KSA beefs up enforcement powers against illegal online operators
Dutch regulator pledges to make fines for unlicensed firms “really hurt financially” once the market goes live in October
The Netherlands Gambling Authority (KSA) will increase the cost of regulatory penalties issued against illegal operators from 1 October.
As the country prepares to launch its legal online gaming market from that date, the regulator has moved to clamp down on illegal operators by enforcing stricter punishments.
Under the new regulations, illegal operators with turnover in excess of €15m will be fined 4% of their total turnover by the KSA.
If the turnover of an illegal operator is less than €15m, a basic fine of €600,000 will be handed out. If the turnover is unknown, the KSA will estimate an amount and produce a resulting fine from that estimate.
The KSA said in both circumstances the fine can be increased if the illegal operator is found to have committed additional discrepancies, such as targeting minors to gamble or not providing responsible gambling messaging.
The regulator will also take into account the number of Dutch customers playing with an illegal operator and whether or not that operator poses a risk to public health when determining the priority of investigations.
In addition to handing out fines, the KSA will be able to sanction binding instructions and public warnings to illegal operators under the new rulebook.
René Jansen, KSA chair, said: “At the end of September, it will be announced which companies have succeeded in obtaining a permit.
“There are strict conditions attached to a permit. Legal providers are supervised by the KSA. The intent of the law is to channel players from illegal to legal providers.
“It must pay off to apply for a permit and to offer it legally instead of illegally. That also means that it must really hurt financially if an offer is made illegally,” he added.
The Dutch government yesterday ordered operators that are yet to apply for a licence to terminate their illegal gambling activity in the Netherlands by 1 October, labelling such firms as “cowboys”.