KSA issues penalty payment orders against two unlicensed operators
Dutch regulator takes action against Techno Offshore Limited and Novatech Solutions as KSA chair vows to “take a hard line” against illegal bookmakers
The Netherlands Gambling Authority (KSA) has warned two unlicensed operators that both could be the subject of penalty payments if neither adheres to the regulator’s cease-and-desist order.
Techno Offshore Limited (operates simplecasino.com and nolimitbet.com) and Novatech Solutions (oversees qbet.com and 55bet.com) have been told to “immediately stop their offerings” and refrain from ever engaging with Dutch players.
The KSA’s penalty payment process stipulates that that unlicensed operators have a grace period of four weeks from the date the order was issued to terminate all activity.
If that request is ignored, operators will be hit with weekly fines of €280,000 (£232,000), up to a maximum of €840,000.
In the case of Techno Offshore, the KSA determined the operator had breached Article 1 of the Netherlands’ Remote Gambling Act, which states bookmakers must not offer users the chance to compete for prizes within games of chance without the relevant licence.
A KSA investigation into the company’s websites in April 2024 found it was possible for a Netherlands-based user to create a player account, make a deposit and participate in illegal activity.
The investigation also discovered that during the signup process, which was completed from a Dutch IP address, the country code for Netherlands’ phone numbers was automatically filled in.
A reinspection two months later determined that the account associated with the KSA had been blocked, but other accounts were able to be opened from a Dutch IP address.
The regulator confirmed it was treating the matter “very seriously” as it represents a deliberate attempt to evade KSA enforcement.
A near identical situation unfolded during a KSA investigation of Novatech Solutions, with the unlicensed operator falling foul of the same regulation breach within the Remote Gambling Act.
The investigation into Novatech Solutions began in June 2024, with the KSA determining that – much like Techno Offshore – a supervisor for the regulator was able to create an account, make a deposit and participate in illegal gambling through the company’s qbet.com website.
However, upon reinspection the KSA found that Dutch players were no longer able to access qbet.com but could still engage with illegal activity through another Novatech Solutions-owned site, 55bet.com.
KSA chair Michel Groothuizen reflected on the verdict, saying: “Illegal providers operate in a sophisticated manner. We see providers without a KSA licence who really do their best to keep Dutch players out, but also many parties who don’t seem to care.
“For example, we see that an offer is often stopped after inspection by the KSA, but is continued just as vigorously on another website of the same provider. We therefore take a hard line with these types of parties that deliberately violate the rule.
“With an order subject to penalty payments, we put a stop to the offer as soon as possible, but afterwards we can just as easily impose a hefty fine for the same violation,” he added.