Curaçao Leaks Reveal British Ownership in Unlicensed Casinos Targeting UK Players

Curaçao’s leaked regulatory files show multiple offshore casinos maintaining direct ties to British operators while serving UK customers without licences.

The data includes ownership details, funding sources and contact records for firms such as Santeda International and Oddsbet. Several entities list British citizens as owners or controllers. The UK Gambling Commission has no jurisdiction over these Curaçao licences yet records repeated complaints about illegal targeting of domestic users.

UK enforcement limits

The Gambling Act 2005 prohibits unlicensed operators from accepting British business. BC.Game continued to process UK accounts after surrendering its licence, according to prior accusations now reinforced by the leak. Stake.com withdrew from the UK market in 2025 following multiple controversies, yet its Curaçao entity declared assets exceeding $1 billion while routing funds through structures regulators had flagged.

Santeda extended €15.59 million in loans to a Luxembourg vehicle connected to Georgian directors also linked to Upgaming. Internal files submitted to the Curaçao Gaming Authority used Upgaming email addresses and filenames, contradicting later denials of operational control. UK authorities received no advance notification of these arrangements.

Pattern of regulatory bypass

Curaçao hosts more than 8,000 licensed casinos. Its authority confirmed unauthorised access to its portal but has issued no substantive response on verification failures. Regulators there approved applications despite questions over beneficial ownership and source of wealth, including one case where millions flowed to entities tied to Stake founders who were absent from the licence paperwork.

British citizens appear in the records as owners of at least one VIP-focused betting firm sold for $240,000 in 2025. The stated funding origin involved cryptocurrency holdings and a UK-sourced loan. Lawyers for the individuals maintain the operations excluded British customers, yet no independent audit of customer location data has been published.

These disclosures align with documented shortfalls in cross-border enforcement. The Commission states it works with partners to disrupt illegal activity, yet the volume of offshore sites and the speed of licence issuance elsewhere continue to outpace detection. Consumer protection therefore rests on voluntary withdrawal rather than active prevention.

The files confirm that opaque foreign licensing regimes can operate at scale while UK residents remain accessible targets. Enforcement capacity has not scaled with the growth of crypto-linked platforms or the number of jurisdictions willing to host them.