Vietnam.
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Black List
In addition to the grey list, the EU has also compiled a black list, known as Annex I. Last October, eleven countries were added to this list — those that are not cooperating with the EU or have not fully met their commitments.
This list includes American Samoa, Russia, Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Palau, Samoa, Vanuatu, Fiji, Panama, and Trinidad and Tobago. The European Union describes these countries as tax havens due to their failure to adhere to fiscal transparency standards.
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About Curaçao’s New Gambling Law
As of December 24, 2024, Curaçao has implemented the National Ordinance on Games of Chance (LOK), overhauling its online gambling regulations. This legislation replaces the previous system of master and sub-licenses with a centralised framework managed by the Curaçao Gaming Control Board (GCB), now referred to as the Curaçao Gaming Authority.
Plans for regulatory changes in Curaçao were first announced in 2020 as part of conditions set by the Netherlands in return for financial support during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Netherlands has actively worked to prevent international gambling operators from targeting Dutch players, including crypto casinos holding a licence from the Caribbean country. Curaçao is one of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, alongside Aruba, Sint Maarten, and The Netherlands. However, licences issued in Curaçao are not accepted in the Dutch gambling market.
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Crypto Casinos in Curaçao
Curaçao’s gambling licence is typically used by gambling operators facilitating crypto transactions. Under the new framework crypto is still accepted as a valid payment method. The Caribbean nation says that it seeks to enhance its status of an international licensing jurisdiction after ongoing criticism over a lack of transparency and the absence of a central regulatory body. The country is known for its flexible, sublicensing system managed by private companies instead of a central regulator. One of the new adopted measures is that all licence holders need to be psychically located in the country as opposed to previous rules that only required a local postal address. In addition to Curaçao, other destinations for crypto casinos are Costa Rica and Anjouan.
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