KSA hits unlicensed GoldWin with €6.7m fine over “very serious” violations
Dutch regulator continues to punish illegal operators with firm facing an exceptional penalty equating to 7% of turnover
The Netherlands Gambling Authority (KSA) has hit Malta-licensed operator GoldWin Limited with a €6.7m fine relating to “very serious and culpable” failings.
Operating its westcasino.com platform in the Netherlands, GoldWin was found to be offering its services illegally in the country following an initial investigation undertaken by the KSA on 22 December 2022.
The KSA said westcasino.com was accessible from a Dutch IP address, with the investigators able to log in with Dutch address details, make a deposit and bet on casino games.
There were also “no technical” measures in place to prevent Dutch players from accessing the site, while the sign-up process did not “visibly verify age” of customers.
The KSA additionally noted that GoldWin was offering bonuses to customers, which is a key breach of Dutch regulation.
Furthermore, the KSA detailed other specific aspects which contributed to such a heavy fine being handed out to the operator.
These included terms and conditions on the GoldWin site which stated the operator reserves the right to refuse to sanction withdrawals until a player has wagered bonuses in their account at least once.
The KSA also reported GoldWin reserves the right to charge fees for payouts and inactivity costs, while the site also included turboplay and autoplay features.
GoldWin received its first official warning from the KSA in January but failed to respond.
In April, the Dutch regulator hit GoldWin with a cease-and-desist order, which it complied with. However, the KSA highlighted that operators that do comply with such orders may still be fined for historical failings.
The KSA also noted on 13 July that GoldWin was “given the opportunity to comment on the sanction decision and its publication by email”.
According to the regulator, GoldWin once again neglected to take up the opportunity to do so.
In determining the size of the fine, the KSA estimated overall turnover garnered from the Netherlands for the operator sat at around €97m.
Fines in the Netherlands are set at 4% of turnover or €15m. However, due to the nature of GoldWin’s failings, the KSA added an additional three percentage points to the total fine.
René Jansen, KSA chair, said: “We can often quickly put a stop to illegal supply with an order subject to a penalty. This does not mean that previously committed illegal activities disappear from view; they can still be punished.”