The Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has stepped up its campaign against illegal gambling providers in the Netherlands, penalising five operators in December 2022.
Issuing fines totalling €26m, the regulator targeted Videoslots Limited, N1 Interactive Limited, Betpoint Group Limited, Probe Investments Limited and Fairload Limited.
In order, the companies were handed fines of €9.87m, €12.6m, €1.78m, €1.28m and €900,000, with the KSA describing the first two against Videoslots and N1 Interactive as ‘eye catching’.
The authority outlined that it is taking its duties seriously when it comes to protecting Dutch players and clamping down on unlicensed firms, and that the series of fines is indicative of this.
“We mean business,” said René Jansen, KSA Chairman. “Player safety is paramount. A fine is to hit where it hurts, so in the wallet. With such amounts we think we can impose an appropriate sanction, given the illegal earnings.”
Videoslots was specifically highlighted as having incorrectly displayed the KSA’s word mark on its website, something which can only be done by licensed operators.
The KSA highlighted this as important to ensure that players can determine whether they are betting with legally licensed firms, and added that the firm lacked ‘visible and adequate age verification’, and allowed ‘anonymous payment methods’.
Videoslots had falsely portrayed its product as being offered with a European licence, the regulator noted, whilst also detailing that N1 Interactive had committed a ‘repeated violation’ which it had already received a fine for.
Prior to the KSA’s confirmation of the penalty, Videoslots announced that it would challenge the fine, asserting that the regulator had calculated the €9.8m figure ‘based on several guesstimates’.
In its own statement, the KSA explained that the fines were based on a policy adopted back in September 2021 which takes into account Netherlands turnover.
The regulator added that all five providers had asked Dutch courts to prevent the publication of the decisions, with the presiding judge rejecting the appeals last week.
The KSA concluded its statement: “Offering online games of chance to players in the Netherlands is only allowed with a licence from the KSA. Strict rules and regulations apply to ensure that there is a safe legal offer, whereby players are assured of a fair game and are protected against gambling addiction.
“Players run great risks when participating in illegal offerings. A lot of money is earned by the providers involved with illegal online gambling. This is taken into account when determining the fines.”