The KSA, the Dutch Gaming Authority, announced last week it imposed five fines against operators after uncovering they offered games of chance to players in the country without a license. Overall, five different companies faced penalties that in total surpassed €26 million ($27.7 million).
The regulator confirmed that the fines against the providers were announced back in December, but the operators tried to discontinue the publication of the decision by reaching out to the court. In the end, that effort was put down by a judge last week which resulted in the announcement of the penalties publicly.
Upon revealing details about the fines, the KSA said that these penalties were in line with its newly adopted policy for fines that dates back to September 2021. Under this policy, the regulator would enforce a penalty based on the turnover of the operator accumulated from the Netherlands. As a result, the KSA imposed the following fines:
- €12.6 million ($13.4 million) fine against N1 Interactive Limited
- €9.9 million ($10.5) fine against Videoslots Limited
- €1.8 million ($1.9 million) fine against Betpoint Group Limited
- €1.13 million ($1.2 million) fine against Probe Investments Limited
- €900,000 ($957,000) fine against Fairload Limited
According to the KSA, the five operators offered games of chance for customers in the Netherlands without the necessary license or in other words, illegally. The gambling watchdog said that in order to offer online games of chance to customers in the country, operators need to have a license. Any operator offering such services without the necessary license is breaching the active regulations in the country, explained the KSA.
“At the end of December 2022, the Gaming Authority (KSA) imposed fines totaling more than 26 million euros on 5 parties that illegally (without the required permit) allowed players in the Netherlands to participate in online games of chance,“
explains a statement released by the KSA
Fines Are Proportionate, Says KSA’s Chairman
René Jansen, KSA’s chairman, acknowledged that the regulator remains committed to ensuring the safety of the players. He pointed out that the fines are aimed at the one place “where it hurts” which is the wallet of the operators. “With such amounts we think we can impose an appropriate sanction, given the illegal earnings,” said Jansen in conclusion.
The KSA explained why there were two fines that were so large in size, pointing out that in the case against N1 Interactive Limited, a repeated violation was observed. The gambling watchdog said that the operator was previously fined for a similar violation. On the other hand, the fine against Videoslots was because “the word mark of the Gaming Authority was incorrectly displayed on the website, while this may only be used by licensed providers,” said the KSA.