The Netherlands Minister of Legal Protection Sander Dekker is screwing down on unlicensed gaming operators who accept money from Dutch players.
The country’s licensed gaming regime goes into effect October 1 and operators not licensed by the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) under the Remote Gambling Act will be pursued. Remedies include making such offshore sites inaccessible to Dutch users.
Dekker recently wrote the House of Representatives: “I want the channeling of Dutch players towards the legal offering.” He added, “That’s why I want to prevent players from getting the opportunity offered to continue to play with illegal providers on a large scale. I have requested that the KSA establish principles for a step-by-step intensification of enforcement in its policy.”
Violators whose turnover exceeds €15 million will be fined 4 percent of their turnover in the Netherlands market. This is a considerable hike to previous fines and the fines can be increased for things such as illegal offers to minors.
The operators Unibet and Betfair are banned from the Dutch market because they have been operating illegally. They will be prevented from applying for a license for at least six months.
Operators who apply for licenses will be vetted to see if they offered games illegally in the previous 32 months and if they offered games in Dutch or they advertised in Dutch.
The Kansspelautoriteit has also ordered all gaming licensees to report incidents that could hurt public trust in the sector within 72 hours.
Licensees must report to the KSA executive board regarding changes in their payment instruments, data control or incidents that threaten responsible, reliable and verifiable gaming or which harms confidence resulting from data breaches, issues with transactions or questions of fairness.
