Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the gaming authority of the Netherlands, has fined two lotteries for offering online games that are not permitted under their licenses, and fined Bingoal Nederland for targeting young people with ads for gambling.
KSA fined the National Postcode Lottery and Friends Lottery each €250,000 ($268,079) per week up to a maximum of €1 million ($1.07 million), Yogonet reported.
National Postcode Lottery offers Games Lottery games such as Deal or No Deal and Move That Truck that KSA considers a casino game not covered by the lottery license.
The VriendenLoterij (Friends Lottery) also offers a Games Lottery, e.g. Friends Lottery and Millionaires that are not covered by the lottery license.
KSA said in a statement: “Legislation and regulations make a clear distinction between lotteries and more risky games of chance, including online games of chance.”
Both lottery companies said they will appeal the decision. However, they also agreed to stop offering the disputed games beginning June 8.
In a joint statement they said, “The KSA is of the opinion that these free lottery games do not fit within the lottery license. However, the games are a form of entertainment and fit within the safe nature of a non-profit lottery with only one goal: to raise funds for good causes.”
They say they have offered such games for three decades and followed the requirements of their lottery licenses.
Meanwhile, KSA also hit Bingoal Nederland with a fine of €400,000 (£345,282/$427,678) for marketing materials to young adults between the ages of 18 and 24, iGaming Business reported June 5. The alleged violations occurred between October 2021 and April 2022. KSA made the decision to impose the fine in April.
The authority launched an investigation following up on complaints that Bingoal had sent emails and messages to people who fit the definition of “young adult.” This violates Article 2, Parage 4 of the Dutch Betting and Gaming Act (Bwrvk).
Bingoal responded that while it admitted to sending messages to the players it said KSA is unclear what the term “targeting” means. It added that whatever KSA fines should take into consideration that it is a licensed operator and that large fines would give unlicensed operators an advantage over legal operators.
KSA countered that it is the company’s responsibility to find out what it is required to do by its license.
Changing the law
Meanwhile, the regulator is asking the country’s Minister of Legal Protection, Franc Weerwind, to seek some changes to the gambling laws, iGaming Business reports. The government is planning to do a review of the Remote Gambling Act (ROA) next year but KSA insists the need for change is urgent.
One request is to allow KSA to assume false identities to see if operators are following regulations. At present only the National Office for Identity Data can legally create false IDs.
KSA also wants to get more access to parts of licensees’ gaming systems data for better analysis, research and ultimately better enforcement.
The regulator also claims the process to involuntarily exclude a consumer is too lengthy and complicated and wants the red tape cut.
Finally, KSA considers the law related to land-based slots to be outdated and needs to be brought in line with the laws for online slots.
Targets for investigation
KSA has announced that it has initiated enforcement actions against the unlicensed operators Winning Poker Network and Goldwin Ltd. It has threatened to fine the companies unless they stop targeting Dutch consumers, SBC News has reported.
KSA Chairman René Jansen declared, “It must pay off for providers of games of chance to offer their games legally. That is only possible if we take the wind out of illegal supply. We are fully committed to stopping these practices.”
KSA started with a warning, and Winning Poker Network promised to stop offering online gambling to Dutch customers. A follow up investigation of a new website found that the company was still targeting the Dutch. KSA has issued “periodic penalty payments” of €25,000 per week with a maximum of €75,000.
At the same time KSA fined GoldWin €239,000, with a maximum of €717,000 for allowing gambling on an unlicensed site. GoldWin has reportedly ceased operations in the country but KSA could impose more fines if it renews activity.
