Gammix Limited calls €19.7m KSA penalty an “absolute joke”

Gammix Limited has announced its intention to fight the record-breaking €19.7m fine that was handed to them on February 29 by the Netherlands Gambling Authority (KSA).

The operator argued that the penalty was outrageous and unsubstantiated are as well as being entirely founded in “falsified data, extreme inaccuracies and highly suspect mathematics”.

In the ruling, the regulator KSA said Gammix had allowed Dutch customers to access online gambling activities without a licence to do so, as well as not putting the required age verification processes in place for customers registering for new accounts.

In July 2022, Gammix was issued with a Netherlands cease and desist order, meaning that any trading within the country is prohibited.

Gammix, however, disputed the claims, arguing that any accounts used to access its sites during the investigation period would have been created in Luxembourg, with deposits made using credit cards so violating the sites’ terms and conditions, including the provision of false information upon signup.

The firm added that the penalty has been calculated using figures from a proprietary web-traffic aggregation service and a multiplier of €240 per click, something the operator believes would show non-existent turnover.

The operator has been further angered by the KSA accessing its websites using false identities of Dutch “mystery shoppers”.   

According to Gammix, this so-called “mystery shopper” style investigation is an unjust basis for such a hefty punishment.

In a statement, director of Gammix Limited Phil Pearson described the fine as an “absolute joke”.

He said: “The KSA has imposed upon our company a penalty that is both outrageous and unsubstantiated. Now that we are able to talk openly about the case, we can confirm that we are fighting on all fronts as, to us, this is an extraordinary and unnecessarily heavy-handed action from a regulator that many already regarded as unapproachable.

“When we received the first notice of a possible penalty, we reached out to them to say we have blocks in place. We also asked for any information they had that was material to the investigation, to ensure we remained in compliance with all guidelines – a request they appeared to ignore. Our lawyers also approached the regulator, in writing, to gain more information, but again no response was forthcoming.

“We had enabled a block on Cloudflare for any Dutch IP, we have no Dutch language or direct Dutch payment methods and categorically do not target Dutch traffic. If affiliates list any of our brands on Dutch-facing sites, we cannot be held responsible for those promotions. However, once players reached the end site, they would not be able to register an account.

“This fine is an absolute joke, and we will contest this in every possible way, at every possible turn. We will only rest once this outrageous penalty has been rescinded and we have received the apology we deserve,” Pearson concluded.