Netherlands in the News — Weekly Round-up for March 1, 2019

By Brian Cullingworth, Last updated Mar 1, 2019

KSA Raises Illegal Online Gambling Penalties

Previous base of Euro 150,000 – not terrifying enough, says KSA Chairman

The Netherlands gambling authority Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has published updated interim penalty policy rules effective March 1, 2019 in which illegal gambling operators targeting Dutch consumers will be subject to a base penalty of Euro 200,000 across the board, previously Euro 150,000.

The severity of the infraction will influence the ultimate penalty including the number of websites, the number of games, the level of prize value and bonuses, among other criteria.

The KSA will apply an additional Euro 75,000 to each of the following circumstances: Live betting, calculation of costs for inactive players, and making misleading statements on licensing, problems the authority says it is repeatedly faced with.

The increase in the base fine is an interim step the KSA said, implemented while the penalty policy undergoes a thorough revision.

“The fines we used were not terrifying enough,” René Jansen, chairman of the board of directors of the KSA, said.

“Illegal operators of games of chance continue to determinedly fight the KSA. The intention of the [recently passed] law is to create an attractive legal online gaming offer, which makes it possible for consumers to play safely on a fair market. There is no room for illegal providers. That is why we intend to thoroughly review our penalties policy for the future. The updating of the fines policy is only the first step.”

Netherlands Authority Testing The Waters (Update)

Invites expressions of interest

The Netherlands gambling authority Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has begun testing the waters with an invitation to submit expressions of interest for remote gaming licenses.

The KSA seeks to establish how many operators would be interested in applying for a license, saying completion of the relevant form is non-binding. A register would also allow the authority to periodically inform interested parties on the latest developments.

License application processing fees are expected to cost around Euro 40,000.00, the KSA said.

The legal framework on which the re-regulated market will be based is still under discussion in the Dutch Senate.

Brian Cullingworth

Infopowa news was a staple of Casinomeister’s news from 2000 until 2019. Brian Cullingworth was the main writer, contributor, and was one of the most knowledgeable persons I have ever known involved in the online casino industry.

We first met in January 2001 at the ICE in London where I observed him going booth to booth interviewing online casino, software, and licensing jurisdiction representatives. Brian was also heavily involved with our forum as “Jetset“, he was involved as an informal consultant to eCOGRA, the OPA, and was a player advocate who assisted countless aggrieved players with his connections to industry folks. He also published “Casino Cautions” via Infopowa news for quite a number of years. These can be found in our news archives.

His passing in February 2019 was a dark day for us. He will be forever missed.


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