KSA reveals operators in €26m fine package in major clampdown
Operators rail against charges as industry heads claim regulator is overstepping its reach with mystery shopper investigations
The Netherlands Gambling Authority (KSA) has named the operators caught up in its €26m fine package which has caused furore within the industry.
The regulator announced in February it had imposed the fines but did not disclose the firms impacted by its decision.
On Thursday 2 March, it emerged that Videoslots was one of the firms involved, having been hit with a €9.87m fine.
However, the operator said there was is “no basis” for the fine on the grounds that the KSA had used a VPN to access the site as a German customer.
Ulle Skottling, deputy CEO at Videoslots, said: “It is absurd that the KSA should fine us after gaining unauthorised access. It is simply not possible to protect fully against unauthorised access, and the KSA has no guidelines on what measures are sufficient.
“Furthermore, there was no demonstrable damage, and the interests of Dutch consumers were never compromised at any point. The KSA calculated the fine based on several guesstimates. There is no basis for it, and all sense of proportionality is missing.”
The KSA said Videoslots was fined due to having the KSA logo on its site, along with inadequate age verification and the use of anonymous payment methods.
Elsewhere, N1 Interactive was handed a €12.6m fine for repeated violations after having been reprimanded by the regulator several time in the past.
PressEnter Group was fined €1.8m while Probe Investments (€1.1m) and Fairload (€900,000) made up the remainder of the penalty package.
The regulator said that the operators involved offered customers the option to use ‘Netherlands’ as an option throughout the signup process despite the firms not holding a Dutch licence.
Touching on the package, KSA chair René Jansen said: “We mean business. Player safety is paramount. A fine is to hit where it hurts, so in the wallet. With such amounts we think we can impose an appropriate sanction, given the illegal earnings.”