KSA buttons up to fight match-fixing in Dutch sports

The Dutch sports betting market has been placed under surveillance by the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the country’s gaming authority, to root out potential match-fixing in amateur sports competitions. 

According to the national legislation on sports betting, “gambling providers who offer betting on sports competitions are not allowed to do so for just every match”. 

This is why a number of providers based in the Netherlands have shared information at the request of the KSA that examines bets placed on a number of matches played by amateur teams. The watchdog’s conclusion found that, “identification and analysis need significant improvement”.

A competition of particular interest for the authority was the TOTO KNVB Cup, which is one of the oldest football leagues in the Netherlands. 

The KSA established that different betting providers treat the league differently in terms of preventing match-fixing by fully or partially outsourcing the identification and analysis of matches from the competition, which sometimes leads to unsatisfactory evaluation heightening the risk of manipulation. 

To prevent further misunderstanding and reduce the risk of match-fixing, the KSA has issued a guidance letter to sports betting providers with the steps needed to improve the identification and analysis process. The full letter with all of its contents will also be published on the watchdog’s website. 

A reminder by the Kansspelautoriteit noted that anyone concerned about issues relating to match-fixing can report an incident to the Sports Betting Intelligence Unit (SBIU), which covers deliberate falsification of match results by either players, trainers or referees.

Additional efforts to prevent money laundering were made in December last year, when the KSA tightened up regulations around upholding The Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing (Prevention) Act (WwFT) for licensed operators.

This was in response to several reports that operators were failing to meet their requirements in regards to customer due diligence, with one case resulting in BetEnt NV being issued a €3m AML penalty by the KSA.