Details of the regulatory action emerged Thursday. The KSA explained that the fine, close to $1 million, comes after a probe uncovered breaches to the Betting and Gaming Act, the main gambling law currently in effect for the Netherlands. The gambling watchdog said that operators that do not hold a license are prohibited from offering their services to Dutch customers.
Upon probing the operations of Shark77, the KSA uncovered that the operator offered sports betting as well as casino gambling. Those gambling activities were accessible by Dutch customers, which according to the gambling watchdog is in breach of the current regulations, considering that Shark77 currently doesn’t hold a license. Under the gambling regulatory framework in the Netherlands, only licensed operators are allowed to provide gambling activities.
KSA Continues to Monitor the Dutch Market
KSA’s chairman, René Jansen, acknowledged that gambling companies operating without a license in the Netherlands influence the market negatively. She pointed out that such illegal gambling operators can attract Dutch customers. Jansen said that this, in turn, jeopardizes the legal market channelization efforts. According to her, such breaches are “serious and highly undesirable.” Finally, Jansen said that all customers in the Netherlands deserve to be protected by using only operators that are licensed by the Kansspelautoriteit.
“These providers can thus have an attractive effect on players and jeopardize the channeling to the legal offer.“
René Jansen, chairman of the KSA
The Dutch gambling regulator pointed out that Shark77 enabled customers from the Netherlands to participate in games of chance. This was because the operator did not implement restrictions for such players. The KSA argued that Shark77’s website was accessible from the Netherlands and that players from the country were not obstructed from depositing funds. Combining those two reasons with the fact that Shark77 isn’t licensed to offer games of chance in the country resulted in the fine, the KSA revealed.
“Offering online games of chance is only allowed with a license from the Gaming Authority. This is subject to strict rules and regulations aimed at ensuring that there is a safe legal offer, whereby players are assured of fair play and are protected against gambling addiction,“
explained the KSA
The Authority reiterated that it is in the best interest of the customers to use only licensed operators. It said that illegal operators do not adhere to player protection and other regulations established in the country. At the same time, the KSA warned that illegal operators do not contribute tax revenue to the Netherlands.