SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
As of 1 January 2025, Dutch gambling licences will be governed by a new ‘General Policy of Fines’, as mandated by Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the Gambling Authority of the Netherlands.
As stated by the KSA: “The New General Policy of Fines aims to ensure penalties are appropriate and serve as punitive and preventive measures. It seeks to deter violations and promote compliance with gambling regulations.”
The KSA has broadened the scope of fines to cover specific violations determined by the Remote Gambling Act (KOA) and the Netherlands Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Prevention) Act (Wwft).
The new fine policy will be applied across five categories, with basic fines ranging from €500 in Category 1 to €2,000,000 in Category 5.
Category 5 fines will be exclusively applied to Wwft violations. For non-Wwft violations falling under Category 4, the KSA may also impose a turnover-related fine amounting to 3% of the offender’s gross turnover to enhance the impact of the fine on the infringing licence.
To ensure transparency in its penalties, the KSA will provide a step-by-step breakdown of how the fine amount was calculated.
Step 1 involves the KSA defining the fine’s category based on the type of violation. Step 2 considers ‘adjustments for recidivism’, allowing the fine to be doubled if the licence holder has previously committed the same violation.
In Step 3, the KSA will assess the seriousness of the violation, considering impacts on customer care, negligence, and system failures. This is followed by Step 4, where the KSA evaluates the licence’s culpability. Penalties can be increased by 50% if the KSA views the offences as negligent.
Step 5 uses the offender’s gross turnover to scale the fine proportionally. For entities within corporate groups, consolidated turnover may also be considered.
In Step 6, licence holders can present special circumstances or mitigating factors, such as voluntary reporting or corrective actions, which may reduce fines by up to 25%. Multiple fines for related violations will also be reviewed to ensure overall proportionality.
Steps 7 to 9 focus on the proportionality and fairness of the fine. The framework ensures that fines at least match any financial advantage gained from the violation, preventing offenders from profiting from their actions. Financial capacity (Step 8) is also considered to avoid undue hardship, with options for reductions or payment arrangements where necessary. The process prioritises proportionality, transparency, and prevention, deterring future violations while ensuring fairness for offenders of varying financial capacities.
The new policy was endorsed by Michel Groothuizen, Chairman of KSA: “The KSA is becoming increasingly professional as an organisation. After the opening of the online market in 2021, we gained a new category of licence holders. In 2022, we imposed our first fine on a licence holder.
We have now gained enough experience to create a well-considered fine policy for both licence holders and other parties. This creates clarity for the parties under our supervision and hopefully motivates them even more to avoid fines.”
