Departamento di Asuntonan di Casino

Gambling in Aruba has, historically, been widely accepted, and their first land-based casino was opened in 1959. It wasn’t long before more casinos started appearing on the Caribbean island, and Aruba started being known as the “Las Vegas of the Caribbean”.

The Departamento di Asuntonan di Casino (DAC) is the authority in charge of regulating gambling in Aruba, and while they’re not the biggest regulator in the world, they do a fairly good job.

In this post, we’re going to take a look at who the DAC are, how they operate, and how they deal with player complaints.

About The Departamento di Asuntonan di Casino

The Departamento di Asuntonan di Casino (DAC) is the governmental authority in charge of regulating online gambling in Aruba. The DAC allows licensees to offer their services to both local and foreign gamblers, and it’s similar to the Curacao situation. While the DAC – theoretically – has to abide by strict laws and regulations, they’re known for being relatively lenient when it comes to issuing their licenses.

For this reason, licenses issued by the DAC don’t tend to hold too much significance, and players should always do their own due diligence before playing at a site licensed by them.

Aruba is a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and – like the other Dutch Caribbean countries part of the Kingdom – they’re responsible for their own laws and regulations, with the exception of Kingdom relations and defence. If you’re looking for a detailed breakdown about gambling laws in Aruba, you can read more about it here.

Very little is known about when the DAC was first formed, and they don’t even appear to have their own website, relying, instead, on a one-page section on Aruba’s official government site.

The DAC are a part of the Ministry of Justice, Security & Integration, and they regulated all forms of online gambling, including casino games, slots, and poker and bingo games.

License Requirements

In order to apply for a gambling license from the DAC, operators must be able to prove that all company directors are of a ‘good standing’. This generally means they should have no criminal convictions, or charges relating to fraud or money-laundering.

Operators wanting to receive a license from the DAC must apply directly, and must be willing to provide proof of their company formation, and their ability to run a successful online gambling operation.

Operators must also carry out a number of checks on players, and a licensee is forbidden from entering into business relationships, or carrying out transactions with customers/consumers unless they’ve performed due diligence. All casino transactions of AFL 5,000 or more must be checked to ensure that money-laundering isn’t occurring, and there are a number of other checks that operators must take if they suspect players may be playing with funds obtained fraudulently.

It’s also worth pointing out that operators licensed by the DAC must not offer their services to players from the Netherlands, the UK, and other restricted countries.

Top DAC Licensed Casinos

Given the DAC’s poor reputation, few legitimate operators seek a license from them. Still, there are casinos that hold a valid DAC license that are reputable – and you can view some of the most trusted ones, below:

How To Check If a DAC License is Valid

As the DAC maintain no web presence, it’s impossible to check whether one of their licenses is legitimate or not. This is, yet another reason why playing at a site licensed by the DAC is not generally recommended.

Complaints Procedure

The DAC do not offer any advice or guidance on how to make a complaint in regards to an operator licensed by them.

If you wish to submit a complaint with the DAC, your only option is to contact them, and hope that they will respond accordingly.