TLDR
- Curaçao’s finance ministry opened a probe into Random Consulting Limited (RCL)
- RCL is run by Mario Galea, former Malta Gaming Authority chief executive
- The firm reportedly received 8.3 million Caribbean guilders a year, about €4.1 million
- Finance minister Charles Cooper said the fee equals more than 35% of online gambling revenue
- RCL disputed the figures and asked for a correction and an inquiry into a leak
Curaçao’s finance ministry has launched an investigation into Random Consulting Limited, a firm run by former Malta Gaming Authority chief executive Mario Galea. The probe centers on payments the company received from the island’s gambling regulator.
Finance minister Charles Cooper said Galea’s consultancy was paid 8.3 million Caribbean guilders each year. That figure equals about €4.1 million.
Cooper called the sum unusually high for the type of work involved. He said the world of gaming shows this figure is very high for a company providing such a service.
He added that the investigation should run its course before any next steps are taken. The minister also said the payment represented more than 35 percent of the government’s online gambling revenue.
The probe comes during a period of political disruption in Curaçao’s gambling sector. Javier Silvania, the minister who built the island’s new regulatory system, resigned last October over a separate corruption scandal.
Since Silvania’s resignation, the ministries of finance and justice have disagreed over who should oversee the gambling portfolio. That dispute has continued into this year.
Parliament has also weighed in on the matter. Suzanne Camelia-Römer, a former prime minister of the Netherlands Antilles and current member of Curaçao’s legislature, issued a statement backing the investigation.
RCL Responds
Random Consulting Limited pushed back against the claims in a public statement. The company said Cooper’s remarks had created confusion about its actual role with the Curaçao Gaming Authority.
RCL said confidentiality rules stop it from sharing full contract details. Still, it wanted to put some factual information on the public record.
The firm said it has given technical support to the regulator and its predecessor. This includes building and maintaining the licensing portal used by the authority.
A separate RCL team has kept daily operations running, according to the statement. Once the contract ends, the company said the licensing software will be handed over to the CGA.
That handover would give the regulator full control of its own systems. RCL framed this as part of its original agreement with the authority.
Dispute Over Revenue Figures
On payments, RCL said it has received €3.4 million since 2022. Most of that money came in during 2024 and 2025.
The company disputed Cooper’s claim that its fees equal 35 percent of gambling revenue. RCL said the CGA should be collecting more than €29 million a year in license fees alone.
RCL asked the minister to either support his figures with evidence or issue a correction. The firm also called for a separate inquiry into how confidential commercial details were leaked to the public.
In its statement, RCL listed the services it provides. These include regulatory platforms, hosting, maintenance, application processing, license monitoring and domain surveillance.
The company said it has taken on responsibilities outside its original contract. It added that it deferred some payments at the government’s request.
RCL closed its statement by saying it will not accept public statements that misrepresent the nature, value or cost of its work. The investigation by Curaçao’s finance ministry remains ongoing.
