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A major hack of the Curaçao Gaming Authority (CGA) has exposed confidential information about hundreds of online gambling companies and their ultimate beneficial owners, offering an unprecedented look into the people behind some of the Caribbean island’s most controversial casino businesses.

The leaked documents were obtained by German cybersecurity researcher Lilith Wittmann, who gained access to the regulator’s licensing system in December 2025. Investigative journalists from Follow the Money and several European media outlets subsequently analyzed tens of thousands of confidential documents as part of an international investigation called Casino Secrets.

The material reportedly identifies around 800 unique owners connected to 646 licensed gambling companies, operating thousands of gambling websites.

Hack Exposes Curaçao’s Online Gambling Network

Curaçao has long been an important hub for online gambling businesses targeting international markets.

According to the investigation, gambling authorities and journalists in Europe and elsewhere have frequently struggled to determine who actually controls companies registered on the island. Complex corporate structures, trust offices and nominee arrangements can make it difficult to identify the ultimate beneficiaries behind online casinos.

The hacked CGA documents provide new information about those structures, including ownership declarations, licensing applications, financial documents, passports and internal assessments by the regulator.

The investigation claims that the documents also reveal cases in which the regulator approved gambling licences despite unresolved questions about ownership, the source of funds or whether operators intended to target jurisdictions where they did not hold the necessary licences.

Blaze Owner Reported $800 Million Fortune

One of the most prominent names identified in the leaked material is Nick van Gorsel, a Dutch businessman born in 1996.

According to the investigation, Van Gorsel is one of the two owners of Prolific Trade NV, the Curaçao-based company behind the online gambling platform Blaze.com.

Blaze became particularly well known through its association with Brazilian football star Neymar Jr. The company has also faced allegations from players over unpaid winnings, although Blaze has rejected those accusations.

In a personal disclosure submitted to the Curaçao regulator in 2024, Van Gorsel reportedly declared assets worth approximately €800 million. His business partner, US citizen Nicholas Beugg, reportedly declared a fortune of around €500 million.

The two men did not respond to Follow the Money’s questions regarding the findings.

Stake Ownership Raises Questions

The investigation also provides new information about the corporate structure behind Stake.com, one of the world’s largest online gambling platforms.

Stake is widely associated with Australian entrepreneurs Ed Craven and Bijan Tehrani, but the leaked Curaçao documents reportedly identify Mladen Vuckovic as the registered owner of the Curaçao company behind the platform.

Vuckovic declared assets exceeding $1 billion in his personal history disclosure submitted to the regulator.

However, CGA employees reportedly questioned whether he was the sole person ultimately controlling Stake. Internal documents allegedly reference large payments and loans between the Curaçao company associated with Stake and businesses or individuals linked to Craven and Tehrani.

The investigation says these relationships raised questions among CGA employees about the actual ownership structure. Despite those concerns, the regulator ultimately granted the licence.

Qbet Owner Identified After Dutch Record Fine

The leaked documents also shed light on the ownership of Qbet.com, an online casino that was recently hit with a record fine from the Dutch Gambling Authority.

According to the investigation, the Curaçao company behind Qbet, Novatech Solutions NV, is owned by Filipino national Joanna Tinaco Arenas.

The CGA reportedly had questions about Arenas’ role and whether Qbet was effectively controlled by another Philippine gambling-related business where she had worked.

The regulator also questioned the source of her declared wealth, estimated at approximately $1.5 million, including cryptocurrency and real estate holdings.

The new information could potentially provide additional leads for legal action against companies connected to Qbet.

Concerns Over Curaçao Licensing Process

The investigation raises broader questions about the effectiveness of Curaçao’s gambling licensing system.

Follow the Money analyzed dozens of licence applications and corresponding assessments by the Curaçao regulator. According to the investigation, CGA employees frequently identified potential problems but nevertheless recommended approving licences, sometimes subject to additional information being provided later.

The report claims that this additional information often failed to materialize.

Among the concerns identified in the documents were unclear sources of wealth, questionable ownership structures and indications that operators were targeting countries where they did not hold local gambling licences.

Marcel Pheijffer, a professor of forensic accounting who reviewed several of the CGA assessments for Follow the Money, said that approving licences while significant questions remained unresolved would not be acceptable under the Dutch regulatory approach.

Curaçao’s Role in the Offshore Gambling Industry

Curaçao has developed into a major international gambling hub since the 1990s.

The island’s regulatory and corporate infrastructure has historically allowed gambling businesses to establish companies locally and operate internationally from the Caribbean.

However, a Curaçao licence does not automatically give an operator permission to offer gambling services in other countries. Operators targeting regulated markets generally need to comply with the laws and licensing requirements of those jurisdictions.

The investigation claims that Curaçao-licensed companies have nevertheless been linked to gambling activity in countries where they lacked the necessary authorization.

New Gambling Law Was Supposed to Strengthen Oversight

Curaçao has introduced a new gambling framework, the National Ordinance on Games of Chance (LOK), together with the Curaçao Gaming Authority.

The reforms were intended to strengthen oversight and address long-standing criticism of the island’s gambling sector.

Operators are required to pay for regulatory supervision. According to Follow the Money, an online gambling licence costs approximately €47,450 per year, with almost half of that amount going directly to the CGA as a supervisory fee.

The hacked documents, however, raise questions about whether the new regulatory system is sufficiently effective in verifying ownership and identifying potential risks before licences are granted.

What the Investigation Could Mean for the Industry

The Casino Secrets investigation could have consequences beyond Curaçao.

For regulators in Europe and other markets, identifying the real owners of offshore gambling businesses can be crucial when investigating illegal gambling, money laundering, tax avoidance or consumer-protection violations.

The newly exposed ownership information could therefore provide authorities with additional leads when investigating operators that have targeted local players without the required licences.

At the same time, the documents highlight the difficulties regulators face when dealing with multinational gambling businesses operating through layers of offshore companies and trust structures.

For Curaçao, the investigation represents another test of the island’s efforts to transform its reputation from an offshore gambling hub into a more transparent and internationally compliant licensing jurisdiction.