SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Videoslots has stated that it will challenge a €9.8m penalty summoned on its business by Dutch gambling authority Kansspelautoriteit (KSA).
The fine – yet to be disclosed by KSA – was branded as ‘absurd and unlawful’ by Videoslots, which will unequivocally challenge how the Dutch authority issued the record penalty fee on its business.
Malta-based Videoslots accused KSA of “calculating its fine based on several guesstimates” to conclude that a €9.8m fee was a necessary penalty.
Providing context to the dispute, Videoslots stated that in preparation for its KSA application in April 2022, “the regulator’s logo was mistakenly visible for a short period of time on Videoslots website before being quickly removed.”
Videoslots states that it had observed KSA orders, in which it had in place systems to prevent Dutch customers from signing-up.
Meanwhile, KSA was accused of bypassing Videoslots IP controls by signing up as a German Customer and “making a deposit and sole wager of 20 cents.”
Ulle Skottling, Deputy CEO at Videoslots, said: “Videoslots does not target but restrict the Netherlands, so the Dutch Gaming Act does not apply to its services. No Dutch players were able to access our site during the disputed period and there was no violation as a result.
“It is absurd that the KSA should fine us after gaining unauthorised access. It is simply not possible to protect fully against unauthorised access, and the KSA has no guidelines on what measures are sufficient.
“Videoslots takes its legal and regulatory obligations extremely seriously, but we dispute the Ksa’s actions and conclusions, which we believe are unlawful. We are confident of a positive outcome in this case.”
KSA is yet to provide a statement with regards to its penalty on Videoslots. The Dutch regulator stands by its toughened monitoring of unlicensed operators which has seen it hand €25m in penalties since the launch of the KOA marketplace on 1 October 2021.
