The Netherlands Gambling Authority, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) is closely monitoring betting companies for illegal offerings as the country doubles down on player safety.
It has this week imposed a fine on three different entities; SBM Holding Group, Sun Block Media Labs 2.0 Ltd, and JEF Holdings Ltd, each for illegal online gambling. All breaches also included advertisements that were published on the affiliate website Casinoscout.nl.
What’s wrong with Casinoscout.nl?
Although the site initially promoted only licensed gambling operators, this changed earlier in the year when ownership of the site transferred to a new party.
Following the acquisition, the website began featuring content that promoted illegal gambling operators. The KSA made it clear that both offering illegal gambling services and advertising them is a violation.
After detecting the illegal promotions, the KSA issued warnings to the new owners, advising them to cease activity or face penalties. When the owners failed to respond, the KSA escalated the matter by contacting the Netherlands Internet Domain Registration Foundation (SIDN) to suspend the website.
This led to a temporary shutdown of Casinoscout.nl, and the owner briefly installed an IP block to restrict access from the Netherlands. However, illegal advertisements later reappeared, prompting the KSA to order a permanent site shutdown.
During its investigation, the KSA also discovered that Casinoscout.nl linked to another site, besteonlinecasinonederland.com, which was also found to be promoting illegal gambling. This second site is operated by the same group of owners.
Since the violations are ongoing, the KSA has now imposed a formal penalty order on all three companies. If they continue to advertise illegal casinos, each will face fines of €75,000 per week, up to a maximum of €225,000.
Prioritising local safeguarding
In continuing its crackdown on player protection, the KSA has also contacted ZEbetting and Betca regarding prohibited betting offers during tennis matches. Both providers were found to have offered wagers on winning or losing a set.
The KSA explained: “To prevent match-fixing and protect the integrity of the sport, Dutch gambling legislation prohibits betting on certain matches and events.
“These include events that are negative or easily manipulated. These events also include winning and losing specific sets in tennis matches. Therefore, bets on these events are prohibited.”
These warnings come less than three months after the regulator issued a €734,000 fine over a player protection breach involving young adults.
An investigation focused on 10 customer accounts, all belonging to players aged 18 to 23.
Each account showed clear breaches of responsible gambling standards, with some individuals losing “tens of thousands of euros”, and in certain cases, within a very short period.
By allowing such high losses without adequate intervention, the KSA asserted that the operator neglected its responsibility to protect vulnerable users, particularly those in the younger age group.
